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This thesis aims to present and understand various accounts composed by medieval writers against the Isma'ilis and to determine the substance of the arguments forged by each writer to counter the Isma'ilis. Such writings were accepted without question by earlier researchers, and although a revision has been undertaken in more recent studies, the specific nature and orientation of anti-Isma'ili polemics has not been adequately investigated. / Through a careful study of different arguments--arguments at times quite sophisticated and difficult to appreciate fully--, we try to show the evolution and development of the style of anti-Isma'ili polemics, the different temperaments of the polemicists studied, and some of the permanent and complimentary features within this tradition. / An additional question examined in this study is the extent to which social, cultural and political factors had an impact on the shaping of this tradition and the various arguments employed within it.

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A study of al-Risalah al-Bahirah presents a departure in the interpretation of Abu Y`acqub al-Sijistani's (d. approximately between 386/996 and 393/1002--3) writings. It is the first critical edition and translation of al-Risalah al-Bahirah . / Previous scholarship has concentrated on the quest for the historical Sijistani and his alignment with the Fat&dotbelow;imid Imams. This thesis explains Sijistani's relationship with the Fat&dotbelow;imids through a critical analysis of his doctrines of revelation, resurrection and retribution using the Bahirah as its focus.

This dissertation attempts to elucidate early Isma`ili thought on various aspects of prophecy during the 4th A.H./10th C.E. century in the light of Kitab al-Is&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow; (Book of Correction) by Abu H&dotbelow;atim al-Razi (d. ca. 322/934--5), one of the leading da`is (missionaries) in the Iran of his day. Al-Is&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow; is on one level an early example of Neoplatonist influence on Isma`ili thought, taking the form of a polemic aimed at his coreligionist, Muh&dotbelow;ammad al-Nasafi. However, al-Is&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow; also shows a new doctrinal formulation of early Isma`ili discourse on prophetology, especially concerning the messianic figure of the Qa'im. / In al-Is&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow; al-Razi discusses the missions of each of the enunciator-prophets (nut&dotbelow;aqa' ) using the terminology of Greek-Hellenistic sciences, thereby implying that the Qa'im possesses a rank higher than any other prophet. In addition, whereas he appears to assign the Qa'im's political role to the leaders of the Isma`ili community in the present age, al-Razi describes a new era to be inaugurated by the figure, constituting a purified version of this world. In this way the figure of the Qa'im is depoliticized and spiritualized. It is thus suggested that al-Razi's thought on prophecy in al-Is&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow;, while theorizing the place of the Qa'im in sacred history, represents a response to the crisis in his own time engendered by the postponement of the Qa'im's final advent and victory.

The study asks the following question: to what degree do the categories of philosophical knowledge apply to the original work of Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani? In order to answer the question, the study tries to characterize al-Sijistani's thought as expressed in the Kitab al-Yanabi'. The textual analysis emphasizes the role of Sijistani's theory of Sources and theory of kalimah, which allow useful comparisons with aspects of the hermetic and hermeneutic traditions. The analysis aims at demonstrating that the hermeneutical thought of al-Sijistani, although gnostic in character, integrates in its spiritual itinerary the conceptual expression characteristic of philosophical knowledge. The possibility of such an integration rests on the ta'wi l's function of synthesis. The various aspects of the synthesis are finally discussed by reference to the ismaili conception of prophecy.

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No description available.