This dissertation offers for the first time an extensive scholarly translation of an anthology of 106 ginans (sacred hymns) attributed to the Isma'ili saint-composer, Pir Shams. The Ginan tradition is a sacred corpus of devotional poetry belonging to a sub-sect of the Shiah Muslims known as the Satpanth Isma'ili Khojahs. Composed in various North Indian dialects, ginans are part of a broader rich and complex heritage of Indo-Muslim folk literatures in the Indian subcontinent. For centuries, however, the Satpanth Isma'ilis have carefully guarded this sacred tradition for fear of persecution. By thus presenting a major translation of ginans attributed to a pivotal figure in Satpanth Isma'ilism, this dissertation aspires to advance significantly the academic study and knowledge of this scarcely examined sacred literature. / To date, the syncretic nature of Satpanth Isma'ilism has been viewed within a framework of conversion. Thus, generally, the ginan literature has been explained as the creative attempts of Isma'ili pirs (venerated teachers) to effect changes in religious orientation by conveying Nizari Isma'ili teachings through Hindu symbols and themes. However, an examination of the internal evidence in the ginans of Pir Shams--who belonged to the beginnings of Satpanth--in conjunction with events in Sind and the greater Isma'ili world at the time, has brought into focus crucial social and political factors that may also have instigated the formation of Satpanth Isma'ilism.

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