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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.36668 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Nomoto, Shin. |
| Contributors | Landolt, Hermann (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Institute of Islamic Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001763265, proquestno: NQ64633, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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