SELECTED READINGS ON ISMĀ‘ĪLĪ GNOSIS – BY CATEGORY

Note: Readings are hosted by public external websites.  All copyrights belong to respective authors and publishers.

PHILOSOPHY

“There is no religion (dīn) for one who has no intellect (‘aql).”
– Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib,
(Reza Shah-Kazemi, Justice and Remembrance, 50)

“Frequent reflection upon knowledge (‘ilm) opens the intellect (‘aql).”
– Imām Ja’far al-Sādiq,
(The Scale of Wisdom, ed. Rayshahri, 766)

Free Will in Isma‘ili Shi‘ism by Farhad Daftary, Faquir Muhammad Hunzai Click Here 

The Position of ‘Aql in the Poetry and Prose of Nasir-i Khusraw by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai Click Here

The Concept of Knowledge according to al-Kirmani by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai Click Here

Pir Nasir Khusraw’s Concept of Intellect and Theory of Intellectual Education by Latimah Parvin Peerwani Click Here

The Concept of Pleasure Propounded by Nāsir-i Khusraw (Thesis) by Ghulam Abbas Hunzai Click Here

The Ethical Philosophy of Nasir-i Khusraw by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai Click Here

Intellect and Religion, East and West by Reza Shah-Kazemi Click Here

Nasir al-Din Tusi’s Ethics: Between Philosophy, Shi‘ism and Sufism by Wilferd Madelung Click Here

History of Islamic Philosophy (Book) by Henry Corbin (Part 1) Click Here

History of Islamic Philosophy (Book) by Henry Corbin (Part 2) Click Here

HISTORY

“You must tell missionaries the essence of history.”
– Imām Sulṭān Muhammad Shah Āgā Khān III,
(Ismaili Assocation Conference, Karachi 1952)

“Our faith is based on thousands of years of history and that we should learn from history and not think our past is of no use now and that it can therefore be rejected, abbreviated or altered.”
– Imām Shāh Karīm al-Husayni Āgā Khān IV,
(Message to All-India Ismaili Religious Conference, September 25, 1964)

Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib by Reza Shah-Kazemi Click Here

Imam Husayn ibn ‘Ali by Azim Nanji Click Here 

Shi‘a Isma‘ili Islam (Video Lecture) by Khalil Andani Click Here

The Ismailis in History by Aziz Esmail, Azim Nanji Click here

Symphony of Gnosis: A Self Definition of the Ismaili Ginān Tradition by Shafique Virani Click Here

Hazrat Khadījatu’l-Kubra by Rashida Noormohamed Hunzai Click Here

THEOLOGY

“Knowledge (‘ilm) is a part of religion [just as] prayer is a part of religion, so be careful who you take this knowledge from.”
– Prophet Muhammad,
(The Scale of Wisdom, ed. Rayshahri, 780)

“Go to the east and go to the west but you will never find true knowledge except what comes from us, the Ahl al-Bayt.”
– Imām Muhammad al-Bāqir,
(The Scale of Wisdom, ed. Rayshahri, 792)

The Islamic Concept and My Role as Imam by Aga Khan III, published in The Memoirs of the Aga Khan Click Here

On the Ulil Amr by Aga Khan III, Foreword to Al-Hajj Qassim Ali Jairazbhoy, Muhammad: A Mercy to All Nations Click Here

Shi‘a Isma‘ili Islam (Video Lecture) by Khalil Andani Click Here

Isma’ilism by Azim Nanji Click Here

Introduction to Isma’ilism by Sheikh Khodr Hamawi Click Here

The Philosophical Significance of the Imam in Isma’ilism by Sami Nasib Makarem Click Here

Light upon Light: Succession in the Shi‘a Isma‘ili Imamat by Khalil Andani Click Here

Aspects of Ismaili Theology: The Prophetic Chain and the God Beyond Being by Wilferd Madelung Click Here

Selections from the Kitab al-Himma by Qadi al-Nu’man Click Here

Seeking the Forgiveness of the Imam by Khalil Andani Click Here 

Treatise on the Recognition of the Imam by Khayrkwah-i Harati Click Here

Symphony of Gnosis: A Self Definition of the Ismaili Ginān Tradition by Shafique Virani Click Here

The True Meaning of Religion (Risala dar Haqiqati Din) by Pir Shihab al-Din Shah al-Husayni Click Here

COSMOLOGY

“Reflect upon the creation of God but do not reflect upon God Himself.”
– Prophet Muhammad,
(The Scale of Wisdom, ed. Rayshahri, 711)

The Ismaili Vocabulary of Creation by Paul Walker Click Here

The Esoteric World Vision of Nasir Khusraw by Alice Hunsberger Click Here

The Pertinence of Islamic Cosmology: Reflections on the Philosophy of Afḍal al-Dīn Kāshānī by William C. Chittck published in Todd Lawson, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (pp. 274-283) Click Here

Contemplation and Nature in the Perspective of Sufism by Seyyed Hossein Nasr Click Here

The Delegation Decoded: An Esoteric Exegesis of the Delegation of the Isma‘ili Imamat by Khalil Andani Click Here

TA’WIL (ESOTERIC INTERPRETATION) OF THE QUR’AN

“Our affair contains an exoteric (ẓāhir), an esoteric (bāṭin), and an esoteric of the esoteric (bāṭin al- bāṭin).
– Imām Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq,
(al-Moezzi, The Spirituality of Shi‘i Islam, 270)

A Comparative Analysis of selected Qur’anic Verses by Rashida Noormohamed Hunzai Click Here

Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and the Concept of Bāṭin by Bulbul Shah, published in Todd Lawson, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (pp. 117-126) Click Here

Shi‘i Isma‘ili Interpretations of the Qur’an by Azim Nanji Click Here

Ta’wil of the Qur’an and Sharia According to Hakim Nasir-i Khusraw by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai Click Here

Life and Lectures of al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi (Book) edited by Jawaid Muscati and A.M. Moulvi Click Here

The Days of Creation in the Thought of Nasir-i Khusraw by Shafique Virani Click Here

They Killed Him Not: The Crucifixion in Shi‘a Isma‘ili Islam by Khalil Andani Click Here

Shahrastani’s ‘Mafatih al-asrar’ Introduction by Toby Mayer Click Here

SPIRITUALITY

“Once man has thus comprehended the essence of existence, there remains for him the duty, since he knows the absolute value of his own soul, of making for himself a direct path which will constantly lead his individual soul to and bind it with the Universal Soul of which the Universe as much of it as we perceive with our limited visions one of the infinite manifestations.”
– Imām Sulṭān Muhammad Shāh Āgā Khān III,
(World Enough and Time: Memoirs of the Aga Khan)

Revisiting Religious Shiʿism and Early Sufism: The Fourth/Tenth- Century Dialogue of‘The Sage and the Young Disciple’ by James Morris, published in Todd Lawson, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (pp. 85-101) Click Here

The Inward Odyssey – Two Key Ismaili Ginans, “Brahma Prakash” and “Sakhi Mahapada” by Shiraz Pradhan Click Here

A Translation and Brief Commentary of Pir Sadardin’s Ginan “Jem Jem Jugatsu Preet Kareva” by Al-Wa’z Jehangir Merchant Click Here

Brahm Prakāsh: A Translation and Analysis (Thesis) by Hasina M. Jamani Click Here

Aga Khan III: A Study in Humanism by K. K. Aziz Click Here

Muslim Spaces of Piety and Worship by Karim Jiwani Click Here

COMPARATIVE RELIGION

 “If any religion is stronger than you, follow it, but keep me in your hearts.”
– Imām al-Ḥākim bi-amr Allah,
(Aharon Layish, Taqiyya among the Druzes.” Asian and African Studies 19 (3): 245–81)

“And I further pray that all who truly and sincerely believe in God, be they Christian, Jew, Buddhist or Brahmin, who strive to do good and avoid evil, who are gentle and kind, will be joined in Heaven and be granted final pardon and peace.”
– Imām Sulṭān Muhammad Shāh Āgā Khān III,
(World Enough and Time: Memoirs of the Aga Khan)

Beyond Polemics and Pluralism: The Universal Message of the Qur’an by Reza Shah-Kazemi Click Here

An Early Ismaili View of Other Religions: A Chapter from the Kitāb al-Iṣlāḥ by Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (d. ca. 322/934) by Shin Nomoto, published in Todd Lawson, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (pp. 142-156) Click Here

The Metaphysics of the Common Word: A Dialogue of Eckhartian and Isma‘ili Gnosis (Part 1) by Khalil Andani Click Here

The Metaphysics of the Common Word: A Dialogue of Eckhartian and Isma‘ili Gnosis (Part 2) by Khalil Andani Click Here

The Christology Symposium: Multiple Perspectives (Catholic, Evangelical, Sunni Muslim, Isma’ili Muslim) from within Christianity and Islam (Video Lecture) by Shabir Ally, Khalil Andani, Tony Costa, Greg Rupik Click Here

Isma‘ili Muslim Perspectives on Jesus (Video Lecture) by Khalil Andani Click Here

The Common Word: Reflections on Muslim-Christian Dialogue by Khalil Andani Click Here

ESCHATOLOGY

“Everything has a fixed duration and an end.”
– Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib,
(The Scale of Wisdom, ed. Rayshahri, 5)

“If there were to remain of time but a single day, God would prolong that day until there would come a man from among my descendants who would fill the earth with equity and justice even as it has been filled with oppression and injustice.”
– Prophet Muhammad,
(Sayyidnā Nāsir-I Khursaw, Shish Fasl, 80)

An Early Ismaili View of Other Religions: A Chapter from the Kitāb al-Iṣlāḥ by Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (d. ca. 322/934) by Shin Nomoto, published in Todd Lawson, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (pp. 142-156) Click Here

A Study of al-Risālah al-Bāhirah by Boustan Hirji Click Here

Cyclical Time and Sacred History in Medieval Ismaili Thought by Farhad Daftary Click Here

Introduction to the Recognition of the Qa’im by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai Click Here

METAPHYSICS

“The ma‘rifah of God, glory be to Him, is the highest of knowable truths (al-ma‘ārif).”
– Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, (The Scale of Wisdom, ed. Rayshahri, 707)

“That which has no second does not enter into the category of numbers.” 
– Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, (Reza Shah-Kazemi, Jusice and Remembrance, 24)

“Thus Islam’s basic principle can only be defined as mono-realism and not as monotheism.”
– Imām Sulṭān Muhammad Shāh Āgā Khān III, (World Enough and Time: Memoirs of the Aga Khan)

Shish Fasl (Six Chapters) by Nasir-i Khusraw Click Here

Transcendence and Distinction: Metaphoric Process in Isma‘ili Muslim Thought by Azim Nanji Click Here

A Brief Intuitive Note on the Void by Farouk Topan Click Here

Al-Shahrastānī’s Contribution to Medieval Islamic Thought by Diana Steigerwald, published in Todd Lawson, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (pp. 262-273) Click Here

Henry Corbin and his understanding of Ismailism by Zayn Kassam Click Here

Cyclical Times and Ismaili Gnosis by Henry Corbin Click Here 

The Metaphysics of the Common Word: A Dialogue of Eckhartian and Isma‘ili Gnosis (Part 1) by Khalil Andani Click Here

The Metaphysics of the Common Word: A Dialogue of Eckhartian and Isma‘ili Gnosis (Part 2) by Khalil Andani Click Here