This lecture will be held online (via Zoom) and begin promptly at 17.00 BST.
Since their compilations in the tenth and eleventh centuries CE, the four听hadith听产辞辞办蝉,听补濒-碍补虅蹿墨,听补濒-贵补辩墨丑,听补濒-罢补丑诲丑颈虅产, and听补濒-滨蝉迟颈产峁虅谤, have left an indelible mark on Shi士i religiosity. The present study takes as its starting point the earliest instance in which these four compilations were collectively referred to as the Four Books (al-kutub al-arba士a). Dr Amin Ehtesh谩mi investigate major developments in the period between the inception of this phrase in the fifteenth century and its consolidation as the demarcator of a unique Imami听hadith听corpus in the seventeenth century. Following the introduction, each section will focus on a figure whose ideas contributed to this consolidation process before summarizing the findings of the previous sections and reflect on the notion of听hadith听canonicity within the context of Imami jurisprudence during the period under study.
Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series听(IHTLS) is designed to invite scholars of various international academic institutions, specialising in intellectual, social and political aspects of medieval and early modern Islamic societies, to present and discuss their research. IHTLS is hosted by the Institute of Ismaili Studies (London) and convened by Dr Orkhan Mir-Kasimov since November 2023 (previously Dr F芒r猫s Gillon).
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Speakers
Amin Ehtesh谩mi
Amin Ehtesh谩mi, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He received his doctorate in Islamic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley where he wrote his dissertation on the scriptural thought of Fay偶 K膩sh膩n墨. He works on Islamic intellectual history, with a particular focus on theology, hadith, historiography, and legal hermeneutics.
Robert Gleave
Professor
Robert Gleave, is Professor of Arabic Studies in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. From January 2023 until January 2026 he will be听 with the research project 鈥淭he Foundations of Modern Shi鈥檌sm: The End of Akhbarism and the Beginnings of Usulism鈥. He authored many publications. His research focuses on Islamic legal theory and practice, particularly legal hermeneutics, and the history of Shi鈥檌te legal thought and institutions. He has directed a number of international research projects over the past 20 years exploring these issues.
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Views expressed in this lecture are those of the presenting scholars, not necessarily of IIS, the Ismaili community or leadership. Promotion of this lecture is not an explicit endorsement of the ideas presented.
Cover image: Frontispiece to the fourth volume of Sultan Baybars’ monumental Qur示an. Cairo, 1304-6听 (). Public domain.
