I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies
Forthcoming October 2024
The Ismaili 诲腻士墨 (missionary) and poet N膩峁r-i Khusraw (d. after 1070) wrote Khw膩n al-ikhw膩n (The Banquet of the Brethren) when he was living in his remote mountain refuge of Yumgan in Badakhshan. This work includes a pr茅cis of ideas found in the Kit膩b al-Yan膩b墨士 (补濒-岣办尘补) (The Wellsprings of Wisdom), written by the earlier 诲腻士墨 Ab奴 Ya士q奴b al-Sijist膩n墨 (d. ca. 971). N膩峁r-i Khusraw recast these ideas in Persian and then expanded them into 100 chapters (or 鈥榗ourses鈥 of a banquet). The text presents a sequence of dynamic arguments for divine unicity (迟补飞岣ツ玠), while also asserting the authority of the Prophet Muhammad, his legatee and son-in-law 士Al墨 b. Ab墨 峁乴ib, and the subsequent Imams from the line of the Prophet鈥檚 descendant Ism膩士墨l b. Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq.
Khw膩n al-ikhw膩n stands as a significant work in Ismaili theology and philosophy, exemplifying the central role of 迟补示飞墨濒 (esoteric interpretation). It also reflects the learning of the age, including the conception of a geocentric cosmos, Aristotelian physics, and Neoplatonic philosophy, all of which profoundly influenced the Ismaili 诲腻士墨s in Iran.
This new Persian critical edition is based on the only two extant manuscripts of Khw膩n al-ikhw膩n, while referring additionally to Henry Corbin鈥檚 edition of al-Sijist膩n墨鈥檚 Kit膩b al-Yan膩b墨士. Rahim Gholami has also prepared an accompanying volume containing an annotated English translation of the Persian text.
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction to the edition
Persian edition of Khw膩n al-ikhw膩n
Index of Qur鈥檃nic Citations
Index of Hadith Citations
Index of Biblical Citations
Select Bibliography
General Index
Rahim Gholami is a Research Associate at 国产视频, UK. He received his PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter, UK, in 2021. He has translated over 100 articles for Encyclopaedia Islamica (2008鈥 ), an abridged and edited translation of the Persian D膩示irat al-Ma士膩rif-i Buzurg-i Isl膩m墨, which is a comprehensive reference work on the Muslim world, with a focus on Shi士i Islam. His research interests include Shi士i esoterism and poetics, Ismaili intellectual traditions, and esoteric hermeneutics and literature.