The Book of Unveiling: Early Fatimid Ismaili Doctrine in the Kitab al-Kashf, attributed to Ja‘far b. Mansur b. al-Yaman(Shi'i Heritage Series)

I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies. The Kitab al-Kashf is one of the earliest Ismaili texts to have reached the present day. Transmitted by the Tayybi Ismaili tradition, it is composed of six treatises, most of which, as this open access study and first English translation argues, go back to the early years of the Fatimid rule. The importance of this work is predicated upon the unique insight it offers on the early stages of the elaboration of Ismaili doctrine. A number of parallels with Twelver Shi’i, as well as ghulat and Nusayri sources, are highlighted throughout this study, which, by contrast, allow for the identification of specifically Ismaili themes and doctrines, before and after the rise to power of the Fatimids. The Kashf is thus an essential witness to the way early Ismailism, while drawing from a pool of themes common to several Shi’i trends, nevertheless formed its own distinctive identity. Since it was edited by Rudolf Strothmann for the first time in 1952, the Kashf has attracted the attention of several generations of scholars, but did not benefit from a full annotated translation and extensive study highlighting its structure and aims until now. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction Historical and intellectual context Transmission: manuscripts, editions, and reception The problematic authorship of the Kitab al-Kashf: some remarks on the corpus attributed to Ja’far b. Mansur al-Yaman The six treatises of the Kitab al-Kashf and their contents Between chaos and order: the art of compilation and structure in the Kitab al-Kashf Notes on the translations and commentaries 2. Treatise I Translation Commentary The divine trust (amana), walaya and the covenant The da’wa, an esoteric family God’s ‘order’ (amr) and its continuity The continuity of antagonism: the enemies of the Imam Al-musukhiyya: from literal to metaphoric metamorphosis The Mahdi and his return Conclusion 3. Treatise II Translation Commentary Divine transcendence The throne, the footstool and the problem of anthropomorphism The alphabetic cosmogony Conclusion 4. Treatise III Translation Commentary Identifying the ‘Sage’ (al-?akim) and dating Treatise III The da’wa: an organization and its enemies The Orphan: evolution of a concept, from ghuluww to Fatimid Ismailism Salman, a Shi’i figure in support of the Fatimid reform The ‘Bearer of the Sword’ and the raj’a Conclusion 5. Treatise IV Translation Commentary Several hadith fragments A hadith on language Conclusion 6. Treatise V Translation Commentary The Imam and his proof, the ‘Ayn and the Fa’ The rejection of antinomianism Organizing the da’wa: instruction to the missionaries and refutation of the false Mahdi Conclusion 7. Treatise VI Translation Commentary God’s choice challenged by human caprice ‘Ali and Aaron as books of God Proofs and summoners Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author :
Fârès Gillon is Associate Professor in Islamic Studies and Arabic at Aix-Marseille University, France. He received his PhD from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Paris), and specializes in the intellectual history of early Shiism, with a particular focus on Fatimid Ismailism. He has published several articles on these topics, and has also co-edited with Mathieu Terrier Anthologie de la philosophie en Islam (Paris, 2023). Previously, he was a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. His research interests include Shi'i history and doctrines, Ismailism, Nusayrism and Islamic Philosophy