In this lecture, Professor Safi delves deeper into the essence of the spiritual path with a story from Rumi's Masnavi to demonstrate how the mystics conveyed their teachings of the Divine. On 26 March, Professor Omid Safi, Director of Duke University's Islamic Studies Centre, took audiences through a mystical journey in his talk entitled, RadicalLove: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition ...
News story -- On 26 March, Professor Omid Safi, Director of Duke University's Islamic Studies Centre, took audiences through a mystical journey in his talk entitled, RadicalLove: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition at the Aga Khan Centre. He spoke about the goals of the spiritual path and traced the popular poetic tradition that celebrates love for both humanity and the Divine. ...
Events -- 18th June 2019 -- 17:00 - 18:00 Book your place here View Map Scholarship concerning the artistic landscapes of medieval Rūm has made encouraging progress in recent years. Published research to date, however, has not addressed the production of the Islamic arts of the book in this period and, more specifically, the important role played by Sufi artists and patrons. ...
Watch this video to follow the eventful life Journey of Aga Khan I through maps of his travels, locations of his stays in Persia and the Subcontinent and his interactions with the the political powers of his time. Part of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series, the The First Aga Khan - Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam is the first ...
News story -- Colleagues and staff will remember with great affection Kutubdin (Kutub) Kassam, who passed away in London on 24 March 2019 at the age of 75. Best known for his literary prowess, Kutub was the man behind many of the IIS's finest published works. As a judicious editor, he had a meticulous regard for the conventions of language, and contributed ...
News story -- While the Fatimid and Alamut periods have received considerable scholarly attention and are more widely written about, the Nizari Ismaili history of the 19th century has had much less coverage. Shedding light on this understudied, yet significant period in Ismaili history, the joint Editors of The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam,Dr Daniel Beben and Dr ...
News story -- In honour of the late Professor Annemarie Schimmel, IIS held its annual memorial lecture on 29 April, entitled Paradise Found: ʿAyn al-Quḍāt on Qur'anic Origins delivered by Professor Mohammed Rustom, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. Given the importance of ʿAyn al-Quḍāt Hamadānī (d. 525/1131), there is relatively little scholarship on him that is entirely reliable, and ...
Events -- 28th May 2019 -- 17:00 - 18:00 BST Book your place here View Map The 9th century Arabic work called Kalām fī maḥḍ al-khayr, known as the Liber de causis in its 12th century Latin translation, is often times considered in relation to its major Greek source, The Elements of Theology of the great Neoplatonist Proclus, or in relation to ...
News story -- On 11 April, author Ali Lakhani gave audiences at the Ismaili Centre, London, fresh insights into his latest book Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat. He was joined by Mahmood Ahmed, Chairman of Aga Khan Foundation UK, for an on-stage conversation where they explored the significance and correlation between faith and ethics. In his introduction, Mahmood ...
Events -- 13th May 2019 -- 17:00 - 18:30 BST Book your place here View Map It is well-known that as one of the most renowned Ismaili dāʿīs of the Fatimid age, Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī (d. after 411/1020), attempted to create a complex system of thought blending together inherited Ismaili traditions - including gnostic cosmological elements - and philosophical strands, mainly drawn ...
Academic Article -- This article explores gender and spiritual hierarchy in the writings of three prominent Fatimid Isma'ili thinkers who interpret verses of the Qur'an on the outward ... Several authors have noted that the Yemeni Sulayhid Queen Arwa (d. 532 AH / 1138 AH) was a rare, perhaps unique, example of a woman said to hold both spiritual and temporal power ...
News story -- On 13 April 2019, twenty-eight students graduated from the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) at The Ismaili Centre, London. Students from Canada, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Tanzania and the USA received a double Master's degree: an MA in Education (Muslim Societies and Civilisations) and an MTeach (Master of Teaching). Both degrees were awarded by University College London Institute of ...
Events -- 13th April 2019 -- Join us for the Secondary Teachers Education Programme (STEP) graduation ceremony which is being broadcast live here. The keynote address will be given by Professor Terence Lovat. ...
Events -- 29th April 2019 -- Paradise Found: ʿAyn al-Quḍāt on Qur'anic Origins ʿAyn al-Quḍāt Hamadānī (d. 525/1131) was a mystic, philosopher, theologian, and judge who was born in the western Iranian city of Hamadan. He was the student of Aḥmad al-Ghazālī (d. 520/1126), and is best known as a maverick-like figure who was put to death by the Seljuq government at ...
News story -- "...for many people their religion has a major impact on how they understand the world, permeating their thinking and influencing their understanding of other AOKs [i.e. areas of knowledge] ... for many, religion provides a backdrop to all the other knowledge they have." Theory of Knowledge Guide, International Baccalaureate, 2013 The edifice of effective student learning, which is at ...
Who was the first Aga Khan? Learn about the life of Hasan Ali Shah, the 46th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis and the first Ismaili Imam to bear the title of Aga Khan, from his memoirs Ibrat Afza. The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam offers a new Persian edition and the first English translation of the Ibrat-afza, ...
Lifelong Learning Articles -- This article explores the concepts of love, friendship and refinement of character presented by the Ikhwan in the context of wider discourses of the time. ... Although the Brethren of Purity (the Ikhwan al-Safa) are often studied, much about their teaching on love remains to be investigated.[1] Ricardo-Felipe Reyna concluded that the Ikhwan's approach to love was mainly ...
News story -- Many of us are curious about other cultures with a hunger for experiencing the "out of the ordinary", and we satisfy this desire in different ways. For some this may involve physically travelling to other parts of the world, whilst for others it may involve turning to literature to transport our hearts and minds more figuratively. The annual ZEE ...
Travelling through more than fourteen-hundred years of the history of Islam, from formative era to its place in the modern world, the book explores the many social and cultural landscapes of Arabia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, China, the Americas and Europe where Islam was adopted and took root. Islam: An Illustrated Journey ...
IIS Update -- Find out more about the key initiatives and achievements of IIS in its fortieth anniversary year. Find out more about the key initiatives and achievements of IIS in its fortieth anniversary year. The IIS Update includes information about the Institute's recent and forthcoming projects, as well as news about its publications and staff. ...
This short video introduces one of the oldest manuscripts of the Qur'an, the Sana'a Palimpsest, dating back to the 1st-2nd century AH / 7th century CE. This short video introduces one of the oldest manuscripts of the Qur'an, the Sana'a Palimpsest, dating back to the 1st-2nd century AH / 7th century CE. The manuscript was discovered in Yemen, during the 1972 ...
News story -- Islam an Illustrated Journey is a Diamond Jubilee publication produced by Azimuth Editions in conjunction with The Institute of Ismaili Studies. The book is a timely reminder of Islam's rich legacy and pluralistic heritage and takes readers on a visual journey through Islam's rich 1400 year history. On 3 November 2018, the first book launch was held at Ismaili ...
News story -- IIS held its third Shi'i Studies conference entitled, The Renaissance of Shiʿi Islam in the 15th-17th Centuries: Facets of Thought and Practice, from 3-5 October 2018 at the Aga Khan Centre. The Shi 'i Studies conference investigated and evaluated the intellectual contributions of Shi'i Muslims during this complex period. The 15th century marked a renaissance for the Ismaili and ...
Watch the keynote address on The Confluence of Mysticism and Messianism in Islamic Theosophy (Irfan) in the 15th-17th centuries, delivered by Prof. Gerhard B Gerhard Böwering on 3 October, 2018 at the Aga Khan Centre. ...
Watch the keynote address on The Shi'i Milieu of Post-Mongol Iran delivered by Dr Farhad Daftary on 3 October, 2018 at the Aga Khan Centre. ...
News story -- On 29 October, the Shi'i Studies Unit at The Institute of Ismaili Studies in collaboration with the Law, Authority and Learning in Imami Shi'ite Islam (LAWALISI) Project from the University of Exeter held an interactive workshop at the Aga Khan Centre, entitled, Hadith, Law and Theology in Early Shiʿite Islam. Speaking about this unique collaboration with the LAWALISI Project, ...
News story -- On 15 October, Dr Farhad Daftary and Dr Shainool Jiwa participated in a book launch for The Fatimid Caliphate: Diversity of Traditions at the University of Edinburgh, where Professor Carole Hillenbrand (Professor Emerita at University of Edinburgh and Professor of Islamic History at University of St Andrews) led a conversation with the two editors. Attended by scholars, researchers and ...
The succession of the line of prophecy by that of Imamat ensures the balance between the shariah or the exoteric aspect of the faith, and its esoteric, spiritual essence. Neither the exoteric nor the esoteric obliterates the other. While the Imam is the path to a believer's inward, spiritual elevation, he is also the authority who makes the shariah relevant according to the needs of time and universe. ...
News story -- This publication provides an analysis of Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani's thought and sheds new light on the many layers of allusion which characterise his writings. Through a translation and analytical commentary of the eighth chapter of his Kitab al-Riyad, (The Book of 'Gardens'),Salvation and Destiny in Islam provides an in-depth study of how al-Kirmani harmonised his views with those of ...
News story -- On 6 September 2018, the IIS hosted a celebratory event at the Aga Khan Centre to commemorate the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between SOAS University of London and The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS). The Memorandum of Agreement is a formal arrangement whereby SOAS will award MA degrees for the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities ...
Events -- 3rd October 2018 to 5th October 2018 -- Overview An international conference that examines one of the most intriguing periods in the history of Shi'i Islam and brings together some of the leading scholars in the field. Download Full Programme iis_renaissance_cp.pdf (12.5 MB) Please note that the programme may be subject to change. Introduction The 15th century marked the renaissance ...
Academic Article -- Thsi article explores the place of the... The Fatimid era is ubiquitous today in the discourse of the Nizari Ismaili imamate.[1] Yet this was not always the case. As with other societies and religious communities the world over, the arrangement and presentation of history in the Ismaili tradition has evolved in the course of time, with new historiographical agendas ...
News story -- Understanding Sharia: Islamic Law in a Globalised World, by Raficq Abdulla and Mohamed Keshavjee, is a new publication which describes how sharia developed in the context of Muslim history, with all the vicissitudes that any law is subject to. Consisting of 13 chapters, the book includes a discourse on topical and pertinent issues such as human rights and corporal ...
Academic Article -- Introduction Just over a century after the Fatimids had established their caliphate in North Africa in 297 AH / 909 CE, and four decades after the transfer of their capital to Cairo in 362 AH / 973 CE, the Abbasid caliph al-Qadir bi'llah (r. 381-422 AH / 991-1031 CE) issued what became known in Muslim historiography as the Baghdad ...
News story -- As part of its Diamond Jubilee series of publications, the IIS has released the first English translation and a new Persian edition of the memoirs of Aga Khan I. The Persian text has been edited using the original manuscript and previously published editions in Persian, and translated into English by Dr Daniel Beben and Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor. The ...
In this 21 min. interview, Professor Ali Asani examines the place of the ginans, Ismaili devotional literature of South Asia, within the larger literary and religious traditions of the Subcontinent. In addition, Profesor Asani also examines the Khojki script in which the ginans were transcribed, once they were committed to writing.
News story -- On 26 June, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales inaugurated the Aga Khan Centre in the presence of His Highness the Aga Khan. Among the guests were the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations, Lord Ahmad. To mark this historic occasion, His Highness the Aga Khan was joined ...
News story -- In July 2018, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) will be moving to its new premises, at the Aga Khan Centre. The Centre is located in King's Cross, at the heart of London's Knowledge Quarter. The Aga Khan Centre, designed by Maki and Associates, led by Fumihiko Maki, one of the world's most distinguished contemporary architects, provides a new ...
Events -- 21st May 2018 -- This talk will highlight two key dynamics within Sufism today that emerged in developing an introductory text to Sufism and then a volume on contemporary Sufism. First, we consider the historically unprecedented contestation surrounding Sufism's place within the Islamic tradition, a contestation that has only grown in recent decades and continues to manifest globally in anti-Sufi ...
Events -- 8th May 2018 -- Event date and time: Tuesday 8 May at 4pm (BST) The Kitāb al-Kashfis one of the oldest Ismaili books to have reached us. This collection of six treatises contains several elements showing the proximity of Shi'i ghulāt circles to the early Ismailis, as it appears when comparing it with both ghulāt literature and Nusayrī texts. However, ...
