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Medieval Islamic philosophers were occupied with questions of cosmology, predestination and salvation and human responsibility for actions. For IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja尪far al-廜〢diq (d. 765), as his successor., the related notions of religious leadership, namely the imamate, and the eschatological role of the prophets and imams were equally central. These were also a matter of doctrinal controversy within the so-called Iranian school of Ismaili philosophical theology. 廎兀m蘋d al-D蘋n al-Kirmn蘋 (d. after 411/1020) was one of the most important theologians in the Fatimid period, who rose to prominence during the reign of the imam-caliph al-廎勾kim bi-Amr Allh (r. 386/996411/1021). He is renowned for blending the Neoplatonic philosophical heritage with Ismaili religious tradition. This book provides an analysis of al-Kirmn蘋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 al-Kirmn蘋s Kitb al-賊勳聆櫻廎 (Book of Meadows), which is devoted to the subject of divine preordination and human redemption, Maria De Cillis shows readers first-hand his theologically distinctive interpretation of 梁硃廎尨Divine decree. In the Qur’an, it does not appear as a noun, but as a verb meaning ‘to decree, determine.’ Together with qadar this concept featured in theological disputes on… and qadarDerived from Q. 33:38, etc and often translated as ‘destiny,’ ‘fate,’ or predestination. See 梁硃廎尨. (divine decree and destiny). Here, al-Kirmn蘋 attempts to harmonise the views of earlier renowned Ismaili missionaries, Ab贖 廎勾tim A廎叮ad b. 廎兀mdn al-Rz蘋 (d. 322/934), Mu廎仟mmad b. A廎叮ad al-Nasaf蘋 (d. 331/942) and Ab贖 Ya尪q贖b Is廎汁q b. A廎叮ad al-Sijistn蘋 (d. c. 361/971). De Cillis skilfully guides the reader through al-Kirmn蘋s metaphysical and esoteric correspondences, offering new insights into Shi尪i/Ismaili philosophical thought which will be of great interest to those in the field of Shi尪i studies and, more broadly, to scholars of medieval philosophy.
List of Abbreviations
List of Tables
Note on the Text
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I: Delineating al-Kirmn蘋s Theoretical System
1. The Plotinian Legacy and al-Sijistn蘋s Influence: A Preliminary Approach to al-Kirmn蘋s Understanding of the Intellect
2. Al-Kirmn蘋s Views on the Agent and the Nature of the Intellect
3. Meritorious Determination: Outlining al-Kirmn蘋s Cosmological Scheme
4. The Human Soul and Providence
5. Human Actions in the Realm of Acquisition
6. The Intellects Knowledge of Particulars
7. Drawing Correspondences between the 尪lam al-wa廎卡a and the 尪lam al-d蘋n
Part II: A Translation with Analytical Commentary of Chapter Eight of al-Kirmn蘋s Kitb al-賊勳聆櫻廎
Overview of the 梁硃廎尨 wal-qadar Debate in the 賊勳聆櫻廎
幛硃廜ρ One
幛硃廜ρ Two
幛硃廜ρ Three
幛硃廜ρ Four
幛硃廜ρ Five
幛硃廜ρ Six
幛硃廜ρ Seven
幛硃廜ρ Eight
幛硃廜ρ Nine
幛硃廜ρ Ten
幛硃廜ρ Eleven
幛硃廜ρ Twelve
幛硃廜ρ Thirteen
幛硃廜ρ Fourteen
幛硃廜ρ Fifteen
幛硃廜ρ Sixteen
幛硃廜ρ Seventeen
幛硃廜ρ Eighteen
幛硃廜ρ Nineteen
幛硃廜ρ Twenty
幛硃廜ρ Twenty-one
幛硃廜ρ Twenty-two
幛硃廜ρ Twenty-three
幛硃廜ρ Twenty-four
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Maria De Cillis is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, where she is also the Managing Editor of the Shi尪i Heritage Series. She has authored Free Will and Predestination in Islamic Thought: Theoretical Compromises in the Works of Avicenna, Ghazl蘋 and Ibn 尪Arab蘋 (2014) and has co-edited Shi尪i Esotericism: Roots and Developments (2016) as well as writing a number of journal articles and encyclopaedia entries. She has taught medieval Islamic philosophy and speculative theology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her research interests include Islamic philosophy, Sufism, Shii esotericism and Ismaili philosophy.