The lecture will take place at 17:0018:30 BST.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies will host a lecture as part of its Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series (IHTLS) examining the textual foundations of Fatimid legal thought through the writings of al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn. The lecture will be delivered in-person by
About the lecture
The Fatimid Caliphate is widely recognised as a formative period in the development of Ismaili intellectual and legal traditions. Central to this process was al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn (d. 974), the foremost Ismaili jurist and founder of Fatimid Ismaili jurisprudence. His extensive writings established the textual and doctrinal foundations of Fatimid law and served as authoritative references for jurists, judges, and administrators across the Fatimid realm.
This lecture examines the textual foundations of Fatimid legal thought through a close analysis of al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mns engagement with earlier Shi尪i materials and traditions. Drawing on Medinese and Kufan sources, many of which are no longer extant, al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn collected, transmitted, and reformulated inherited traditions into a systematic legal framework suited to the institutional and doctrinal requirements of the Fatimid state.
Rather than functioning solely as a compiler of earlier hadith traditions, his works reveal a deliberate process of selection, reinterpretation, and legal systematisation shaped by broader political and intellectual concerns. By situating al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn within wider scholarly networks that included al-Mal贖s蘋, Ibn al-Haytham, and al-Maward蘋, the lecture will explore the movement of knowledge from Medina and Kufa to North Africa through Yemen and Egypt, and the mechanisms through which these traditions were incorporated into Fatimid legal discourse.
The lecture argues that al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mns enduring contribution lies not simply in legal codification, but in the transformation of early Shi尪i textual traditions into a coherent and state-oriented legal system.
Speaker
Dr Kumail Rajani
Senior Lecturer
is Imam Sajjad Chair in Shii Studies and Senior Lecturer at the His primary research focuses on the origins and development of hadith corpora, with broader interests in Quranic exegesis, Islamic law and legal theory, South Asian studies, Ismaili studies, and Shi尪i studies. He has published widely, edited and co-edited scholarly volumes, and is the recipient of several fellowships, including the Zahid Ali Fellowship from 敁珗曄部.
Discussant
Dr Aslisho Qurboniev
Research Associate
Dr Aslisho Qurboniev is a Research Associate in Shi’i Studies unit at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is a historian of the premodern Islamic world, with a focus on scholarly communities, knowledge production and transmission in Arabic and Persian, especially during the Fatimid period (909-1171). He obtained his PhD from the (2015-2019) with a thesis entitled .
