The Institute of Ismaili Studies (敁珗曄部) hosted this lecture on Wednesday 10 June 2026 at the Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. Centre and online, as part of the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series (IHTLS)., Imam Sajjad Chair in Shi’i Studies at the , delivered the lecture. Dr Aslisho Qurboniev, Research Associate in Shi’i Studies at 敁珗曄部, served as discussant. Dr Orkhan Mir-Kasimov, convenor of the series, chaired the session.
Dr Kumail Rajani, Imam Sajjad Chair in Shi'i Studies at the University of Exeter
Dr Rajani traces the sources behind al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn’s legal writings, from his early work Kitab al-Idah through to the 嗨硃尪硃尨勳鳥 al-Islam. He argues that the 嗨硃尪硃尨勳鳥 drew on material already recorded in earlier texts. To test this, he proposes cross-regional textual analysis, comparing hadith cited independently by scholars from different regions and traditions. He gives al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn and al-Kulayn蘋 as an example: matching material points to one shared, earlier source.
Key themes
- The textual line from Kitab al-Idah to the 嗨硃尪硃尨勳鳥 al-Islam
- Cross-regional textual analysis as a method for tracing early Shi’i hadith
- The movement of source material from Medina and Kufa to IfriqiyaMediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century., via Yemen and Egypt
- Scholarly networks around al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪mn, including al-Mal贖s蘋 and Ibn al-Haytham
- Long-standing claims about Ismaili hadith and why Dr Rajani contests them
