Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood by Sumaiya Hamdani examines the historical and juristic works of al-Qadiinfo-icon al-Nu鈥榤an, an Ismaili Muslim theologian and jurist of the early Fatimid period. It provides insights into al-Nu鈥榤an鈥檚 writing within the context of the transition of the Shi鈥榠 Ismaili movement to a caliphateinfo-icon in the first few decades of the tenth century.
Al-Qadi al-Nu鈥榤an entered the service of the first Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mahdi billah (r. 297-322 AH/ 909-934 CE) in IfriqiyaMediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century. (present-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria). He served the first four Fatimid Caliph-Imams in various capacities for almost fifty years until his death. An addition to being an important exponent of Fatimid jurisprudence, al-Nu鈥榤an produced historical and bibliographical works directed at diverse constituencies that came under the rule of the Fatimid Empire.
Unlike many other studies on al-Nu鈥榤an鈥檚 works, Dr Hamdani鈥檚 book explores the zahiri or exoteric context of Fatimid power in al-Nu鈥榤an鈥檚 writings; few attempts have been made to assess the Fatimid鈥檚 efforts in consolidating religious and political leadership. Dr. Hamdani gives an insight into the transition of the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. from a Shi鈥榠 movement to the rulers of a Muslim Empire.
Dr Hamdani begins with a review of the literature on the FatimidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (973鈥1171) More to date and critically assesses the rise of the Fatimids to power in the 4th/10th century. She then examines the articulations of al-Nu鈥榤an in his zahiri works, and investigates 鈥渢he reworking of certain Ismaili doctrines into an idiom and form accessible to the diverse elements within and beyond the Fatimid empire.鈥 The first chapter reviews the origins and history of the early Ismailis until the establishment of the Fatimid state in North Africa in the 10th century CE. The author presents this as 鈥渢he background necessary to understanding the circumstances that generated the zahiri literature of the North African period.鈥 The second chapter examines the socio-cultural-political context that informed al-Nu鈥榤an writings for the Fatimids. The next three chapters study his doctrinal articulations in three subjects: law, as reflected in works such as Da鈥榓鈥檌m al-Islam (Pillars of Islam) and Kitab Ikhtilaf usul al-madhahib (Differences Among the Schools of Law); history and biography, represented by the Iftitah al-da鈥榳a wa-ibtida鈥 al-dawla (The Beginning of the Mission and Establishment of the State) and the Kitab al-majalis wa鈥檒-musayarat (The Book of Sessions and Excursions); and code of conduct in the Kitab al-himma fi adabA word of many meanings usually connoting courtesy, etiquette, rules and manners, civilisation, culture and literature. atba鈥 al-a鈥檌mma (The Book of Etiquette Necessary for the Followers of the Imams).
This new publication is an important contribution to Fatimid history and a unique addition to Islamic studies and thought. The author argues that the administrative, legal, ceremonial and political demands that came with the establishment of an empire are as deserving of serious attention as the spiritual message that the Fatimids sought to spread amongst the Muslims of that age.