2021/08/12 by Khalil Andani · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Islamic Studies and History #Education and Islamic Studies #Archaeology and Historical Studies #History
paper · doi:10.4324/9781315885360-31
openalex publication_date 2021/08/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This chapter is an introductory account of Shi&s; Ismaili Muslim engagements with the Qur’an during the fourth/tenth and fifth/eleventh centuries. It surveys Ismaili views of Qur’anic revelation, exoteric Qur’anic hermeneutics employed by Ismaili jurists, and esoteric Qur’anic hermeneutics or ta&s;wil from several Ismaili scholars. Ismaili engagements with the Qur’an over the centuries comprise a diversity of interpretations and expressions. Ismaili thinkers formulated distinct theories of Qur’anic revelation in comparison to the theologians and exegetes operating within the Sunni and Twelver Shi&s; traditions of Islamic thought. When taking Ismaili intellectual history into account, the Ismailis generally engaged in two types of Qur’anic exegesis: exoteric exegesis and esoteric exegesis. Within the contemporary Bohra and Nizari Ismaili communities, the believer’s engagement with Ismaili ta&s;wil in its varied expressions plays a major role in Ismaili religious life.