Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Introducing Ismaili Apocalypses
- 1 From ẓāhir to bāṭin: An Introduction to Fatimid Hermeneutics
- 2 Oaths, Taxes and Tithes: Organising an Imminent Utopia
- 3 Taʾwīl of an Apocalyptic Transcript I: The Book of Unveiling
- 4 Taʾwīl of an Apocalyptic Transcript II: The Book of Righteousness and True Guidance
- 5 To Temper an Imminent Eschatology: The Contributions of al-Mahdī and Qāḍī l-Nu ʿmān
- 6 A Spiritual Progression to a New Eschatological Centre: The Taʾwīl al-da ʿāʾim on the Hajj
- 7 Actualising the End: The Nizari Declaration of the Resurrection
- 8 From Movement to Text: The Haft-bāb
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Names
- Subject Index
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 September 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Introducing Ismaili Apocalypses
- 1 From ẓāhir to bāṭin: An Introduction to Fatimid Hermeneutics
- 2 Oaths, Taxes and Tithes: Organising an Imminent Utopia
- 3 Taʾwīl of an Apocalyptic Transcript I: The Book of Unveiling
- 4 Taʾwīl of an Apocalyptic Transcript II: The Book of Righteousness and True Guidance
- 5 To Temper an Imminent Eschatology: The Contributions of al-Mahdī and Qāḍī l-Nu ʿmān
- 6 A Spiritual Progression to a New Eschatological Centre: The Taʾwīl al-da ʿāʾim on the Hajj
- 7 Actualising the End: The Nizari Declaration of the Resurrection
- 8 From Movement to Text: The Haft-bāb
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Names
- Subject Index
Summary
In this book I have traced an evolutionary trajectory of various iterations and manifestations of Fatimid apocalyptic myth. It first illustrated how social structures such as oath-taking, tithing, and centres of the daʿwa terrestrially instantiated a vision for the establishment of utopia on earth, a utopia to be inaugurated imminently by the mahdī. To be part of this cause, intiates pledged an oath of allegiance that provided them the keys to understanding some of the mysteries of the universe. Initiation also bestowed upon them an exalted lineage, a lineage shared by prophets and imāms that emplotted all oath takers as the true inheritors of righteousness throughout Quranic history. Textual evidence from the Kitāb al-kashf illustrates in detail how, at the level of taʾwīl, the Quranic text was interpreted to argue for this cause. Specifically, we find that the re-signification of Quranic visions of the end of time as the mahdī reoriented the tenets of salvation around belief and support for his cause, while walāya operated to specify and distinguish those on the right and wrong sides of history. The Kitāb al-rushd picks up these themes too, adding a sense of mahdist anticipation through a numerological hermeneutic.
In both the social structures of the revolutionary Fatimids and the early texts that are analysed here we find the theme of emplotment, the inscription of human actors in a cosmic drama that will unfold according to a scripted plan and result in the complete terrestrial vindication of true believers. The mahdī's arrival and relationship to his believers is, for instance, rehearsed in the Kitāb al-kashf, while portions of both texts also make the organisational structure of the daʿwa integral to the cosmic order. This emplotment is not unusual in the sociology of millenarian movements; in fact, the sociologist Michael Barkun writes that:
… millenarian movements lay claim to a total, all-encompassing truth and make concomitantly broad demands upon their members. Membership is neither nominal nor clearly demarcated from other areas of life and thus differs from traditional conceptions of, say, political party membership or interest-group affiliation. The movement enfolds its members in a belief system that provides meaning and explanation for virtually all problems and in a round of activities that allays feelings of personal insecurity and builds a new and strong sense of identity.
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- An Apocalyptic History of the Early Fatimid Empire , pp. 142 - 149Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2016