Islamic Traditions in Greater Khurasan
Ismailis and Sufis
- Open Access
Islamic Traditions in Greater Khurasan
Ismailis and Sufis
- Open Access
Buying pre-order items
Ebooks and Audiobook
You will receive an email with a download link for the ebook or audiobook on the publication date.
Payment
You will not be charged for pre-ordered books until they are available to be shipped. Pre-ordered ebooks will not be charged for until they are available for download.
Amending or cancelling your order
For orders that have not been shipped you can usually make changes to pre-orders up to 72 hours before the publishing date.
Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available
- Delivery and returns info
-
Free UK delivery on orders £30 or over
Description
'Greater Khurasan' was a medieval geographic term that referred to the vast geographical area situated in the easternmost part of the Islamic world. This open access book offers a focused exploration of the cultural and intellectual expressions of Islam in this region. In particular, it pays attention to the historical, intellectual and cultural intersections between Sufism and Ismailism, highlighting the intertwined development of these traditions.
The book is divided into five parts: part one situates major Sufi figures and orders within their regional contexts, introducing newly discovered sources and re-examining the legacies of thinkers such as Ibrahim Qavghani and Najm al-Din Kubra, alongside contemporary Sufi revivals. Part two investigates Sufi–Ismaili cultural interactions, from devotional dance and music to the shifting meanings of shrines in modern Tajikistan. Part three reassesses key Ismaili narratives, offering new perspectives on the Nizari da'wa, its diverse regional expressions, and the effects of communal schisms. Part four turns to philosophical and theological debates, reconsidering influential authors of the 10th–13th centuries and probing the reception and reframing of Avicennism within Nizari thought. Part five highlights Persian and Sufi terminology as cultural vehicles, examining their cognitive, lexical, and scholarly significance.
Bringing together specialists in Sufi studies, Islamic philosophy and Ismaili history, this comprehensive study illuminates the shared spaces, networks and discourses through which these traditions have evolved from the medieval period to the present day.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
Table of Contents
List of Contributors
Abbreviations
Notes on Transliteration
Introduction – Dagikhudo Dagiev
PART ONE: SUFISM IN HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS
1. The Treatise of Ibrahim Qavghani: A Newly Found Source on the Yasawi Sufi Tradition in Central Asia from the 16th or Early 17th Century – Devin DeWeese
2. The Mystic as Theurgist? A Theme in the Sufism of Najm al-Din Kubra – Toby Mayer
3. A Sufi Revival in Contemporary Khurasan-i Ra?avi: The Transregional Networks of the Naqshbandiyya, the Qadiriyya, and the Chishtiyya – Alexandre Papas
PART TWO: SUFI–ISMAILI CULTURAL INTERACTIONS
4. Spiritual Dance of the Badakhshani Ismailis through the Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi – Otambek Mastibekov
5. Mubarak-i Wakhani: A Sufi–Ismaili Musician from Badakhshan – Chorshanbe Goibnazarov
6. 'Sacred Spaces' Turned into Museums: Transformation of Shrine Culture in Tajikistan – Abdulmamad Iloliev
PART THREE: STUDYING ISMAILI SOURCES AND RE-INTERPRETING THE DA?WA NARRATIVES
7. Na?ir-i Khusraw and ?asan-i ?abba?: Their Relationship and the Varieties of the Nizari Da?wa in Badakhshan – Daniel Beben
8. Aspects of the Life and Literature of The Ismaili Da?wa in Khurasan during the Anjudan Revival – Karim Javan
9. Schisms and their Effect on the Ismaili Communities of Badakhshan – Nourmamadcho Nourmamadchoev
PART FOUR: PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL DEBATES RELATED TO ISMAILI DOCTRINES
10. Some Notes on Major 10th-Century Ismaili Authors from Khurasan and the East: al-Nasafi, al-Sijistani, and Abu Tammam – Paul Walker
11. The Nizari Reception of Avicennism: Na?ir al-Din al-?usi between Avicennism and Ismailism – Maxime Delpierre
12. Misrepresentations of Nizari Ismaili Doctrines in Qajar Literature – Daryoush Mohammad Poor
PART FIVE: PERSIAN AND SUFI TERMINOLOGY AS CULTURAL VEHICLES IN GREATER KHURASAN
13. The Persian Discourse of Na?ir-i Khusraw as a Cultural Code for Badakhshan: Cognitive and Lexical Perspectives – Leyli R. Dodykhudoeva
14. The Study of Sufism and Sufi Literature in the Work of Evgenii Eduardovich Bertel's – Dagikhudo Dagiev
Product details
| Published | 26 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 9781350635425 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 24 b&w images |
| Dimensions | 234 x 156 mm |
| Series | Shi'i Heritage Series |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Related Titles
