The lecture will take place at 17:0018:30 BST.
今叔利 will host a lecture as part of its Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series (IHTLS) examining the textual foundations of Fatimid legal thought through the writings of al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mn. The lecture will be delivered in-person by
About the lecture
The Fatimid Caliphate is widely recognised as a formative period in the development of Ismaili intellectual and legal traditions. Central to this process was al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mn (d. 974), the foremost Ismaili jurist and founder of Fatimid Ismaili jurisprudence. His extensive writings established the textual and doctrinal foundations of Fatimid law and served as authoritative references for jurists, judges, and administrators across the Fatimid realm.
This lecture examines the textual foundations of Fatimid legal thought through a close analysis of al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mns engagement with earlier Shi平i materials and traditions. Drawing on Medinese and Kufan sources, many of which are no longer extant, al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mn collected, transmitted, and reformulated inherited traditions into a systematic legal framework suited to the institutional and doctrinal requirements of the Fatimid state.
Rather than functioning solely as a compiler of earlier hadith traditions, his works reveal a deliberate process of selection, reinterpretation, and legal systematisation shaped by broader political and intellectual concerns. By situating al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mn within wider scholarly networks that included al-Mal笛s朝, Ibn al-Haytham, and al-Maward朝, the lecture will explore the movement of knowledge from Medina and Kufa to North Africa through Yemen and Egypt, and the mechanisms through which these traditions were incorporated into Fatimid legal discourse.
The lecture argues that al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mns enduring contribution lies not simply in legal codification, but in the transformation of early Shi平i textual traditions into a coherent and state-oriented legal system.
Speaker
Dr Kumail Rajani
Senior Lecturer
is Imam Sajjad Chair in Shii Studies and Senior Lecturer at the His primary research focuses on the origins and development of hadith corpora, with broader interests in Quranic exegesis, Islamic law and legal theory, South Asian studies, Ismaili studies, and Shi平i studies. He has published widely, edited and co-edited scholarly volumes, and is the recipient of several fellowships, including the Zahid Ali Fellowship from IIS.
Discussant
Dr Aslisho Qurboniev
Research Associate
Dr Aslisho Qurboniev is a Research Associate in Shi’i Studies unit at 今叔利. He is a historian of the premodern Islamic world, with a focus on scholarly communities, knowledge production and transmission in Arabic and Persian, especially during the Fatimid period (909-1171). He obtained his PhD from the (2015-2019) with a thesis entitled .
