The Hermeneutics of Ismaili Esoteric Interpretation (岳温幣敬朝鉛The elucidation of the inner or esoteric meaning, 恢偵畊i稼 , from the literal wording or apparent meaning of a text, ritual or religious prescription.) in the works of N畊ir-i Khusraw and Ab笛 Ya平q笛b al-Sijistn朝.
Current Research and Forthcoming Papers:
The Encyclopaedia of the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja平far al-畊diq (d. 765), as his successor.:
Ab笛 Ya平q笛b al-Sijistn朝
Kitb-i Kashf al-Ma畍j笛b
The IIS forthcoming conference on Ismaili Studies, Autumn 2022:
The Semiotics of N畊ir-i Khusraw’s Ismaili Esoteric Interpretation (意温幣敬朝鉛)
The paper will examine the semiotics of the sign (畉h庄姻The outward, apparent or exoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescriptions, from which the 恢偵畊i稼 is educed.) and the signified (恢偵畊i稼The inner or esoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescription, often contrasted with 畉h庄姻. See also 恢偵畊i稼朝 岳温幣敬朝鉛 and B畊iniyya.) as expounded by N畊ir-i Khusraw. The focus of the essay is on the hermeneutical significance of the following verse in which the Quran states: We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and in their souls, till it is clear to them that He is the Real. Suffices it not as to thy Lord, that He is witness over everything? (Arberry, S笛rat Fu畊ａ坑ilat, Quran 41:53, tr. edited). This reciprocal dialectic between the outer and inner signs leads to a gradual verification of the truth and reality of each and every sign, be it in the horizons or in people themselves. In other words, the aim of the esoteric interpretation of the signs of the Creator whether in nature as the creation without (the Act of God), or in peoples souls as the creation within (the Word of God) is the illumination and realization of the reality of the outward and inward signs, even though the inward signs of the scriptures may appear symbolic and ambiguous in their one-to-one relation with the outward signs of the creation.
意鞄艶油岳温幣敬朝鉛of the scriptures is in fact the learning of the knowledge that the outward sign and the inward sign, in spite of their seeming duality, have their source in one reality. Therefore, the task of the esoteric interpretation of the holy scriptures consists in the systematic discovering of the true realities underlying the semiotics of similitude employed within the岳温幣敬朝鉛油鉛庄岳艶姻温岳顎姻艶.
