Epistle of the Eloquent Clarification Concerning the Refutat

Al-Qadi al-Nu[man is the chief jurisprudential figure of the Isma[ili Shi[ah Muslim community, and although he lived over one thousand years ago, as chief jurist and vizier in Fatimid Egypt, it is his Da[a’im al-Islam, or Principles of Islam, that continues to serve as the fiqh mother book of the Tayyibi (Bohra) Isma[ili Shi[ah community. The publication of this treatise which argues for the validity of Isma[ili legal methodology is interesting for a number of reasons. First, little has been available to anyone seeking to understand how the Isma[ilis derived legal rulings, given their rejection of the Sunni (and to some extent Twelver) recourse to tradition, and intellectual derivation of rulings. The Isma[ilis notably believe that there is a present Imam whose words are the sacred law, hence leaving little need for the derivation of rulings from traditions. Second, the work is also intimately theological and credal, so those interested in this aspect of Shi[ah/Sunni exchange will also be delighted to have this volume at hand. Third, the foundational position of al-Nu[man within his tradition means that anyone who wishes to understand Isma[ilism has to refer to al-Nu[man.