The United Nations informs us that “population ageing is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century.” Virtually every country in the world is experiencing this phenomenon. “Coming of Age…Again” is an anthology of short stories, poetry and other literature translated from Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Persian that shares reflections on ageing with an English-speaking audience. One item from the collection the piece “Maaji” by Qudratullah Shahab has already been published and is available here.

The Guidance for Seekers (Irshad al-talibin) is one of the earliest Ismaili works that provides insights into the history of the Ismaili Imams of Alamut, and of the Imams who succeeded them in the immediate aftermath of the Mongol invasions. It also contributes to our understanding of the possibility of a split in the community at this time. This will be the first critical Persian edition of the text, accompanied by an English translation. Earlier research on this subject is available in The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation.

In The Beginning and The End, Nasir al-Din Tusi writes, “Unsullied by imperfection, the Hereafter is beyond time and place. However, for those bound by time and place, it is sometimes alluded to in terms of time, sometimes in terms of place, that such folk may grasp it in their language.” This study of the symbolic interpretation, or ta’wil, of the sacred history of the prophets, focusses on The Foundation of Symbolic Interpretation (Asas al-ta’wil) by the Fatimid jurist al-Qadi al-Nu’man and its Persian translation by al-Muʾayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi. Earlier research on this subject is available in Studies in Islamic Historiography and in An Anthology of Ismaili Literature.

True Dawn (Subh-i sadiq) is perhaps one of the most important Persian Ismaili texts of the post-Alamut period. Written by Qasim Khurasani during the time of Imam Dhu’l-Faqar ‘Ali (d. 1043/1634), it is a summa of Ismaili esoteric thought of the period. This study includes an edition and English translation of the work from what is believed to be the sole surviving manuscript.

Nasir al-Din Tusi is likely the most famous ethicist in Islamic history. While his Nasirean Ethics have been studied in depth, the book of profound and pithy maxims that he wrote in collaboration with Nasir al-Din Muhtasham, the Akhlaq-i Muhtashami, is little known. This study will provide an English translation of the text.