437 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXV N° 3-4, Mei-Augustus 2018 438 DAFTARY, F. — a History of Shi῾I Islam. (The Institute Of

437 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXV N° 3-4, mei-augustus 2018 438

IRANICA DAFTARY, F. — A History of Shi῾i Islam. (The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Shi῾i Heritage Series, 1). I.B. Tauris, London & New York, 2013. (24 cm, XIX, 315). ISBN 978-1-78076-841-0). £ 29.50. An increasing number of books have been published on Shiism in the last few decades, especially after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. A doyen of Shia Studies in the broadest sense, Dr Farhad Daftary’s publications have cer- tainly enriched and broadened our knowledge of this field. The book under review, consisting of six chapters, is another of his many outstanding publications on Shiism. Chapter One (Introduction: Progress in the Study of Shi῾i Islam, pp. 1-24) is an essential and enlightening survey of Shia studies. There are 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, of whom some 200 million, or 15%, are Shiites. Their con- tribution to the intellectual, artistic and cultural achievements of Islamic civilizations has been greater than that figure would suggest. Shia dynasties such as the Buyids, Fatimids, Hamdanids, Safawids and other smaller dynasties have played a cardinal role in creating the diversity of religiosity in the world of Islam. The author gives a concise overview of European perceptions and appreciation of Shiism in medi- eval times, such as fascination with the “Old Man of the Mountain,” Hasan-i Sabbah (d. 1124). The scientific assess- ment of Shiism in Europe starts with orientalists such as Baron A.I. Silvestre de Sacy (1758-1838), a Professor of Arabic who became the chair of Persian Studies in Collège de France in 1806. Daftary points out that the first studies of Shiism were based mainly on Arabic texts written by Sunni authors, which were interpreted within Christian parameters, with the effect that Sunnism was seen as ‘orthodoxy’ while Shiism was perceived as heterodoxy or heresy. Daftary con- vincingly shows that this Sunni-centered study of Islam was prominent until the late twentieth century, giving a one- dimensional view of Islam in the West. Daftary refers to 439 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — IRANICA 440 prestigious projects such as the Encyclopaedia of Islam, ghulat, the ‘exaggerators,’ who also fought for the Shia which has been a standard work on Islam. The first edition cause. In the last part of this chapter, Daftary devotes his was published in English, French and German during 1913- attention to the central doctrine of the imamate, involving 1938, and the second edition appeared between 1954 and principles such as divine appointment, infallibility, and the 2004. Daftary rightly says that the attention given to the Shi- unique possession of special religious knowledge, which is ites and their world views in the second edition “did not fare divinely inspired and transmitted by the preceding Imam. much better even though numerous Shi῾i texts had become Chapter Three, “The Ithna῾asharis or Twelvers” (pp. 57-­ available in the interim period” (p. 17). The Encyclopaedia 104), focuses on the doctrines, beliefs and rituals of this Iranica and the Encyclopaedia Islamica have brought more major stream of Shiism. An essential doctrine of the Twelvers balance in this scholarship. Despite this criticism, the is the necessity of the earthly presence of an Imam at all author emphasizes the invaluable contributions of scholars times. This requires asserting the existence of a twelfth such as Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918), Ignaz Goldziher Imam, who vanished but did not die, who is now invisibly (1850-1921), Rudolf Strothmann (1877-1960), and Dwight present and will return (raj῾a) visibly as the Mahdi. The M. ­Donaldson (1884-1976). Shiism was also studied with world could never remain without an imam. After the death reference to its spiritual elements, side-by-side with Sufism, of each imam, his followers are subdivided into a dozen by scholars such as Louis Massignon (1883-1962), Paul groups. Daftary’s description of the early formative period is Kraus (1904-1944) and Henry Corbin (1903-1978). The articulate, extremely precise, and a pleasure to read. He increase in studies on Shiism outside Iran starts with the explains how the death of the eleventh imam initiated a 1979 Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khumayni (1902- period of confusion (hayra) that lasted for several decades. 1989). New generations of Iranian and Western scholars, A group of Shiites claimed that five years before the death notably Etan Kohlberg, H. Algar, A. Newman, R. Cleave, of the eleventh Imam, a son named Muhammad was born to M. Momen, Said Amir Arjomand, J. van Ess, W. Madelung, him, and that the child, who had his father’s designation as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and M.A. Amir-Moezzi have contrib- his successor, was kept hidden for fear of Abbasid persecu- uted pioneering works on various aspects of Shiism. tion. Thus Imam Muhammad succeeded his father in 874 Chapter Two “The Origins and Early History of Shi῾i while remaining in occultation. Soon the Shia faithful began Islam” (pp. 25-56), examines various theories of the convo- to identify this imam as the Mahdi, which implied that he luted origins of Shiism. Referring to the crisis of succession would not be succeeded by any other Imam and that this was to the Prophet Mohammad, Daftary describes how Abu Bakr the end of the Twelver line of Imams. This period is one of (r. 632-634) was chosen as the leader of the Islamic com- the most confusing parts of Shia history. To fill the leader- munity. After him, ῾Umar (r. 634-644) and then ῾Uthman ship gap, several influential leaders took charge of the affairs (r. 644-656) became caliphs. All of them belonged to the of the community. These agents, known variously as “emis- influential Meccan tribe of Quraysh. ῾Ali ibn Abi Talib sary (safir), deputy (na᾿ib), agent (wakil) or gate (bab)” were (r. 656-661), belonging to the prophet’s own clan of Banu believed to be “intermediaries between the hidden imam and Hashim within the Quraysh, was the Prophet’s son-in-law his community” (p. 64). From the tenth century onwards, the and cousin. A group of ῾Ali’s friends and supporters believed amount of four such intermediaries was recognized, each that ῾Ali was more qualified to lead the Islamic community designating his own successor on the instruction of the Hid- than the other three caliphs. These supporters were called den Imam. The period between the death of Imam al-῾Askari Shi῾at ῾Ali (the ‘Party of ῾Ali’). ῾Ali himself was also con- (d. 874) and the death of the fourth emissary in 941 is called vinced of his legitimate claim to lead the community, based the ‘lesser occultation’ (al-ghayba al-sughra) in contrast to on his kinship, his knowledge of Islam and his merits in the the ‘greater occultation’ (al-ghayba al-kubra), from 941 till cause of Islam. The supporters of ῾Ali also referred to several the present. This is the period in which the Mahdi has chosen reports that Muhammad had appointed ῾Ali as his successor. not to have a representative. The Mahdi lives a prolonged life At Ghadir Khumm on 16 March 632, the Prophet returning and the Shiites await his return. His titles include the ‘lord from his journey from Mecca stopped the caravan, took of the age’ (sahib al-zaman), the ‘expected imam’ (al-imam ῾Ali’s hand and said: ‘He of whom I am the patron, ῾Ali is al-muntazar) or the ‘remnant of God’ (baqiyyat Allah) also his patron.’ Moreover, the Shiites believed that Islam (p. 67). has an inner truth that cannot be understood by human rea- Daftary continues his lucid description of Shia history son. Therefore a religious guide is needed to succeed the from the tenth century to the invasion of the Mongols in the Prophet, who can interpret this inner side and give a full thirteenth century in a separate section. During this period, understanding of Islam. Soon ῾Ali’s opponents started to Shia learning was consolidated in various chief centers such speak of din ῾Ali or ῾Ali’s religion, to which ῾Ali protested as the city of Qumm (Qom). It was here that the earliest that he represented the religion of Muhammad. While ῾Ali comprehensive collections of the sayings and teachings of recognized the leadership of Abu Bakr, his wife Fatima was the Twelver Imams were systematically compiled, based on involved in an inheritance dispute with Abu Bakr over an subject matter. The al-Kafi fi ῾ilm al-din (‘The One who is estate owned by the Prophet. Daftary also refers to the exclu- Competent in Religious Science’) is one of the earliest com- sion of ῾Ali from important positions during the reign of the pendia still in use. It was written by Muhammad b. Ya῾qub first two Caliphs. While ῾Ali played a prominent part in al-Kulayni (d. 940). This eight-volume book is one of the many battles during the time of the Prophet, he did not par- four canonical collections of Traditions (hadith), known as ticipate in the later battles of conquest. Daftary describes al-kutub al-arba῾a, dealing with Imami theology and juris- how Shiites survived after ῾Ali’s murder and how his sons prudence. Qumm was also the birth town of Ibn Babawayh Hasan and Husayn fought against the Umayyads. The author (known as al-Shaykh al-Saduq, d. 991) who wrote the second gives ample attention to the doctrines and ideologies of sev- major compilation of Imami hadith, Man la yahduruhu eral early Shia movements such as the Kaysaniyya and the ’l-faqih (‘He Who Has No Jurist in his Proximity’). Daftary 441 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXV N° 3-4, mei-augustus 2018 442 demonstrates how these works relied heavily on the Tradi- synthesis Jami῾ al-asrar, emphasizing the common grounds tions of the Prophet and the Imams, rejecting kalam theol- of Sufism and Shiism. Daftary summarizes Amuli’s views as ogy, which was mainly based on the use of reason (῾aql). The follows, “a Muslim who combines shari῾a with haqiqa and situation changes when the Baghdad school of Imami theol- tariqa, the spiritual path followed by the Sufis, is not merely ogy emerges in the tenth century, adhering to the rationalist a believer but a believer put to the test (al-mu᾿min al-mum- theology of the Mu῾tazila and the fundamental role of reason. tahan). Such a Muslim, at once a Sufi and a true Shi῾i, would It was here that the principles of Imami jurisprudence (usul preserve the balance between the zahir and the batin [exo- al-fiqh) appeared. From this time, we see towering figures of teric and esoteric], equally avoiding the literalist interpreta- Shia rationalist theology such as Muhammad b. Muhammad tions of Islam undertaken by jurists (fuqaha᾿) as well as the al-Harithi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 1022), a student antinomian tendencies of the radical groups such as the Shi῾i of Ibn Babawayh who criticized his own teacher. While al- ghulat” (p. 80). This synthesis of Sufism and Shiism was Mufid adopted several Mu῾tazilite doctrines, such as the further developed by several other figures in the subsequent acceptance of free will, denial of predestination and anthro- centuries, especially after the advent of the Safawid dynasty pomorphism (tashbih), any doctrines in conflict with princi- in 1501. ples taught by the Imams were refuted. These included the A fourth phase in the history of Twelver Shiism is her- unconditional punishment of the Muslim sinner: in the Shia alded with the advent of the Safawids in the sixteenth cen- view, the Imams could intercede (p. 70). tury. Many Sunni Sufi orders flourished in much of Persia Al-Mufid was succeeded by Sharif al-Murtada ῾Alam al- around the same period. Several of these orders played a role Huda (d. 1044), whose younger brother, Sharif al-Radi in spreading Shiism. Daftary refers to the Safawiyya Sufi (d. 1015) compiled the Nahj al-balagha (‘The Way of Elo- order, founded by Shaykh Safi al-Din (d. 1334), a Sunni of quence’), an influential compilation of letters and sermons the Shafi’i madhhab. After its establishment, the Safawid attributed to the first Shia Imam, ῾Ali. For the Shiites, this is state claimed an ῾Alid genealogy, “tracing Shaykh Safi’s the most important book after the Koran and the Prophetic ancestry to the seventh Twelver imam.” The Safawids Traditions. Under al-Huda, the role of reason become more adhered initially to radical Shiism, but this was later aligned pervasive as he wanted to subject the transmitted Traditions with Twelver Shiism. To legitimize their rule, Shah Isma῾il to the “test of reason rather than being accepted uncritically” and his successors claimed to represent the hidden Mahdi. (p. 71). Daftary continues to lucidly describe the formation They imposed Shiism on Persia and eliminated all millenar- of canonical works in this period. Another influential figure ian movements, which had become quite a vogue in the he introduces is Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Tusi known as period, persecuting Sufi orders and the Sunni factions in Shaykh al-Ta᾿ifa (d. 1067), who wrote al-Istibsar and Tah- society. In this conversion process, Twelver religious schol- dhib al-ahkam, two of the four books of the Twelvers’ hadith ars were invited from Arab countries to instruct Persians. collections, in which the author separates reliable traditions They included Shaykh ῾Ali al-Karaki al-῾Amili (d. 1534), from false ones. Daftary shows how the school of Qumm who was characterized by Shah Tahmasp “as the ‘seal of the disintegrated in the eleventh century, until it was restated in mujtahids’ (khatam al-mujtahidin) and even as the ‘deputy the 17th century by Muhammad Amin b. Muhammad al- of the imam’ (na᾿ib al-imam) …” (p. 83). Daftary shows Astarabadi (d. 1624), the founder of the Akhbari school. how essential the Shah’s trust in al-Karaki was for the devel- Another informative section of chapter three discusses opment of Shiism. Al-Karaki elaborated the notion of the various aspects of the eminent scholar Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ‘general deputyship’ of the imam during his occultation. Not (d. 1274), his relationship with the Nizaris in the famous only he did feel empowered by the hidden imam, assuming inaccessible fortress of Alamut, how he became a trusted functions of the imam such as leading the Friday congrega- adviser of Hülegü, accompanying him to Baghdad and wit- tional prayer, he was also emphatically against “the permis- nessing the fall of the Caliphate. The relationship between sibility of following a dead mujtahid, as practiced in Sunni Tusi and the Mongol emperor was so close that the emperor Islam” (p. 83). Al-Karaki also defended the practice of curs- built the famous observatory at Maragha for him and he ing the early caliphs. became responsible for the management of religious endow- Another aspect of the fourth phase of Shiism that Daftary ments. Al-Tusi was a philosopher, scientist and theologian at cogently examines is a renaissance of Islamic sciences and the same time, while being deeply engaged in politics. He Shii scholarship. The ‘school of Isfahan’ is perhaps the most defended Ibn Sina’s philosophy, integrating philosophical eminent element of this renaissance. Shia scholars of this theological concepts into Shiism, which later flourished in school integrated philosophical, theological and gnostic tra- Persia in Safawid times. Al-Tusi’s student Ibn al-Mutahhar ditions in an original fashion to create a metaphysical syn- al-Hilli (d. 1325) is believed to be responsible for the conver- thesis called al-hikma al-ilahiyya or divine wisdom or the- sion of the ruler Ӧljeitü, better known in Persian sources as osophy. The founder of this school is Sayyid Mir Muhammad Muhammad Khudabanda, to Twelver Shiism in 1310. He Baqir Astarabadi, known as Mir Damad (d. 1630). The most minted coins with the name of the twelve imams. Daftary important representative of this school was certainly Mir discusses al-Hilli’s enormous impact on the Imami school of Damad’s student Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi (d. 1640), law. For instance, al-Hilli “provided a theoretical foundation who combined kalam theology, peripatetic philosophy, the for ijtihad, the principle of legal ruling by the jurist through illuminationist philosophy of al-Suhrawardi and Ibn reasoning (῾aql). He held that the jurist could arrive at valid al-῾Arabi’s convoluted mystic system, calling his synthesis judgements in religious law using reason and the principles al-hikma al-muta῾aliya (‘Transcendent Wisdom’ or ‘Theoso- if jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh)” (p. 77). phy’). In this synthesis, which he also called al-asfar al- Sayyid Haydar Amuli was a theologian, theosopher and arba‘a (‘the Four Journeys’), he harmonizes three paths: gnostic from Amul in the Caspian region. He combined Ibn divine revelation (wahy), rational demonstration (῾aql), and al-Arabi’s mystical ideas with his own Shia philosophy in his mystical unveiling (kashf). Although the school of Isfahan 443 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — IRANICA 444 continued to exert intellectual influence on students of Mulla in Persian history when European political ideologies and Sadra such as ῾Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji (d. 1661) and Mulla new religious movements such as Babism were emerging. Muhsin Fayd Kashani (d. 1680), during the end of the sev- In the face of the Constitutional Revolution (1905-11), the enteenth century its adherents were persecuted at the instiga- ῾ulama᾿ were divided, some supporting this new political sys- tion of the Twelver jurists (fuqaha᾿), whose religio-political tem while others opposed it. The aftermath of the Constitu- power was increasing while the authority of the later Safawid tional Revolution (1905-1911) and the emergence of the kings dwindled. Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (d. 1699), the secular Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979) changed the role of the Shaykh al-Islam of Isfahan, who held the highest clerical ῾ulama᾿ in society. Through a series of far-reaching reforms, position, initiated the persecution of Sufis and philosophers. Rida Shah excluded them from the judiciary and the educa- The Shii ῾ulama᾿ (scholars in Islamic religious sciences) tional system. The shari῾a courts were replaced by secular themselves were divided into two opposing camps, the Akh- courts supervised by the Ministry of Justice, which was cre- bari and Usuli schools. While the Akhbaris relied entirely on ated in 1927. In the same vein, many traditional religious traditions of the imams and the Prophet in religious matters, schools were replaced by secular education. In addition to the Usulis relied also on speculative reasoning. The cham- these reforms, which hit the ῾ulama᾿, Rida Shah’s moderniza- pion of the Akhbari school was Mulla Muhammad Amin tion program such as banning the traditional Persian veil in al-Astarabadi (d. 1624), who in his Fawa᾿id al-madaniyya 1936 and taking over the administration of several religious re-established Shia jurisprudence based on traditions rather endowments further reduced the ῾ulama᾿’s power. Leading than reason. He attacked previous scholars who had built ῾ulama᾿ assumed a quiescent attitude. Several of the supreme jurisprudence on the basis of reason and even characterized marja῾-i taqlids such as Shaykh ῾Abd al-Karim Ha᾿iri Yazdi, the Usuli mujtahids as enemies of Islam. Daftary observes, teacher of Ayatollah Khumayni (1902-1989), and Ayatollah “His basic argument against the Usulis was that the akhbar Burujirdi (1875-1961) were not involved in politics. Daftary of the imams take precedence over the apparent, literal mean- describes Khumayni as an admirable strategist who excelled ing of the Qur᾿an, the Prophetic traditions and reason, in Shia gnosis, philosophy and jurisprudence, who showed because the imams are the divinely appointed interpreters of interest in politics from an early age. Daftary succinctly these sources” (p. 87). The Akhbari school remained main- treats Khumayni’s campaign against the Pahlavi dynasty stream until the second half of the eighteenth century when from 1963 and how he was arrested in 1964 and exiled to Muhammad Baqir al-Bihbahani (d. 1793) revived Usuli doc- Turkey and later to Iraq. As early as 1944, in his Kashf al- trines, even denouncing the Akhbaris as infidels. He re- asrar (‘Revelation of Secrets’), Khumayni developed a polit- established ijtihad and taqlid at the centre of Shia jurispru- ical philosophy in which he reserved legitimate political dence. Today, the Akhbaris are present in Bahrain, and in the power to a Shia jurist. He developed his ideas in his Huku- Iranian province of Khuzistan. mat-i Islami (‘Islamic Government’). His doctrine of vilayat- The last section of this very informative chapter deals with e faqih (’the guardianship of the jurist’) is still at the very Shiism from 1800 to the present. Here Daftary discusses how centre of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. the triumph of the Usuli school led to the hierarchical clerical Khumayni argued that “the right to rule devolves from the classes of the Qajar period (1796-1925). The qualified schol- imams to the jurists, during the occultation (ghayba) of ars were permitted to practice ijtihad, reaching binding deci- the twelfth imam, because they are best qualified to know the sions. Ordinary people had to emulate a mujtahid who was divine revelation and the shari῾a; and this right would then called their marja῾-i taqlid (‘Source of Emulation’). As devolve to a single jurist (faqih) if he succeeds in establish- Daftary says, one result of the Usuli school was the division ing a government” (p. 97). This implied the illegitimacy of of Twelver Shiites into two groups: those who were mujta- the secular Pahlavi regime. The rest of Daftary’s chapter is hids and those who had to emulate a mujtahid in all worldly devoted to a brief treatment of Twelver communities in affairs. Daftary devotes his attention to the institution of this countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, source of emulation, which required a superior degree of India, and Africa as a continent. knowledge and piety. On the death of a source of emulation, In Chapter Four, “The Ismailis” (pp. 105-144), Daftary each of his emulators had to choose a new one. While every gives attention to the second largest Shia community. The mujtahid can be a source of emulation, in practice, there are origin of the Ismailis goes back to a dispute about the suc- only a few mujtahids with a large number of emulators in cession to the sixth imam, Ja῾far al-Sadiq (d. 765), who had each period. Shaykh Murtada Ansari (d. 1864) was one such appointed his second son Isma῾il as his successor, but Isma῾il supreme mujtahid. After his death, Mirza Hasan Shirazi died before his father, creating confusion among the follow- (d. 1895) attained this position. These mujtahids also had ers. After al-Sadiq’s death, his three sons each claimed the enormous political and economic power. For instance, Shi- succession. One group believed that Isma῾il had not died and razi issued a fatwa forbidding the use of tobacco in 1891 would return as the Mahdi. They conjectured that his appar- after the establishment of a British tobacco monopoly. More- ent death was a strategy to protect him from the Abbasids over, the mujtahids appropriated to themselves several privi- who were persecuting Shiites. As in the case of the Twelver leges of the Hidden Imam, such as collecting a religious tax, Shiites, the Ismailis played an important role in Islamic his- the khums or ‘one fifth’ of an individual’s income. The muj- tory, rising to political power. The golden age of Ismaili Shi- tahids controlled religious endowments, which gave them ism is the Fatimid period when Ismaili scholarship, art and financial independence. Leading the Friday prayer and literature reached their zenith. declaring holy war (jihad) were other prerogatives of the Chapter Five is an intriguing study of “The Zaydis” Hidden Imam that they exercised. Daftary ably demonstrates (pp. 145-174), another major Shia community, who derive how this appropriation of worldly power enabled mujtahids their name from the fourth imam, Zayd b. ῾Ali Zayn to excommunicate people by issuing a declaration of unbelief al-῾Abidin (d. 740). This is a welcoming chapter in this intro- (a takfir): a powerful tool, especially in a tumultuous period duction as limited research has been done on this Shia com- 445 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXV N° 3-4, mei-augustus 2018 446 munity. Here I would like to refer to Sabine Schmidtke’s and Daftary indicates, such Persian ideas were possibly intro- her team’s ceaseless efforts to collect and study the Zaydi duced by ῾Abd Allah al-Jannan al-Junbulani (d. 900). Another Manuscript Tradition, which is broadening our knowledge person possibly responsible for the inclusion of Persian and about the artistic and theological output of the Zaydi com- Christian elements through his numerous writings is May- munity. Although they are relatively widely spread, the main mun ibn Qasim al-Tabarani, nicknamed Surur, who was ver- concentration of this community is in the Caspian Sea region satile in “Shi῾i doctrines, Christianity, Greek philosophy and and in Yemen. The majority of these Zaydis live in northern Iranian religions” (p. 182). After a detailed historical over- Yemen, where they number between 5 and 10 million. As view of the Nusayri chronology and doctrines, Daftary Daftary observes, learning and education are main features explains that the Nusayris changed their name to ῾Alawis in of the Zaydis and therefore we have an impressive body of the 1920s to emphasize their Shia roots. The Nusayris have Zaydi religious literature (some 100.000 volumes), most remained a secretive community whose teachings are avail- of which is still unpublished. Daftary also refers to the able only to select initiated members. Initiation is open to destruction of this precious heritage by Salafi campaigns eighteen-year-old males. The initiation process, resembling instigated by Saudi Arabia. Zayd was the younger half- catechism, is detailed in Tabarani’s Kitab al-hawi fi ῾ilm al- brother of Imam Muhammad Baqir, the head of the Husaynid fatawa. The Nusayris believe in the transmigration of souls branch. Zayd received support from the Shia of Kufa to fight (tanasukh), and the incarnation (hulul) of the divine Essence: the Umayyads, but when the revolt started, the majority with- God has appeared in human forms at different times. Their drew their support and the revolt was suppressed and Zayd views of history, like the Ismailis, are cyclical and are com- was killed. History had repeated itself, as Zayd’s grandfather bined with Neoplatonic emanation theory. For instance: Husayn ibn ῾Ali had also trusted the Kufan people who then “They hold that the deity has been manifested in seven eras deserted him, with the result that Husayn too was killed by (adwar or akwar), each time in the form of a trinity: two the Umayyads. Zayd’s movement was continued after his entities or persons (aqanim) emanate from the divine Essence death by his eldest son Yahya (d. 743) who fled to Khurasan (ma῾na), namely, ism, the Name, also called hijab, the Veil; where he found supporters but was eventually killed by Nasr and bab, the Gate, through which the believer may contem- ibn Sayyar, the Umayyad governor. Later the movement was plate the mystery of divinity. In each era, the ma῾na is veiled led by ῾Isa ibn Zayd (d. 783), and later by Ahmad ibn ῾Isa by the presence of ism or hijab, representing the prophets ibn Zayd (d. 861). The Zaydis succeeded in establishing from Adam to Muhammad. Each prophet is, in turn, accom- communities far from the centre of political power in the panied by a bab, the Gate through which the believer may mountainous Caspian region and in Yemen. Daftary gives a contemplate the mystery of divinity” (p. 187). detailed analysis of the doctrines of the Zaydis. For instance, The book finishes with a useful general glossary (pp. 191- they did not “recognise a hereditary line of imams, nor did 210) of Arabic and Persian terms. This is a fascinating book, they attach any significance to the principle of the nass to be recommended to every student and scholar of Shiism [explicit designation of a successor by an imam], central to and Islamic Studies. Carefully studying this book creates the Imami doctrine” (p. 150). They rejected the idea of the awareness about the convoluted processes the diverse com- Mahdi’s concealment (ghayba) and his return (raj῾a). Moreo- munities and movements of Shiism have experienced in their ver the doctrine of taqiyya, the legitimate dissimulation of long and tumultuous history. Previous scholarship pays one’s religious affiliation, is alien to them. attention to various branches of Shia Islam, especially the Chapter Six (pp. 175-190) is devoted to “The Nusayris or Ismailis, and the Twelvers, but by devoting separate chapters ῾Alawis,” known in Arabic as the ῾Alawiyyun, who are to the Zaydis, and the Nusayris, Daftary broadens our view found today mainly in Syria with some smaller communities on different branches of Shiism. Daftary masterfully exhibits in Lebanon and Turkey (but should not be confused with the how each Shia community developed its own doctrines and Alevis in Turkey). We do not have many written religious teaching to distinguish itself from the other, while all are part sources from the Nusayris as their materials have been lost of a body of beliefs called Shiism. In addition to sharp per- in confrontations with their adversaries. The Nusayris played ceptions and original insights, the superior style and little political role until 1970, when General Hafiz al-Asad unmatched erudition of Dr Daftary are among the many vir- (1930-2000) came to power as the first ῾Alawi President of tues of this book. Syria. The Asad family has ruled Syria for over four decades, giving the prominent political posts to ῾Alawis although they Leiden University, Asghar Seyed-Gohrab constitute only 10% of the Syrian population of 22 million. 28 April 2018 After an overview of studies on the Nusayris, Daftary gives a clear and concise survey of their history. The school origi- * nates with Abu Shu῾ayb Muhammad b. Nusayr al-Namiri (or * * al-Numayri, d. 883), who claimed to be divine and even a prophet based on his closeness to the tenth and eleventh MAKAREM, S. (ed.) — The Shi῾i Imamate: A Fatimid Twelver Shia Imams. While Ibn Nusayr and his followers Interpretation. An Arabic edition and English transla- held that he was designated as a prophet by Imam al-Hadi, tion of the Tathbīt al-imāma, attributed to the Fatimid their Imami Shia adversaries stated that al-Hadi cursed him Caliph-Imam al-Manṣūr. (Ismaili Texts and Transla- for his exaggerations. He is also reported to have upheld anti- tions Series, 20). I.B. Tauris, London & New York, nomian ideas. 2013. (22 cm, XIII, 129, 128 Arabic). ISBN 978-1- The Nusayris have a complex system in which they incor- 78076-679-9. £ 29.50. porate elements from pre-Islamic Persian culture such as the festivities of Nowruz and Mehregan, highlighted as “the The book under review is a bilingual translation of an days when the divinity of ῾Ali is manifested in the sun. As early and central treatise on the Imamate, a fundamental 447 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — IRANICA 448 concept in Shiism. The translator is the late Sami Makarem the necessity of ῾Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib as the imam in five pages. (1931-2012), who sadly passed away before having had the Here he refers to the Prophet’s appointment of ῾Alī, his infal- opportunity to see the published book. The editorial team of libility and excellence. Another point is that the imams the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) should be gratefully should not be appointed by their equals. Otherwise God is thanked here for their exertion in finalizing and publishing then denying the religious necessity of the imamate. The the book. The title of the treatise is Tathbīt al-imāma (‘The author elaborates on the appointment of the first Caliph Abū Confirmation of the Imamate’) which is ascribed to the Bakr criticizing his position on different grounds. Firstly, this Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Manṣūr bi’llāh Ismā῾īl (946-953). It was against the desire of the Prophet. Secondly, it was is a central text devoted to the legitimacy of ῾Alī ibn Abī against the will of the majority of the umma, who consented Ṭālib as a Shiite Imam. that the Prophet had indeed appointed ῾Alī as his vicegerent. Makarem stipulates that the treatise was written for a Afterwards, the author emphasizes that the umma’s consen- broad Muslim public, specifying them as al-῾āmma, the sus was a lie. Also, the claim that Abū Bakr was the best Murji῾a (those who believe that the imam should be chosen among them is not correct. by the people), the Mu῾tazila (who believed that the Prophet In the same way, the author offers several arguments to did not appoint his successor) and the Khawārij. The use of annul the appointment of the second Caliph ῾Umar. To dem- al-῾āmma is not in the ordinary sense as the opposite of onstrate the style and the flavour of the original and Maka- al-khāṣṣa but it refers to the multitude of Sunni Muslims. rem’s translation, I cite the following excerpt: Makarem emphasizes that the treatise was written in a period Those people did go astray because of what they had done. that al-Manṣūr needed loyalty of different factions highlight- They disobeyed the Messenger. It was proven through the ing that his theory of the imamate “would never be on the ­Traditions of the Prophet that such allegiance was against account of the ideological principles of the Fatimid state” the command of God and His Messenger (God’s blessing and (p. 4), and may, therefore, serve “as a guide book for the peace be on him). Furthermore, their deeds were self-­ Ismailis in proving the raison d’être of the Fatimid state” contradictory. This is because at the beginning they claimed (p. 4). The treatise examines the necessity of the imamate, that the Messenger of God (God’s blessing be on him) empow- why an imam should not be appointed through consultation ered them to choose as their imam the best among them. We have no doubt that the Messenger of God (God’s blessing and and analogy but rather by divine authority. Also al-Manṣūr peace be on him) knew who the best was. Even if we suppose addresses the question why the first three caliphs, the Umayy- that the Messenger of God (God’s blessing and peace be on ads and the Abbasids were illegitimate. him) had refrained from installing the fittest because he The concept of the Imamate possesses different dimen- thought it was most appropriate not to do so, it would in no sions such as metaphysical, legalistic, and historical ones. respect mean that Abū Bakr’s nomination of ῾Umar would be According to al-Manṣūr, the imamate is the core of reli- the best he could do. Hence, Abū Bakr’s nomination of ῾Umar gious obligation. The imams guide all of mankind’s actions would signify one of two things. Either that the Messenger of towards the truth. al-Manṣūr uses a rich array of scriptural God (God’s blessing and peace be on him), unlike Abū Bakr, sources and rational arguments to delineate why an imam had been ignorant of who was the best after him or that the Messenger of God (God’s blessing be on him) had refrained should be appointed by God and the Prophet. Appointing from installing the most appropriate even when he knew that an imam through election creates complications. For it was the best thing to do, as if he thought that the mere instance, al-Manṣūr questions the legitimacy of the electors, fact of refraining from installing the best was the best course what types of elections were carried out, “where did it end of action. Both alternatives were degrading from who- up? Who has been ordered to implement?” and which indi- ever believed in either one of them. Also, by appointing a viduals finally accept the decisions of the electors? consultation committee, ῾Umar committed the same error, for (pp. 24-25). al-Manṣūr bases his arguments on the Koran nothing could be found in the Book of God or in Traditions of and the Prophetic traditions. One recurring tradition, which His Messenger to support it. (pp. 104-05) is unanimously agreed upon by all Muslims, is that Moham- Makarem’s introduction is unfortunately brief and I would mad appointed ῾Alī as imam at the pond of Khumm, when like to advise the students of Shia Studies to consult Wilferd he returned from his pilgrimage to Mecca. Another argu- Madelung’s excellent article entitled “A Treatise on the ment, which al-Manṣūr extensively deals with is that an Imamate of the Fatimid Caliph al-Manṣūr bi-Allāh” (in imam should have close kinship with his predecessor. Among Texts, Documents, and Artefacts: Islamic Studies in Honour many other arguments, al-Manṣūr gives attention to the dif- of D.S. Richards, edited by Chase F. Robinson, Leiden: Brill, ference between an imam and an ordinary individual: an 2003, pp. 69-77), which excellently contextualizes the trea- imam possesses excellence and is infallible (ma῾ṣūm). tise in its historical and religious frame. Once again the IIS Another point of discussion in Shiite theology is the dif- should be thanked for providing students of Persian and Ara- ference between the Prophet and an imam. The Shiites accord bic with bilingual text editions. Although these texts are not a high position to the imams. While the chief difference formatted as facing English-Arabic, they remain useful tools remains that the Prophet receives revelation (waḥy), there are for students and scholars interested in Shia Studies. several arguments given for further clarification. al-Manṣūr says that the adversaries accuse the Shiites to have made an Leiden University, Asghar Seyed-Gohrab imam equal to the Prophet as he is appointed by God, in the 8 May 2018 same way as the Prophet. The author emphasizes that this is not true and gives several reasons for their difference. To begin with, the imams have denied waḥy; the prophets are * superior to them; and the abrogation of the Koranic verses is * * prohibited during an imam’s times whereas it was permissi- ble during the Prophet’s time. The author then underscores 449 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXV N° 3-4, mei-augustus 2018 450

KORANGY, A. (ed.) — Urdu and Indo-Persian Thought, biography and oeuvres of the most celebrated seventeenth- Poetics, and Belles Lettres. (Brill’s Indological Library, century storyteller, ῾Abdul Nabī Fakhrul Zamānī, who was 51). Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden-Boston, 2017. born in Persia but lived most of his life in Patna, India. To (24 cm, XIII, 227). ISBN 978-90-04-25188-5. ISSN arrive at an integrated account of his life and work, Khan has 0925-2916. € 99,-; $ 115.00. examined a number of sources (i.e., Tārīkh-i Muḥammad- Shāhī, Tazkirah Maykhānah, and the first volume of the This excellent volume represents a significant and most Navādirul Ḥikāyāt) and has shown Fakhrul Zamānī’s posi- welcome contribution to the study of Indo-Persian and Urdu tion and importance within the history of Indo-Persian story- literary traditions, focusing on thematic, linguistic, and trans- telling. By shedding light on the lives of Persian-language lation developments of Indo-Persian and Urdu poetry and storytellers in India, Khan reveals socio-economic aspects of prose in both colonial and post-colonial periods. It also offers storytelling performances, as well as the role of the relation- a comparative analysis of the most important literary works ship between poet and patron. Poetry, the storytelling art, as published in South Asia, which shows how the literary pro- suggested by Fakhrul Zamānī, was a great medium for build- duction of this region coincides with political and social ing close relationships with kings, ministers, courtiers, and transformations throughout the centuries. The volume con- nobles. sists of two parts: the first concerns Indo-Persian, and the Unlike many studies on the positive influence of Ḥāfiz̤ on second includes Urdu Literary Theory, Urdu Dāstān, Crea- Muḥammad Iqbāl’s philosophy and poetry, in “Ḥāfiz̤ in the tive Writing, and Urdu Philosophy. The first part has three Poetry and Philosophy of Muḥammad Iqbāl” (pp. 73-83), individual chapters, each demonstrating the interaction Natalia Prigarina discusses the negative estimation of Ḥāfiẓ between various poetic forms created by Indian authors in throughout Iqbāl’s poetic life in various contexts. After anal- the Persian language since the sixteenth century on the Indian ysis of a number of lines from Ḥāfiz̤ and their comparison to sub-continent. The second, and larger, part of the volume Iqbāl’s, the author illustrates that not only did Iqbāl criticize studies Urdu literature, which is richer in content and subject Ḥāfiz̤’s philosophy and the idea of intoxication as a way to matter, and has for the last few decades begun to receive mystical gnosis, but he also questioned “the beauty of scholarly attention and undergo translation. This part opens Ḥāfiz̤’s style,” which according to him is dangerous to new vistas on how Urdu literary productions (ghazals and “common readers.” fiction) play a role in understanding the modern nations. The second part of the volume commences with “Revisit- The first chapter is Prashant Keshavmurthy’s “Khushgū’s ing the Earth(l)y, Glorious Tradition” (pp. 87-100) by Carla Dream of Ḥāfiz̤: Authorship, Temporality, and Canonicity in Petievich, who discusses a number of Dakani poet-kings of Late Mughal India” (pp. 3-22). It reads part of Bindrāban the seventeenth century and illuminates the development Dās “Khushgū’s” tazkira (traditional Persian biographical of classical Urdu poetry from a thematic standpoint. The dictionary), called Safīnah-i Khushgū, which refers to author reveals how “the particular spaces and circumstances Khushgū’s dream of the Persian poet Ḥāfiz̤, a contemporary in which they [the poet-kings] composed necessarily led to of Khushgū and the master of classical ghazal. This chapter lyrics that both disrupted central myths about what Urdu is/ analyzes different aspects of Khushgū’s dream (e.g., social was and contributed crucially to the development of its ‘tra- implications) and how it exhibits the poetics of Persian-­ dition’” (p. 87). Petievich concludes that it is evident from language literature produced on the Indian subcontinent dur- the works of Dakani poets that the kings were very much ing the Mughals. Keshavmurthy further examines Khushgū’s engaged in what she calls “literary autoeroticism” to “fulfill dream within “narratival location,” focusing on the narra- the ideals of the Glorious Tradition” (p. 96). tive and authorship of the Safīnah in order to reveal the In Chapter 5, “Continuing the Tradition: A Commentary poetic impact of Muḥammad ῾Aufī’s tazkira, Lubābul Albāb on the ‘Neglected’ Verses of Ghālib” (pp. 101-16), Mehr (the Piths of Intellectuals) and Ḥāfiz̤ ’s dīvān (collection of Afshan Farooqi offers an English translation and commen- poems) on Khushgū’s biographical compendium. By offer- tary on some of the so-called “neglected verses” in Ghālib’s ing the narrative analysis of this tazkira the author illumi- mustarad dīvān to indicate “how prosperity responded to the nates “the colonial and post-colonial imperative to generate self-imposed editorial excision” (p. 103). In addition, these historical knowledge, an imperative that has come to perva- verses, as Afshan Farooqi argues, suggest that the poet sively orient the discipline of literary studies” (p. 20), and “screened his corpus for excessive repetition of themes” also to formulate “a critique of such historicism” (ibid) to (p. 114), and that this aspect leads readers beyond those of show how the period’s mode of authorship was different Ghālib’s poems mentioned in the dīvān. from ours today. Likewise, in the following chapter, “Voyeur Candle, Tat- The following chapter by Pasha M. Khan is titled “Notes tler Candle: The Semiotics of nāyikābheda in Ghālib’s Urdu on ῾Abdul Nabī Fakhrul Zamānī and Other Indo-Persian Sto- Dīvān 39.1” (pp. 117-66), Satyanarayana Hegde attempts to rytellers of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries” separate Ghalib’s Urdu dīvān from “its default Islamicate- (pp. 23-72). The author initially provides the reader with Sufi context and graft it in the Sanskritic-Brahminic biographies of several Persian-language storytellers of elite nāyikābheda frame, including an ‘aberrant’ decoding of this India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as Zai- text’s dominant, primary code, semiotically ‘opening’ a nul ῾Ābidīn Takaltū Khān, ῾Ināyatullāh Darbār Khān, and ‘closed’ text” (p. 117). In this respect, Hegde consults Sham- Fusūnī Yazdī, by questioning their “details, dates, and con- sur Rahman Faruqi’s commentary on 39.1, as well as Mīrul fused identit[ies]” mentioned in the biographical dictionary, Sayyid Ghulām ῾Alī Āzād Bilgrāmi’s Ghizlānul Hind (Indian T̤ irāzul Akhbār. The author analyzes this work from a liter- Gazelles), whose “strategy is a poetic of defamiliarization, ary perspective to indicate how these storytellers “have been ‘foreignizing’ the domestic rather than ‘domesticating’ the patronized either at the imperial or at the subimperial level” foreign” (p. 130), in order to offer anew a translation and (p. 67). The larger part of this essay exclusively presents a semantic disclosure of the prevalent isotopies (i.e., the 451 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — IRANICA 452 jalvah-i maḥbūb, lit., “the beloved’s radiance”), indicated in explains, “extended far beyond the religious framework and Ghālib’s Urdu dīvān. Additionally, the chapter makes abun- became human values in a civic sense of the word” (p. 215). dant reference to the candle as a bisemic image, which in Next, David Lelyveld’s “Jūtē hain jāpānī kaprē inglistānī: Persian-Urdu poetics signifies the beloved’s epithet, to Sayyid Ross Masood’s Passage to Japan” (pp. 217-28) dis- recode its significance within Ghālib’s Urdu dīvān. As this cusses the various aspects of Sayyid Ross Masood’s journey chapter concludes, “the ʻṢūfī-anagogic is the dominate to Japan in 1922, while he was on a mission “to study the default (salient!) context/code for Ghālib’s ghazal texts” ways in which Japan had managed to develop a European- (p. 157). style educational system based on the Japanese language, to Frances Pritchett’s “Mīr as Suffering Curmudgeon: A measure the success of the enterprise, and to determine Historical Hatchet Job” (pp. 167-78) examines Muḥammad to what extent Hyderabad and perhaps India could learn from Ḥusain Āzād’s biographical dictionary, called Āb-i Ḥayāt Japan” (p. 217). After his return to India, Masood, who was (Water of Life) to unveil the nature of the depiction of the the Director of Public Instruction for Hyderabad State, pub- great Urdu poet, Muḥammad Taqī Mīr (1722/3–1810) and to lished a book, Japan and its Educational System, in which “propose an explanation of its strange, discordant qualities” he unveils the reasons for Japan’s development: “Japan has (p. 167). After describing the depiction of Mīr and the inac- overcome all the difficulties in her way; for, unlike us, she curacies and contradictions between Āzād’s and the poet’s early realized that her very existence depended on her raising accounts, Pritchett argues that “Āzād’s Mīr has the qualities the cultural standard of her people, in as short a time as pos- that Āzād needs him to have, not the qualities of the actual sible, to the level of that possessed by the most advanced and historical person. Āzād’s Mīr is utterly and radically joyless; prosperous nations of the world” (p. 223). Lelyveld focuses the real Mīr actually appended jokes to his autobiography. on how Masood brought remarkable reforms within colonial Āzād’s Mīr personally experiences all the stylized ghazal India’s educational system in terms of language, and intro- tropes of the suffering lover’s pain, and pours them directly duced courses with socio-political implications which were from his heart into his poetry; the real Mīr shaped his gha- based on his observations of Japan. zels through the same literary processes used by his peers” In “From a Slave Garden into Cyberspace: Mirza Athar (p. 177). Baig’s Novels Ghulām Bāgh and Ṣifr Se Ek Tak” (pp. 229- In Chapter 8, “‘I am a Ruby Wrapped in a Rag’: Zay 49) Christina Oesterheld examines two bestseller Urdu nov- Khay Sheen and the Possibility of Poetry as Autobiography” els: Ghulām Bāgh (The Slave Garden, 2006) and Ṣifr Se Ek (pp. 179-91), Gail Minault examines the poetry of the early- Tak: Sāibar Spais ke Munshī kī Sarguzasht (From Zero to twentieth-century Indian female poet, Zay Khay Sheen (or One: Chronicle of a Cyberspace Munshī, 2009). Both were Zāhidah Khātūn Shirvānī), and reveals how the poetess written by Mirza Athar Baig, a Pakistani novelist and play- expressed her feminine emotions and feelings as well as the wright, from a narratological perspective (e.g., theme, char- circumstances of the period in which she lived. However, acter, and time). From a thematic standpoint, Baig’s first the question remains unanswered whether Zay Khay Sheen’s published novel, The Slave Garden, addresses a wide rage of poetry can be regarded as autobiographical, for Minault philosophical and postcolonial themes, including power and argues that “the imagery of Pepsinate Urdu poetry may be a domination, skepticism, isolation, the double standards of poor source for the specifics of an autobiography” (p. 187). Pakistani society, and racism. According to Oesterheld, the Nonetheless, the author goes on to conclude that “in express- novel has two main features, which offer a different type of ing her deepest emotions, the poetry of Zay Khay Sheen illu- narration than is usually found in Urdu fiction: first, the minates her life, throws its more mundane facts into higher novel uses words and phrases from the “discarded tradition relief, and gives us a clearer view of her character and its of storytelling in highly ornamental, often rhymed” prose; conflicts than would have been available through a more pro- and second, it “attempts to dissect minute details of the ges- saic rendering” (ibid). The chapter also provides the transla- tures, demeanors, reactions, and thoughts of the characters tion of Zay Khay Sheen’s best mature work, Sipāsnāmah-i during their interaction” (p. 235). Baig’s second novel, From Urdū (In Praise of Urdu). Zero to One, treats the theme of self-reflexivity in the course Ludmila Vasilyeva’s “‘The Tide and Flow of Islam’: of the strange events which take place during the last decades Musaddas by Ḥālī as a Poetic Memorial of the Muslim of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, including Enlightenment in the Last Third of the Nineteenth Century” September 11, 2001. The characters are chosen from differ- (pp. 192-216) deals with Alṭāf Ḥusayn Ḥālī’s poem, called ent social strata, but mainly from lower middle class and “The Tide and Flow of Islam” to illustrate his socio-political below, to show how they deal with events and most impor- views and aesthetic objectives during the Aligarh Movement tantly with themselves. Oesterheld argues that both novels in late-nineteenth-century India, which “sought to synthesize are postmodernist, as they “negate metanarratives, give the attainments of the West and the cultural heritage of India, space to the hidden, the ‘non-said/non-spoken,’ and the mar- to reform Islam through interpreting the Koran in the spirit ginalized, expose and thereby partially subvert or undermine of rationalism and adaptation to the latest achievements of hierarchies, etc. They ironically unveil the compromises and science, to explain the laws of Islam in the modern context” self-deceptions of their main protagonists – lower-middle- (p. 192). The first person in the history of Urdu literature to class intellectuals in mostly precarious circumstances” do so, Ḥālī used the poem as a vehicle to lament the prob- (p. 244). lems of his time and to awaken the nation “by stirring the In this volume’s last chapter, Baidar Bakht discusses “A minds of a people still thinking in an antiquated way” Translation of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi’s Prem Kumar (p. 193). Vasilyeva’s interpretation of “The Tide and Flow Nazar” (pp. 250-68). Prem Kumar Nazar is a particularly of Islam” reveals how Ḥālī is outspoken about his views in well-known and prolific Urdu poet in India, whose style of the context of Islamic guidelines and the Enlightenment writing ghazals differs from other Indian poems in that they movement. These interpreted guidelines, as the author are less abstract, and “subvert difficult thoughts in a new 453 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXV N° 3-4, mei-augustus 2018 454 light” (p. 251). Bakht analyzes some of the verses from Naz- ar’s collection of poems, which have been translated in Eng- lish, and also compares them with a number of mystical poems to reveal how Nazar uses metaphors and themes which are uncommon in today’s literary world. Urdu and Indo-Persian Thought, Poetics, and Belles Let- ters brings together essays of eminent scholars in the fields of Urdu and Indo-Persian Studies to reveal the development of colonial and post-colonial themes and styles in Persian and Urdu literary texts, both verse and prose, produced from the sixteenth century up to the present day. Additionally, the volume provides concrete analysis of these texts, showing the influence of literary works upon one another over the course of time. One of the significant features of this volume is its abundant English translations of Urdu poems, which makes it a valuable contribution to Translation Studies as well. The volume would be beneficial for those who are inter- ested in South-Asian Studies, and particularly Indo-Persian and Urdu literature, to investigate how authors in India used both Persian and Urdu to produce literature and to express their thoughts on mystical, social, and political issues of the times they lived in. The volume will also be of interest of those who wish to conduct research into comparative per- spectives of literature as a culturally instructive tool. As demonstrated in most of the volume, it is apparent that litera- ture in contemporary India and Pakistan has been used as a vehicle to enlighten the nation about the country’s political, social, and economic upheavals in a hope to bringing trans- formations for the improvement of their homelands.

Leiden University, Saeedeh Shahnahpur 4 April 2018