Ecstasy and Enlightenment, The Institute’s Latest Publication

Through a compilation of 7 essays, Ali Asani, who has had a long-standing personal and academic involvement with the subject, discusses various facets of the ginans that are part of the Nizari Ismaili tradition of South Asia. Examining their place within the larger tradition of religious poetry of the Subcontinent and their specific use in the community to this day, Professor Asani explores the social and literary history of this expression as well as the larger tradition from which it emerged. In addition, he examines the Khojki script in which the ginans were transcribed once they were committed to writing as well as the pregnant symbols contained within the literature. Included in this volume are also translations of 9 ginans.

An important contribution to the study of the Ismailis in and from the Indian subcontinent, these range of essays on the ginans are for the first time available in one volume for easy reference. This collection will interest students and academics of the history and sociology of religion, South Asian Studies, Indian Philosophy, Islamic Studies and Sufism.