Known as an 'intellectual missionary' of Fatimid Ismailism, Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani was one of the most creative and original thinkers of the vibrant cultural climate of tenth-century Islam. He was active in Iran especially on behalf of the Fatimid caliph-imam Al-Muizz (r. 953-75). A prolific author of seminal texts in Arabic, he was one of the major players in the classical debate between philosophers and theologians, thus providing an alternative vision of Islam that continues to have a surprisingly modern appeal.His "Kashf al-Maojub" (lit. 'the unveiling of the veiled') is translated and published here under the title of "Creation and Resurrection" for these are the main themes in this book that takes the form of a hexaemeron (six phases of creation), a universal process based on the number seven, structured on six chapters preceded by an introductory chapter on divine Unity (tawoid). The original Arabic text appears to have been lost, but we are fortunate to have a near contemporaneous Persian translation, which was edited for the first time by the late Henry Corbin.The present publication provides a new edition of this Persian text together with a fully annotated English translation and an introduction.

Translated by: Herman Landolt