Risalah Arabic (رسـالـة) is the Arabic word for a treatise or philosophical prose within Islam. In

Tayyibi Isma'ilism Tayyibi Isma'ilism is the only surviving sect of the Musta'li branch of Isma'ilism, the other being the extinct Hafizi branch. Followers of Tayyibi Isma'ilism are found in various Bohra communities: Dawoodi, Sulaymani, and Alavi. The Tayyibi ...

, Rasāʾil Ramaḍāniyya refers to the works composed by the

Da'i al-Mutlaq The term Da'i al-Mutlaq ( ar, الداعي المطلق, al-Dā'ī al-Mutlaq; pl. , ) literally meaning 'the absolute, or unrestricted, missionary', is the most senior spiritual rank and office in Tayyibi Isma'ilism. The Da'i al-Mutlaq has heade ...

for the most part during the month of Ramadan.

Style

Each Risalah is essentially divided into two sections: the first contains supplication and eulogy, and the second, a variety of topics that generally conforms to the overarching theme of the Risalah. Each Risalah (epistle) is given a title gematrically equivalent to the Hijri year of its publication: "The context of the quoted texts is not left to the reader to determine, as in the two above-mentioned anthologies. Each text is preceded or followed by a commentary placing it within a specific theme or issue, such as the daʿwa hierarchy under the imams and dāʿīs, the nature of the authority of the dāʿī and the daʿwa dignitaries (ḥudūd), and the role and place of the believers in this world. In addition, each Risāla begins with the traditional introductory taḥmīd, original poems in praise of the Prophet and the imams, and extensive supplications showing a rhetorical mastery of the Arabic language. The Risālas typically end with opinions on legal matters by the author or by previous dāʿīs and daʿwa dignitaries."

Syedna Taher Saifuddin

Syedna Taher Saifuddin "probably had more Ismāʿīlī texts at his disposal than any other Ṭayyibī scholar before him. The wealth and variety of quoted texts make the Rasāʾil al-Ramaḍāniyya a treasure trove of writings, which are otherwise inaccessible to non-initiates and low-ranking daʿwa officials." A set of the Rasāʾil were presented to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

in the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

on behalf of Syedna

Taher Saifuddin Taher Saifuddin (4 August 1888 – 12 November 1965), also known as Tahir Sayf al-Din, was the 51st and longest serving Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras. Saifuddin adapted the modernisation in Western and European ideas, and establish ...

12 July 1949.

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin

Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasāʾil Ramaḍāniyya Arabic words and phrases Tayyibi Isma'ilism Bohra Ramadan