I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili StudiesThe two sermons edited and translated here for the first time are primary material from the years before the establishment of the Fatimid caliphate in 297/909. The authors have been identified as Abu -Abd Allah al-Shi''i and Abu-l--Abbas Muhammad, two brothers who were central to the success of the Ismaili da''wa in North Africa. Da''wa, a term used to describe how Muslims teach others about the beliefs and practices of their Islamic faith, therefore provide a unique view of the nature and development of Islam throughout history. In this case, the primary texts shed light on the development of Islam among the Berbers of the Maghreb. The first text by Abu -Abd Allah al-Shi''i shows how the arguments for belief in the ''imamate'' of the family of the Prophet, that is, the Shi''a belief that all imams should be spiritual descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and his househ
