The Tathbit al-imama written by the Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Man?ur (334-341/946-953) is an important early Ismaili treatise on the legitimacy of the imamate of ?Ali b. Abi ?alib and that of the Ismaili imams from among his progeny. As one of the earliest Ismaili works on this crucial and fundamental Shi?i subject it can thus be considered a major treatise on the doctrine of the imamate.

The Tathbit al-imama does not deal with the metaphysical significance of the imamate. Rather, it concentrates on its legal and historical aspects, using proofs derived from the Qur?an, ?adith and...