al-Muʾayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi

Al-Muʾayyad fi’l-Din Hibat Allah al-Shirazi was born around 1000 in Shiraz, in a family associated with the Ismaili daʿwa. Much of his earlier life is less securely documented than the career described in his surviving memoirs.

He first became influential within the political and religious circles of the Buyid period in Fars. Moving to Cairo, he worked in the service of the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Mustansir and became a leading scholar and figure in the central daʿwa organisation.

His Sira (memoirs) is significant as first-person testimony concerning religious and political networks of the eleventh century. His sermons and learned works also provide an important window into Fatimid Ismaili intellectual life. Modern studies by Verena Klemm and other scholars provide critical context.

The following historical and scholarly sources support this entry. The original publications are linked for independent verification.

1. Moʾayyad fi’l-Din Shirazi — Encyclopaedia IranicaAcademic biographical article
2. Verena Klemm, Memoirs of a Mission — IISal-Muʾayyad's life and memoirs
3. Mount of Knowledge, Sword of Eloquence — IISTranslated writings by al-Muʾayyad
4. Mediaeval Ismailis of Iranian Lands — IISIranian mission and Fatimid intellectual life