Dr Arzina Lalani: A Research Associate at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Dr Lalani is an Arabist with a doctorate in Islamic Studies from the Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh. She has previously taught Hadith Literature at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, served as a mentor in Arabic at DeMontfort University and lectured for several years on Early Shi'i Studies at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Her book, Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (London, 2000) has been translated into several languages including Arabic, Persian and French. Following peer reviews, this work recently won a prestigious literary award in Iran as one of the distinguished books of the year (Kitab Sal-e-Vilayat, 2002). Dr Lalani's forthcoming publication, The Apex of Humanity: A Philosophical Approach to the Imamate is a critical edition and translation of a Fatimid manuscript by Ahmad al-Naysaburi. She is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (Leiden), the Encyclopaedia of Religion , and the Dictionary of Islamic Philosophers amongst others, as well as an editorial board member on the Routledge Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an. She also regularly presents at national and international academic conferences.

Title of Talk: Articulation of Shi`i Ismaili Spirituality.

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