The calling to the Roots of Truth: the prayer in al-Sijistānī’s Ismaili view

In the last of his work, the Kitab al-Iftikhar, the 10th century Ismaili da'i Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani, the pioneer of the philosophical Ismailism, devoted the last chapters to the understanding of the "pillars" of islam. The present paper, that is a continuation of my last researches on this topic, will focus attention on the chapter devoted to the canonical prayer (salat). Like the other "arkan",the second "pillar" of islam was interpreted according to the Ismaili exegesis (ta'wil) that gives allegorical meanings to the religiuos dogmas and rites.