Zanfina Ismaili
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Tracing its earliest theology to the lifetime of , rose at one point to become the largest branch of Shī‘ism, climaxing as a political power with the Fatimid Empire in the tenth through twelfth centuries. Ismailis believe in the oneness of God, as well as the closing of divine revelation with , whom they see as the final Prophet and Messenger of God to all humanity. The and the Twelvers both accept the same initial A'immah from the descendants of through his daughter and therefore share much of their early history. Both Shī‘ite groups see the family of (Ahl al-Bayt) as divinely chosen, infallible (ismah), and guided by God to lead the Islamic community (Ummah), a belief that distinguishes them from the majority Sunni branch of Islam.
After the death of Muhammad ibn Ismail in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the more literalistic (zahir) oriented Akhbari and later Usooli schools of thought, Shi'ism developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismāʿīlī group focusing on the mystical path and nature of Allah, with the "Imām of the Time" representing the manifestation of truth and reality, with the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law (sharia) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) of Muhammad and the Twelve Imams who were guides and a light to God.
Though there are several paths (tariqah) within the Ismāʿīlīs, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the Nizari path, which recognizes the Aga Khan IV. as the 49th hereditary Imam and is the largest group among the Ismāʿīlīs. While some of the branches have extremely differing exterior practices, Ismāʿīlīs will say that much of their spiritual theology has remained the same since the days of the faith's early Imāms. In recent centuries Ismāʿīlīs have largely been an Indo-Iranian (Iran, Pakistan) community, but Ismāʿīlī minorities are also found in India, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, East Africa, Lebanon, and South Africa, and have in recent years emigrated to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Trinidad and Tobago.
Ismailism shares its beginnings with other early Shī‘ah sects that emerged during the succession crisis that spread throughout the early Muslim community and Ismailism is the branch of Muslim and running on straight path (Sirate Mustakim) from Muhammad to present Imam of time Prince Karim Agha Khan (49th Imam counted from ‘Alī).
From the beginning, the Shī‘ah asserted the right of ‘Alī, Muhammad's cousin, to have both political and spiritual control over the community. This also included his two sons, who were the grandsons of Muhammad through his daughter Fāṭimatu z-Zahrah.
The conflict remained relatively peaceful between the partisans of ‘Alī and those who asserted a semi-democratic system of electing caliphs, until the third of the Rashidun caliphs, Uthman was martyred, and ‘Alī, with popular support, ascended to the caliphate.
Soon after his ascendancy, Aisha, the third of the Prophet's wives, claimed along with Uthman's tribe, the Ummayads, that Ali should take Qisas (blood for blood) from the people responsible for Uthman's martyrdom. ‘Alī voted against it as he believed that situation at that time demanded a peaceful resolution of the matter. Both parties could rightfully defend their claims, but due to escalated misunderstandings, the Battle of the Camel was fought and both parties bore losses but soon reached an agreement.
Following this battle, Muawiya, the Umayyad governor of Syria, also staged a revolt under the same pretences. ‘Alī led his forces against Muawiya until the side of Muawiya held copies of the Quran against their spears and demanded that the issue be decided by Islam's holy book. ‘Alī accepted this, and an arbitration was done which ended in his favor.
A group among Alī's army believed subjecting his legitimate authority to arbitration was tantamount to apostasy, and abandoned his forces. This group was known as the Kharijites, and ‘Alī wished to defeat their forces before they reached the cities where they would be able to blend in with the rest of the population. He was unable to do this, but nonetheless defeated their forces in the battles following afterward.
Regardless of these defeats, the Kharijites survived and became a violently problematic group in Islamic history. After plotting an assassination against ‘Alī, Muawiya, and the arbitrator of their conflict, only ‘Alī was successfully assassinated in 661 CE, and the Imāmate passed on to his son Hasan and then later his son Husayn, or according to the Nizari Ismāʿīlī, straight to Husayn. However, the political caliphate was soon taken over by Muawiya who was the only leader in the empire at that time with an army large enough to seize control.
This battle would become extremely important to the Shī‘ah psyche. The Twelvers, as well as Mustaali Ismāʿīlī still mourn this event during a holiday known as Ashura. The Nizari Ismāʿīlī however do not mourn this in the same way because of the belief that the light of the Imām never dies but rather passes on to the succeeding Imām, making mourning arbitrary. However,in commemoration they do not have any celebrations in Jamatkhana during Muharram and may have announcements or sessions regarding the tragic events of Karbala. Also individuals may obeserve Muharram in a wide variety of ways. This respect for Muharram does not include self-flagellation and beating because they feel that harming ones body is harming a gift from Allah.
After the poisoning of ‘Alī al-Sajjad by Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 713 CE, Shiism's first succession crisis rose with Zayd ibn ‘Alī's companions and the Zaydī Shī‘ah that claim Zayd ibn ‘Alī as the Imām, whilst the rest of the Shī‘ah maintained Muhammad al-Baqir as the Imām. The Zaidis argued that any sayed, descendant of Muhammad through Hasan or Husayn, who rebelled against tyranny and the injustice of his age, can be the Imām. The Zaidis created the first Shī‘ah states in Iran, Iraq and Yemen.
In contrast to his predecessors, Muhammad al-Baqir focused on academic Islamic scholarship in Medina, where he promulgated his teachings to many Muslims, both Shī‘ah and non-Shī‘ah, in an extremely organized form of Daʿwah. In fact, the earliest text of the Ismaili school of thought is said to be the "Umm al-kitab" (The Archetypal Book), a conversation between Muhammad al-Baqir and three of his disciples.
This tradition would pass on to his son, Ja'far al-Sadiq, who inherited the Imāmate on his father's death in 743. Ja'far al-Sadiq excelled in the scholarship of the day and had many pupils, including three of the four founders of the Sunni madhabs.
However, following al-Sadiq's poisoning in 765, a fundamental split would occur in the community. Isma'il bin Jafar, who at one point seemed to be heir apparent, apparently predeceased his father in 755. While Twelvers either argue he was never heir apparent or that he truly predeceased his father hence Musa al-Kadhim was the true heir to the Imamate, Ismāʿīlīs argue that either the death was staged in order to draw harm away from al-Sadiq's successor or that his early death does not mean he was not an Imām, and rightfully the Imāmate would pass to his son, Muhammad ibn Ismail.
At this point, much of the Ismaili community believed that Muhammad ibn Ismail had gone into the Occultation and that he would one day return. With the status and location of the Imāms not known to the community, Ismailism began to propagate the faith through Dāʿiyyūn from its base in Syria. This was the start of the spiritual beginnings of the Daʿwah that would later blossom on the Mustaali branch of the faith, as well as play important parts in the other three branches.
The Da'i was not a missionary in the typical sense, and he was responsible for both the conversion of his student as well as the mental and spiritual wellbeing. The Da'i was a guide and light to the Imām. The student and teacher relationship of the Da'i and his student was much like the one that would develop in Sufism. The student desired God, and the Da'i could bring him to God by making him recognize the stature and light of the Imām descended from the Imāms, which in turn descended from God. The Da'i was the path, and the Face of God which was a Qur'anic term the Ismāʿīlī took to represent the Imām, was the destination.
Shams Tabrizi and Rumi is a famous example of the importance between the guide and the guided, and Rumi dedicated much of his literature to Shams Tabrizi and his discovery of the truth.
The political asceticism practiced by the Imāms during the period after Muhammad ibn Ismail was to be short lived and finally concluded with the Imāmate of Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah, who was born in 873. After decades of Ismāʿīlīs believing that Muhammad ibn Ismail was in the Occultation and would return to bring an age of justice, al-Mahdi taught that the Imāms had not been literally secluded, but rather had remained hidden to protect themselves and had been organizing the Da'i, and even acted as Da'i themselves. He taught that during the supposed Occultation of Muhammad ibn Ismail, many of Muhammad ibn Ismail's descendants lived as Imāms secluded from the community, guiding them through the Da'i at times even taking the guise of Da'i.
After raising an army and successfully defeating the Aghlabids in North Africa and a number of other victories, al-Mahdi Billah successfully established a Shi'ah political state ruled by the Imāmate in 910 AD. This was the only time in history where the Shi'a Imamate and Caliphate were united after the first Imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib.
In parallel with the dynasty's claim of descent from ‘Alī and Fāṭimah, the empire was named “Fatimid.” However, this was not without controversy and with the extent that Ismāʿīlī doctrine had spread, the Abbasid caliphate assigned Sunni and Twelver scholars with the assignment to disprove the lineage of the new dynasty. This became known as the Baghdad Manifesto, and it traces the lineage of the Fatimid dynasty to a Jewish blacksmith. Its authenticity has been both questioned and supported by various Islamic scholars.
The Fatimids promoted two ideas that were radical for that time. The first was promotion by merit rather than genealogy. The second was religious toleration, under which both Jews and Coptic Christians flourished.
Also during this period the three contemporary branches of Ismailism formed. The first branch (Druze) occurred with the Imām Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Born in 985, he ascended as ruler at the age of eleven. A religious group that was even forming in his lifetime broke off from mainstream Ismailism and refused to acknowledge his successor. Later to be known as the Druze, they believe Al-Hakim to be the manifestation of God and the prophesied Mahdi, who would one day return and bring justice to the world. The faith further split from Ismailism as it developed very unique doctrines which often classes it separately from both Ismailism and Islam.
The second split occurred following the death of Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah in 1094. His rule was the longest of any caliph in both the Fatimid and other Islamic empires. Upon his passing away his sons, the older Nizar and the younger Al-Musta'li fought for political and spiritual control of the dynasty. Nizar was defeated and jailed, but according to Nizari tradition his son escaped to Alamut where the Iranian Ismāʿīlī had accepted his claim.
The Mustaali line split again between the Taiyabi and the Hafizi, the former claiming that the 21st Imām and son of Al-Amir went into occultation and appointed a Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq to guide the community, in a similar manner as the Ismāʿīlī had lived after the death of Muhammad ibn Ismail. The latter claimed that the ruling Fatimid caliph was the Imām. However, in the Mustaali branch, the Dai came to have a similar but more important task. The term Dāʻī al-Mutlaq () literally means "the absolute or unrestricted missionary". This dai was the only source of the Imām's knowledge after the occultation of al-Qasim in Mustaali thought.
According to Tayyabī Mustaʻlī Ismā'īlī tradition, after the death of Imām al-Amīr, his infant son, Taiyab abi al-Qasim, about 2 years old, was protected by the most important woman in Musta'li history after Prophet's daughter Fāṭimatu z-Zahrah. She was Malika al-Sayyida Hurra Al-Malika, which was a Queen in Yemen. She was promoted to the post of hujjah long before by Imām Mustansir at the death of her husband .She ran the dawat from Yemen in the name of Imaam Tayyib. She was instructed and prepared by Imām Mustansir and ran the dawat from Yemen in the name of Imaam Tayyib,following Imāms for the second period of Satr. It was going to be on her hands, that Imām Tayyib would go into seclusion, and she would institute the office of Dāʻī al-Mutlaq. Syedna Zueb-bin-Musa was first to be instituted to this office and the line of Tayyib Dais that began in 1132 have passed from one Dai to another and is continuing till date under main sect known as Dawoodi Bohra (may pl. see Main article: List of Dai of Dawoodi Bohra).
The Mustaali split several times over disputes regarding who was the rightful Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq, the leader of the community within The Occultation.
After the 27th Dai, Syedna Dawood bin Qutub Shah there was another split, the ones following Syedna Dawood came to be called Dawoodi Bohra and followera of Suleman were then called Sulaimani. Dawoodi Bohra's present Dai al Mutlaq, the 52nd, is Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, and he and his devout followers tread the same path, the same tradition of the Aimmat Fatimiyyeen. The Sulaimani Bohra are mostly concentrated in Yemen and Saudi Arabia with some communities in the South Asia. The Dawoodi Bohra and Alavi Bohra are mostly exclusive to the South Asia, after migration of the Da'wat from Yemen to India. Other groups include Atba-i-Malak and Hebtiahs Bohra. Mustaali beliefs and practices, unlike those of the Nizari and Druze, are completely compatible with mainstream Islam, representing a continuation of Fatimid tradition and ''fiqh'.
After the decay of the Fatimid political system in the 1160s, the Zengid ruler Nūr ad-Dīn had his general, Saladin, seize Egypt in 1169, forming the Sunni Ayyubid Dynasty. This signaled the end of the Hafizi Mustaali branch of Ismailism as well as the Fatimid Empire.
Very early in the empire's life, the Fatimids sought to spread the Ismāʿīlī faith which in turn would spread loyalties to the Imāmate in Egypt. One of their earliest attempts would be taken by a Dai by the name of Hassan-i-Sabbah.
Hassan-i-Sabbah was born into a Twelver family living in the scholarly Persian city of Qom in 1056 AD. His family later relocated to the city of Tehran which was an area with an extremely active Ismāʿīlī Daʿwah. He immersed himself in Ismāʿīlī thought, however he did not choose to convert until he was overcome with an almost fatal illness, where he finally feared dying without knowing the Imām of his time.
Afterwards, Hassan-i-Sabbah became one of the most influential Dais in Ismāʿīlī history, and would be important to the survival of the Nizari branch of Ismailism, which today is its largest branch.
Legend holds that he met with Imām Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah and asked him who his successor would be, to which he responded, his eldest son Nizar.
Hassan-i-Sabbah would continue his Dai activities and they would climax with his taking of Alamut. Over the next two years, he converted most of the surrounding villages to Ismailism. Afterwards, he converted most of the staff to Ismailism, took over the fortress, and presented Alamut's king with payment for his fortress, which he had no choice but to accept. The king reluctantly abdicated his throne and Hassan-i-Sabbah turned Alamut into an outpost of Fatimid rule within Abbasid territory.
Surrounded by the Abbasids and other hostile powers, and low in numbers, Hassan-i-Sabbah derived a way to attack the Ismāʿīlī's enemies with minimal losses. Using the method of assassination (the English word is said to have derived from Hashasheen), he ordered the murders of Sunni scholars and politicians whom he felt threatened the Ismāʿīlīs. Knives and daggers were used to kill, and sometimes as a warning, a knife would be placed onto the pillow of a Sunni, who understood the message that they were marked for death.
When an assassination was actually carried out, the Hashasheen would not be allowed to run away, but rather to strike further fear into the enemy, they would stand near the victim without showing any emotion, and departed only when the body was discovered. This further increased the ruthless reputation of the Hashasheen throughout Sunni-controlled lands.
Ismāʿīlīs believe numbers have religious meanings. The number seven plays a general role in the theology of the Ismā'īliyya, including mystical speculations that there are seven heavens, seven continents, seven orifices in the skull, seven days in a week, and so forth.
Sevener Ismāʿīlī doctrine holds that divine revelation had been given in six periods (daur) entrusted to six prophets, who they also call Natiq (Speaker), who were commissioned to preach a religion of law to their respective communities.
Whereas the Natiq was concerned with the rites and outward shape of religion, the inner meaning is entrusted to a Wasi (Representative). The Wasi would know the secret meaning of all rites and rules and would reveal them to a small circles of initiates.
The Natiq and the Wasi are in turn succeeded by a line of seven Imāms, who would guard what they received. The seventh and last Imām in any period would in turn be the Natiq of the next period. The last Imām of the sixth period however would not bring about a new religion of law but supersede all previous religions, abrogate the law and introduce din Adama al-awwal ("the original religion of Adam") practised by Adam and the Angels in paradise before the fall, which would be without cult or law but consist merely in all creatures praising the creator and recognizing his unity. This final stage was called Qiyamah.
Just as the Imām is seen by Ismailis as the Face of God, God's avatar within reality, the guide to the avatar is known as the Dai. During the period between the Imāmates of Muhammad ibn Ismail and al-Madhi Billah, the relationship between the teacher and the student became a sacred one, and the Dai became a position much beyond a normal missionary. The Dai passed on the sacred and hidden knowledge of the Imām to the student who could then use that information to ascend to higher levels. First the student loved the Dai, and from the Dai he learned to love the Imām, who was but a manifestation of God. In Nizari Ismailism, the head Dai is called the Pir. Contrastingly, in Twelver thought this includes the Prophets as well, especially Muhammad who is the greatest of all the manifestations of Aql.
God, in Isma'ili metaphysics, is seen as above and beyond all conceptions, names, and descriptions. He transcends all positive and negative qualities and knowledge of God as such is above all human comprehension.
For Shi'a Muslims, the Light (nur) of the Imamate is the Universal Intellect and consequently, the Imam on earth is the locus of manifestation (mazhar) of the Intellect.
Ismāʿīlīs believe in the Shi'ite doctrine of taqiyya, which means to hide one's true religious beliefs if there is a risk of persecution. This doctrine has been pivotal to the survival of Ismāʿīlī groups since they have been small minorities in many countries and empires hostile to them.
Translated from Arabic as “guardianship” and denotes “Love and devotion for God, the Prophets, the Aimmat and Imām uz Zaman, and the Dai.” It also denotes Ta'at (following every order without protest, but with one's soul's happiness, knowing that nothing is more important than a command from God, and what is the command of His vicegerents' but His Word?) In Ismāʿīlī doctrine, God is the true desire of every soul, and He manifests himself in the forms of Prophets and Imāms, and to be guided to his path, one requires a messenger or a guide: a Dai. For the true mawali of the Imam and Dai, heaven is made obligatory. And only with this crucial walayat, they believe, will all the other pillars and acts ordained by Islam will be judged or even looked at by God.
A pillar which translates from Arabic as “purity.” As well as a pure soul, it includes bodily purity and cleanliness- without Taharat of the body, clothes and ma'salla, Salaat will not be accepted.
In place of Taharah, the Druze have the Shahada, or affirmation of faith.
A pillar which translates from Arabic as “prayer.” Unlike Sunni and Twelver Muslims, Nizari Ismai'lis do not follow the mainstream Islamic practice with regards to the number of daily prayers. Nizari Ismai'lis believe that it is up to the Imām of the time to designate the style and form of prayer. The Nizari prayer is called the Holy Du'a (supplication) and is recited three times a day, as opposed to the five prayers observed by most mainstream Muslims. In this regard, Ismaili's believe, the Imām of the time has the right to amend the prayers according to the needs of the time. The justification given for this is the verse from the Qur'an which states "And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take away evil deeds this is a reminder to the mindful."(Qur'an 11:114)The two ends of the day are interpereted as sunrise (Fajr) and sunset (Maghrib), and the first hours of the night as sundown (Isha'a) The Druze, who choose not to follow Islamic shari'ah (legal code), attribute a solely metaphorical meaning to salah. In contrast, the Mustaali (Bohra) branch of Ismailism has kept five prayers and their style is generally closely related to Twelver groups.
A pillar which translates as “charity.” With the exception of the Druze sect, the Ismāʿīlīs' form of zakat resembles the Zakat of the Muslims. The Twelvers, pay khums which is 1/5 of one's unspent money at the end of the year. Ismāʿīlīs, pay a tithe of 12.5% which is used for development projects in the eastern world, primarily to benefit Ismāʿīlīs, but also by extension to other communities living in that area.
A pillar which translates as “fasting.” Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims fast by abstaining from food, drink and sexual relations with one's spouse from dawn to sunset for 30 days during the holy month of Ramadan (9th month of the Islamic calendar). In contrast, the Nizari and Musta'ali sects believe in a metaphorical as well as a literal meaning of fasting. The literal meaning is that one must fast as an obligation, such as during Ramadan, and the metaphorical meaning being that one is in attainment of the Divine Truth and must strive to avoid worldy activities which may detract from this goal. In particular, Ismāʿīlīs believe that the esoteric meaning of fasting involves a the "fasting of soul," whereby they attempt to purify the soul simply by avoiding sinful acts and doing good deeds, etc. In addition, the Nizari also fast on "Shukravari Beej" which falls on a Friday that coincides with the New Moon.
A pillar which translates from Arabic as “pilgrimage", it is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in one's lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. Many Ismaili sects do not ascribe to mainstream Islamic beliefs regarding the Hajj, considering it instead to metaphorically mean visiting the Imam himself, that being the greatest and most spiritual of all pilgrimages. However, as the Druze do not follow shariah, they do not believe in a literal pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca like other Muslims do, while the Mustaali (Bohras)as well as Nizaris still hold on to the literal meaning as well, performing hajj to the Ka'aba and also regarding visiting the Imam (or in a secluded time like today, the Dai, who after all is the representative or vicegerent of the Imam) to be Hajj-e Haqiqi., whom they claim is descended from through his daughter and 'Ali, 's cousin and son-in-law. The 46th Ismāʿīlī Imām, Aga Hassan ‘Alī Shah, fled Iran in the 1840s after a failed coup against the Shah of the Qajar dynasty. Aga Hassan ‘Alī Shah settled in Mumbai in 1848.
While on one view there is a historical nexus between the Druze and Ismāʿīlīs, any such links are purely historical and do not entail any modern similarities, given that one of the Druze's central tenets is trans-migration of the soul (reincarnation) as well as other contrasting beliefs with Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam. Druze is an offshoot of Ismailism. Many historical links do trace back to Syria and particularly Masyaf.
A branch of the Ismāʿīlī known as the Sabaʿiyyīn "Seveners" hold that Ismāʿīl's son, Muhammad, was the seventh and final Ismāʿīlī, who is said to be in the Occultation.
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