It is quite common if you ask any Ismaili that is there any preaching of Quran inside the Jamatkhanas.Surely the answer is No. And you may sometimes hear from some Ismailis that we don’t need to read the Quran, our Imam is Talking Quran (Boltu Quran).
Rai Kamaluddin explains the philosophy of Nizari Ismaili prayer (Ismaili Holy Dua). #Aga Khan Al Waez Abu Ali - Waez on QAYAMAT - Waez No 218 - The Ismaili Tube. Ismaili Waez Meditation and Mind Control Rai Kamaluddin Lecture.
Ismaili Waez Importance of Prayer Rai Kamaluddin Lecture. Rai Kamaluddin - Essence of Our Faith (Urdu/Ismaili Jamatkhana Waez Lecture). Ismaili Waez Light of the Soul Kamaluddin Lecture.
ISMAILI SHIRKIYA DUA. Academic Lecture: Jesus in Esoteric Islam by Khalil Andani.
MUSICAL ZIKR TASBIH by RC and RUBINA (Diamond Jubilee Tasbih). Rai Kamaluddin Waez- Imamat from Quran. Ismaili Prayer by Alwaez Shamshuddin Alidina (HD). Rai Kamaluddin - Importance of Bait Ul Khayal (Urdu/Ismaili Jamatkhana Waez Lecture). Kalaame Mawla - Alwaeza Zarina Kamaluddin. The Imam of the 20 Million Shia Imami Ismaili Nizari Muslims.
Ismaili Wayez on Dashond.
. Ismāʿīlism (: الإسماعيلية al-Ismāʿīliyya;: اسماعیلیان;: اسماعيلي; Esmāʿīliyān) are a branch of. The Ismāʿīlī ( ) get their name from their acceptance of Imam as the appointed spiritual successor to, wherein they differ from the who accept, younger brother of Isma'il, as the. Ismailism rose at one point to become the largest branch of Shī‘ism, climaxing as a political power with the in the tenth through twelfth centuries. Ismailis believe in the of, as well as the closing of divine revelation with Muhammad, whom they see as 'the final Prophet and Messenger of God to all humanity'.
The Ismāʿīlī and the Twelvers both accept the same initial Imams. After the death of 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 ( ) of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the more literalistic ( ) oriented and later schools of thought, Shi'i Islam developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismaili group focusing on the path and nature of, with the 'Imām of the Time' representing the manifestation of esoteric truth and intelligible reality, with the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law and the deeds and sayings of Muhammad and who were guides and a light to God. Ismaili thought is heavily influenced.
Though there are several paths ( ) within Ismailism, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the, who recognize as the 49th hereditary Imam and are the largest Ismaili group. In recent centuries Ismāʿīlīs have largely been a and community, but Ismailis are also found in, and, and have in recent years emigrated to, the,. There are also a significant number of Ismāʿīlīs in.
Main article: Ismailism shares its beginnings with other early Shi‘i sects that emerged during the succession crisis that spread throughout the early Muslim community. From the beginning, the Shia asserted the right of, cousin of, 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.
The conflict remained relatively peaceful between the partisans of ‘Ali and those who asserted a semi-democratic system of electing caliphs, until the third of the, was killed, and ‘Alī, with popular support, ascended to the caliphate. Soon after his ascendancy, the third of the Prophet's wives, claimed along with Uthman's tribe, the, that Ali should take Qisas (blood for blood) from the people responsible for Uthman's death.
‘Ali 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 was fought and Aisha was defeated but was respectfully escorted to Medina by Ali. Following this battle, the of Syria, also staged a revolt under the same pretences. ‘Ali led his forces against Muawiya until the side of Muawiya held copies of the against their spears and demanded that the issue be decided by Islam's holy book.
‘Ali accepted this, and an arbitration was done which ended in his favor. A group among Ali's army believed that subjecting his legitimate authority to arbitration was tantamount to apostasy, and abandoned his forces. This group was known as the and ‘Ali wished to defeat their forces before they reached the cities where they would be able to blend in with the rest of the population. While he was unable to do this, he nonetheless defeated their forces in subsequent battles. Regardless of these defeats, the Kharijites survived and became a violently problematic group in Islamic history. After plotting an assassination against ‘Ali, Muawiya, and the arbitrator of their conflict, only ‘Ali was successfully assassinated in 661 CE, and the Imāmate passed on to his son and then later his son, or according to the Nizari Ismāʿīlī, the Imamate passed temporarily to Hasan, who was an Entrusted Imam ( al-imam al-mustawda), and afterwards to Husayn who was the Permanent Imam ( al-imam al-mustaqarr). The Entrusted Imam is an Imam in the full sense except that the lineage of the Imamate must continue through the Permanent Imam.
However, the political caliphate was soon taken over by Muawiya, the only leader in the empire at that time with an army large enough to seize control. Even some of Ali's early followers regarded him as 'an absolute and divinely guided leader who could demand of them the same kind of loyalty that would have been expected for the Prophet.' For example, one of Ali's supporters who also was devoted to the Prophet said to him: 'our opinion is your opinion and we are in the palm of your right hand.' The early followers of ‘Ali seem to have taken his guidance as 'right guidance' deriving from Divine support. In other words, ‘Ali's guidance was seen to be the expression of God's will and the Qur'anic message. This spiritual and absolute authority of ‘Ali was known as walayah and it was inherited by his successors, the Imams. In the first century after the Prophet, the term sunnah was not specifically defined as 'Sunnah of the Prophet' but was used in connection to Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, Uthman, and some Umayyad Caliphs.
The idea of 'Hadith' or traditions ascribed to the Prophet was not mainstream nor was Hadith criticism. Even the earliest legal texts by Malik b. Anas and Abu Hanifa employ many methods including analogical reasoning and opinion and do not rely exclusively on hadith. Only in the 2nd century does the Sunni jurist al-Shafi‘i first argue that only the Sunnah of the Prophet should be a source of law and that this Sunnah is embodied in Hadiths. It would take another one hundred years after al-Shafi‘i for Sunni Muslim jurists to fully base their methodologies on prophetic Hadiths. Meanwhile, Imam Shia Muslims followed the Imams' interpretations of Islam as normative without any need for Hadiths and other sources of Sunni law such as analogy and opinion.
Karbala and afterward The Battle of Karbala. Main article: After the death of Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn and his family were increasingly worried about the religious and political persecution that was becoming commonplace under the reign of Muawiya's son,. Amidst this turmoil in 680, Husayn along with the women and children of his family, upon receiving invitational letters and gestures of support by Kufis, wished to go to and confront Yazid as an intercessor on part of the citizens of the empire.
However, he was stopped by Yazid's army in during the month of. His family was starved and deprived of water and supplies, until eventually the army came in on the tenth day and martyred Husayn and his companions, and enslaved the rest of the women and family, taking them to Kufa. This battle would become extremely important to the Shi'i psyche. The Twelvers as well as Mustaali Ismāʿīlī still mourn this event during an occasion known as. 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, during commemoration they do not have any celebrations in during Muharram and may have announcements or sessions regarding the tragic events of. Also individuals may observe Muharram in a wide variety of ways.
This respect for Muharram does not include self-flagellation and beating because they feel that harming one's body is harming a gift from. Main article: After being set free by Yazid, the daughter of and and the sister of Hasan and Husayn, started to spread the word of Karbala to the Muslim world, making speeches regarding the event.
This was the first organized of the Shia, which would later develop into an extremely spiritual institution for the Ismāʿīlīs. After the poisoning of by in 713, Shiism's first succession crisis arose with 's companions and the who claimed Zayd ibn ‘Alī as the Imām, whilst the rest of the Shia upheld as the Imām. The Zaidis argued that any or 'descendant of Muhammad through Hasan or Husayn' who rebelled against tyranny and the injustice of his age could be the Imām.
The Zaidis created the first Shi'i states in Iran, Iraq and Yemen. In contrast to his predecessors, Muhammad al-Baqir focused on academic Islamic scholarship in, where he promulgated his teachings to many Muslims, both Shia and non-Shia, in an extremely organized form of Daʿwah. In fact, the earliest text of the Ismaili school of thought is said to be the (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.
However, following al-Sadiq's poisoning in 765, a fundamental split occurred in the community., who at one point was appointed by his father as the next Imam, appeared to have predeceased his father in 755. While Twelvers argue that either he was never heir apparent or he truly predeceased his father and hence was the true heir to the Imamate, the Ismāʿīlīs argue that either the death of Isma'il was staged in order to protect him from Abbasid persecution or that the Imamate passed to Muhammad ibn Isma'il in lineal descent. Ascension of the Dais. A depicting in a circa 1503 copy of his disciple 's poem, the ' '. Is believed to have been an Ismaili Dai and his relationship with Rumi a symbolic manifestation of the sacred relationship between the guide and the guided. For some partisans of Ismāʿīl, the Imāmate ended with Ismāʿīl ibn Ja'far.
Most Ismailis recognized as the next Imam and some saw him as the expected that Ja'far al-Sadiq had preached about. However, at this point the Ismāʿīlī Imāms according to the Nizari and Mustaali found areas where they would be able to be safe from the recently founded, which had defeated and seized control from the Umayyads in 750 CE. At this point, some of the Ismaili community believed that Muhammad ibn Ismail had gone into and that he would one day return. A small group traced the Imamat among Muhammad ibn Ismail's lineal descendants. With the status and location of the Imāms not known to the community, the concealed Ismaili Imams began to propagate the faith through from its base in Syria. This was the start of the spiritual beginnings of the Daʿwah that would later play important parts in the all Ismaili branches, especially the Nizaris and the Musta'lis.
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 well being. The Da'i was a guide and light to the Imām. The teacher-student relationship of the Da'i and his student was much like the one that would develop in. The student desired God, and the Da'i could bring him to God by making him recognize the Imām, who possesses the knowledge of the Oneness of God. The Da'i and Imam were respectively the spiritual mother and spiritual father of the Isma'ili believers.
Ja‘far bin Manṣūr al-Yaman's is a classic of early Fāṭimid literature, documenting important aspects of the development of the Ismāʿīlī da‘wa in tenth-century Yemen. The book is also of considerable historical value for modern scholars of Arabic prose literature as well as those interested in the relationship of esoteric Shī‘ism with early Islamic mysticism. Likewise is the book an important source of information regarding the various movements within tenth-century Shī‘ism leading to the spread of the Fāṭimid-Isma‘īlī da‘wa throughout the medieval Islamicate world, and the religious and philosophical history of post-Fāṭimid Musta‘lī branch of Ismāʿīlism in Yemen and India. And is a famous example of the importance of the relationship between the guide and the guided, and Rumi dedicated much of his literature to Shams Tabrizi and his discovery of the truth. The Qarmatians. Main article: While many of the Ismāʿīlī were content with the Dai teachings, a group that mingled Persian nationalism and surfaced known as the Qarmatians.
With their headquarters in, they accepted a young Persian former prisoner by the name of, who claimed to be the descendant of the Persian kings as their Mahdi, and rampaged across the Middle-East in the tenth century, climaxing their violent campaign by stealing the from the in in 930 under. Following the arrival of the Al-Isfahani, they changed their from the in to the Zoroastrian-influenced fire. After their return of the Black Stone in 951 and a defeat by the Abbasids in 976 the group slowly dwindled off and no longer has any adherents. The Fatimid Caliphate. Main article: 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 Abdullah 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. 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'i political state ruled by the Imāmate in 910. 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 recognizing the extent that Ismāʿīlī doctrine had spread, the assigned and scholars the task to disprove the lineage of the new dynasty. This became known as the and it traces the lineage of the Fatimids to a. The Middle East under Fatimid rule. The Fatimid Caliphate at its peak.
The Fatimid Caliphate expanded quickly under the subsequent Imāms. Under the Fatimids, became the center of an that included at its peak, the coast of Africa, and the. Under the Fatimids, Egypt flourished and developed an extensive trade network in both the and the, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the. The Fatimids promoted ideas that were radical for that time. One was promotion by merit rather than genealogy. Also during this period the three contemporary branches of Ismailism formed.
The first branch occurred with the. Born in 985, he ascended as ruler at the age of eleven. A religious group that began 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 unique doctrines which often class it separately from both Ismailism and Islam. Was the Hujjah in Yemen from the time of Imam al Mustansir.
She appointed the Dai in Yemen to run religious affairs. Ismaili missionaries Ahmed and (in about 1067 CE (460 AH)) were also sent to India in that time. They sent to Dongaon to look after southern part and to East, India. The second split occurred following the death of in 1094 CE. His rule was the longest of any caliph in both the Fatimid and other Islamic empires.
After he died, his sons, the older, and, the younger, fought for political and spiritual control of the dynasty. Nizar was defeated and jailed, but according to sources his son escaped to, where the Ismāʿīlī had accepted his claim. The Mustaali line split again between the and the, the former claiming that the 21st Imām and son of 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 (: الداعي المطلق) literally means 'the absolute or unrestricted '.
This dai was the only source of the Imām's knowledge after the occultation of al-Qasim in Mustaali thought. According to tradition, after the death of Imām al-Amīr, his infant son, about 2 years old, was protected by the most important woman in Musta'li history after the Prophet's daughter, Fatimah. She 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 the Dāʻī al-Mutlaq. Was first to be instituted to this office. Dai continued in Yemen up to 24th Dai who shifted Dawat to India. Before the shift of Dawat in India Dai's representative were known as Wali-ul-Hind. Was one of the prominent Ismaili wali of 14th century.
The line of Tayyib Dais that began in 1132 is still continuing under the main sect known as (see ). The Mustaali split several times over disputes regarding who was the rightful Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq, the leader of the community within. 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 followers of Suleman were then called Sulaimani.
Dawoodi Bohra's present Dai al Mutlaq, the 53rd, is Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, and he and his devout followers tread the same path, following the same tradition of the Aimmat Fatimiyyeen. The are mostly concentrated in Yemen and Saudi Arabia with some communities in the. The and are mostly exclusive to South Asia, after the migration of the Da'wah from Yemen to India. Other groups include. Mustaali beliefs and practices, unlike those of the Nizari and Druze, are completely compatible with mainstream Islam, representing a continuation of Fatimid tradition. Decline of the Caliphate In the 1040s, the (governors of the under the Fatimids) declared their independence and their conversion to, which led to the devastating invasions. After about 1070, the Fatimid hold on the coast and parts of Syria was challenged by first invasions, then the, so that Fatimid territory shrunk until it consisted only of Egypt.
Damascus fell to the in 1076, leaving the Fatimids only in charge of Egypt and the Levantine coast up to. Because of the vehement opposition to the Fatimids from the Seljuks, the Ismaili movement was only able to operate as a terrorist underground movement, much like the. After the decay of the Fatimid political system in the 1160s, the ruler had his general, seize Egypt in 1169, forming the Sunni. This signaled the end of the Hafizi Mustaali branch of Ismailism as well as the Fatimid Caliphate.
Main article: Very early in the empire's life, the Fatimids sought to spread the Ismāʿīlī faith, which in turn would spread loyalty to the Imāmate in Egypt. One of their earliest attempts was taken by a missionary by the name of. Hassan-i Sabbah was born into a family living in the scholarly Persian city of in 1056 CE.
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 and feared dying without knowing the Imām of his time. Afterwards, Hassan-i Sabbah became one of the most influential Dais in Ismāʿīlī history; he became important to the survival of the Nizari branch of Ismailism, which today is its largest branch. Legend holds that he met with Imām and asked him who his successor would be, to which he responded that it would be his eldest son. Hassan-i Sabbah continued his missionary activities, which climaxed with his taking of the famous citadel of. 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 into an outpost of Fatimid rule within Abbasid territory. The Hashasheen / Assassiyoon.
Main article: Surrounded by the Abbasids and other hostile powers and low in numbers, Hassan-Al Sabbah devised a way to attack the Ismāʿīlī's enemies with minimal losses. Using the method of assassination, he ordered the murders of Sunni scholars and politicians who he felt threatened the Ismāʿīlīs. Knives and daggers were used to kill, and sometimes as a warning, a knife would be placed on the pillow of a Sunni, who understood the message to mean that he was marked for death. When an assassination was actually carried out, the Hashasheen would not be allowed to run away; instead, 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. The English word, assassination, is said to have been derived from the Arabic word. It means both 'those who use hashish,' and one of the Shiite Ismaili sects in the Syria of the eleventh century.
Threshold of the Imāmate. View of besieged. After the imprisonment of Nizar by his younger brother Ahmad al Mustaali, various sources indicate that Nizar's son Ali Al-Hadi ibn Nizar al-Hādī survived and fled to Alamut. He was offered a safe place in Alamut, where Hassan-Al-Sabbah welcomed him.
However, it is believed this was not announced to the public and the lineage was hidden until a few Imāms later. It was announced with the advent of Imām Hassan II. In a show of his Imāmate and to emphasize the interior meaning (the ) over the exterior meaning (the ), Imam Hasan announced the Qiyamah (spiritual resurrection) - the beginning of a new era in which the spiritual meaning of the religious law was revealed and practiced openly. He prayed with his back to Mecca, as did the rest of the congregation, who prayed behind him, and ordered the community to break their fasting with a feast at noon. He made a speech saying that the Imam had brought his murids to the qiyamah from the shariah. Afterwards his descendants ruled as the Imāms at Alamut until its destruction by the Mongols. Destruction by the Mongols.
Main article: The Ginans are religious texts. They are written in the form of poetry by to interpret the meanings of Quranic into the languages of South Asia, especially. In comparison to Ginans, Ismāʿīlīs of other origins, such as Persians, Arabs, and Central Asians, have (: قصيدة) written by missionaries such as and Reincarnation (Druze) Belief in exists in the faith, an offshoot of Ismailism.
The Druze believe that members of their community can only be reincarnated within the community. It is also known that Druze believe in five cosmic principles, represented by the five-colored Druze star: intelligence/reason (green), soul (red), word (yellow), precedent (blue), and (white). These virtues take the shape of five different spirits which, until recently, have been continuously reincarnated on Earth as prophets and philosophers including, the ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer, the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt, and many others. The Druze believe that, in every time period, these five principles were personified in five different people who came down together to Earth to teach humans the true path to God and enlightenment, but that with them came five other individuals who would lead people away from the right path into 'darkness.' Numerology. Ismāʿīlīs believe the Qur'an has two layers of meaning, the meaning apparent, and the, meaning hidden. For this sect, the Imām is the manifestation of truth, and hence he is their path of salvation to God.
Classical 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).
Holy Dua Ismaili
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 guard what they received. The seventh and last Imām in any period becomes the Natiq of the next period. The last Imām of the sixth period, however, would not bring about a new religion of law but rather supersede all previous religions, abrogate the law and introduce din Adama al-awwal ('the original religion of Adam') practised by and the in before the fall, which would be without ritual or law but consist merely in all creatures praising the creator and recognizing his unity. This final stage was called. Pir and Dawah.
Main article: Just as the Imām is seen by Ismailis as the manifestation of the first-created Light, 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 an interceder on behalf of God. In, the head Dai is called the.
The Imam is the Pir in Nizari Ismailism. Main article: As with other Shia, Ismāʿīlīs believe that the understanding of God is derived from the first light in the universe, the light of 'Aql, which in Arabic roughly translates as 'Intellect' or to 'bind' (Latin: Intellectus).
It is through this Universal Intellect ('aql al-kull) that all living and non-living entities know God, and all of humanity is dependent and united in this light. 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. Read more at: For the Shia, the Light ( nur) of the Imamate is the Universal Intellect, and consequently, the Imam on earth is the focus of manifestation ( mazhar) of the Intellect. Dasond (Zakat) The Ismailis have submitted the Qur'anic zakat (see Qur'an 9:103), which is a purification due and not charitable alms, to the Imams since the death of the Prophet Muhammad.
The zakat rates historically differed depending on the asset type - 2.5% of animals, 5% of minerals, and 10% of crops. Among Khoja Ismailis, the zakat is 12.5% of cash income and among other Ismailis of Iran, Syria, Central Asia, and China, the zakat is 10% of cash income and other%s of non-cash assets like crops and livestock. The entire zakat amount is given to the Ismaili Imam through his representatives in the Jamatkhanas, called Mukhi-Sahibs. The zakat/dasond funds are used exclusively for the benefit of the community — and for the expenses the Office of the Imamat incurs in this work.
And even though the Imam has a right to a portion of those funds, personally, in fact the reverse happens and the Imam supplements Imamat funds from his personal resources, sometimes by an additional 150%. This has been documented in several interviews of the present Aga Khan. Main article: Walayah is 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 that the command of His vicegerents is His Word). In Ismāʿīlī doctrine, God is the true desire of every soul, and He manifests himself in the forms of Prophets and Imāms; 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 be judged or even looked at by God. Taharah or Shahada Taharah.
Main article: A pillar which is translated as “fasting.” Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims fast by abstaining from food, drink from dawn to sunset as well purifying the soul by avoiding sinful acts and doing good deeds, e.g., not lying, being honest in daily life, not backbiting, etc., for 30 days during the holy month of (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 is seeking to attain the Divine Truth and striving to avoid worldly activities which may detract from this goal. In particular, Ismāʿīlīs believe that the esoteric meaning of fasting involves a 'fasting of the soul,' whereby they attempt to purify the soul simply by avoiding sinful acts and doing good deeds. Still, many Nizari Ismailis around the world fast during the month of Ramadan every year. In addition, the Nizari also fast on 'Shukravari Beej' which falls on a Friday that coincides with the.
Holy Dua Ismaili Song
Main article: A pillar which translates from Arabic as “pilgrimage,' meaning 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, since the Druze do not follow shariah, they do not believe in a literal pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca as other Muslims do, while the Mustaali (Bohras) as well as the Nizaris still hold on to the literal meaning as well, performing hajj to the Ka'aba and also visiting the Imam (or in a secluded time like today, the Dai, who is the representative or vicegerent of the Imam) to be Hajj-e Haqiqi.
Main article: An Islamic term, Jihad is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād is a noun meaning 'struggle.' Jihad appears frequently in the Qur'an and is sometimes used in the nonmilitary sense. A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is mujahideen. When a violent act is intended, the Qur'an used the term 'Qattal' meaning to engage in killing/violence.
A minority among the Sunni scholars sometimes refer to this duty as the sixth pillar of Islam, though it occupies no such official status. In Twelver Shi'a Islam, however, Jihad is one of the 10 Practices of the Religion.
For the Isma'ilis, Jihad is the last of the Seven Islamic Pillars, and for them it means a struggle against one's own soul; striving toward rightness, and sometimes as struggle in warfare. However, Isma'ilis will stress that none but their Imam uz Zaman Imam of the Time can declare war and call his followers to fight. Branches.
Symbol of the. The largest part of the Ismāʿīlī community, Qasim-Shahi Nizari today accepts as their 49th Imām, who they claim is descended from Muḥammad through his daughter Fāṭimah az-Zahra and 'Ali, Muḥammad's cousin and son-in-law. The 46th Ismāʿīlī Imām, Aga Hassan ‘Alī Shah, fled in the 1840s after being blamed for a failed coup against the Shah of the. Aga Hassan ‘Alī Shah settled in in 1848. Muhammad-Shahi Nizari/Mumini There is the offshoot of the Muhammad-Shahi Nizari Ismailis who follow the elder son of Shamsu-d-Dīn Muḥammad, the 28th Qasim-Shahi Imam, named ‘Alā’ ad-Dīn Mumin Shāh (26th Imam of the Muhammad-Shahi Nizari Ismailis). They follow this line of Imams until the disappearance of the 40th Imam Amir Muhammad al-Baqir in 1796.
There are followers of this line of Nizari Imams in Syria today, locally called the Jafariyah. Musta'ali. Main article: In time, the seat for one chain of the Dai was split between and as the community split several times, each recognizing a different Dai. Today, the, which constitute the majority of the Mustaali Ismāʿīlī accept as the 53rd Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq. The Dawoodi Bohras are based in India, along with the. Minority groups of the, however, exist in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. In recent years, there has been a rapprochement between the Sulaymani, Dawoodi and Alavi Mustaali sub-sects.
The sects are the most traditional of the three main groups of Ismāʿīlī, maintaining rituals such as prayer and fasting more consistently with the practices of other Shi'i sects. It is often said that they resemble Sunni Islam even more than Twelvers do, though this would hold true for matters of the exterior rituals ( zahir) only, with little bearing on doctrinal or theological differences. Dawoodi Bohra. The divisions of the Mustaali, sometimes referred to as Bohras. The Dawoodi Bohras are a very close-knit community who seek advice from the Dai on spiritual and temporal matters.
Dawoodi Bohras is headed by the Dāʻī al-Mutlaq, who is appointed by his predecessor in office. The Dāʻī al-Mutlaq appoints two others to the subsidiary ranks of māzūn (Arabic Maʾḏūn مأذون) 'licentiate' and Mukāsir (: مكاسر). These positions are followed by the rank of ra'sul hudood, bhaisaheb, miya-saheb, shaikh-saheb and mulla-saheb, which are held by several of Bohras. The 'Aamil or Saheb-e Raza who is granted the permission to perform the religious ceremonies of the believers by the Dāʻī al-Mutlaq and also leads the local congregation in religious, social and community affairs, is sent to each town where a sizable population of believers exists. Such towns normally have a masjid (commonly known as mosque) and an adjoining jamaa'at-khaana (assembly hall) where socio-religious functions are held.
The local organizations which manage these properties and administer the social and religious activities of the local Bohras report directly to the central administration of the Dāʻī al-Mutlaq. While the majority of Dawoodi Bohras have traditionally been traders, it is becoming increasingly common for them to become professionals. Some choose to become, or analysts as well as a large contingent of medical professionals. Dawoodi Bohras are encouraged to educate themselves in both and knowledge, and as a result, the number of professionals in the community is rapidly increasing. Dawoodi Bohras believe that the education of women is equally important as that of men, and many Dawoodi Bohra women choose to enter the workforce. (The Arabic Academy) in, Nairobi and is a sign to the educational importance in the Dawoodi community.
The Academy has an advanced curriculum which encompasses religious and secular education for both men and women. Today there are approximately one million Dawoodi Bohra. The majority of these reside in and, but there is also a significant residing in the, and the.
The ordinary Bohra is highly conscious of his identity, and this is especially demonstrated at religious and traditional occasions by the appearance and attire of the participants. Dawoodi Bohra men wear a traditional white three-piece outfit, plus a white and gold cap (called a topi), and women wear the rida, a distinctive form of the commonly known which is distinguished from other forms of the due to it often being in color and decorated with patterns and lace. The rida's difference from the burqa, however, is significant beyond just the colour, pattern and lace. The rida does not call for covering of women's faces like the traditional veil. It has a flap called the 'pardi' that usually hangs on the back like the hood of a jacket but it is not used to conceal the face. This is representative of the Dawoodi Bohra community's values of equality and justice for women, which they believe, is a tenet of the Fatimid Imamate's evolved understanding of Islam and the true meaning of women's chastity in Islam.
The Dawoodi Bohra community also do not prevent their women from coming to mosques, attending religious gatherings or going to places of pilgrimage. It is often regarded as the most peaceful sect of Islam and an example of true Sufism; it has been critically acclaimed on several occasions even by Western governments such as those of the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and particularly the United States for its progressive outlook towards gender roles, adoption of technology, promotion of literature, crafts, business and secular values. However, the Dawoodi Bohras are highly single-minded about inter-caste or inter-faith marriage.
They do not oppose it but do not encourage it either. If a Dawoodi Bohra member does marry into another caste or religion, he or she is usually advised to ask his or her spouse to convert to Islam and, specifically, into the community. They believe that straying away from the community implies straying away from Ma'ad – the ultimate objective of this life and the meaning of the teachings of Islam, which is to return to where all souls comes from and re-unite with Allah. Besides, converting someone to Islam has high spiritual and religious significance as doctrines espouse that making someone a Muslim or Mu'min confers the Sawab (reward of good deeds) equivalent to that of 40 Hajjs and 40 Umrahs (visiting Mecca and the Kaaba during days other than that of Hajj). The position of is after the demise of the 52nd of the community, Mohammed Burhanuddin.
Two claimants emerged for the position of 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq, and, and a case is pending in the Bombay High Court to resolve the matter. Qutbuddin has since died and appointed his son as his successor. Besides speaking the local languages, the Dawoodis have their own language called 'Tongue of the Dāʻwat'. This is written in the but is derived from, and Arabic and Persian. Sulaymani. Main article: Founded in 1592, the are mostly concentrated in but are also found in.
The denomination is named after its 27th Daʻī,. They are referred and prefer to be referred as Ahle-Haq Isma'ilis and Sulaymanis and not with the Bohras suffix. The total number of Sulaymanis currently are around 300,000, mainly living in the eastern district of in northwest and in,. Beside the of Najran, the Sulaymanis are in Haraz, among the inhabitants of the Jabal Maghariba and in Hawzan, Lahab and Attara, as well as in the district of Hamadan and in the vicinity of Yarim. In India there are between 3000 and 5000 Sulaymanis living mainly in,. In, there is a well-established Sulaymani community in Sind. Some ten thousand Sulaymanis live in rural areas of Punjab known to the Sulaymani as Jazeera-e Sind; these Sulaymani communities have been in the Jazeera-e Sind from the time of Fatimid Imam-Caliph when he sent his Daʻīs to Jazeera-e Sind.
There are also some 900–1000 Sulaymanis mainly from South Asia scattered around the world, in the Persian Gulf States, and the. Alavi Bohra. Main article: The ‘Alavi Bohras, popularly and incorrectly known as Alya Bohras, follow a different line of succession of Du’aat ( missionaries) from the 29th da’i onwards after the split from Da’udi Bohras in Ahmedabad in 1621 CE. They believe the rightful da’i was a grandson of the 28th da’i named (d.
1046 AH/1637 CE). They are named after this ‘Ali, calling themselves ‘Alavis, and their mission ad-Da’wat ul-Haadiyat ul-‘Alaviyah. Three da’is later, in 1110 AH/1699 CE, the seat of the ‘Alavi Da’wat was moved from to by 32nd da’i, acting on the will of 31st da’i (except for a brief interlude in Surat for 20 years 1158-1178 AH/1745-1764 CE).
Since then Vadodara remains the headquarters of the ‘Alavis to this day. The ‘Alavi Bohras have a library of 450 Isma’ili manuscripts, some up to 500 years old, at their centre in Vadodara.
Currently ‘Alavi Bohras are a close-knit organized community numbering approximately 8000, with the majority of them settled in Vadodara, where they have their own locality. They have their own masjids and musafirkhanas in places like Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, Nadiad in India. Some have migrated to the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, UAE and Europe. Like majority of Bohra communities, ‘Alavi Bohras are mostly traders and dominate the optical and furniture market in Vadodara. They are now increasingly venturing into professions such as law, medicine, engineering, business management, computer sciences. Beings Isma’ili-Taiyebis they follow strictly spiritual hierarchical set-up, law, dress code, customs, beliefs, eating hadits, life-style, ethics and customary traditions etc. While lesser known and smallest in number, have their spiritual and temporal head as the 45th,.
Ismaili Dua Book
The doctrines of Alavi Bohras is centered in the recognition of Imam. It continues to be the most important foundation among Bohras. In fact, dai al-mutlaq acts as a direct representative of the concealed Imam as he receives required guidance from him. During this time of the concealment of 21st Fatimid Imam and his progeny, the religious hierarchy of the Alavi Bohras is headed by the Dāʻī al-Mutlaq, who is appointed by his predecessor in office and similar as of.
Hebtiahs Bohra. Main article: The Atba-i Malak jamaat (community) are a branch of Mustaali Ismaili Shi'a Islam that broke off from the mainstream Dawoodi Bohra after the death of the 46th, under the leadership of. They have further split into two more branches, the. Progressive Dawoodi Bohra The is a reformist sect within Musta'li Ismai'li Shi'a Islam that broke off circa 1977.
They disagree with mainstream Dawoodi Bohra, as led by the Da'i al-Mutlaq, on doctrinal, economic and social issues. Offshoots Druze. Main article: A branch of the Ismāʿīlī known as the Sab'īyah ' hold that Ismāʿīl's son, Muhammad ibn Ismail, was the seventh and final Ismāʿīlī Imam, who is said to be in. However, most scholars believe this group is either extremely small or non-existent today. The were the most active branch of the Seveners. Inclusion in Amman Message and Islamic Ummah The, which was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) by, called for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world. Subsequently, the 'Amman Message' Conference took place in Amman, Jordan on 4–6 July 2005 and a three-point declaration was issued by 200 Muslim academics from over 50 countries focusing on the three issues of:.
Defining who is a;. Excommunication from ( takfir); and. Principles related to delivering religious edicts ( ). The three-point declaration (later known as The Three Points of the Amman Message) included both the and Shia madhāhib (schools of jurisprudence) among the eight schools of jurisprudence that were listed as being in the Muslim fold and whose adherents were therefore to be considered as Muslim by definition and therefore cannot be excluded from the world community of Muslims.
The, the 49th Imam of the Ismailis, was invited to issue a religious edict for and on behalf of the Ismailis, which he did by a letter explicitly stating that the Ismailis adhered to the Ja'fari school as well as other schools of close affinity including the Sufi principles concerned with personal search for God. The summarization by explicitly delineates on page 11 the place of the Ismailis as being within the Ja'fari school as stated by the Aga Khan. Ismailism amongst Shia Islam The Shia belief throughout its history split over the issue of the Imamate. The largest branch are the Twelvers, followed by the Zaidi and Ismaili and Kaysanite. All the groups follow a different line of Imamate linked together as shown in chart below. Ismailis in the internet era With the advent of new technologies and way of communications, the office of Ismaili Imamat has made necessary use of the internet and social media in order to keep Ismailis (referred to as Jamat) across the globe updated about new happenings related to the Imam.
On April 17 2016, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) was successfully delegated.ismaili TLD. Saudi Arabia argued to ICANN for rejection of.ismaili TLD among 31 other TLDs. The application was rejected by ICANN.ismaili Following the delegation of.ismaili TLD, the official website of Ismaili Muslim community was moved from theismaili.org to the.ismaili. The website publishes regular news, event updates, articles and hosts live videos. The.ismaili on Social Media The office of Ismaili Imamat maintains official presence across five social media networks including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube.
All of the profiles are verified through relevant official authorities. The Ismaili magazine The offices of Ismaili imamat in various countries publish a monthly magazine under the name of The Ismaili followed by the country name. For example, The Ismaili Pakistan. See also. References.
The Uyun al-akhbar is the most complete text written by an Ismaili/Tayyibi/Dawoodi 19th Dai Sayyedna Idris bin Hasan on the history of the Ismaili community from its origins up to the 12th century period of the Fatimid caliphs al-Mustansir (d. 487/1094), the time of Musta‘lian rulers including al-Musta‘li (d. 495/1101) and al-Amir (d.
524/1130), and then the Tayyibi Ismaili community in Yemen. Daftary, Farhad (2012) Historical dictionary of the Ismailis. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2012. Steinberg, Jonah (2011) Isma'ili Modern: Globalization and Identity in a Muslim Community. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Tucker; Priscilla Roberts (12 May 2008), The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History 4 volumes: A Political, Social, and Military History, ABC-CLIO, External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.