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List of titles used by the followers of Ismailism , a branch of Shia Islam.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2020) |
List of titles used by the followers of Ismailism , a branch of Shia Islam.
The hierarchy (hudūd) of the organization of the Nizari Ismailis of the Alamut period was as follows:
Imam and da'is were the elites, while the majority of the sect consisted of the last three grades who were peasants and artisans. [1]
Other titles include:
The titles Bābā (بابا; Persian equivalent of the Arabic Shaykh, "Old Man") and Sayyidinā (Sayyidnā) (سیدنا; literally "Our Lord" or "Our Master") was used by the Nizaris to refer to Hassan-i Sabbah. [2]
Isma'ilism is a branch or sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kadhim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imām.
Alamut is a mountain fortress at an altitude of 2163 meters at the central Alborz, in the Iranian stanza of Qazvin, about 100 kilometers from Tehran. In 1090 AD, the Alamut Castle, a mountain fortress in present-day Iran, came into the possession of Hassan-i Sabbah, a champion of the Nizari Ismaili cause. Until 1256, Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the Nizari Ismaili state, which included a series of strategic strongholds scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by swathes of hostile territory.
Aga Khan is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV. Aga Khan claims to be a direct descendant of Muhammad, the last prophet according to the doctrine of Islam.
Hasan-i Sabbah was a religious and military leader, founder of the Nizari Ismai'li sect widely known as the Hashshashin or the Order of Assassins.
The Nizaris are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent reasoning or ijtihad; pluralism—the acceptance of racial, ethnic, cultural and inter-religious differences; and social justice. Nizaris, along with Twelvers, adhere to the Jaʽfari school of jurisprudence. The Aga Khan, currently Aga Khan IV, is the spiritual leader and Imam of the Nizaris. The global seat of the Ismaili Imamate is in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Musta‘lī are a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other living branch of Ismailism, presently led by Aga Khan IV—believe the nineteenth caliph was al-Musta'li's elder brother, Nizar. Isma'ilism is a branch of Shia Islam.
Hamid al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Kirmani was an Isma'ili scholar. He was of Persian origin and was probably born in the province of Kirman. He seems to have spent the greater part of his life as a Fatimid da'i (missionary) in Baghdad and Basra. He was a theologian and philosopher who rose to prominence during the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah.
Abu Mansur Nizar ibn al-Mustansir was a Fatimid prince, and the oldest son of the eighth Fatimid caliph and eighteenth Isma'ili imam, al-Mustansir. When his father died in December 1094, the powerful vizier, al-Afdal Shahanshah, raised Nizar's younger brother al-Musta'li to the throne in Cairo, bypassing the claims of Nizar and other older sons of al-Mustansir. Nizar escaped Cairo, rebelled and seized Alexandria, where he reigned as caliph with the regnal name al-Mustafa li-Din Allah. In late 1095 he was defeated and taken prisoner to Cairo, where he was executed by immurement.
Abu al-Husayn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Isma'il, commonly known as Muhammad al-Taqi, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Isma'ili Imams, succeeding his father, Ahmad al-Wafi. Like his father, he lived primarily in Salamiyah, and Abd Allah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah, the chief missionary, continued to serve as the hijab for him. Known by the title Ṣāḥib al-Rasāʾil, al-Taqi is said to have prepared with his followers an encyclopedic text called the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity. He died in 840 in Salamiyah and was succeeded by his son al-Husayn.
The History of Nizari Isma'ilism from the founding of Islam covers a period of over 1400 years. It begins with Muhammad's mission to restore to humanity the universality and knowledge of the oneness of the divine within the Abrahamic tradition, through the final message and what the Shia believe was the appointment of Ali as successor and guardian of that message with both the spiritual and temporal authority of Muhammad through the institution of the Imamate.
Idris Imad al-Din was the 19th Tayyibi Isma'ili Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq and a major religious and political leader in 15th-century Yemen, as well as a notable theologian and the most important medieval Isma'ili historian. His work is fundamental for the history of the Fatimid Caliphate and the Isma'ili communities in Yemen.
The Nizari state was a Nizari Isma'ili Shia state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah after he took control of the Alamut Castle in 1090 AD, which marked the beginning of an era of Ismailism known as the "Alamut period". Their people were also known as the Assassins or Hashashins.
Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad II or ʾAʿlā Muḥammad was the Nizari Isma'ili Imām of Alamūt who reigned the longest period out of any lord (Khudawand) of Alamut, forty-four years. He affirmed the policies of his father, Hassan Ala Dhikrihi's Salam, who had been stabbed to death a year after proclaiming Qiyāma, or Resurrection.
In Nizārī Ismāʿīlism, the qiyāma was ceremoniously proclaimed at the mountain fortress of Alamūt in 1164 CE by the Nizārī imām Ḥasan ʿAlā Dhikrihi al-Salām. According to standard narratives of Islamic eschatology, the Yawm al-Qiyāmah is to take place at the end of time, at which point people will be called to account for their actions, and then be rewarded or punished accordingly. The Nizārī proclamation of qiyāma, however, is distinct in that it takes place within history, and, as such, assumes a special significance.
By the late 11th century, the Shi'a sub-sect of Ismailism had found many adherents in Persia, although the region was occupied by the Sunni Seljuk Empire. The hostile tendencies of the Abbasid–Seljuk order triggered a revolt by Ismailis in Persia under Hassan-i Sabbah. Siege of Maysaf
Haft Bab, or “Seven Chapters,” is one of the most important literary remains of the Nizari branch of Isma’ilism from the early post-Alamut period. It was written by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim of Quhistan, an important center of Isma’ilism in Eastern Persia. For about two centuries after the Mongols destroyed the Nizari Isma’ili state of Alamut in 1256 C.E., Nizari da’wa remained inactive because the Imams were in hiding. However, from the middle of the fifteenth century C.E., the Qasimshahi Nizari imams resurfaced and established themselves in Anjudan, inspiring a rich tradition of literary activity. Haft Bab, which was written at the beginning of the sixteenth century C.E. is perhaps one of the earliest doctrinal treatises written in Persian from this Anjudan period.
Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan, or ʿAlī, surnamed Al-Hādī was the 20th Ismaili Nizari Imam. Born in Cairo, he was about 17 years old when his predecessor, Imam al-Mustansir, died, and 20 years old during the assumption of his Imamate in 490 AH/1097 CE. Henceforward, the seat of Ismaili Imamate was transferred from Egypt to Persia owing to the division among the Ismailis, where Hasan bin Sabbah had founded the Nizari Ismaili state.
Muhammad (I) al-Muhtadi, was the 21st Imam of the Nizari Ismailis. He was a concealed Imam.