Is Qaramite/Karmatians an earlier branch of Ismailis?

The book I am currently reading was published a hundred years ago. A lot of information is outdated and may no longer be very accurate. I'm definitely interested to read something new about all the sects that have been written so far.

But as of now, I am just going to simply read and not make a judgement about the content.


Is Qaramite/Karmatians an earlier branch of Ismailis?

Here's a quote from the book, given by D'Herbelot (in Article on Karmatians, Bib. Orient) about Hamdan Karmat (founder of the sect).

"Their founder taught his disciples to make fifty prayers a day and allowed them to eat things forbidden by Mussulmans. He allegorized the precepts of the Koran, giving
out prayer to be the symbol of obedience to the Imaum; fasting to be merely the symbol of silence and secrecy with respect to strangers who were not of their sect ; and that fidelity to the Imaum was figured by the precept which forbids fornication, so that those who reveal the precepts of their religion, and who do not obey their Sheikh blindly fall into the crime called ' zinah/ Instead of the tenth part of their property which Mussulmans gave to the poor, they were to set apart the fifth part for the Imaum."

Another quote from the book about Hamdan Karmat, this one by Von Hammer (History of the Assassins)

"His doctrine, in addition to the circumstances of its forbidding nothing, and declaring everything allowable and indifferent, meriting neither reward nor punishment, undermined more particularly the basis of Mohammedanism, by declaring that all its commands were allegorical, and merely a disguise of political precepts and maxims. Moreover, all was to be referred to the blameless and irreproachable Imaum Maassum, (preserved from error) as the model of a prince whom, though he had occupied no existing throne, they pretended to seek, and declared war against bad and good princes, without distinction, in order that, under the pretext of contending for a better, they might be able to unravel at once the thickly interwoven web of religion and government. The injunction of prayer meant nothing but obedience to the Imaum Maassum ; alms, the tithes to be given to him ; fasting, the preservation of the political secret regarding the Imaum of the family of Ismael. Everything depended on the interpretation 'Terwil' without which the whole word of the Koran, ' Tensil,' had neither meaning nor value. Religion did not consist in external observances, ' Iz-Zahir,' but in the internal feeling,' il-Batin/"

The begining of Ismailis

According to De Sacy, proto-Ismailis didn't begin until after year 863 AD, to coincide with lifetime of Abdullah son of Maimoun, who by now was a fugitive in Syria. His son, Ahmed become the chief/leader of the Ismailis after his demise.

The author stressed that the link between the Ismailis and the Qaramite is the fact that Ahmed sent emissary to Kufa, Iraq who met with Hamdan Karmat

The family of Maimoun Kaddah were glorifying their own household and were in no way promoting the Imamah of Ismail ibn Jaffar as-Sadiq. Hamdan, the leader of the Qaramite, was also promoting his own set of beliefs and doctrines.

Briefly, here's the belief system created by Abdullah Maimoun
He divided his system into seven degrees after the pythagorean and Indian philosophers. Members are initiated gradually.

He appointed emissaries to enlist disciples.

He used the names of the descendants of Muhammad ibn Ismail son of Jaffar as-Sadiq to further his own political agenda.

Following are the seven degrees (part of the teaching)

- First Degree: Initiation. Taking a solemn oath to bound a person to the secret doctrine with blind faith and unconditional obedience.

- Second Degree: Establishing the faith of the divinely appointed Imams.

- Third Degree: Recognizing the seven Imams of Ismailis. Their names are Ali, Hassan, Hussein, Zayn al Abidin, Muhammad al-Baqir, Jaffar as-Sadiq and Ismail as the last and the seventh Imam.

- Fourth Degree: Belief in the seven law-giving Prophets or speaking Prophets (Natiq). They were each succeeded by non-speaking prophets/mutes (Samit). The seven speaking prophets were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and Ismael (son of Jaffar who was also know as Sahib ez-Zaman (Lord of time)). Their seven assistants were Seth, Shem, Ishmael son of Abraham, Aaron and afterwards Joshua, Simeon/Shamoun or Simon Peter, Ali and Mohammed son of Ismael.

- Fifth Degree: Each of the seven mute prophets had twelve apostles for the extension of the true faith.

- Sixth Degree: All precepts of Islam/legislation must be subordinate to the general and philosophical using the dogmas of Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras.

- Seventh Degree: similar to the doctrine of Unity as the Sufis.

These two degrees were added on top of the seven by certain group of Ismailis (not by all)

- Eight Degree: The rules of religion were no longer deemed important. The pupil no longer hold prior religious dogmas.

- Ninth Degree: Rejecting every principle of religion and morality. Nothing that appeared sinful was forbidden.

The Ismailis and their various branches

I am back to reading the book Secret Sects of Syria.

Chapter eleven is about Ismailis.

The chapter started by pointing out the Persian city of Khorassan as the hot-bed of the heresies, such as

Ravendi - doctrines of the transmigration of soul, and the successive incarnations of the Deity

Zendics - whose principle it was to believe nothing.

Hakim ibn-Hashem who was the under-secretary to the Governor of Khorassan, also known as "The Veiled Prophet" or al-Mokanna was active in the year 778 AD (timeline of the Abbasid caliphate).

He amassed a large army, influencing people by supposedly causing a number of miracles (moon to rise out of a well for several nights in succession). When he was besieged, he poisoned his army, his family and then committed suicide.

In the time of al-Mamoon (an Abassid caliph), another rebel and a heretic named Baber appeared in Iraq who went on to kill two hundred and fifty thousands Muslims in cold blood.

In the year 891 AD, the founder of the Karamatian (Qaramite) sect appeared. His name was Karmat.

I tried to find out more about Ravendi or Ibn al-Rawandi. According to the Wikipedia

He was an early skeptic of Islam and a critic of religion in general. In his early days he was a Mutazilite scholar, but after rejecting the Mutazilite doctrine he adhered to Shia Islam for a brief period and later became a freethinker who repudiated Islam and revealed religion.

He joined the Mu'tazili of Baghdad, and gained prominence among them. But then he became estranged from his fellow Mutazilites, and formed close alliances with Shia Muslims and then with non-Muslims (Manichaeans, Jews and perhaps also Christians). He then became a follower of the Manichaean heretic, Muhammad al Warraq in which he wrote several books that criticized revealed religion.

And I am not sure what or who zendic is. Under the wikipedia entry Zindiq, I get a few names.

Maybe Muhammad al-Waraq?

or Bashar ibn Burd?

Getting some new books about the Ismailis

I am thinking to acquire some new books about Ismailis. I've noticed a number of interesting titles on Amazon.

#1 The Advent of the Fatimids: A Contemporary Shi'i Witness by Wilfred Madelung and Paul Walker. The current price of the book is a whopping $84.00 only for 256 pages. I've just sent a note to the publisher to make the title available on Kindle. The description of the book sounds interesting

This personal memoir composed by a medieval scholar reveals an important discourse with two Ismaili leaders who spearheaded the Fatimid revolution in North Africa in 909-910. By reporting the thoughts and activities of Abu ‘Abdallah al-Shi’i and his brother Abu’l-Abbas over a period of seven months, Ibn al-Haytham in his Kitab al-Munazarat (The Book of Discussions) provides an unparalleled insider’s view to the foundations of the Fatimid state. As such, it is a unique document in the literature of early Islamic revolutionary movements as much as it represents one of the most valuable sources for the history of the medieval Muslim world.

#2 The Fatimids and Their Successors in Yaman: The History of an Islamic Community the authors are the same two people who wrote book #1. This book is still overpriced at $73 for 242 pages. This book is partially in Arabic.

The Uyun al-akhbar is the most complete text by an Ismaili author on the history of the Ismaili community, from its origins up to Idris ‘Imad al-Din’s own time in the 15th century. The seventh volume, edited here for the first time, together with a summary English translation, deals in particular with the period of the three Fatimid caliphs, al-Mustansir, al-Musta’li, and al-Amir, in addition to the Tayyibi Ismaili community in Yemen.

# 3 The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity. Ikhwan al-Safa' and their Rasa'il: An Introduction. Priced over a hundred dollars. Seems like all the books published by the Ismaili Institute are way way overpriced. This books seems to be an introduction. I guess they will be publishing more books in this series.

Ikhwan al-Safa' (The Brethren of Purity) were the anonymous adepts of a tenth-century esoteric fraternity of lettered urbanites that was principally based in Basra and Baghdad. This brotherhood occupied a prominent station in the history of science and philosophy in Islam due to the wide reception and assimilation of their monumental encyclopedia: Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa' (The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). This compendium contained fifty-two epistles that offered synoptic explications of the classical sciences and philosophies of the age. Divided into four classificatory parts, it treated themes in mathematics, logic, natural philosophy, psychology, metaphysics and theology, in addition to moral and didactic fables. The Ikhwan were learned compilers of scientific and philosophical knowledge, and their Rasa'il constituted a paradigmatic legacy in the canonization of philosophy and the sciences in mediaeval Islamic civilization.

This present volume gathers studies by leading philosophers, historians and scholars of Islamic Studies, who are also the editors and translators of the first Arabic critical editions and first complete annotated English translations of the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa', which will be published in the OUP Series that this present volume initiates, as well as being members of the Editorial Board.

#4 ISMAILI ASSASSINS, THE: A History of Medieval Murder

Few people know the truth about the enigmatic organization known as the Assassins, an underground group of political killers, they were ready to kill Christians and Muslims alike with complete disregard for the consequences of their actions. Although their empire was destroyed in the 13th Century, have a controversial legacy which still resonates in the world today.

The Assassins were meticulous in their killing. They often slew their victims in public, thereby cultivating their terrifying reputation. They assumed disguises and their weapon of choice was a dagger - poison or bows would give the victim the chance to escape. Suicide was considered a deep dishonor and it was generally accepted that an Assassin had to die fighting rather than be captured. Hardly any movement before or since has cast so terrifying a shadow. In 1253, the Mongol chiefs were so fearful of the Assassins' 'poniards of terrible length and sharpness' that they massacred and enslaved the Assassins' women and children.

Assaults on the Crusaders of Syria led to warnings of agents planted in European courts ready to commit murder at the bidding of their master. The English monarch, Edward I, was very nearly poisoned and Richard the Lionheart's reputation was sullied by his association with the Assassins' murder of Conrad of Montferrat.

The Ismail: Assassins describes a unique way of waging war and shows how assassination and fifth-column infiltration became the key weapon for the Ismailis. Through its use of eyewitness accounts from both Islamic and Western sources, This important new book unlocks much of the history of the Crusades and the early Islamic period, allowing the reader entry into a historical epoch that is epic, thrilling, startling and pertinent.

Differences between 12-Imam Shi'ism and Zaydis or Ismailism

Straight from this book

Imamis (The Twelver)
The Shi'ites asserted that the Islamic caliphate, of which esoteric guidance and spiritual leadership are inseparable elements, belongs to Ali and his descendants. They also believed that according to the specification of the Prophet the Imams of the Household of the Prophet are twelve in number. Shi'ism held, moreover, that the external teachings of the Quran, which are the injunctions and regulations of the Shari'ah and include the principles of a complete spiritual life, are valid and applicable for everyone at all times, and are not to be abrogated until the Day of
Judgment. These injunctions and regulations must be learned through the guidance of the Household of the Prophet.

Imamis vs. Zaydis
From a consideration of these points it becomes clear that the difference between Twelve-Imam Shi'ism and Zaydism is that the Zaydis usually do not consider the imamate to belong solely to
the Household of the Prophet and do not limit the number of Imams to twelve. Also they do not follow the jurisprudence of the Household of the Prophet as do the Twelve-Imam Shi'ites.

Imamis vs. Ismailis
The difference between the Twelve-Imam Shi'ism and Isma'ilism lies in that for the latter the imamate revolves around the number seven and prophecy does not terminate with the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Also for them, change and transformation in the injunctions of the Shari'ah are admissible, as is even rejection of the duty of following Shari'ah, especially among the Batinis. In contrast, the Twelve-Imam Shi'ites consider the Prophet to be the "seal of prophecy" and believe him to have twelve successors and executors of his will. They hold the external aspect of the Shari'ah to be valid and impossible to abrogate. They affirm that the Quran has both an exoteric and an esoteric aspect.

Reference
Shia by Allamah Sayyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai

The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam by Bernard Lewis

The following book review is reproduced with permission of the ShiaChat user Marbles. It was originally published here.

The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam by Bernard Lewis

(First published 1967)

It is a highly readable account of the rise and fall of Hashishin, Assassins, who appeared in Persia and Syria in the 11th and 12th centuries.

The book starts with a brief survey of the discovery of the Assassins and their ways in the then contemporary Western sources. Interestingly, in those accounts, the Assassins exemplify daring and devotion rather than terror and murder. There is a sense of amazement at their loyalty to their beliefs.

Later Western sources paint them as some kind of degenerate hedonists who indulged in drinking and women and sold their services of murder to the highest bidder. This is when the name Assassin, which is corruption of Hashishin, is taken to mean political murder and is still current in the English language.

The author says that famous legend of the "Paradise of the Assassins" and wondrous tales associated with it are no more than a work of imagination and intrigue.

The book proceeds with a general introduction to the history of Shia-Sunni split and further Shia splits into Ithna `Asharis, Ismailis and other less significant Shia offshoots which are now extinct. At the time when the Abbasid Empire has become internally weak and disorganised, the only non-Sunni power to emerge in Islam to make its name were the Ismailis. They established Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt and ruled for circa 250 years before coming to an end at the hands of Salah al-Din ( Salahuddin or Saladin).

Isma`ilis represented a powerful and intellectual alternative to the Sunni orthodoxy which has become weak and no longer commanded confidence in the people. Isma`ilis seized that opportunity and with their systematic preaching and moral superiority over Sunnis and hence succeeded in converting a lot of people to their faith.

Then a man changed the scene.

Hassan-e Sabah: He was a Qum born Ithna `Ashari Shi'i who was attracted by the vigour and activity of the Ismailis in Persia and so converted. He lived under taqqiyah due to Sunni threat (Persia was under Turk Seljuq Sultan who even controlled the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad. The Caliph was but a mere figure head with limited authority).

Hassan-e Sabah managed to win over the castle of Alamut in Northern Persia which was to become the headquarters of the Assassins for decades to come. It was there he started to organise the new group with the new preaching; calling people toward the living Imam (in Cairo) and training them in acts of violence and sabotage with the sole purpose of bringing down the existent Sunni order which he and his coreligionists saw as corrupt and unjust.

Around this time, precisely in 1094, the famous Must`ali-Nizari split in the Ismaili line of Imamate took place. Without going into details, the New Preacher, Hassan-e Sabbah and his group refused to accept Must`al's son as the new Imam and held on to the belief in the Imamate of Nizar who, along with his sons, was imprisoned and perhaps murdered.

-----

It was the time of decline for Fatimid Caliphate which suffered a decisive blow due to the split at the top. Meanwhile, in Persia, Hassan-e Sabah acquired neighbouring castles by scheming or invasion and begin to train devotees for his new campaign. One that of murder and terror.

The first victim to fell to the daggers of the Assassins was that of Vizier Nizam al-Mulk in Persia. Then a pattern was established, The Assassins particularly targetted civil rulers and commanders of armies along with Sunni divines and prefects of the cities. They never murdered due to religious differences what today we call the common man.

In difficult missions, the Assassin(s) assigned to the task would perfectly disguise himself, take their target in confidence and, finding the opportunity, assassinate him. Often the Assassins made no attempt to escape and accepted the punishment which was usually execution. In that they can be likened to the suicide bombers of the middle ages. Many Assassins were lynched and killed on spot after killing their target.

While the campaign of murder got underway, the Assassins acquired new castles and safe havens in the mountainous countryside of Persia, which were difficult to invade so that the ruling powers couldn't take them out easily. At the same time Hassan-e Sabah sent his emissaries to Syria to establish their message there. After some unsuccessful attempts they succeeded in having a foothold in Syria. Many men of importance fell to the Assassins among them two Abbasid Caliphs, a Seljuq Sultan, and also some Christian Crusaders in Syria. But their main enemy was not Christian Crusaders but the Sunni orthodoxy. There were two attempts on the life of Salah al-Din (Saladin) but he survived.

The mission continued after the death of Hassan-e Sabah in 1124.

One of his successors, who was not a blood relation of Hasasn-e Sabah, also called Hassan, abolished the observance of Law, pronounced Qiyammah (Resurrection) and lifted the rules of halal and haram from the religion. He also is said to have proclaimed himself the direct descendent of Imam Nizar and hence the rightful heir to the Imamate. The later Nizari Imams descend from that person, which in time gave birth to the Aga Khans, one of them is still holding the office of Imamate for Nizari Ismailis today.

The Nizari faith flourished in Persia as much as it did whereas the Fatimid Caliphate met its end at the hand of Salah al-Din and the faith disappeared from Egypt. It became a small fringe group in Yemen in later centuries and then its leaders migrated to India. Today in India (Gujarat), while the Imam is in occultation, they have a Da`i who heads the sect as the deputy of the Imam.

The Must`ali sect retained the old preaching of Ismailism which was closer to Islam in spirit and practice than what Nizaris came to represent.

The end of the Assassins came about in the 13th century. They had suffered defeats in Syria at the hands of Mamluk emir Baybark and setbacks in Persia after the Mongol Invasion. The Assassins at first collaborated with the Khan forces of Mongols in order to survive but this strategy did not work for them. one by one, their castles were taken first by Seljuqs and then by the Mongols. Finally, Alamut, their headquarter, also fell and the Assassins became a fringe phenomenon.

But for 250 years the Assassins filled the hearts of rulers with terror. Elaborate security measures were taken by cities and their rulers to protect themselves from the wrath of the Assassins. They wore iron shirts and kept constant guard on them. Salah al-Din didn't even let anyone who he didn't personally recognise get near to him physically for the fear of Assassins under cover.

The weakness of the book is that it doesn't sufficiently explains the theological underpinnings of the Assassin movement. It is clear that the Assassins were deeply motivated by their religious ideology and missionary zeal. But what exactly convinced them to take such a course is not explained in the book.

One cannot say that the Assassin phenomenon is s purely Nizari phenomenon. Because the first famous murder of the Assassins, one that of Nizam al-Mulk, had already been committed before Mustali-Nizari split occurred. So there must be some other factors at work, peculiar to Ismailism in Persia, which must have caused the sectaries there to embark on such a course.

We also cannot say that Hassan-e Sabah was directed from Cairo. At no point this was true. He already spent some time in Cairo before settling in Alamut but he was actually banished by the military commander of Fatimid forces for unknown reasons. But we know for sure that Hassan-e Sabah, his successors, and his followers were foremost in asserting the right of the deposed Nizar to Imamate. There were many Nizaris in Egypt but they seem to have dwindled into insignificance, and later extinction, after the fall of the Fatimid Caliphate.

This book particularly concentrates on the Assassins of Persia. Their brethren in Syria don't get sufficient coverage.

So this is a useful book if you are interested in the subject. Your thoughts and comments on the book or on the subject will be appreciated. Please post.

My book rating: 4/5

AMAZON LINK

Intro to the Akhbari book

Gleave stated that this book was the result of ten years of research, off and on. His other book is Inevitable doubt: two theories of Shīʻī jurisprudence. This book specifically focus on the ideas of Akhbarism.

The author hypothesize that the reason Shia were late in developing Usul al-Fiqh was because when an Imam was present, then there was no need for usul al-fiqh or book on jurisprudence.

The Zaydi allowed individual jurists to propose their own legal opinions using theoretical principle and not personal whims. Their writing began in the eleventh century. The earliest Zaydi’s work of Usul al-Fiqh is al-Mujzi fi usul al-Fiqh by Abu Talib Yahya b. al-Husayn al-Natiq bi’l-Haqq (d 1033).

The Ismaili Shia tradition (under the Fatimids and later) was not collected or written until the time of Qadi al-Numan, Da'a'im al-Islam. I've reviewed a paper about sources used for compiling his book (part 1, part 2 and part 3).

Then the author said "The Imami Shia developed an interest in legal theory following the disappearance of their Twelfth Imam in the year 874 AD. ... Within a hundred years of the Twelfth Imam’s greater occultation” (941) (after it became clear his promised return was not imminent), works of usul al-Fiqh were being composed by Imami (or Twelver) Shii scholars and the basis for a tradition of juristic scholarship was being laid."

The author then quoted some academic work that highlighted influence of Sunni (Shafii) legal theory in the earliest works of Shia Usul al-Fiqh.

Some interesting terminology/facts/info was presented in the introduction, i.e.,

1. Matters known with certainty
2. Matters that are disputed
3. The four famous (Shii) hadith books
4. Akhbar: Test for accuracy
5. Contradictory hadiths and ways to resolve them
6. Imams forbidding qiyas/analogical reasoning
7. Very little opposition to Shia Usul al-Fiqh developed by Allamah Hilli
8. He mistranslated khabar al-wahid. Real meaning.
Please continue reading part 3.

More traditions about the death of Ismail son of Imam as-Sadiq

Tradition #2
Narrated to us Muhammad bin Hasan bin Ahmad bin Walid, who said: narrated to us Muhammad bin Hasan Saffar narrating from Ayyub bin Nuh and Yaqoob bin Yazid from Ibne Abi Umair from Muhammad bin Shuaib from Abi Kahmas that he said:

I was present at the time of Ismail’s death, while Abu Abdillah Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) was sitting near him. When he died, Imam (a.s.) tied up his jaws and covered his face with a piece of cloth. Then he ordered that he should be given the funeral bath and shrouded. After this was accomplished he called for his shroud cloth and wrote on its periphery: Ismail testifies that there is no god except Allah.

Tradition #3
Narrated to us my father who said: Narrated to us Abdullah bin Ja’far Himyari quoting from Ibrahim bin Mahziyar from his brother, Ali bin Mahziyar from Muhammad bin Abi Hamza from Marrah the slave of Muhammad bin Khalid that he said:

“When Ismail passed away, Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja’far Sadiq) came upto the grave and squatted on side of it and did not descend into the grave. Then he said: It was the same that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) had done when his son, Ibrahim had died.”

Tradition #4
Narrated to us Muhammad bin Hasan who says: narrated to us Husain bin Hasan bin Aban quoting from Husain bin Saeed from Qasim bin Muhammad from Husain bin Umar from a man of Bani Hashim that he said:

“When Ismail passed away, Abu Abdillah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) came with us and began to walk barefooted and with a cloak ahead of the bier.”

Tradition #5
Narrated to us my father who said: Narrated to us Saad bin Abdullah from Ibrahim bin Mahziyar from his brother Ali bin Mahziyar from Hammad bin Isa from Jurair from Ismail bin Jabir and Arqat, the cousin of Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja’far Sadiq) that:

Abu Abdillah Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) was with Ismail at the time of his death. When Arqat saw his restlessness he said: O Aba Abdillah, indeed, the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) has passed away from the world. He (the narrator) says: The Imam stopped being restless and then said: “You said the right thing and I thank you this day.”

Tradition #6
Narrated to us Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Yahya Attar: Narrated to us Saad bin Abdullah quoting from Ibrahim bin Hashim and Muhammad bin Husain bin Abi Khattab from Anr bin Uthman Thaqafi from Abi Kahmas that he said:

“I was present at the time of the death of Ismail bin Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja’far Sadiq a.s.). At that time I saw that Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja’far Sadiq a.s.) prostrated and remained in that position for a long time. After that he raised his head and continued to stare at his face for some time.

The narrator says that after that again he prostrated and remained in that position for a longer time. Then he raised his head, and at time Ismail had died. The Imam closed the eyelids, tied up fast both the jaws and covered the face with a piece of cloth. After that he stood up and I saw such an expression on his face that only Allah knew what it was.

The narrator says: Then the Imam arose and went to his quarters, remained there for sometime and then returned to us with the hair oiled and having applied antimony (Surma) to his eyes. He had also changed his clothes and did not have the expression he had at the time of entering his quarters. Then he began to issue instructions about the funeral procedures. Finally he called for the shroud cloth and when it was brought to him, he wrote on its edge: Ismail testifies that there is no god except Allah.

Tradition #7
Narrated to us my father from Saad bin Abdullah quoting from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Isa from Muhammad bin Ismail bin Bazi from Abul Hasan Zareef bin Naseh from Hasan Ibne Zaid that he said:

When a daughter of Abu Abdillah (a.s.) died, he mourned for her a whole year. After that another son died and he mourned him also for a whole year. Then Ismail died; and the Imam was extremely aggrieved for sometime but stopped mourning after that.

The narrator says: Abu Abdillah (a.s.) was asked: “May Allah bless you, does your family mourn and lament in this way?” He replied: “When Hamza passed away the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) said: Hamza must be mourned because there is no one to weep on him.”

Tradition #8
Narrated to us Muhammad bin Hasan from Hasan bin Matteel Waqqaq (flour seller) who said: Narrated to us Yaqoob bin Yazid from Hasan bin Ali bin Fuzzal from Muhammad bin Abdullah Kufi that he said:

“When Ismail bin Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja’far Sadiq a.s.) died, Abu Abdillah was extremely disturbed and aggrieved.” The narrator says: “After having closed his eyelids he called for a shirt that was washed clean or absolutely new. He wore it and emerged from his room to issue directions regarding the funeral procedure.”

The narrator says: “Some of the Imam’s companions asked him: ‘May we get sacrificed on you, when we saw your restlessness and grief we thought that we would not be able to speak to you for a long time as you would be in mourning.’ He replied: ‘We Ahle Bayt (a.s.) are such that we express sorrow and restlessness till the time the tragedy befalls, when it does, we observe patience.’”

Tradition #9
Narrated to us Ali bin Ahmad bin Muhammad Waqqaq: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Abdullah Kufi that he said: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Ismail Barmaki from Husain bin Haitham from Abbad bin Yaqoob Asadi from Anba bin Bajjad Abid that he said:

“When Ismail bin Ja’far bin Muhammad died and we finished his funeral ceremonies, Imam Sadiq Ja’far bin Muhammad (a.s.) sat down and we sat in his company. After a while the Imam raised his head and said: O people, indeed this world is an abode of separation. It is an unsuitable place and not suitable, separation from a close one is such a tragedy that cannot be forgotten and it is such a sorrow that cannot be dispelled and people are superior to each other in the matter of observing a nice way of mourning and right contemplation. Thus one who does not have to mourn for his brother will have to taste death. After that Imam (a.s.) recited the couplet of Abu Kharash Dauzali that he had composed while mourning for the death of his brother:

Answering objections from Zaydiyyah sect – part three

We are then presented with a follow-up question from the Zaydi sect

What are the arguments to reject the Imammah of Ismail son of Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (may peace be upon him)? And what evidence and proof do we have against the Ismaili (Ismaliyya) sect that follows this belief?

Firstly we reject the Imamah of Ismail based on the tradition of the twelve Imams.

Secondly, we reject Ismail based on traditions that prove Ismail’s died during the lifetime of his father.

Among the reports that prove his death during the lifetime of his father is one that was related to me by my father, who says: Narrated to us Saad bin Abdullah from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Isa from Hasan bin Saeed from Fuzala bin Ayyub and Hasan bin Ali Fuzzal from Yunus bin Yaqoob from Saeed bin Abdullah Al-Araaj who said:

Abu Abdillah Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) said: When Ismail died I ordered that the cloth should be removed from his face. Then I kissed his forehead, chin and upper breast. After that I ordered him to be covered with cloth again. Then I said: Uncover his face. And again I kissed his forehead, chin and upper breast. Then I again ordered him to be covered. Then I ordered and he was given the funeral bath. I came to his corpse when he had been shrouded and said: Uncover his face. And again I kissed his forehead, chin and upper part of breast.

Another point derived from this narration is that the Imam (a.s.) said: ‘I ordered that the funeral bath be given to him’ and he did not say: ‘I gave him the funeral bath myself’. And this tradition also mentions that which disproves the Imamate of Ismail. None other than Imam can give a funeral bath to an Imam, in his presence.

Islamic Sects (madhabs) and branches

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Who is W. Ivanow?

W Ivanow (Vladimir Alexeyevich Ivanov) was a Russian Orientalist. His area of research and interest was Ismail-ism. He was a pioneer and has been credited with producing seminal books and articles.

According to Farhad Daftary [1]

In January 1931, the Aga Khan employed Ivanow on a permanent basis to research into the literature, history, and the teachings of the Ismailis. Henceforth, Ivanow rapidly found access to the private collections of Ismaili manuscripts held by the Nizari Ismailis of India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Persia and elsewhere. At the same time, he established scholarly contacts with Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee (1899-1981), the leading authority on Ismaili law, and a few other scholars of the Ismaili Bohra community of Bombay, who placed at his disposal their valuable family collections of Arabic Ismaili manuscripts dating to the Fatimid and Must‘ali Yamani phases of Ismaili history.

It was in Bombay of the early 1930s that these scholars, led by Ivanow, brought about a breakthrough in Ismaili studies. Through the network of his Ismaili connections, Ivanow managed to identify a large number of Ismaili texts, which he described in an annotated catalogue (A Guide to Ismaili Literature, London, 1933). This catalogue was the first pointer to the hitherto unknown richness and diversity of the literary heritage of the Ismailis and remained an indispensable research tool for several decades, providing the material for the advancement of Ismaili scholarship.

Some of his books and articles are

Ismaili tradition concerning the rise of the Fatimids (1942)
The Alleged Founder of Ismailism (1946)
Nāṣir-i Khusraw and Ismailism (1948)
Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Ṭūsī (translation)
The Importance of studying Ismailis

For a more detail biography, please see the article in the reference.

Reference
[1] Daftary, F., Vladmir Alekseevich Ivanow, Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The sources of the Ismaili Law (part 3)

This is part three of the review. Part one and Part two.

The later part of the paper was devoted to discussion on Imami vs Zaydi sources

Qadi al-Nu’man takes a hybrid approach when developing the Ismaili law which was later written in the book al-Idah (by extracting laws from Imami and Zaydi sources).

Qadi al-Nu’man also went with the Imami position that recognizes the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt superior than other Alid (descendent of Ali).

Madelung presented temporary marriage (Muta) as an example where the Zaydi sources were given a preference over the Imami laws.

In the conclusion, you are provided with a list of books used by Qadi al-Nu’man. Please see the original paper by Madelung to see names and descriptions of all the 21 books used by the Qadi.

Reference

Madelung, W., The Sources of Ismāīlī Law, The University of Chicago Press, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 35,  No. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 29-40

The sources of the Ismaili Law (part 2)

This is the second part of the review. For part one, please see here

Qadi al-Nu’man only quotes traditions from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (may peace be upon him) and Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (may peace be upon him). The Shias and Ismailis recognize both of the Imams as their own. Al-Nu’man does not, however, quote from Imam Musa al-Kadhim (may peace be upon him) (who is not recognized by the Ismailis. [Note: for additional info please see my blog posts Ismail died before his father and Ismail son of the sixth Imam]

Madelung also reveled an interesting fact about the hadeeths collected by the Qadi. Qadi al-Nu’man has not referred/quoted even a single author or scholar from the Holy City of Qum (back then and is still now, one of the Shia center for learning).

A great majority of authors sourced by Qadi al-Nu’man are Iraqis (Baghdad, Basra or Kufa), Egyptians or from Medina.

Medelung then proceed to answer his own question 

“Did al-Nu’man intentionally repudiate the school of Qumm? This is not unlikely, though it is also possible that the choice of his sources was rather dictated by their availability in the Maghrib."

The author (Medelung) tried to rationalize the reason as to why we do not see any narrations from other Ismaili Imams after Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (may peace be upon him). According to Madelung, since the Imams were in Satr, their identity must not be revealed even by an Ismaili Dai aka Qadi al-Nu’man [Note: I don’t really believe this. See my other blog posts what is satr and Ismailis usage of satr ]

Quite revealing, Madelung emphatically stated that Qadi al-Nu’man did not even quote any traditions from other living Fatimid Imams/Calips (By the way, Qadi al-Nu’man was under the employment of four Fatimid Caliphs/Imams).

But even more reveling is the fact that Qadi al-Nu’man used works by authors who were non Shia Imami or Ismaili in his compilation. The traditions in these works are not from Imams of Ahl al-Bayt but rather from Zaydis (another Islamic sect).
Click here to continue reading part three 

Reference

Madelung, W., The Sources of Ismāīlī Law, The University of Chicago Press, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 29-40

A review of the paper 'The Sources of Ismāīlī Law'

I am currently reading the article ‘The Sources of Ismāīlī Law by Wilferd Madelung’ (see the reference). I thank the brother who provided me with the article (you know who you are).

Summary of the paper

Apparently Daim al-Islam is not the only work by Qadi al-Numan b. Muhammad b. Hayyun. He also wrote the following books, al-Iqtisar, al-Idah, al-Ikhbar 

• Daim al-Islam is the book of the Islamic laws for Tayyibi Ismailis (Dawoodi Bohras, Sulaymani and Alevi Bohras) and other Ismaili sects. The collection of hadeeths in this book is without the chain of narrators.
• al-Iqtisar is a short compendiums of law.
• al-Idah was Qadi al-Numan first legal work. The book is a collection of hadeeths from Ahl al-Bayt with evidence and proofs and point of consensus and disagreement. The author believes that the chains of narrators are fully quoted in this book.
• al-Ikhbar: An extraction from al-Idah with the removal of chain of narrators.

The book al-Idah (Kitab al-Idah) was believed to have been completely lost. However, some new evidences are suggesting that that may not be the case.

Al-Numan used books written by Shias/Imamiyyah and others as the source for his work (hadeeth book). This approach of extracting tradition of Imams of Ahl al Bayt from books is different from the common practice of that time. The usual practice back then was to trace narrations from a person to another person (who heard it/wrote it down) until to the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt who heard it from the Holy Prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his pure family) or Imam Ali (may peace be upon him) (who heard it from the Holy Prophet).

Click here to continue reading part two

Reference

Madelung, W., The Sources of Ismāīlī Law, The University of Chicago Press, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 29-40

What hadeeth books do Ismaili use?

Ismailis (Dawoodi bohras, Sulaymani, followers of Aga Khan) do not have many hadeeth books. The most important/significant book (according to their sect) is Daim al-Islam.

 

From Wikipedia: Daim al-Islam is a Mustaali Ismaili Shi'a Muslim book of hadith, meaning traditions.

This book is written by Sayedna Qazi Nauman. He served as Dai of four Imams (from Ismaili 11th Imam Mehdi to 14th Imam Aziz the first 4 Fatimd Caliphs of Egypt). The book emphasises what importance Islam has given to manners and etiquette along with ibadat, the worship of God, citing references of Fatemid first four Imams.

A website has the book available online (not in the original Arabic language).

We're pleased to bring you the Hindi translation of Da'a'im al-Islam - the celebrated book written by one of the great Isma'li intellectuals Sayedna Qadi al-Nu'man. This book is fundamental to Dawoodi Bohras as far as their religion, their beliefs and their spiritual practices are concerned. It is also the principal source of Isma'ili jurisprudence and hadith literature.

I recently found out that the book has been translated into the English Language. The titles of the books are The Pillars of Islam (in Vol 1 and 2).

Ongoing discussion about Daim al-Islam

Interesting article

An article worth reading (Ismailis: From Yemen to India and back by Mira Baz).

Summary:

The Sulayhid kingdom was strategically important in the Indian Ocean trade route and, through it, the spread of Ismailism in Yemen and Asia. 

According to the London-based Institute for Ismaili Studies (IIS), the Sulayhids are credited with playing an important role in the spread of Ismailism in South Asia, establishing a new Ismaili community in Gujarat, India, in 1067. They also oversaw the selection of da’is who were dispatched from Yemen to run the new community’s affairs.

Its bleakest times under Zaydi Shia imams in the 16th century AD and later, who considered the sect to be heretical. The Tayyibi Ismailis, who consisted of the Hamdani Yam branch in Wadi Dahr and the Yaaburi in Haraz, turned to the more tolerant Ottomans for protection at the time, but this would soon backfire. The Ottomans’ failure to maintain control of upper Yemen resulted in the persecution of the Ismaili community by the vengeful imam, according to Professor Traboulsi.

“Most of the Zaydi imams oppressed and starved the Ismailis,” says a knowledgeable member of the community who wished to remain anonymous.

The majority of Sulaymanis have made Saudi Arabia’s Najran their center since 1640. They are also known as Makarima after the tribe of al-Makrami which originated in the village of Tayba in Yemen. According to a 2004 Saudi census, they number around 408,000 in Najran, and their da’i is al-Fakhri Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Makrami.

Another quote from the book

Another quote from the book Medieval Islamic Civilization By Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach that speak about the Tayyibi Schism

The affairs of the Da’wa occupied Arwa, Imam al-Mustansir had appointed her as the Hujja of Yemen, which was the highest rank in the region; in a letter to her in 1088 AD, he asked her to supervise the Da’wa in India. Lamak b. Malik al-Hammadi was the Da’i Balagha under her. On his death, also around 1098AD, his son Yahya took charge of the Da’wa. On Yahya’s death in 1126 AD, the scholar Dhu’ayb ibn Musa al-Wadi’I was entrusted with the affairs of the Da’wa.

In the meantime, al-Afdal, son of Badr al-Jamali and the dictator in Egypt under the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustali had sent in, in 1119, Ibn Najob al-Dawla as as administrator and Da’I of Yemen, sensing the power vacuum that prevailed after ‘Amir al-Mufaddal’s death in 1110 AD. His conflict with Queen Arwa’s Dawa and the local Amirs prompted the Queen to contrive to get him drowned in the Red Sea. However she patched up the problem by giving a member of her own Sulayhid family, ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah, the title Fakhr al-Khilafah to please the Fatimid Caliph, who now was al-Amir. By now Arwa had tired of the Fatimid connection. The opportunity for independence came when, on al-Amir’s death in Egypt in 1130 AD, his minor son al-Tayyib’s right to succeed was usurped by his uncle al-Hafiz.

The Queen and her Da’wa under Dhu’ayb declared for Tayyib and severed their relationship with the last Fatimid Caliphs in 1132. Dhu’ayb al-Wadi’I was declared the first Dai of Mutlaq of the new Tayyibi Dawa of Yemen and India, and he was assisted by a valiant Sultan of Jurayb, al-Khattab ibn al-Hassan ibn Abi’l-Haffiaz al-Hamdani, a warrior and a poet.

When the enemies pointed out that a woman could not have religious leadership, al-Khattab defended Arwa’s position with the argument that her womanly form is only an outward cover. He stated that one had to look to her inner essence and he compared her to Maryam, the mother of Jesus; Khadija, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad; and Fatima, the wife of ‘Ali.

Note: I am a little bit upset that an opportunist monarch and an Ismaili propagandist like Arwa al-Sulayhi is compared to the three of the holiest women on Earth.

Book: Forgotten Queens Of Islam by Fatima Mernissi

In the late 90s, I read the book Forgotten Queens Of Islam by Fatima Mernissi. A chapter in this book is dedicated to the Yemenite Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi.

It contained mostly biographical information, her upbringing, her marriages and also her accomplishment. The wikipedia page (on Arwa al-Sulayhi) contains some information from the book.

She is a very important personality in the Fatimid Mustalian Tayyibi sects (Dawoodi Bohras, Sulaymani and Alevi). She’s revered as much as the other Dais (Ismaili Missionaries/Agent), if not more.

She seemed ambitious, was a capable monarch and served well in her capacity as an Ismaili/Fatimid propagandist. She didn’t really strike me as someone who was trustworthy, honest or sincere. But then again I could be wrong.

The End in Egypt and a new beginning in Yemen

After the death of al-Amir (the 20th Fatimid caliph/Imam), the Mustalian branch of Ismaili continued in Egypt with his cousin al-Hafiz (1130-1149 AD), his son al-Zafir (1149-1154 AD) and his descendants al-Fa’iz (1154-1160 AD) and al-Adid (1160-1171). The Fatimid dynasty ended in 1171 AD when it was taken over by Saladin/Salah al-deen al-Ayyubi.

The Queen of Yemen and the Fatimid Dawa

A new sect (previously known as the Fatimid Mustalian) named Tayyibi emerged in Yemen under the ruler-ship of the Sulayhid Queen (Arwa al-Sulayhi). Upon the death of al-Amir, the Fatimid in Egypt was significantly weaker with internal crises and dynastic disputes. It was then that the Yemenite Queen (Arwa al-Sulayhi), broke away from the Fatimid leadership in Egypt and asserted the independence of her people.

A story was circulated about the arrival of at-Tayyib, an infant son of al-Amir in Yemen (by none other than the Queen). The Queen also utilized the Ismaili doctrine of Satr to explain the disappearance/seclusion of at-Tayyib (the 21^st Imam of Bohras).  She also claimed herself as the deputy of the hidden Imam (naib al Imam). 

From the year 1132 AD, the Ismaili dawa in Yemen was severed from the Fatimid in Egypt. This marks a new beginning in the history of the Mustalian Tayyibi dawa.

Quite possibly the best summary of the Fatimid Schism

I am reproducing the following post with permission from Brother Macisaac (owner of www.tashayyu.org and a ShiaChat admin). He posted the following write-up here. All the credits go to Macisaac and he retains full rights to this entry.

Ever wonder why Isma'ilis are referred to as "Seveners", even though they have many more imams that they believe in? That's because the pre-Fatimid Isma'ili da'wat taught that there were only seven Imams, the seventh being Muhammad b. Isma'il b. Ja'far whom they claimed was the Qaim, was in ghayba, and who would re-appear immanently. This was propagated from some generations until one of their da'is, Sa'id b. al-Husayn, claimed that in fact he was the Imam himself claiming descent from Muhammad b. Isma'il. This split the da`wat into those who thought this was nonsense, and held on to the seven-imam theory (the Qaramita), and those who followed Sa'id. To explain the discrepancy, the da`wat then explained that the whole thing about Muhammad b. Isma'il had really just been a ruse to throw off their enemies, and that he was more a symbol of the general rising of the imams (i.e. Sa'id b. al-Husayn and so on.).

Sa'id, aka 'Ubaydullah al-Mahdi, through the missionary work of Abu 'Abdullah ash-Shi'i established himself in North Africa (leading to the establishment of the Fatimid dynasty. Abu 'Abdillah however after his work for him, was disappointed with his erstwhile master and fell out from him, and was put to death.) The Fatimid ruled their dynasty (with its ups and downs, including the very erratic sixth Fatimid Caliph, al-Hakim) until the death of al-Mustansir. Now, this latter had apparently designated his eldest son (by this time an adult) an-Nizar to succeed him to the throne. The vizier, al-Afdal, however had different plans, and placed al-Mustansir much younger son who was then a child, Ahmad (aka al-Musta'ili), on the throne with him ruling behind the scenes. Nizar was thus deposed, and eventually apparently died in prison. al-Musta'li was eventually succeeded by his son, al-Amir (then five years old), with al-Afdal continuing his role of power. Eventually, al-Amir grew tired of this, and had al-Afdal (the one who placed his father on the throne) killed. al-Amir himself eventually got assassinated (notice there was quite a lot of that amongst the Fatimids?), and did not have an apparent successor. His cousin al-Hafiz then eventually rose to the throne, and it's at this point that the da`wat in Yemen decided to break off from the Fatimids, claiming instead that al-Amir had a son named Tayyib who had gone into ghayba, and that now power had been transferred to the da`i al-mutlaq (absolute da'i). From that time the Musta'li lines continue to this day.

However, in this period now of successive da'is you get eventual splinters amongst them, with rival claimants to the position of da'i al-mutlaq. The OP belongs to the Dawoodi branch which is based in India, while the Sulaymani branch is based in Yemen. The Dawoodis themselves split a number of times, with one of their worst crises being after the sudden death of their 46th da'i, Muhammad Badr ad-Din, without having pronounced a successor. So what did they do? Well a group of their 'ulama appointed Abd al-Qadir Najm ad-Din to act in a caretaker role to the da'wat. What did he eventually do? Pronounce himself to be the da'i al-mutlaq... Nowadays the Dawoodis are run by their da'i (who apparently claims to be infallible now), from whom they have to obtain permission for much of the affairs of their life, only being allowed to study the deeper religious material with his approval (which is hard to obtain). The Dawoodi da'wat is largely a family affair now, with relatives of the da'i holding many of the positions of power over their community.