Final Paper research based on Ismaili History PDF

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This topic covers the detailed history of Ismailism, how it originated and what other factors lead to Imamat. This paper further covers different sects of Shia's...

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Name: Ashhar Ayaz Section Instructor: Dr. Noman Baig Date: April 16, 2018 Topic: Abstract: This paper tries to explore the roots of Ismailism and the historical context in which it was introduced. It also sheds light on how different sects were formed due to certain conflicts within the community. Importance of the Imam in guiding the community with respect to the current time and context is highlighted. This papers explores in particular the branches within the Shia Community and the issues that triggered this to happen. The later section of the research deals with some very important aspects and concepts of the Ismaili community. Those include Dasond and Chanta. It talks on the important and significance of these 2 rituals as the most important component of the Ismaili community. The paper also highlights how Ismailism is concerned on constantly asking for forgiveness from Allah and strive to achieve a closer position with the Divinely Existence. Methodology: The methodology adopted for this research is secondary research by analyzing the pre-written journal articles. Attempts were made to include the primary research methods. An interview was conducted of ‘Salma Suleiman Noorani’ who is a very reputed scholar recognized by the Ismaili Council. Her expertise lies in areas of Islamic and Ismaili history. Therefore, this research includes parts of both the primary as well as secondary research.

Literature Review: Daftary, F. (1990). The Ismāīlīs: Their history and doctrines(2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Farhad Daftary one of the greatest Ismaili scholar in his book The Ismailis discusses almost 1300 years of Ismaili history. The author talks about the origin and development of Shia community after the demise of Holy Prophet. The book further talks about the conflict that rose within the community which further divided the people into different sects of Shiism and the chain of Imamat that the Ismaili Muslims believe in.

Gnosis, I. (n.d.). Why Do Ismailis Give Dasond, and is Dasond/Zakat the Same as Charity? Retrieved April 15, 2018, from https://ask.ismailignosis.com/article/32-why-do-ismailis-givedasond-and-is-dasondzakat-the-same-as-charity This articles outlines the major difference between zakat and dasond. The Ismaili Muslims follow the ritual of dasond i.e giving 12.5% from their net income to Imam so that the money they earned is purified and halal. Furthermore, the article also covers the importance lying behind this ritual and clarifies the misconception that people have regarding dasond that is considered to be charity or alm.

Muhammad, K. A., & Z. K. (2014). Chhantas. In Practices and Ceremonies (4th ed., pp. 84-100). Karachi: Z.A. Printer. Kamaluddin Ali Muhammad and Zarina Kamaluddin in their book Practices and Ceremonies talks about the second most important ritual Chhanta, that is been practiced by Ismailis Muslims around the world. Water considered to be the most purified substance is used as symbol for Chhanta. Every murid in his life tends to perform mistakes and to seek forgiveness he takes Chhanta from the representatives of Imam. In

their life time every murid takes 15 Chhanta to purify their inner self from the sins they committed and promises their Imam not to repeat them intentionally.

Emergence of Ismailism: Holy Prophet (PBUH) in his life was leader of worldly affairs as well as religious affairs. When Holy Prophet was on his way back from his final pilgrimage he received a revelation from Allah

‫ص ُم َك َمِنالنلاس إنل َل‬ ْ ‫سو ُل َبلّْغ َماُ أ‬ "‫الَ ليَ ْهدِي‬ ِ ‫س َلتَ ُه وَُلاليَ ْع‬ ‫ِن َر بّ َك َوإِْن َل ْم تَ ْف َع ْل فَ َم ا َبلغ َْت ِرَ ا‬ ْ ‫ي َك م‬ ْ ‫ن ِز َلَِإل‬ ُ ‫الر‬ ‫يَاَ أيَّاه ل‬ ِ ِ َ ‫افر‬ 67) ‫ين‬ ِ ِ َ‫)ا ْل َق ْوَم ْالك‬ O’ Messenger (Muhammad PPBUH)! Proclaim the (Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you not, then you have not conveyed His Message. And God will protect/ defend/safeguard you from mankind {who mean mischief}. Verily, God guides not those people who disbelief/reject Faith.”[ CITATION Diy17 \l 1033 ] Holy Prophet received this revelation from Allah to announce Imam Ali as his successor. After receiving this message from Allah, Holy Prophet thought that it would be seen by the Ummah as the power in hands of the family of Muhammad. He was fearful that conveying this verse could cause resentment among the Ummah. Then again he received another revelation from Allah in which he was instructed to enlighten the people regarding Imamat of Ali and if he doesn’t convey this message, all his work towards mankind, revelation of Holy Quran and giving people the religion Islam will be disregarded by Allah. At that moment Prophet made a decision to stop at Gadir-e-Khum which was the central location connecting different cities and from where different groups of people pass for trading. Attempts

were made to convey the message of Immamat as widely as possible. Hence, the people who went ahead were called back and it was ensured that maximum people are gathered to get the final message. When all the people were gathered the Prophet stood high on a stage made by camel sacks, held Ali’s hand high in air and declared:

After Prophet’s declaration of Ali as his successor the people gathered over there wished him and Hazrat Umer was the leading figure and first to accept Ali as Prophet’s successor. Later on when Prophet Muhammad passed away, the Muslim community divided into two parts due to arousing conflicts between them. Half of the people of Muslim community accepted Ali as successor of Muhammad and believed Ali to be the religious as well as worldly leader of entire Muslim community but the other half considered Ali as the religious leader rather than worldly leader of Muslim community. The people who accepted Ali as their religious as well as worldly leader were called as Shia and the other half who accepted Ali as religious figure but perceived caliphate for worldly affairs were called as Sunni. After the death of Hazrat Ali as the fourth caliph, caliphate went into Banu-Ummayah. After the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the Ummayad dynasty was afraid that Imam Hussain’s son Imam Zainul Abedeen would take caliphate back as he was a very prominent figure amongst the

masses. As Imam Hussain was grandson of Prophet Muhammad the people loved and supported him which made Ummayad more worried about the caliphate. Due to this Ummayad’s became against Imam Zainul Abedeen, Imam Muhammad al Baqir, and Imam Jaffer Sadiq.The conflicts were their still there during the Imamat of Jaffer Sadiq when Imam decided to send his son Ismail to Syria as his life was in danger. Conflicts within the community: After the death of Imam Jaffer, as his son Ismail was in Syria some of the people considered Imam’s younger son Muza Kazim who was present with Imam at that time as his successor and were called as Athna Ashariyyah (twelvers) whereas the other half of the people considered Imam Jaffer elder son Ismail as his successor and were called as Ismailis. The period of Imamat continued until the 18th Imam, Imam Mustansir bi-Allah when the conflicts again arose between the people. The Imam had two sons Musta li and Nizar. At the time of death of Imam Mustansir bi-Allah, his sister declared his son Musta li as his successor and the people who followed him were called as Mustalis (Bohra) were as other half of people who accepted Nizar as successor of Imam were called as Nizaris. [ CITATION Far90 \l 1033 ] Current Imam:

From Imamat of Imam Nizar the chain of Imamat continues till now and Imam Shah Karim who is the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismaili Nizari Muslims. The 48th Imam Sultan Mohd Shah Aga Khan III in his will wrote “Ever since the time of my ancestor Ali the first Imam, that is to say, over a period of some thirteen hundred years, it has always been the tradition of my family that each Imam chooses his successor at his absolute and unfettered discretion from amongst any of his descendants, whether they be sons or remoter male issue and in these circumstances, and in

view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the World in very recent years due to the great changes which have taken place, including the discoveries of atomic sciences, I am convinced that it is in the best interest of the Shia Moslem Ismailian Community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age, and who brings a new outlook on life to his office as Imam. For these reasons, and although he is not now one of my heirs, I appoint my grandson KARIM, the son of my son ALY SOLOMON KHAN, to succeed to the title of AGA KHAN and to be the IMAM and PIR of all my Shia Ismailian followers and should my said grandson, KARIM, predecease me, then I appoint his brother AMYN MOHAMMED, the second son of my son ALY SOLOMON KHAN, as my successor to the Imamat.[CITATION Ism \l 1033 ] Dasond:

The concept and literal meaning of dasond is considered to be the same in modern times as the concept of zakat that is widely practice by Muslims all over the worlds. Qurans mentions that giving zakah is important as compared to offering praying and has emphasized its importance in more than 20 verses. Dasond also promotes similar ideas and concepts.

“

And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].”[CITATION na \t \l 1033 ]

Many people now days consider dasond to be equivalent to charity or alms but this idea of giving money to poor as charity is regarded as incorrect by both the Quran and Hadith. Although many

of the scholars of modern era translate zakat as obligatory charity but it is interpreted in Quran in a different meaning. The word zakah could be best translated as purification of dues or to purify. It could be further interpreted as spiritual purification of a human soul. The people earlier used to submit their zakah to Holy Prophet Muhammad rather than giving it to poor. Quran clearly doesn’t specify any practice of zakah but the Sunnah of Prophet gives a brief interpretation of how it should be practiced.

In Shia Ismaili tradition the literal meaning and essential purpose of zakah have remained same according to the concept of Quran. One of the greatest scholar in Ismaili history Nasir Khusraw in his book Wajh-I Din mentions “…the meaning of zakah as an offering by which the believers’ property and souls are made pure by the Prophet Muhammad and the Imam who holds the Prophet’s authority.”[ CITATION na1 \l 1033 ]

By that time the zakah paid by Ismaili Muslims was 10% on growing crops, 2.5% on sheeps, cows and camels and 5% on silver and gold. In modern times the zakah that is paid by all Ismaili Muslims is between 10% or 12.5% of person’s net income and is regarded as dassondh (one tenth). The dassondh was further divided by Imam as 10% was considered to be given to Imam who is their spiritual leader and descendent of Prophet Muhammad where as 2.5% to be part of Ismaili scholars (regarded as Dais) for their expenses and families as they worked for Imam in spreading the message of Ismailism and guiding people regarding the problems they faced. Later on when the purpose of Dais was almost over and Imam was the one who travelled along states the entire 10% and 2.5% is given to Imam and which is then used by Imam in various projects for the betterment and prosperity of Ismaili as well as other religions.

The money that each murids gives as dassondh is collected in Jamat Khana by two community leaders both appointed by the present Imam. The concept of dassondh is Ismaili teachings is not regarded as to pressurize one to compulsory pay from his wealth but is regarded as to purify their soul and their money. In many of farmans of Imam he also has guided his murids the importance of Dassondh as it should be given wholeheartedly, willingly truthfully and having trust in Imam. And it is Imam’s duty to divide that money equally and in right causes. In some places Imam also stated that one’s food and earning become halal after he have given dasond. Chhanta:

Jamat Khana is a place where all the Ismaili Muslims rituals and practices are performed. One of the major practice includes rituals and rites performed there is chhanta, which a murid is given to seek forgiveness for the sins and mistakes he/she committed and to improve their spiritual life. The ceremony of chhanta ensures that if murids wholeheartedly seek forgiveness for his sins and mistakes he performed in his life then those sins could be forgiven by the Imam.

All the human being were send to mankind and given the choice to either to good or bad. Allah have given them their freewill to choose any of them. The only way when a human could get out of wrong is to seek for forgiveness from Allah and indeed this practice brings a human closer to His Lord. Furthermore, Quran says that if a man wholeheartedly seeks forgiveness for his sins and start doing good so his bad deeds are replaced by good. In this regard Holy Prophet said “One who repents and seek forgiveness for his sins is like one who has not committed any sins.”[ CITATION Muh14 \l 1033 ]

Water due to its quality of cleaning is used as a symbol of chhanta. It was used since the time of Prophet Muhammad to remove mitigate sufferings and calamities. From then it became one of the major practices to remove sins of a murid and seek forgiveness from Allah. Ismaili murids are given chhantas on many occasions. A special chhanta is given on the occasion of Lail-tulQadar, the murid gets an opportunity from his Imam to take chhanta and get relief from obstacles other than the sins that we performed on daily basis. In total each murid gets opportunity to take 15 chhantas in his life which includes:

1. Tauba No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for failing to repent)

2. Dasond Ni Bhul Chuk No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for errors in Dasond)

3. Tran Wakhat Dua Ni Bhul Chuk No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for irregularity in performing daily prayers.)

4. Ghuna Ni Bakshamni No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for our sins)

5. Gupt Gunah No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for secret sins)

6. Char Joog No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for sins from past life)

7. Girbhavas No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for promises made prior to birth)

8. Pul Sirat No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for having deviated from straight path)

9. Roshnai No Chanto (Seeking forgiveness for acts which prevents us from experiencing Noor)

10. Ghor Bhid No Chanto (Seeking mercy from the pain of exiting from the body)

11. Kabar Na Puchana No Chanto (Seeking mercy at the time of accountability)

12. Paheli Manzil No Chanto (Seeking mercy during the journey leading to the first destination)

13. Biji Manzil No Chanto (Seeking mercy during the journey leading to the second destination)

14. Ognis Tol No Chanto (Seeking mercy in passing through 19 checkpoints)

15. Bavan Gati No Chanto (Seeking mercy in passing through 52 narrow passages) [ CITATION Cha \l 1033 ]

Knowing the significance and importance of 15 Chhantas we ensure after seeking forgiveness from Hazir Imam we stay sincere to him and not to perform those sins again in our life. Conclusion:

Ismailism is a religion that shapes it ritual and customs according to the context. With the change in time it has developed greatly and currently there are around 14 Million ismaili’s living all around the world. They have developed a very prestigious and a positive image in the society and are seen as a peace loving community by all. It is a very diverse religion and believes in bridging bridges between all the other communities.

Bibliography Chantas. (n.d.). Retrieved from Ismaili Heritage Society: http://www.ismaili.net/ceremonies/chantas.html#top Daftary, F. (1990). In The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines. London: Cambridge Unniversity Press . Diyab, W. M. (2017). Surat Al-Maida -5- Medinian –Ayats 120 – Section – Seven – Verses 67-77. Retrieved from Sudan Vision: http://www.svdaily.net/index.php/new-posts/artculture/9268-surat-al-maida-5-medinian-ayats-120-section-seven-verses-67-77 Muhammad, K. A., & Kamaludin, Z. (2014). Chhanta. In Practices and Cermonies (pp. 84-100). Pakistan: Z.A. Printer. n.a. (n.d.). Chapter (2) sūrat l-baqarah (The Cow). Retrieved from Courpus.Quran: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=2&verse=43 n.a. (n.d.). Ismaili.net. Retrieved from From the will of Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah Aga Khan III: http://www.ismaili.net/amyn/will.html n.a. (n.d.). Why Do Ismailis Give Dasond, and is Dasond/Zakat the Same as Charity? Retrieved from Ismaili Gnosis: https://ask.ismailignosis.com/article/32-why-do-ismailis-givedasond-and-is-dasondzakat-the-same-as-charity...