The first revelation to the Prophet was about knowledge and learning. The pursuit of knowledge is the central message of the Qur'an. The value placed on the pursuit of knowledge, the central message of the Qur'an, became the foundation for the development of education among Muslims. As Islam spread outside the Arabian peninsula, the new Muslim rulers came into contact with ...
Persian literature is dominated by a highly sophisticated tradition of poetry dating to the tenth century. Persian poetry can generally be divided into two forms: the lyrical and the epic. The major lyrical forms are the qasida, ghazal, and rubai. The basic form of epic poetry is the masnavi. The qasida, a long mono-rhyme (aa, ba, ca) similar to an ode, ...
The term sufi, from the Arabic suf is thought to have been derived in the eight century to refer to those who wore coarse woollen garments. Gradually it came to be designated to a group of those who differentiated themselves by stressing certain teachings of the Qur'an and the sunnah. By the ninth century, the term tasawwuff (literally "being a sufi") ...
The Fatimid Caliph-Imam Abu Ali Mansur, who took the caliphal title of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, succeeded his father to the Imamat on October 14, 996. The first Fatimid Caliph-Imam to be born in Egypt, Imam made the education of Ismailis a priority; various study sessions known as majalis were established in Cairo where he also completed the mosque in 1013 that ...
"....the art and culture of the Fatimids is the expression of a remarkably tolerant multireligious and multiethnic society, the source of impressive material prosperity and of an unprecedented creative vitality." Marianne BarrucandProfessor of Islamic Art and Archaeology at the Sorbonne and editor of L'Egypte Fatimide: Son Art et Son HistoireAKDN Press Release "The Fatimids, after all, prided themselves on a broadly ...
"A central element in any religious outlook, it seems to me, is a sense of human limitation, a recognition of our own creature-hood - a posture of profound humility before the Divine. In that sensibility lies our best protection against divisive dogmatism and our best hope for creative pluralism." His Highness the Aga Khan School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia ...
During medieval times, iron and copper alloys were crafted into tools, weapons, and utensils, while gold and silver were made into jewellery, coins, and luxury items which became popular and were appreciated for their aesthetic appeal. New buyers, who desired reasonably priced luxury goods, began to demand more intricate ceramics resulting in the development of many new techniques and styles. However, ...
Due to the sacred nature of the Qur'an, copying the text, like its recitation, was a pious act. Hence, all the arts associated with the text - copying, conserving, and decorating - acquired increasing prestige. While calligraphy occupied one of the prime spots in the field of artistic expressions, the decorative arts developed into a sophisticated art form. Geometric patterns, stylised ...
Islam has a long history in the People's Republic of China, dating to the seventh century. The earliest Muslims in China were traders who came to the south eastern ports as part of the Indian Ocean trade as well as along the Silk Route. Muslims of China are generally divided into two groups. The first group consists of descendents of Arab, ...
Calligraphy, from the Greek kallos (beauty) and graphein (to write) is the art of beautiful writing. The script in which the Qur'an was written developed over the centuries and provided Islamic art with its most constant decorative character. The art of calligraphy was not limited to the Qur'an. Literary texts and albums of portraits, textiles, tiles, ceramics, and objects in daily ...
"Students of world history remind us how Central Asia, a thousand years ago, "led the world" in trade and investment, in urban development, in cultural and intellectual achievement. This was the place that leading thinkers from around the known world would look to for leadership. What were the latest breakthroughs in astronomy or mathematics, in chemistry or medicine, in philosophy or ...
![Mawlana Hazar Imam: "...[the] message of tolerance and humanity would soon infuse the splendid Mughal empire..."](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/efbc02dac0-1024x733.jpeg)
"The ground on which we stand has been a centre of cultural history for a very long time. It was nearly seven centuries ago, for example, when the Sufi Saint, Nizamuddin Auliya, walked these paths and shared his teachings of universal love. That same message of tolerance and humanity would soon infuse the splendid Mughal empire - also centred here... From ...
Rashid al-Din Sinan, the greatest of the medieval Nizari Ismaili da'is in Syria, was born into a Twelver Shi'i family in Basra, Iraq, around 1133. He worked as a schoolmaster, eventually converting to Nizari Ismailism in his youth. Sinan subsequently went to Alamut, the central headquarters of the Ismaili da'wa, to further study Ismaili doctrines, where he met Imam Hasan Ala ...
Nizari Ismailism spread on the Indian subcontinent beginning around the 11th century, although the earliest phase of Nizari activities in the subcontinent remain obscure due to the lack of reliable sources. The earliest representatives, or pirs, sent by Imams residing in Persia (modern-day Iran) initially concentrated their efforts in Sind.Areas in which pirs were active. Photo: The Ismailis: An Illustrated History ...
Fearful that Persia's history would be forgotten, Abu'l-Qasim Firdawsi (940-1020) composed the Shahnama (Book of Kings), comprising more than 60,000 rhyming couplets, telling the story of Persia (modern-day Iran) from the time of creation to its conquest by Muslims in the seventh century. Partly legend, partly historic, it is also a manual on kingship, a collection of heroic tales, and a ...
The Qutb Shahi tombs, the Golconda (Golkonda) Fort, and the Charminar, located in the city of Hyderabad, India, are the landmarks of the Qutb Shahi dynasty that ruled the region from 1518 to 1687. Their early capital was at the Golconda, a fortified citadel comprising military structures, mosques, temples, palaces, and residences as well as water canals, fountains, and gardens.Qutb Shahi ...
Prophet Muhammad was concerned about the moral and spiritual conditions of the people of Mecca. He "habitually retreated from the humdrum of life to meditate on the higher truths that he felt were lacking in the worship of idols as it was practiced by the majority of the people of Arabia." (Jiwa) After fifteen years of meditative practice, during one of ...
"What does it mean to become an Imam in the Ismaili tradition?"Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking as part of the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture series. Photo: AKDN/Farhez Rayani "As you know, I was born into a Muslim family, linked by heredity to the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him and his family). My education blended Islamic and Western traditions ...
"In all interpretations of Islam, Imams, whether they are Shia or Sunni, are required not only to lead in the interpretation of the faith, but equally to contribute to improving the quality of life of the people who refer to them... It is on this ethical premise, which bridges faith and society, that I established the Aga Khan Development Network." Mawlana ...
Al-Maqrizi (d. 1442), a Sunni, Egyptian scholar, was a prolific author of the Mamluk period [1250-1517]. "His writings spanned many facets of Egyptian society, from its political history, topography and economic characteristics to biographical works chronicling its distinguished individuals. He painstakingly penned works that recorded Egyptian history from the time of its Muslim conquest to his own era, displaying particular pride ...
"Our history, our interpretation of our faith is anchored in the intellect and we rejoice in investing in the human intellect. It's part of the ethics of what we believe in and it's part of what we believe distinguishes us obviously from the environment in which we live." Mawlana Hazar Imam Signing of Agreement between Province of Ontario and the Ismaili ...
"...I am struck by the close relationship which exists between intellect and the faith. During the glorious periods of Muslim history, Muslim thinkers, scientists and philosophers were beacons of light, sharing their knowledge freely with the non-Muslim world, indeed often leading it. I am convinced that the way for the Ummah to achieve its aspirations is through the development of first-rate ...
Imam Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III succeeded as Imam on August 17, 1885 at the age of eight years. At the age of nine, he received the honorific title of 'His Highness' from Queen Victoria. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah led the Nizari Ismailis as Imam for 72 years, longer than any of his predecessors. His commitment to the Islamic ...
Hasan-i Sabbah, founder of the Nizari Ismaili state of Alamut, arrived in Fatimid Cairo in August 10781 where he stayed for three years to train as da'i. Hasan-i Sabbah was born at Qumm in Persia (modern-day Iran) into a Twelver Shi'i (Ithna Ashari) family in the mid-1050s. Early in his life, his family moved to the nearby city of Rayy, a ...
Al-Naysaburi, a Fatimid author, wrote about the ideal characteristics of a da'i: namely the virtues of piety, chastity, uprightness, mercy, forgiveness, humility, and generosity and the ability to maintain the community, protect the weak, and fight and punish crime, corruption and social disintegration but always elaborated within the context of the Ismaili da'wa. Paul E. Walker, Verena Klemm A Code of ...
Pirs were sent to the Indian subcontinent by Imams residing in Persia (modern-day Iran) during the Alamut (1090-1256) and post-Alamut (13th - 19th centuries) periods. Alamut In 1090, the Nizari Ismailis, under the leadership of Hasan-i Sabbah, established an independent state centred at the mountain fortress of Alamut in the Daylam region of northern Persia. Over the next 150 years, the ...
The Shahnama (Book of King), composed by the Persian poet Firdawsi (940-1020) around the year 1000, comprises more than 60,000 rhyming couplets, telling the story of Persia from the time of creation to its conquest by Muslims in the seventh century. Partly legend, partly historic, it is also a manual on kingship, a collection of heroic tales, and a long essay ...
"...that which perceives things as they are is the intellect, while knowledge is in the Pearl of Intellect." Nasir-i Khusraw Born in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir-i Khusraw followed the family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent. Around ...
"...I am struck by the close relationship which exists between intellect and the faith. During the glorious periods of Muslim history, Muslim thinkers, scientists and philosophers were beacons of light, sharing their knowledge freely with the non-Muslim world, indeed often leading it. I am convinced that the way for the Ummah to achieve its aspirations is through the development of first-rate ...
"...perhaps the real secret to the print's [paisley] immortality is...how it blends its rich historicism with a powerful adaptability, and how it is open to endless and unexpected re-invigoration and re-interpretation." Lindsay Baker1 Resembling a droplet, the fig-shaped paisley motif is thought to have represented a combination of a floral spray (hence its Persian name boteh, meaning flower) and a cypress ...
The term 'rock crystal' is derived from the Greek word for ice, krystallos, because the Greeks thought that the rock crystal was formed by water frozen on mountaintops at extreme temperatures that it could no longer melt. A pure form of the silica mineral quartz, rock crystal has been valued for its transparency and flawless structure since the third millennium BCE. ...
The ancient technique of lustre, which may have travelled from China along the Silk Road and other trade networks, involved painting copper and silver onto vessels, producing a lustrous golden shine. The development of glazing techniques made the earthenwares water-resistant, but also became catalysts for creativity, turning everyday objects into art canvases.Earthenware jar with lustre dated 11th century, Fatimid Egypt. Ashmolean ...
The Ismaili Society (Anjoman-e Esma'ili), a research institution, was established on February 16, 1946 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III. The aim of the Society was to promote independent and critical studies of Ismailism. Wladimir Ivanow (1886-1970) was instrumental in the establishment of the Ismaili Society, publishing a series of his works as editor ...
"Bombay.... has very close associations with my family. It was here, and here alone, that my grandfather was acclaimed as the forty-eighth Imam of the Shia Imami Ismailis. That was 73 years ago and at that time he was only eight years old. What tremendous changes have come about since those days!...In some ways, therefore, it could be said that Bombay ...
Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you've no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain! Verse from Sa'di's Gulistan inscribed in the entrance to the United Nations' Hall of Nations Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī ...
"It is ironic that a sense of intensified conflict comes at a time of unprecedented breakthroughs in communication technology. At the very time that we talk more and more about global convergence, we also seem to experience more and more social divergence. The lesson it seems to me is that technologies alone will not save us- the critical variable will always ...
Footprints_I_Golden_Jubilee_1957 to_2007 - This workbook is my humble attempt to capture a few highlights of the 50 years of the Imamat in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Hazar Imam's Imamat. Golden Jubilee Memories- July 11, 2007 to December 13, 2008 - an extended Golden Jubilee year due to Mawlana Hazar Imam's shoulder injury, this volume comprises Mawlana Hazar Imam's visits ...
Muslims engage in a variety of practices to express devotion to God, Prophet Muhammad, and other holy persons. These practices include sacred music, religious literature and festivals, poetry, and pilgrimages. In addition to the pilgrimage to Mecca, visitations to the tombs (ziyarat) of great Muslim saints (awliya-i Allah) have formed an important aspect of religious life in various Islamic cultures and ...
"A thousand years ago, my forefathers, the Fatimid Imam-Caliphs of Egypt, founded Al-Azhar University and the Academy of Knowledge in Cairo. In the Islamic tradition, they viewed the discovery of knowledge as a way to understand, so as to serve better God's creation, to apply knowledge and reason to build society and shape human aspirations. The Academies are, therefore, a continuing ...
The archipelago of Zanzibar comprising two main islands (Unguja - commonly known as Zanzibar, and Pemba) and several smaller ones, has been inhabited for over 20,000 years when the island served as a gateway for traders between the African Great Lakes, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent, and Europe. In 1503, Zanzibar became part of the Portuguese Empire for almost 200 ...
