Mawlana Hazar Imam presided over and made opening remarks at the first seminar of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture held at Aiglemont on April 5, 1978.The first review meeting of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. From left to right Doğan Kuban, Hasan uddin Khan, Renata Holod, Mawlana Hazar Imam, Oleg Grabar, William Porter, Nader Ardalan, Garr Campbell, Michael Curtis. ...
Nasir al-din al-Tusi (1201-1274) the foremost philosopher, scientist, astronomer, mathematician, and scholar of the thirteenth century, completed the highly esteemed book on ethics, Akhlaq-i Nasiri, (Nasirean Ethics), around 1235. Al-Tusi compiled the text while in the service of the Ismaili governor of Quhistan (northeastern Persia) Nasir al-Din Abd ar-Rahim b. Abi Mansur. Tusi named the work after his learned patron, who ...
"Music has always been an art of special importance to me: Its power of communication is special, enormous and universal; it binds people together and unites them....At a time when strengthening tolerance and pluralism has become an acute worldwide priority, music is one of the arts which offers a medium for reaching, involving and uniting global audiences by engendering emotions which ...
"Now I know that in some parts of the world, the words "Muslim" and "music" are not often linked together in the public mind. But they should be... The cultural heritage of Islam has long embraced musical language as an elemental expression of human spirituality. Listening to music, practising music, sharing music, performing music - have long been an intimate part ...
Who was the Fatimid Vizier who served Imam al-Mustansir bi'llah I? What is the title of Imam Ali's teachings recorded in Hindustani in poetic form? The material is based on the Secondary Curriculum published by The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Download Crossword-No-3 ...
From the Greek myein, "to close the eyes," mysticism "contains something mysterious, not to be reached by ordinary means or by intellectual effort." In its widest sense, "it may be defined as the consciousness of the One Reality - be it called Wisdom, Light, Love..."(Mystical Dimension of Islam p 3-4). Therefore "this cannot be explained by any normal mode of perception; ...
Let the once dead earth be a sign to them. We gave it life, and from it produced grain for their sustenance. We planted it with palm and the vine and watered it with gushing springs, so that men might feed on its fruit. It was not their hands that made all this. Should they not give thanks? Qur'an 36:33-35 Navroz, ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam announced the construction of a hospital, medical college, and school of nursing in December 1964, laying the foundation in 1971. The Aga Khan Medical College commenced operation in 1983 as an academic unit of the Faculty of Health Sciences, alongside the School of Nursing and Midwifery.Mawlana Hazar Imam, the Chancellor of Aga Khan University, announces plans to construct ...
"...he [Ali ibn Abi Talib] was a prince to whom God gave much knowledge and wisdom."1 Attar "Ali b. Abi Talib, may God beautify his profile, is the secret mystery of the gnostics...and the whole Muslim Community agree that Ali b. Abi Talib represents the breaths of inspiration of all the prophets...He has sayings the like of which no one prior ...
The Ismailis have produced diversified literature, mainly in Arabic, Persian, and a number of Indian languages, on a variety of subjects and religious themes in different periods of their long history. These texts range from a few historical and biographical treatises, legal texts of al-Qadi al-Nu'man, and elaborate works on the central Shi'i doctrine of the Imamat, to complex philosophical treatises.Title ...
Test your knowledge. The material is based on the Secondary Curriculum published by The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Hyphenated names do not include the hyphens. For example, if the clue indicates (2, 4) the answer could be AlTusi (Al-Tusi). Solution will be provided in a few days. Download Crossword-No-2 ...
Nasir al-Din Tusi, one of the major intellectual scholars of the thirteenthcentury, who contributed to many fields of learning, was born on February 18, 1201 in Tus, northeastern Persia into a Twelver Shi'i (Ithna'ashari) family. His father, a jurist, encourage al-Tusi to study a range of intellectual disciplines. In his autobiographical work Sayr wa suluk ('Contemplation and Action'), al-Tusi "gives a ...
![[Feb 9]Today in history:Al-Mu'ayyad was appointed chief da'i by Fatimid Imam al-Mustansir bi'llah](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/0925799f8d.jpeg)
Abu Nasr Hibat Allah b. Musa b. Abi Imran b. Dawud al-Shirazi, one of the most distinguished da'is of the Fatimid period (909-1171), was born around 1000 in Shiraz, the capital of Fars region of south-west Persia, where his forefathers had a long history of serving the Fatimids as well as earlier Imams as da'is. Following the death of his father, ...
![[Feb]This month in history: The pioneer of Ismaili studies, Ivanow, came into contact with Ismailis for the first time](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ab81ffff0a.jpeg)
"They [Ismailis] with amazingcare and devotion kept through ages burning that Light, mentioned in the Qur'an which God always protects against all attempts of His enemies to extinguish it...I rarely saw anything so extraordinary and impressive as this ancient tradition being devoutly preserved..."Ivanow Ivanow. Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies The pioneer of Ismailis Studies, Vladmir Ivanow was born in 1886 ...
"Some of the best minds and creative spirits from every corner of the world, independent of ethnic or religious identities, were brought together at great Muslim centres of learning. My own ancestors, the Fatimids, founded one of the world's oldest universities, Al-Azhar in Cairo, over a thousand years ago. In fields of learning from mathematics to astronomy, from philosophy to medicine ...
"...when God had created the pure body of Adam... out of the clay on the surface of the sphere [of the earth], and had decreed the breathing of divine spirit... into him, Jibra'il heard God's address: Take three pearls from the sea of My Omnipotence, place them on a plate of light, present them to Adam the pure, and have him ...
Ginan bolore nit nure bharea; evo haide tamare harakh na maeji. Recite continually the Ginans which are filled with light; boundless will be the joy in your heart. (tr. by Ali Asani). Listen Ginans are a vast corpus of hymns, religious poetic compositions, which have been a central part of the Nizari Ismailis of the Indian subcontinent, who now reside all ...
From the Sanskrit jnana meaning 'contemplative knowledge,' Ginans are a vast corpus of poetic compositions whose authorship was attributed to preachers, Pirs, sent by Imams residing in Iran to the Indian subcontinent around the eleventh century to teach the Ismaili interpretation of Islam to non-Arabic speaking people. At the time, the field of devotional poetry was flourishing in the subcontinent, with ...
"There is no doubt that the artists of Egypt under the Fatimids were skilled to a degree that found no parallel in the handicrafts of Europe.... it is impossible to overlook the existence of an ancient skill in arts of all kinds in Egypt itself, and to ascribe much of the merits of the Mamluk work to the traditions of the ...
![[Jan 4]Today in history: Imam al-Mahdi was officially proclaimed caliph in the North African capital](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1f7fc59f42.jpeg)
On January 4, 910, the eleventh Ismaili Imam Abu Muhammad Abd Allah, who took on the titles of al-imam al-mahdi bi'llah (the imam rightly guided by God) and amir al-mu'minin (commander of the faithful) was publicly proclaimed as caliph in Qayrawan in present-day Tunisia, the capital of the Aghlabids (r. 800-909) whom the Fatimids succeeded. On the following day, a declaration ...
"Ours is an intellectual tradition which premiates the pursuit of knowledge that is to be used for the good of larger society. Live your faith through acquiring knowledge with which to help others." Mawlana Hazar ImamJuly 11, 2017The.IsmailiMawlana Hazar Imam at the commencement of his Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years of his Imamat. Source: AKDN/Zahur Ramji The earliest revelation to Prophet ...
Nasir Khusraw, a Persian poet, philosopher, traveller, and a da'i, was born on 1004 in Qubadiyan, a small town in eastern Iran into a Twelver Shi'i family. After completing his schooling, where he studied Arabic, Persian, mathematics, philosophy, and religious sciences, Nasir entered government service in the revenue department. Nasir enjoyed travelling , admiring the architectural and cultural creations of the ...
"The Garden has for many centuries served as a central element in Muslim culture. The Holy Qur'an, itself, portrays the Garden as a central symbol of a spiritual ideal - a place where human creativity and Divine majesty are fused, where the ingenuity of humanity and the beauty of nature are productively connected. Gardens are a place where the ephemeral meets ...
'Say: I ask you for no reward, save love of the near of kin' (Quran 42: 23). Love for Imam Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (d.765) said: "Everyone who bears love to us, will be with us on the Day of Resurrection.He will be under our protection and be our companion in all stations (in Paradise). Doubly do I swear by God, God ...
The term 'Islamic art' does not refer to a specific style, but rather describes the art created specifically in the service of the faith such as the mosque and its furnishings produced in the lands ruled by Muslims, for Muslim and non-Muslim patrons, or created by Muslim artists. Furthermore, all artistic and intellectual activities were governed by principles of the faith ...
The fifteenth Ismaili Imam and the fifth Fatimid Caliph Al-Aziz succeeded his father to the Imamat in December 975 (Daftay, The Ismailis p 176). Born in 955, Abu Mansur Nizar, succeeded to the Imamat with the title of al-Aziz bi'llah ('friend of allah'). He was the first member of the Fatimid dynasty to begin his rule in Egypt. His father, Imam ...
Passing through a bazaar, a wise dervish was offered a cup of honey by a confectioner. Suddenly a swarm of flies, attracted by the honey, began to settle on the edges of the cup while others flew straight in. The confectioner fanned away the flies that were on the edges, but those inside the cup sank deeper, causing the dervish to ...
In 1090, Hasan-i Sabbah acquired Alamut, a remote mountain-fortress in the Rudbur region of Daylam in northern Persia (modern-day Iran), marking the founding of the Nizari Ismaili state. Over the course of the next 150 years, the Ismailis acquired more than 200 fortresses in Iran and Syria, located in the inaccessible mountainous regions for refuge of Ismailis who were fleeing persecution. ...
Ginan bolore nit nure bharea;evo haide tamare harakh na maeji. Listen Recite continually the Ginans which are filled with light; boundless will be the joy in your heart (Tr. Ali S. Asani) Ginans are a vast collection consisting of several hundred compositions which have been a central part of the religious life of the Nizari Ismaili community of the Indian subcontinent ...
Named after the Prophet's daughter, the Fatimids, ancestors of Mawlana Hazar Imam, established their rule in 909 in Tunisia, in North Africa, when Imam al-Mahdi was proclaimed caliph. The fourth Fatimid caliph, Imam al-Mu'izz, founded the city of Cairo to where he transferred his capital in 969. In Cairo, the Fatimids promoted intellectual activities, founding major institutions of learning and libraries. ...
"In Islamic belief, knowledge is two-fold. There is that revealed through the Holy Prophet [Salla-llahu 'alayhi wa- sallam] and that which man discovers by virtue of his own intellect. Nor do these two involve any contradiction, provided man remembers that his own mind is itself the creation of God. Without this humility, no balance is possible. With it, there are no ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam announced the construction of a hospital and medical college in Karachi, Pakistan in December 1964. The foundation stone for this institution was laid in 1971 and was granted university status in 1983. On November 11, 1985, the Aga Khan Hospital and the Faculty of Heath Sciences were inaugurated. In his address, Mawlana Hazar Imam said: "The Aga Khan ...
"More than a millennium ago, as early as the 8th century, the original Abbasids, ruling as Caliphs in Baghdad, set up academies and libraries where new knowledge was honoured - independent of its source. The Fatimids continued this tradition - reaching out from their base in Cairo - established in the 10th century - to welcome learned figures from distant lands. ...
![[Nov]This month in history: Imam Khalil Allah II succeeded to the Imamat](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/054cc7c06c.jpeg)
The thirty-ninth Nizari Ismaili Imam Khalil Allah II (d. 1680) succeeded his father to the Imamat in November 1671 in Anjundan, central Persia (modern-day Iran). Imam Khalil Allah II was the last Imam to reside in Anjundan, a town associated with the revival of Nizari Ismaili activities in the post-Alamut period. The post-Alamut period comprises two phases: the first two centuries ...
"From the development of written language to the invention of printing, to the development of electronic and digital media - quantitative advances in communication technology have not necessarily produced qualitative progress in mutual understanding. To be sure, each improvement in communications technology has triggered new waves of political optimism. But sadly, if information can be shared more easily as technology advances, ...
Intellect - the power or faculty of the mind by which one knows or understands, as distinguished from that by which one feels; the understanding; the faculty of thinking and acquiring knowledge. Dictionary.com Reason - the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgements, or inferences. Dictionary.com From the Latin intellectus in Latin, and the Greek nous, intellect "is that which is ...
"A sound enabling environment must create a favourable framework in which people's energy and creativity can be motivated, mobilized and rewarded." Mawlana Hazar ImamConference on Central Asia and Europe, Berlin, Germany, November 13, 2007Speech "What a sound enabling environment must do is to create a favourable framework in which human creativity can flourish... In the end, human progress must grow out ...
![[Oct 14]Today in history: Fatimid Caliph Imam al-Hakim succeeded to the Imamat](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/c74365b9a6.jpeg)
The sixth Fatimid Caliph and sixteenth Ismaili Imam Abu 'Ali Mansur, succeeded his father Imam 'Aziz (r. 975-96) at the age of eleven on October 14, 996 with the caliphal title of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ('Ruler by God's Command'). The first Fatimid ruler to have been born in Egypt, Imam al-Hakim (d.1021) worked to extend the da'wa outside the Fatimid domains ...
