7/29/2019 Ismaili Dua Translation
This post will address the exoteric (ẓāhir), the esoteric (bāṭin), and the reality (ḥaqīqah) of prayer (ṣalāh) and their relationship to the rituals of the sharī‘ah, the practices of the ṭarīqah, and the realities (ḥaqā’iq) of universal spirituality. In specific, the esoteric relationship between the formal Ṣalāhand the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’will be addressed in great detail.
After walāyah, the most important Pillar of Islam is prayer (ṣalāh). Prayer has been enjoined upon the believers for their own spiritual benefit. According to the Prophet Muḥammad, “The prayer is the mi‘rāj of the believer.”
The word ṣalah may be derived from the root waṣalah (“to connect, to arrive”). Sayyidnā Nāsir-i Khusraw explains that the word ṣalāh means “to follow”, since the word muṣallī refers to a horse that follows its leader (sābiq). Both these meanings become relevant in explaining the esoteric meaning (bāṭin) of ṣalāh.
The Qur’ān uses the term ṣalāh in a wide variety of contexts (the prayers of the believers, the prayer of the Prophet, the blessings of the Prophet, the blessings of God and His Angels, etc) and the word ṣalāh (plural: ṣalawāt) in the Qur’ān did yet not have the specific connotation of the daily ritual Ṣalāh (see below) which is practiced by Muslims today.
Ṣalāh: The Exoteric Prayer (ẓāhirī ṣalāh)
The exoteric dimension (ẓāhir) of prayer is called Ṣalāh (note the capitalized ṣ) or Namāz – and this is the daily ritual prayer practiced by most Muslims in present times. This Ṣalāh consists of the following stages:
1) takbīr (glorification)
2) qiyām (standing) 3) qirā’ah (recitation of Sūrah Fātiḥah and another surāh) 4) rukū‘ (genuflection) 5) sujūd (prostration) 6) tashahhūd (testification) 7) salām (salutation)
This exoteric prayer, Salāh, is prayed in the direction of the exoteric qiblah – the Ka‘bah in Makkah. The purpose of these bodily gestures is ‘ibadah – the worship or servitude of God.
According to the sharī‘ah – as interpreted by the majority of Muslim schools of law (including the Fātimid Ismā‘īlī law codified in the Da‘ā’im al-Islām) – there are five daily times for the Ṣalāh or Namāz: fajr (just before dawn), ẓuhr (noon), ‘aṣr (afternoon), maghrib (just after sunset) and ‘ishā’ (at night). The major congregational Ṣalāh during the week is the Friday Ṣalāh in which the ẓuhr (noon) and ‘aṣr (afternoon) prayers are often combined.
In the Ṣalāh, the central emphasis is upon the performance of the above actions – in which there is complete uniformity amongst worshippers. The question of which Qur’ānic surahs are actually recited varies from person to person – there is no set programme of recitation (although there are recommended sūrahs). But there is no difference when it comes to the bodily actions performed in the Ṣalāh – this is because the Ṣalāh, as the exoteric prayer, is a worship primarily performed by the physical body.
The Ta’wil (Esoteric Interpretation)of Salāh
In its earliest period, the Shī‘ī Ismā‘īlī Ṭarīqah of Islam was simply known as the Da‘wah – a word meaning “calling”, “summons”, or “convocation”. The Ismā‘īlī path of Islam defined itself as a path which “summons” humanity to the recognition of tawḥīd – the absolute oneness of God – through the recognition of the Imām. It is the essential role of the Imām to summon human souls to tawḥid as stated on a Fāṭimid coin:
The Imam Ma‘ad [al-Muizz] summons to the tawhid of God, the Absolute.
To recognize the walāyah of the Imām and give one’s bay‘ah to him is to “respond” to the “Calling” (Da‘wah) and begin a spiritual journey towards the recognition of tawḥīd. The spiritual journey within the Da‘wah includes many levels of initiation, purification, and realization up to the recognition of tawḥīd. It is in such a context that we now turn toward the ta’wīl and bāṭin of the Ṣalāh.
The bāṭinī ta’wīl of the Ṣalāh is explained by Sayyidnā Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān in his Asās al-Ta’wīl as follows:
“The outward (ẓāhir) blessing of salat is in performing it outwardly, including all its genuflections and prostrations, compulsory and permissible [components]. Correspondingly, the hidden (bāṭin) blessing lies in establishing the Summons of Truth (da‘wat al-ḥaqq) in every generation, day and night, as is done in performing the visible salat. In establishing the Da‘wah there is benefit for this world and the next and benefit for the worshipper. The Messenger of God – God’s prayer and peace be upon him – said: “I derive pleasure from prayer”, meaning in its ẓāhir and bāṭin.”
Sayyedna Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, (Ta’wīl al-Da‘ā’im, Vol. 1, 176)
The ritual of Ṣalāh is thus an outer symbol (mathāl) for the Da‘wah which is its inner meaning (bāṭin). Thus, Sayyidnā Nāṣir-i Khusraw writes that: “The ta’wīl of the Ṣalāh is the Da‘wah.” Dr. Farouk Topan expands on the relationship between the Salāh and the Da ‘wah as follows:
“Ṣalāh has been made obligatory to all Muslims as it is one of the channels through which God showers His bounties on human beings. However, according to the Qur’an (31:20), mankind receives God’s bounties both in the realm of the ‘seen’ (ẓāhir) and the ‘unseen’ (bāṭin). Ṣalāh encompasses both. Its texts, gestures and even canons constitute the ‘seen’. On the other hand, the bounties in the realm of the hidden, the esoteric and the ‘unseen’ relate to the principles of the Ismā‘īlī Ṭarīqah (path) and its practices. The bounties in that realm are channelled through the institution of the Da‘wah, an organization whose basic aim was to ‘call’ or ‘invite’ selected people to an understanding of the inner meaning of faith. Just as, on a wider level, all Muslims are called to prayer through the Adhān, so, in a more restricted way, the Da‘wah calls on particular individuals and invites them to receive the esoteric knowledge of the Ṭarīqah.”
Dr. Farouk Topan, (Swahili and Ismaili Perceptions of Salat, published in Islamic Prayer across the Indian Ocean, by David J. Parkin, Stephen C. Headly, 108)
This also means that each of the seven stages of the Ṣalāh symbolizes one of the stages of initiation in the Da‘wah. This is proven by the etymology of the word ṣalāh which means “to follow”. Therefore, the esoteric meaning of ṣalāh is to “follow” the Da‘wah of the Prophets and the Imāms. Each stage of the Ṣalāh has ta’wīli meaning which is the corresponding bātinī reality in the Da‘wah:
1) The ta’wīl of takbīr is to take the bay‘ah and enter into a covenant (‘ahd, mīthāq) with the Imām of the time. During the takbīr the worshipper remains silent and raises his hands to his ears. This symbolizes the fact that when the murīd pledges the bay‘ah to the Imām, he agrees to “hear and obey” the Imām. The late Shaykh Martin Lings has explained this from a Sufī perspective:
“In the takbir, which opens the Ṣalāh, the hand placed on the ear is a ritual enactment of the words ‘we hear and obey’ which follow the Qur’anic credo (2:287). The hand here symbolizes the free will, which man alone of all earthly creatures possesses and which makes him alone capable of deliberate obedience, unlike animals which are bound to follow their instincts.”
Martin Lings, (A Return to the Spirit, 167)
2) The ta’wīl of qiyām (standing) is that the murīd stands by the promises of his covenant (mīthāq) with the Imām.
3) The ta’wīl of the qirā’a (recitation) is that the murīd listens to the wisdom-filled discourse of the dā‘ī’. The actual recitation of the Qur’ānic sūrahs is the tanzīl (exoteric revelation) of the Qur’ān while the discourse of the dā‘ī contains the ta’wīl of the Qur’ān.
4) The ta’wīl of ruku’ (genuflecton) is the murīd’s recognition of the Bāb (the person who serves as the “proof” or “gate) of the Imām in the Minor Cycle and the Bāb of the Enunciating Prophet (Nāṭiq) in the Major Cycle.
Aplikasi for pc. 5) The ta’wīl of sujūd (prostration) is the murīd’s recognition of the Imāmin the Minor Cycle and the Enunciating Prophet (Nāṭiq) in the Major Cycle.
6) The ta’wīl of tashahhūd is the recognition of the dā‘īwho summons to the recognition of the Imām.
7) The ta’wīl of the salām (when the worshipper turns to his right and his left and salutes the persons next to him) is that the murīd has now attained to the knowledge and wisdom to speak and teach others in the Da‘wah.
Each stage of the Da‘wah forms a part of the gnostic or psychic worship (‘ibādah ‘ilmīyyah wa nafsīyyah) which gives life and meaning to the bodily or practical worship (‘ibādah ‘amalīyyah) of the Ṣalāh. The seven stages of the Ṣalāh collectively symbolize the Minor Cycle of Seven Imāmsthrough whom the Da‘wah is sustained in every age. Just as the Ṣalāh is performed in the direction of the exoteric qiblah, the murīd journeys through the stages of the Da‘wah in the direction of the esoteric qiblah – as stated by Sayyidnā Nāṣir-i Khusraw:
“The exterior meaning of ritual prayer is the worship of God with the body by advancing towards the qiblah of bodies, which is the Ka‘ba, the house of God (the exalted) in Mecca. The esoteric interpretation (ta’wīl-i bāṭin) of the ritual prayer is the worship of God with the rational soul by turning, in the quest for knowledge of the Book and the Law (sharī‘at), towards the qiblah of spirits, which is God’s House, which is a house in which God’s knowledge resides – the Imām of Truth.” Kannada video songs 2017-18.
Sayyidnā Nāṣir-i Khusraw, (Between Reason and Revelation, 272)
The five times of Ṣalāh as mandated in the sharī‘ah likewise have an esoteric meaning. Since Ṣalāh as such symbolizes the Da‘wah, the five prayer times symbolize the five Da‘wahs of five great Speaker-Prophets (Nāṭiqs) of God who preceded the Prophet Muḥammad: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The Prophet Muḥammad instituted the five daily times for Ṣalāh as an allusion or symbol for their respective Da‘wahs. Whenever a Prophet or Imām is commanded to “establish the Ṣalāh” (aqīmū’l-ṣalat) in the Qur’ān, the inner meaning is “establish the Da‘wah of the True Religion”. Sayyidnā Ja‘far ibn Manṣur al-Yaman explains that:
“The five [Nāṭiqs] institute the Da’wah for the Sixth Nāṭiq (Prophet Muḥammad), the seal of the Messengers, the last of the Prophets, because after him there will not arise a prophet or messenger, as he said to his wasi: Ali is to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there shall be no prophet after me. So they allude to him and spread the good news about him and therefore the duty of prayer was prescribed five times every day and night. In its true reality, salat is the Da’wah.”
Sayyednā Ja‘far ibn Mansūr al-Yaman, (Ta’wīl al-Zakāt, 69-70)
Du‘ā’: The Esoteric Prayer (bāṭinī ṣalāh)
The word du‘ā’ simply means “call” or “supplication” and can refer to any informal or personal prayer. However, in this context, the word Du‘ā’ refers to the daily ritual prayer of the Shī‘ī Ismā‘īlī Ṭarīqah of Islam. To understand the context and the nature of the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ and why it differs from the exoteric Ṣalāh, it must be remembered that the gestures and actions of the Salāh symbolize the stages of initiation in the Da‘wah.
The Ismā‘īlī Ṭarīqah is an esoteric branch of Islam and therefore its ritual practices belong to the bāṭinī realm of the tarīqah in contrast to the ẓāhirī realm of the sharī‘ah. This is most evident in the layout of the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’.
The Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ consists of six parts. Each part contains a Qur’ānic verse (or verses), a supplication (du‘ā’), an affirmation (ithbāt) of the Imām of the Time, and prostration (sujūd). The overall meaning of the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ can be seen by simply noting the themes and order of the Qur’ānic verses recited through the six parts:
Part 1:Sūrah al-Fatiḥah whose main theme is the ‘ibādah (worship) of God
Part 2:Sūrah al-Nisa (4:59 – “O you who believe, obey God, and obey the Messenger and the holders of authority amongst you”) and Surah Yasīn (36:12 – “And We have encompassed all things in the Manifest Imām”) whose main themes are obedience (tā‘ah) to God’s representatives.
Part 3:Sūrah al-Mā’idah (5:67 – “O Messenger, proclaim that which has been revealed to you by your Lord…”) whose main theme is the declaration (tablīgh) of the Imamat.
Part 4:Sūrah al-Fath (48:10 – “Verily, those who give their bay‘ah unto you( Muhammad), they give their bay‘ah unto God Himself…”) whose main theme is bay‘ah/mithāq (covenant).
Part 5:Sūrah al-‘Anfal (8:27 – “O you who believe, do not betray God and His Messenger and do not betray your trusts (amānāt) while you know”) whose main theme is trust (amānah).
Part 6:Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ (112 – “Say: He is God, the Unique. God is Independent. He did not beget nor was He begotton. And there is none like unto him”) whose main theme is the recognition (ma‘rifah) of tawḥīd.
Based on the Qur’anic verses evoked in each Part, the act of reciting the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ is a symbolic journey through the stages of the Ismā‘īlī Da‘wah:
1. In the First Part, the worshipper recognizes the Attributes of God such as Mercy, Compassion, Lordship and Sovereignty and enters into the worship (‘ibādah) of God.
2. In the Second Part, after affirming the need to worship God, the worshipper recognizes that God has established a manifest Imām as the possessor of authority (ulu’l-amr) and that worship can only take place by means of obedience (ta’ah) to God, the Prophet, and the Imāms.
3. In the Third Part, the worshipper recognizes the identity of the Imām by means of the declaration (tablīgh) of nass – which was first revealed at Ghadīr al-Khum.
4. In the Fourth Part, after discovering the identity of the Imām, the worshipper pledges a covenant (mīthāq)with theImāmthrough the act of bay‘ah and becomes a murīd and a spiritual child of theImām.
5. In the Fifth Part, the murīd affirms to stand by his bay‘ah and fulfill the trusts (amānāt) of the Imām. During the silent dhikr of Yā ‘Alī Yā Muḥammad in the midst of the Fifth Part, the murīd contemplates and attains the recognition (ma‘rifah) of the Nāṭiq and the Asās, and the Imām and his Bāb. The end of this dhikr – beginning with the exclamation of Ya Imami’z-Zamān (O’ Imām of the Time) – represents the moment (waqt) ofthe recognition (ma‘rifah) of the Imām followed by a declaration of the true reality (ḥaqīqah) of the Imām.
6. In the Sixth Part, after having recognized theImāmin his reality, the murīd attains the recognition (ma‘rifah) of tawḥīd– the absolute oneness of God – represented by Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ.
The Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ encompasses the stages of the Ismā‘īlī Da‘wah. Indeed, the two words du‘ā and da‘wah come from the same Arabic root (dal-‘ayn-waw) which means to summon, to invite, to call, etc. This Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ is a practical or embodied form of the Imām’s “Summons” (Da‘wah) to his murīds and it summarizes the essence of the Ismā‘īlī Ṭarīqah of Islam. To recite this Du‘ā’ is to respond to this Da‘wah and symbolically journey through all its stages.
When it is remembered that the ta’wīl of the Ṣalāh is the Da‘wah, and that the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ actually embodies the Da‘wah, then it becomes clear that the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ is itself the ta’wīl of the Ṣalāh. In the past, the Da‘wah existed through the institution of the dignitaries of religion (ḥudūd al-dīn), while in the present day the Da‘wah exists in a practical and embodied form through the rites and rituals of the Ismā‘īlī Ṭarīqah and the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ in particular. In summary, the Ismā‘īlī Du‘ā’ of the bāṭinī ṭarīqah is the practical ta’wīl (i.e. the living and embodied ta’wīl) of the Ṣalāh of the ẓāhirī sharī‘ah.
The Ṣalāh and the Du‘ā’ are therefore complementary and not in opposition. The Ṣalāh is the external dimension of the Du‘ā’, and the Du‘ā’ is the interiorization of the Ṣalāh. It is also true that the Ṣalāh is the exoteric prayer (ẓāhirī ṣalāh) and the Du‘ā’ is the esoteric prayer (bāṭinī ṣalāh). In accordance with the needs of the present Cycle of Resurrection and the command (farman) of the Imām of the Time,the Ismā‘īlī Muslims perform the obligatory prayer in its ta’wilī or esoteric form of Du‘ā’ and thereby also fulfill the conditions and requirements of the exoteric Ṣalāh.
Dhikr: The Real Prayer (ḥaqīqī ṣalāh)
The purpose of formal prayer (ṣalāh) according to the Qur’an is to establish the Remembrance (dhikr) of God in the human soul:
“Then worship Me and establish the prayer (al–ṣalāta) for the sake of My Remembrance (li-dhikrī).”
Holy Qur’ān 20:1
In this sense, the Remembrance of God (dhikru’llāh) is a state of awareness or consciousness or illumination as opposed to a formal act of ritual worship. Indeed, dhikru’llāh in this sense underlies all states of formal worship – whether it be formal prayer (Salāh), Du‘ā’, glorification (tasbiḥ), etc. In this sense, the ḥaqīqah (reality) or bāṭin al-bāṭin of prayer is the Remembrance of God (dhikru’llāh). Imām Ṣultān Muḥammad Shāh refers to this reality of prayer as a communication, illumination and inspiration from the Universal Intellect (“Universal Flame”) and the particular intellect (“the spark”) as follows:
“Prayer is a daily necessity, a direct communication of the spark with the universal flame…. Everyone should strive his best to see that this spark be not extinguished but rather developed to that full “Companionship-on High” which was the vision expressed in the last words of the Prophet on his deathbed, the vision of that blessed state which he saw clearly awaiting him… it is my profound conviction that man must never ignore and leave untended and undeveloped that spark of the Divine which is in him.”
Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh Āgā Khān III,
(World Enough and Time: Memoirs of the Aga Khan) Ismaili Dua And Urdu Translation
Ontologically speaking, the spiritual state of awareness or consciousness that is dhikru’llāh is “greater” than the formal acts of ritual or formal prayer – as the Qur’an states:
“Verily, the prayer (al-ṣalāta) keeps one away from minor sins and major sins, but the remembrance of God (al-dhikru Allāhi) is greater (akbar).”
Holy Qur’ān 29:45
The most elevated and purified human souls – the Prophets, the Imāms, and the greatest saints (awliyā’) have attained the spiritual station of continuous dhikru’llāh – such that their souls never depart from remembering God even though they may live in the physical world. The Qur’ān refers to them collectively as the Ahl al-Dhikr (People of Remembrance – Qur’ān 16:43) and Imam ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib explains the inner meaning of the Ahl al-Dhikr as those who always remain in the state of God’s remembrance:
“There have always been slaves of God … with whom He held intimate discourse through their thoughts and spoke with them through the essence of their intellects. They diffused illumination through the awakened light in their hearing and their seeing and their hearts, calling unto the remembrance of the days of God… Indeed, there is a special group (ahl) who belong to the Remembrance (dhikr); they have adopted it in place of the world, such that ‘neither trade nor merchandise’ distracts them from it. They spend the days of their life in it … It is as though they had left this world for the Hereafter, and they are there, witnessing what is beyond this world.”
Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib,
(Reza Shah-Kazemi,Justice and Remembrance, 142)
To summarize, the ẓāhirī prayer performed by the physical body is the Ṣalāh The bāṭinī prayer performed by the rational soul (al-nafs al-nātiqah) is the Dū‘ā’ which embodies the ta’wīl of the Ṣalāh. The ḥaqīqī prayer – the bāṭin al-bāṭin – is the remembrance ofGod (dhikru’llāh) performed by the heart (qalb) in which human intellect (‘aql) resides.
In accordance with these principles, the Shī‘ī Imāms who are the possessors of the divinely-inspired intellect (al-‘aql al-mu’ayyad) are always in a state of continuous and unceasing prayer. The entire mission, life, or existence of the Imām is itself a prayer and the Imām has no need or obligation to engage in any sort of formal or ritual prayer – although he may observe such rituals in accordance with the needs of the time and context (as above). Otherwise, the soul of the Imām of the Time is always praying at every moment. Indeed, it is possible for all people to attain the spiritual station of continuous prayer or dhikru’llāh and such a feat is the goal of the esoteric ṭarīqahs in Islam.
“The Saint has himself become prayer, the meeting-place of earth and Heaven; and thus he contains the universe and the universe prays with him. He is everywhere where nature prays and he prays with and in her: in the peaks which touch the void and eternity, in a flower which scatters itself or in the abandoned song of a bird.”
Frithjof Schuon, (Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts, 231)
One of the ways in which Ismailis have expressed their identity wherever they have lived is through their places of prayer, known today as the Jamatkhana. Other Muslim communities give their religious buildings different names: from ribat and zawiyya to khanaqa. And, in addition, there are other places where Muslims of all interpretations can come together, such as non-denominational mosques.
Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
(Toronto Ismaili Centre Opening Ceremony, Toronto, September 12, 2014, Read at NanoWisdoms)
Bay‘ah is the spiritual contract or covenant that every Ismaili Muslim or murid has made with the Ismaili Imam of the Time. Bay‘ah gives the murid the right to access the Imam’s teachings, guidance, blessings, and spiritual medicine, and the Jamatkhanah is the private space where the Imam makes these available to his murids. The bay‘ah, a word which means “buying/selling”, is a two-way contract that includes a commitment from the murid and a commitment from the Imam. Thus, the bay‘ah between the murid and the Imam is a spiritual “transaction” or “contract” in which the murid commits his allegiance, devotion, and obedience (walayah) in exchange for the Imam’s spiritual guidance, intercession, blessings, and purification – in this world and in the afterlife.
You perform bay‘ah, but you must first understand it’s meaning and then offer bay‘ah. When you offer me bay‘ah it means that you extend your hand to me with a promise…He who obeys me and promises to follow me after offering me bay‘ah I also give him my promise that I shall hold his hand in the Hereafter. The trials and tribulations of the Day of Judgment are very frightening and painful. I will keep him away from this.
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III,
(Manjewadi, October 31, 1903, quoted in Kamaluddin Ali, Practices and Ceremonies)
Since bay‘ah is a two-way contract involving both the murid and the Imam, only those who have given bay‘ah to the Imam of the time have access to private discursive spaces and private religious practices offered by the Imam in the Jamatkhanah, while those who do not give this bay‘ah are not privy to them. This only makes logical sense because every single Ismaili ritual practice performed in the Jamatkhanah is an expression and an enactment of the Imam-murid relationship, a relationship that only exists through bay‘ah. The act of bay‘ah indicates that a person accepts the Ismaili Imam as his or her spiritual master and guide and accordingly, only after this acceptance does it become appropriate to access the Imam’s guidance. It simply makes no sense for someone who has not given bay‘ah to participate in the Jamatkhanah practices. Accessing the Jamatkhanah practices without giving bay‘ah to the Imam is similar to walking into a store and stealing products without paying for them, or trying to access prescription drugs from the pharmacy without having the doctor’s prescription.
It is incumbent upon the parents that they should first make their children my murid through the performance of bay‘ah…Those who have not offered bay‘ah they have not signed to accept our faith. Just as you sign on an agreement in your business and in other dealings, similarly, through bay‘ah, I take signature from your soul.
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III,
(Kutch Nagalpur, November 27, 1903)
Bay‘ah as a religious practice goes back to the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an mentions it in numerous verses (48:10, 16:91, 48:18, and 60:12) in which the believers give bay‘ah to the Prophet Muhammad when they become his followers or reaffirm their loyalty to him. The Qur’an stipulates that the Prophet should only provide guidance, blessings, and intercession to people after they give him their bay‘ah. The Ismailis have continued this Qur’anic protocol of bay‘ah throughout their history:
The custom of meeting in closed sessions, at specially designated places, to learn about and practice their own interpretations of faith, has been part of the Ismaili tradition from pre-Fatimid times. During the Fatimid period, the Ismailis used to participate in majalis al-hikma (sessions of wisdom), which were accessible only to those who had pledged their allegiance to the Imam-of-the-time.
Karim Jiwani, (Muslim Spaces of Piety and Worship, Read at IIS Website)
Meeting in restricted private spaces for learning and worship has been the norm in Ismaili history from the beginning. However, this custom is not an exclusively Ismaili phenomenon; Sufi Muslims throughout the ages have congregated in restricted private spaces for prayer, knowledge discourse, and spiritual practices. Most Sufis require the disciple (murid) to make bay‘ah with the Sufi master (shaykh) in order to participate in certain religious practices:
Over the course of many centuries, Sufi tariqas (orders) have multiplied and spread all over the Muslim world, from North Africa to the Indian subcontinent. The spread of these tariqas was accompanied by the construction of specific spaces of gathering and their particular forms and expressions of rituals…Elaborate initiation rituals developed in which the disciple had to pronounce the bay‘ah (oath of allegiance) to the murshid and be invested with symbols of their entrance into the order (e.g., cloak, hat, etc.). As it was common for many Sufi shaykhs to be buried in their ‘place of residence’ (khanaqah), these spaces have become popular pilgrimage sites (ziyarat) to seek barakah and shafa‘a (intercession). Admission to such spaces is usually open to all, but this is not universally true. For instance, khanaqahs of the Suhrawardi Order in India are known to restrict participation to those who have given their bay‘ah, pledge of allegiance, to the pir or shaykh of the Sufi Order. With regard to the issue of the exclusivity of such spaces, Sunni jurists have viewed it to be a matter dependent on custom…Furthermore, in some European and American cities where Sufi tariqahs are emerging and growing, one can find similar institutions (such as zawiyah and khanaqah), often in private, where adherents meet regularly to perform acts of worship that closely resemble tariqah religious practices.
Karim Jiwani, (Muslim Spaces of Piety and Worship, Read at IIS Website)
Similar to the Ismaili Muslims, the Chishti Sufi order in South Asia designates its private spaces of prayer and congregation by the name “Jama‘at-Khanah,” which was usually the residence of the Sufi Chishti Master (shaykh):
The center of activities among the Chishtis was called the jama‘at khāna, literally “the house of gathering.” Unlike the khanqah of Iran and central Asia, which might often be a large establishment supported by endowments, the Chishti jama‘at khana was essentially the residence of the shaykh. Meals were taken there, people slept there, and the basic teaching activities, interviews, and rituals (including sama‘) also took place in central room of the jama‘at khana. Early Chishti masters such as Farid al-Din Ganj-I Shakkar insisted that this was the normal practice of association for the order…Farid al-Din Ganj-i Shakkar’s concept of jama‘at khana was that it be hidden from the people, a retreat rather than a showplace. Nizam al-Din Awliya also maintained a simple jama‘at khāna, and the same organization was followed by Burhan al-Din Gharib and Zayn al-Din Shirazi. The desire for privacy was probably the reason for the selection of Khuldabad, several miles away from the Daulatabad fort, as the site for Burhan al-Din Gharib’s jama‘at khana.
Carl Ernst, (Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center, 132)
The Sufi private spaces – the ribat, khanaqa, zawiya, etc. – and the Ismaili private space, the Jamatkhanah, are different from the institution of the mosque (masjid). A mosque is a nondenominational space that serves Muslims of the exoteric public domain known as the shari‘ah. Sufi and Ismaili prayer spaces are private denominational spaces and serve specific communities who participate in the esoteric domain of Islam known as tariqah – this is why Ismailism and the Sufi brotherhoods are called “tariqahs” today. Entrance into a tariqah is only by way of the bay‘ah (as explained above).
The Tarîqah or Spiritual Path which is usually known as Tasawwuf or Sufism is the inner and esoteric dimension of Islam and like the Sharî`ah has its roots in the Quran and prophetic practice. Being the heart of the Islamic message it, like the physical heart, is hidden from external view, although again like the heart it is the inner source of life and the centre which coordinates inwardly the whole religious organism of Islam. The Tarîqah is the most subtle and difficult aspect of Islam to understand at the same time that its external effect is to be seen in many manifestations of Islamic society and civilisation.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, (Ideals and Realities of Islam)
Most importantly, Tariqah-Islam is a higher domain of Truth and practice than Shari‘ah-Islam. This is because Tariqah-Islam is an esoteric spiritual Islam that is explorative whereas Shari‘ah-Islam is an exoteric legal Islam that is prescriptive – so the rules, practices, and norms governing each domain are different. The difference between exoteric legal Islam and esoteric spiritual Islam naturally necessitates separate physical spaces for the people of the Tariqah to practice their forms and levels of Islam. As renowned scholar of Islam, Shahab Ahmed explains:
Those capable of higher truths should have available for them existential spaces where they can meet to discourse and transact and otherwise explore in terms of higher truth. The logic of Revelation necessitates, in other words, separate physical and social domains of public/Seen physical and social space and private/Unseen physical and social space as differentiated spaces for the social elaboration and operation of spatially-differentiated truths and meanings. It cannot be emphasized enough, however, that, as a space for discourse, what I am calling “private discursive space” is very much a social space—that is to say, it is a space not of individual secrecy, but rather a restricted collective space in which for people to gather in private society for discourse (and performance) of Truths not appropriate to unrestricted common and public space and society. As such, it is a sort-of public-private space, or a private-public space. It is, precisely, the communicative space of a more-or-less self-constituting class of persons who mutually recognize the capacity of their peers to entertain and deal with the communication and practice of complex, and often contradictory, exploratory truths. Thus the act of meaning-making is personal in that it is made in the individual self, public in that it is communicated to others, and private in that it is communicated to a limited and qualified public. This mutual recognition requires, of course, that there be something that makes people mutually recognizable. That something is, by and large, a shared education productive of shared attitudes to the nature of Truth. It is, in other words, “the whole intellectual and spiritual world revealed by education into which an individual is born” that makes the one person recognizable to the other as a partaker in the discourses and practices and meanings…When discourse and actions remain in the space of the private/high/khāṣṣ they are unaffected by the normative truths and values of ʿāmm/lower/public space—and are in that space governed by the normative truths and values of private/high/khāṣṣ space.
Shahab Ahmed, (What is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic, 2015, 378-385)
The Ismaili Jamatkhanah is established by the Imam of the Time as the “House of the Imam” for a specific local Ismaili community. The Qur’an lays out a specific protocol for anyone who wishes to enter into the House of the Prophet or the houses of people in general:
O you who have believed, do not enter the houses of the Prophet except when you are permitted.
– Holy Qur’an 33:53
O ye who believe! enter not houses other than your own, until ye have asked permission and saluted those in them: that is best for you, in order that ye may heed (what is seemly).
– Holy Qur’an 24:27
In conclusion, while the non-denominational masjids or mosques are public places for the rituals of the shari‘ah such as the exoteric namaz (salah), the Ismaili Jamatkhanah is a private space reserved for the practices of the Ismaili Tariqah and therefore only accessible to murids who have given bay‘ah to the Imam.
For many centuries, a prominent feature of the Muslim religious landscape has been the variety of spaces of gathering co-existing harmoniously with the masjid, which in itself has accommodated a range of diverse institutional spaces for educational, social and reflective purposes. Historically serving communities of different interpretations and spiritual affiliations, these spaces have retained their cultural nomenclatures and characteristics, from ribat and zawiyya to khanaqa and jamatkhana. The congregational space incorporated within the Ismaili Centre belongs to the historic category of jamatkhana, an institutional category that also serves a number of sister Sunni and Shia communities, in their respective contexts, in many parts of the world. Here, it will be space reserved for traditions and practices specific to the Shia Ismaili tariqah of Islam.
Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
(Ismaili Centre Foundation Stone Ceremony, Dubai, December 13, Read on NanoWisdoms)
I start in the name of Allah, the ONE and above all.
You must have recited the following in Ismaili dua…
“Ya ayyuhal-lazeena amanoo, ati-Ullah
wa atiur-Rasool wa Ulil Amri minkum wa kulla shai’in ahsainahu fee Imamim-mubeen.”
Gujarati Tarjumo :
“Aye emaan lavnarao, tabedari karo Allahni, tabedari karo rasool ni ane tabedari karo hukumna dhanini je tamara mathi che. Ane ame badhi wastuono samavesh jaher imam ma karel che.”
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger (SAW), if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination.(Ch.4, V:59) (The text in red is not read in dua).
Actual Transliteration: (from Holy Quran) Dolby digital sound.
“Ya ayyuha allatheena amanooateeAAoo Allaha waateeAAoo arrasoolawaolee al-amri minkum fa-in tanazaAAtum fee shay-infaruddoohu ila Allahi warrasooli in kuntumtu/minoona billahi walyawmi al-akhirithalika khayrun waahsanu ta/weela” (Ch.4, V:59)
wa kulla shai’in ahsainahu fee Imamim-mubeen (Ane ame badhi wastuono samavesh jaher imam ma karel che.) is not part of the above verse but it has been picked from chapter 36 ayah 12 and manipulated to server the purpose. This is how it actually reads.
Actual Transliteration: (from Holy Quran)
Inna nahnu nuhyeealmawta wanaktubu ma qaddamoo waatharahumwakulla shay-in ahsaynahu fee imamin mubeen
Actual English Translation: (from Holy Quran)
Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them), and their traces[1] and all things We have recorded with numbers (as a record) in a Clear Book.
Below is what Allay says who manipulate the words of Allah….
And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book, but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture. (78) Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah” to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write and for the gain they make thereby. (79)
Chapter 2 Verse 78,79. Ismaili Dua Written In English
Jetoj se te dua
qe ti te jetosh
qe ti te besosh.
vetem une t'kuptoj
vetem mos t'lendoj.
me gjak do ta shkruaj
une do te ruaj.
e para do te dal
per ty do ta ndal.
me lendimet e tua
jetoj se te dua.
German translation
AA
Ich lebe weil ich dich liebe
damit du leben kannst
nur damit du mir glaubst.
nur ich verstehe dich
nur damit ich dich nicht verletze.
werde ich mit Blut schreiben
werde ich dich beschützen.
werde ich als erste erscheinen
werde ich für dich anhalten.
mit deinen Verletzungen
ich lebe weil ich dich liebe.
Arabic
German
German: Popular Artists|Popular Songs
Bismillahir Rahamanir Rahim….
I have been thinking of writing my journey from Ismaili to Islam for quite some time. Before I start writing anything about my journey towards Islam I want to make it clear to the readers that it is not my intellect that has led to accept the true message of Allah but it is the Kadr of Allah and his Rahma that He guided me to His true deen, otherwise I would have gone astray. As Allah mentions in the Holy Quran clearly
And it is not for a soul to believe except by permission of Allah , and He will place defilement upon those who will not use reason. (Ch.10 V.100)
I have tried to confine this article with some bullet-ed points which I find it simpler to organize content of this article.
Imam Only Can Forgive Sins :
Ismailis believe that in order to seek forgiveness from Allah they need to ask forgiveness through Hazar Imam since he prepossess the noor of Allah. They ask for forgiveness after dua everyday in their daily prayers. Who can forgive our sins except Allah ? Please refer to this previous article here on this topic. Hazar Imam is not above Allah so it makes sense for me to worship directly to Him than through Hazar Imam.
On the day of Chandrat/Baitul khyal there are special tables arranged for taking mehmanis for muskil asani and for ease of deceased souls. Mushkil asani dua is 6$ per person. This was the rate in 2007 in Phonix Arizona Jamatkhana and I was the one who payed 12 $ for Muskhil Asani for my alive Parents. I still laugh at this incident when I recall it sometimes that I was seeking Mushkil asani from a man who himself has to go to court to settle his own issues.
Also please refer to below hadith where the prophet of Allah (PBUH) says to Ibn Abbas to seek help from Allah Alone.
Ibn Abbas RA said: One day, I was riding behind the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) when he said, “O boy! I will instruct you in some matters. Be watchful of Allah (Commandments of Allah), He will preserve you. Safeguard His Rights, He will be ever with you. If you beg, beg of Him Alone; and if you need assistance, supplicate to Allah Alone for help. And remember that if all the people gather to benefit you, they will not be able to benefit you except that which Allah had foreordained (for you); and if all of them gather to do harm to you, they will not be able to afflict you with anything other than that which Allah had pre-destined against you. The pens had been lifted and the ink had dried up.” (Tirmidhi)
Absense of Quran and Preachings of Prophet Mumhammad (SAW) in daily proceedings of Jamatkhana:
It is quite common if you ask any Ismaili that is there any preaching of Quran inside the Jamatkhanas….Surely the answer is No. And you may sometimes hear from some Ismailis that we don’t need to read the Quran, our Imam is Talking Quran (Boltu Quran). Astagfirllah. I myself have heard this sentence from an Ismaili.
It is well understood by those who were Ismailis one time and have read the Quran and through Allahs guidance they could easily distinguish between the preaching of Ismailism vs the Word of Allah Subhanwatala. The thing that surprised me most is that when the Hazar Imam even acknowledged in front of the entire world that Quran is the literal word of Allah and there can be no other place to take guidance other than Quran itself, but the Imam himself has failed to convey the same message to his followers.
Read my previous article on what Agakhan has said on Ismailis belief system. Click Here
May Allah guide each one of us to read his book and make connection with Him through five daily prayers and implement His book in our daily lives. Aameen. Ismaili are only allowed to read books which are approved by Ismaili Institutions and are sold in Jamatkhanas itself. All the books sold in Jamatkhanas or approved by Ismaili Institutions are Imamat centric and lack the true Preachings of Quran and Sunnah of Rasul SAW.
The Dashond Factor:
Islam says you have to pay 2.5 percent of Zakat to the poor and needy person. But Ismailis have a zakat which they call it dashond with an inflated rate of 12.5 percent which you only have to give it in the Jamatkhana. This dashond is collected and goes directly to the Hazar Imam. Imam is the sole owner of dashond. Ismailis have been paying dashond to Agakhan III and Agakhan IV since decades. I would rather give my zakat at the rate of 2.5 percent directly to the person who is poor and needy rather than a billionaire businessman who is self sufficient.
Reported by Abu Hurairah (RA): Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “A dinar you spend in Allah’s way, or to free a slave, or as a charity you give to a needy person, or to support your family, the one yielding the greatest reward is that which you spend on your family.” (Muslim)
Righteousness is not (merely) that you turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteousness is that one believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Book and the Prophets, and gives wealth, despite (his) love for it, to relatives, and to orphans, the helpless, the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and (spends) in (freeing) slaves and observes the Salah (prayers) and pays Zakah___and (the act of) those who fulfill their covenant when they enter into a covenant, and, of course,those who are patient in hardship and suffering and when in battle! Those are the ones who are truthful, and those are the God-fearing. (Quran Ch. 2-V.177)
Closed Door Policy:
Between 2004- 2006, I was in Kampala when there came an Ismaili doctor from Canada for an educational trip. Jamat was encouraged to listen to him after Jamatkhana proceedings. He was closely associated with Agakhanic Institutions and was also doctor by profession. Before starting the lecture he started the camera recording. The lecture was more of personal hygeine and emphasis by Hazar imam to educate his jamat about it. Since he was also able to answer jamats question on Ismailism he was asked questions related to Dasond and other practices, he immediately turned off the camera recording and started answering question. That moment led me question my belief on why this tariqa of Hazar imam is so scared to tell the public about their matters inside jamatkhanas. My doubt about Ismailism grew and the quest for Allahs deen grew even deeper.
Disconnect of Imam with the Jamat:
There have been only 2 possible forms of communication for the present Imam which I have known. Which are sending Talika (letter) to the Jamat or visiting the jamat once in a decade at least. I understand being an single Imam for few millions of Ismailis around the world, it is impossible for him to be present with every murid. But he is also considered as Hazar and Nazar Imam (Present and who listens). Really ?
The jamat will receive 3-4 talikas in a year mostly dealing with quality of life and education and importance of learning English in todays world. The jamat is in his thoughts and prayers, Thats it. What about Allahs book ? I have never heard a single aayah from Quran quoted in his farman nor any hadith.
Don’t question:
In Ismailism, the Jamati leaders are appointed based on their status in the society, who are well to do financially,who comes to jamatkhana regularly. That is the basis of selecting an Mukhi/Kamadiyas and other jamati leaders who is influential in society and who can handle the jamats issues. But Surprisingly you don’t have to have the ilm (knowledge) of the deen. That is not required at all.
I have seen and Met Mukhi Kamadiyas in couple of countries who are financially well to do but their behavior tells us those are far away from the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. Jamati Leaders running liquor shops and are sitting at the front row as the delegates of Imam to forgive jamats sins.
If you have doubts or questions related to tariqa, you are looked down with a strange look. What kind of Ismaili are you ? You are questioning the Imam ? and so on. You ask the question to the leaders but they will not be able to answer your questions, instead you will be humiliated because that is the best they can do to make you feel bad about it.
I had so many doubts to clear but I did not get a single answer. I was waiting for the Hazar and Nazar (Present and Listening) Imam who could answer my questions, but that did not happen at all.
Too Much emphasis on betterment of this life than the life here after.
Hazar Imam has done a marvelous job on improving the quality of life of the jamat through his continuous emphasis of worldly education. There is nothing wrong with it, but he has done a very little on educating the jamat about the life after death which is why we are here in this duniya. I have listened to many farmans from him regarding education and improving quality of life but have seldom heard in any farman to focus on the hereafter as well.
And the worldly life is not but amusement and diversion but the home of Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah. Will you not then reason? (Sahi Internatinoal Ch.6 V.32)
Hazar Imams Personal Life and Businesses :
What Hazar Imam had claimed to be follower of Quran has neither implemented anything for his Jamat from the Quran, neither he has taken heed for himself.
Click here to get the proof that hotels run under Agakhans name are selling alcohol.
The Imam is unable to teach Islamic values to his family, then forget about teaching Islamic values to Ismailis.
Fashion Show in Jamatkhana in the name of Moderation:
This is one of the biggest problem in Ismailis Jamatkhanas now a days that while coming to Jamatkhana they come as they are attending a wedding party or something. There is no issue with wearing good clothing as Allah has given you so you should wear it but when you cross the limits then it becomes a problem. This has been a problem in every jamatkhana in the world especially with the youth. Women come in skirts and sleveless dresses and lead the dua and read farman in front of entire congregation. Wearing headscarf is a distant dream altogether. I have discussed this issue with few elderly Ismailis and they had the same concerns which I have mentioned here. According to them, Jamatkhana is a place of worship but today’s women come in such a way that you just wonder “Are they really focusing on prayer wearing such dresses?
May Allah have mercy on the Ummah of Islam. May Allah guide and unite all the brothers and sisters who are gone astray from the straight path of Islam. Ameen.May Allah guide me first and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.Whatever written of truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the only Source of Strength
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