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The term ''bāb'' ( ar, باب, , gateway) was used in early
Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
for senior disciples, and authorised deputies, of the current
Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
. Less commonly, the term is also applied to the Imams themselves, as well as to
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
and other
prophets in Islam Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
.


Origins

The term emerged in the 9th century, designating a senior disciple of an Imam who functioned as his authorised representative. Given the belief that the Imams were divinely inspired, this disciple was the "gate" () to the Imam and the esoteric knowledge he possessed. The first such is held to have been
Salman the Persian Salman the Persian or Salmān al-Fārsī ( ar, سَلْمَان ٱلْفَارِسِيّ), born Rūzbeh Khoshnūdān ( fa, ), was a Persian companion (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was raised as a Zoroastrian in Sasanian Persia, t ...
, one of the companions of Muhammad. This concept has
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
roots, and is commonly ascribed in later literature to the 8th-century extremist () proto-
Isma'ili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
group of the Mukhammisa, but this is not borne out by actual 8th-century texts.


Isma'ilism

The term was in use in the early
Isma'ili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
movement for "a figure in the hierarchy of the missionary movement who participated in preaching an esoteric interpretation of the Islamic revelation". The early Isma'ili missionary and author
Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman ( ar, جعفر بن منصور اليمن) was an Isma'ili missionary () and theological writer of the 10th century. Originally born and raised in Yemen, where his father Ibn Hawshab had established the Isma'ili in the ...
also applied the term to the designated successors of the Imams, and to
Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
as the successor of Muhammad. After the establishment of the
Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...
in 909, the became a rank in the official Ismai'ili religious hierarchy (the ). The Fatimid-era was second only to the Fatimid imam-caliph, and is also known by the designation of "chief caller" (). The latter term is commonly used in historians' accounts, whereas Isma'ili sources prefer the term . The functioned as the intermediary () between the Imam and the community of the faithful. Under the were twelve s ("seals"), who conducted the affairs of the . The office gradually declined and disappeared altogether after the end of the Fatimid Caliphate.
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...
, who recorded the hierarchy of the
Nizari Isma'ili state The Nizari state (the Alamut state) was a Shia Nizari Ismaili state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah after he took control of the Alamut Castle in 1090 AD, which marked the beginning of an era of Ismailism known as the "Alamut period". Their people ...
during the 13th century, mentions the presence of an official called , co-equal with the ; but the rank is no longer mentioned in later sources.


Twelver Shia

The 10th-century Isma'ili author
Ibn al-Haytham Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham, Latinized as Alhazen (; full name ; ), was a medieval mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age from present-day Iraq.For the description of his main fields, see e.g. ("He is one of the prin ...
reports that the Twelver Imams designated a steward of their imamate with the title of during the minority of their designated successors, but this usage does not appear in contemporary Twelver sources. In Twelver sources, the term is only used for the Imams themselves, as "the gates through which (knowledge of) God is attained", in the words of the 10th-century Twelver scholar
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Iṣḥāq al Kulaynī ar Rāzī (Persian: ar, أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد ٱبْن يَعْقُوب إِسْحَاق ٱلْكُلَيْنِيّ ٱلرَّازِيّ; c. 250 AH/864 CE ...
. Ali is thus often called "the gate of the prophet", who in turn is "the gate of God"; in a
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
, Muhammad is reported as saying "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the gate; will you enter the city other than by its gate?" The term was applied for the
Four Deputies The Four Deputies ( ar, ٱلنُّوَّاب ٱلْأَرْبَعَة, ') were the four individuals who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation (874–941 CE ...
of the twelfth and final Imam,
Muhammad al-Mahdi Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justic ...
: Abu Amr Uthman ibn Sa'id, his son
Abu Ja'far Muhammad Abu Ja'far Muhammad ( fa, ابو جعفر محمد), was the ruler of the Bavand dynasty from an unknown date until his capture and defeat by the Kakuyids in 1027. Background In 1006, the Bavand dynasty was put to an end by the Ziyarid ruler Qab ...
,
Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh Nawbakhti ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْقَاسِم ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن رُوح ٱلنَّوْبَخْتِيّ, ') was the third of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively repre ...
, and
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُحَمَّد ٱلسَّمَّرِيّ, ') was the last of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented the ...
. These men served as "gates" (), i.e., as representatives of the hidden twelfth imam in 873–940. After that, the concept of the Imam's
Major Occultation In Twelver Shia Islam, the Major Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ, ', 329 AH-present, 941 CE-present) is the second occultation of the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, which is expected to continue until his rise in ...
was adopted, leading to the abandonment of the post of . Later Twelver theologians, such as
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...
, came to reject the concept of a disciple functioning as a gate for the Imam, as with the Isma'ilis, as typical of sects.


Alawites

Among the
Alawites The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...
, whose
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...
also has Gnostic roots, the is the junior divine emanation in a triad, which is further comprised the Godhead itself, or "the Essence" (), and "the Name" () or "the Veil" (). According to Alawite doctrine, this triad is incarnated in each successive historical cycle; the role of the , along with the , is to "veil" the true character of the : the is the "silent" Imam, the is the public, "speaking" Imam, and the the gateway to the Imam. Thus in the present, Islamic cycle, Ali is the real Godhead, veiled by Muhammad as his , with Salman the Persian as his . Each of the eleven Imams then had his own , who acts as the intermediary between Imam and the faithful. The founder of the Alawite sect,
Ibn Nusayr Abū Shuʿayb Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr al-Numayri ( ar, أبو شعيب محمد بن نصير النميري), died after 868, was considered by his followers as the representative () of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al‐Hadi and of the elevent ...
, is held to have been as the to the eleventh Imam,
Hasan al-Askari Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ( ar, الحَسَن بْن عَلِيّ بْن مُحَمَّدُ, translit=al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad; ), better known as Hasan al-Askari ( ar, الحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ , translit=al-Ḥa ...
.


Druze

In the
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
cosmology, the is the incarnation of the Universal Intellect (), which in the Druze cosmic hierarchy is located directly below God. Thus the founder of the Druze religion,
Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad Hamza ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad ( ar, حمزة بن علي بن أحمد; 985 – c. 1021) was an 11th-century Ismaili missionary and founding leader of the Druze. He was born in Zozan in Greater Khorasan in Samanid-ruled Persia (modern Khaf, Raz ...
, proclaimed himself the to the contemporary incarnation of God, Caliph
al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله, lit=The Ruler by the Order of God), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili ima ...
.


Babism

In the early 19th century, the Shaykhi school of Twelver Shi'ism emerged in Iran when some Twelvers considered
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
and his successor
Kazim Rashti Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī (1793–1843) ( ar, سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي), mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí ( fa, سید کاظم رشتی), was the son of Siyyid Qasim of Rasht, a to ...
as the to the Hidden Imam. This tradition provided the foundation of the religion of
Bábism Bábism (a.k.a. the Bábí Faith; fa, بابیه, translit=Babiyye) is a religion founded in 1844 by the Báb (b. ʻAli Muhammad), an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in ...
, when its eponymous founder, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, took the title of
Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
.


See also

*
Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...
*
Da'i A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق) * ...
*
Da'i al-Mutlaq The term Da'i al-Mutlaq ( ar, الداعي المطلق, al-Dā'ī al-Mutlaq; pl. , ) literally meaning 'the absolute, or unrestricted, missionary', is the most senior spiritual rank and office in Tayyibi Isma'ilism. The Da'i al-Mutlaq has heade ...
*
Hujja A term used in Shi'i terminology, "hujja" means "proof mplied: proof of God" It is usually used to refer to a single individual in any given human era who represents God's "proof" to humanity.http://iranica.com/articles/hojjat. The hujja is ...


References


Sources

* * * * {{Encyclopaedia Iranica , volume=3 , fascicle=3 , first = D. M. , last = MacEoin , title = BĀB , pages = 277-278 , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bab-door-gate-entrance Ismailism Shia belief and doctrine Islamic terminology Religious titles