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Ismaili Dynasties
Ismailism () is a branch 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-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kazim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imām. After the death of Muhammad ibn Isma'il in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning () of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Usulism and Akhbarism into the more literalistic () oriented, Shia Islam developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismaili, Alevi, Bektashi, Alian, and Alawite groups focusing on the mystical path and nature of God, along with the "Imam of the Time" representing the manifestation of esoteric truth and intelligible divine reality, with the more literalistic Usuli and Akhbari groups ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishmael
In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a Islamic prophets, prophet and the ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Adnanites) and patriarch of Qaydār. Etymology The name "Yishma'el" existed in various ancient Semitic cultures, including early Babylonian and Minæan. In the Amorite language, it is attested as ''yaśmaʿ-ʾel''. It is a theophoric name translated literally as "El (god), God (El) has hearkened", suggesting that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise". Genesis narrative The Genesis narrative sees the account of Ishmael's life through the . Birth The birth of Ishmael was planned by the Patriarch Abraham's first wife, who at that time was known as Sarah, Sarai. She and her husband Abram (Abraham) sought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imamate In Nizari Doctrine
In Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ili doctrine, Imamate in Shia doctrine, imamate () is a concept which defines the political, religious and spiritual dimensions of authority concerning Islamic leadership over the Ummah, nation of believers. The primary function of the Imamate is to establish an institution between an Imam who is present and living in the world and his following whereby each are granted rights and responsibilities.Interview on BBC Radio 4 - 1979, September 6, http://www.ismaili.net/heritage/node/17808 The Nizari Imamate follows a genealogy of male Imams originating from the Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophethood of Muhammad by means of wedlock of his daughter Fatimah with his cousin Ali and in succession, through their son Husayn ibn Ali, Hussein and his onward descendants up to the present day. Each ordained as successor Imam of this lineage is charged with serving the Nizari Ismailis community of his era; who are liable to pay the zakat (tithe) dues to hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alawites
Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, the " first Imam" in the Twelver school, as a manifestation of the divine essence. It is the only ''ghulat'' sect still in existence today. The group was founded during the ninth century by Ibn Nusayr, who was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi, and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called ''Nusayris''. Surveys suggest Alawites represent an important portion of the Syrian population and are a significant minority in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. There is also a population living in the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights, where there had been two other Alawite villages ( Ayn Fit and Za'ura) before the Six-Day War. The Alawites for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alians
The Alian Qizilbash community (in Bulgarian: алиани, in Turkish: Alevi), are a Shi`a order, similar to the Sufi Mevlevi, who live in several regions of Bulgaria. Alians revere the name " Ali" carried by their circle of 12 Imams ''( awliya'),'' which they consider an emanation of God. They follow the mystical rituals of the wandering dervishes. Origin theories Their exact origin is not certain, since few relevant historical records have been preserved, but according to the prevailing theory they fled to Bulgaria from Central Anatolia after the 1512 victory by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, a Sunni, over the first, part- Turcoman Safavid shah of the Persians, Ismail I. Alians appear to be descendants of a Sufi-dervish-like group of priests but they themselves believe about 10% are the descendants of the earliest Christians of Asia Minor who fled the Sunni invasion of Anatolia. Ali for them is not one single historical person but the ineffable name kept by God's Mini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bektashi Order
Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi community is currently led by Baba Mondi, the eighth ''Dedebaba'', whose seat is at the order’s headquarters in Tirana, Albania. The Bektashis were originally one of many Sufi orders within Sunni Islam. By the 16th century, the order had adopted some tenets of Twelver Shi'ism—including veneration of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Twelve Imams—as well as a variety of syncretic beliefs. The Bektashis acquired political importance in the 15th century when the order dominated the Janissary Corps. After the foundation of Turkey, the country's leader, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, banned religious institutions that were not part of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, and the community's headquarters reloca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alevism
Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing from Sunni Islam and Usuli Twelver Shia Islam, Alevis have no binding religious dogmas, and teachings are passed on by a ''dede'' "spiritual leader" as with Sufi orders. They acknowledge the six articles of faith of Islam, but may differ regarding their interpretation. They have faced significant institutional stigma from the Ottoman and later Turkish state and academia, being described as heterodox to contrast them with the "orthodox" Sunni majority. The term “Alevi-Bektashi” is currently a widely and frequently used expression in the religious discourse of Turkey as an umbrella term for the two religious groups of Alevism and Bektashism. Adherents of Alevism are found primarily in Turkey and estimates of the percentage o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zahir (Islam)
Ẓāhir or zaher () is an Arabic term in some tafsir (interpretations of the Quran) for what is external and manifest. Certain esoteric interpretations of Islam maintain that the Quran has an exoteric or apparent meaning, known as ''zahir'', but also an underlying esoteric meaning, known as '' batin'' (baten), which can be interpreted only by a figure of esoteric knowledge. For Shi'a Muslims, the Imam of Time alone can understand the esoteric meaning. In Sufism, the actions of an individual are the ''zahir'', and the intention in the heart is the ''batin''. ''Zahir'' is the world of bodies whereas ''batin'' is the world of souls. Sufis believe in the purification of the ''batin'' by their spiritual guide to assure a ''zahir'' that follows Shariat. ''Zahir'' is also the underlying principle of the Ẓāhiriyya, a school of thought in Islamic jurisprudence and theology that relies only on the manifest or apparent meaning of expressions in the Quran and the Sunnah. According t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akhbari
Akhbarism () is a branch of Twelver Shia Islam, whose adherents do not perform imitation ( ''taqlid'') of an islamic jurist ( ''marja''). Akhbaris rejects the use of intercessory reasoning via trained Islamic jurists to derive verdicts in Islamic law, maintaining it is forbidden ('' haram'') to perform imitation of anyone but one of the Fourteen Infallibles of Twelver Islam. The term Akhbari comes from ''khabara'at'', news or reports, while Usuli comes from ''Uṣūl al-fiqh'', principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Akhbaris, unlike Usulis, do not accept '' Usul al-fiqh''—i.e. the attempt to draw up a coherent set of legal principles based on rulings made by the Imams prior to the Occultation (''ghayba'') of the last Imam. Gleave, ''Scripturalist Islam'', 2007: p.xvi Akhbaris claim to directly imitate the Ahl al-Bayt, on the grounds that the Imams are infallible and the marja, however learned in jurisprudence, is not. Knowledge of the religious rulings or Islamic juris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usuli
Usulism () is the majority school of Twelver Shia Islam in opposition to the minority Akhbarism. The Usulis favor the use of (reasoning) in the creation of new rules of jurisprudence; in assessing hadith to exclude traditions they believe unreliable; and in considering it obligatory to obey a ''mujtahid'' when seeking to determine Islamically correct behavior. Since the crushing of the Akhbaris in the late 18th century, it has been the dominant school of Twelver Shi'a and now forms an overwhelming majority within the Twelver Shia denomination. The name ''Usuli'' derives from the term '' Uṣūl al-fiqh'' (principles of jurisprudence). In Usuli thought, there are four valid sources of law: the Quran, hadith, ijma' and 'aql. Ijma' refers to a unanimous consensus. Aql, in Shia jurisprudence, is applied to four practical principles which are applied when other religious proofs are not applicable: ''bara'at'' (immunity), '' ihtiyat'' (recommended precautions), ''takhyir'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batin (Islam)
Bāṭin or baten () literally means "inner", "inward", "hidden", etc. The Quran, for instance, has a hidden meaning in contrast to its exterior or apparent meaning, the zahir (zaher). Sufis believe that every individual has a batin in the world of souls. It is the inward self of the individual; when cleansed with the light of one's spiritual guide, it elevates a person spiritually. This notion is connected to Allah's attribute of the Hidden One, who cannot be seen but exists in every realm. Many Ismaili Muslim thinkers have stressed the importance of the balance between the exoteric ('' zahir'') and the esoteric (''batin'') in the understanding of faith, and have said that spiritual interpretation ( ''ta’wil'') entails elucidating the esoteric meaning (''bātin'') from the exoteric form ('' zahir''). Hence, early Muslim heresiographers identified Ismailis as ''Batiniyya,'' or Esotericists, due to their focus on the inner meaning. As mentioned above, comprehension of the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muhammad Ibn Isma'il
Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Maktum (; ) was the eldest son of Isma'il al-Mubarak and the seventh imam in Isma'ilism. When Isma'il died, his son Muhammad continued to live in Medina under the care of his grandfather Ja'far al-Sadiq until the latter's death in 148/765. After the death of Abd Allah al-Aftah, Muhammad was the senior most member of the Husaynid branch of the Alids. However, due to the rival group that recognized Musa al-Kazim as their imam, and the Abbasid Caliphate's persecution of all Alid partisans, Muhammad fled Medina with his sons for the east. For this reason, he was known as (). He had two sons when living in Medina and then four more sons after his emigration, among whom was his successor Ahmad al-Wafi. Muhammad's descendants became the Fatimid dynasty that ruled Ifriqiya and later Egypt and much of the Levant, and founded Cairo. Life Muhammad was the eldest son of Isma'il ibn Ja'far, and the eldest grandson of the Shi'a imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq. Muhamma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imamah (Shia Doctrine)
In Shia Islam, the Imamah () is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imams possess divine knowledge and authority (Ismah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of Muhammad. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance. Etymology The word "Imām" denotes a person who stands or walks "in front". For Sunni Islam, the word is commonly used to mean a person who leads the course of prayer in the mosque. It also means the head of a ''madhhab'' ("school of thought"). However, from the Shia point of view this is merely the ''basic'' understanding of the word in the Arabic language and, for its proper religious usage, the word "Imam" is applicable ''only'' to those members of the house of Muhammad designated as infallible by the preceding Imam. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
