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Muhammad At-Taqi (Isma'ili)
Abu al-Husayn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Isma'il (; ), commonly known as Muhammad al-Taqi (), was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Isma'ili Imams, succeeding his father, Ahmad al-Wafi (). Like his father, he lived primarily in Salamiyah, and Abd Allah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah, the chief missionary (), continued to serve as the hijab () for him. Known by the title (), al-Taqi is said to have prepared with his followers an encyclopedic text called the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity (). He died in 840 in Salamiyah and was succeeded by his son al-Husayn. With the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq in 148/765, Isma'il () and Muhammad (), the gravity of persecutions of the Abbasids had considerably increased. The Isma'ili Imams were impelled to thicken their hiding, therefore, the first dawr al-satr came into force from 197/813 to 268/882, wherein the Imams were known as ''(''). The concealment ended with the establishment of the Fatimid caliph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muhammad Al-Jawad
Muhammad al-Jawad (, – ) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Rida (). He is known by the epithets al-Jawād () and al-Taqī (). Like most of his predecessors, Muhammad kept aloof from politics and engaged in religious teaching, while organizing the affairs of the Imamite Shia community through a network of representatives (). The extensive correspondence of al-Jawad with his followers on questions of Islamic law has been preserved in Shia sources and numerous pithy religio-ethical sayings are also attributed to him. Born in Medina in 810–811, Muhammad al-Jawad was the son of Ali al-Rida, the eighth of the Twelve Imams. In 817, the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun () summoned al-Rida to Khorasan and designated him as the heir apparent, possibly to mitigate the frequent Shia revolts. This appointment provoked strong opposition in Iraq, which forced al-Ma'mun to return to the capital Baghdad in 818 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isma'il Ibn Ja'far
Isma'il ibn Ja'far () was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the sixth Imam in Isma'ilism. He carried the epithet of al-Mubarak, on the basis of which one of the earliest Isma'ili groups became designated as the Mubarakiyya. It seems likely that the Mubarakiyya were originally supporters of Isma'il before acknowledging Muhammad ibn Isma'il as their Imam. At any rate, Mubarakiyya was thus one of the original names of the nascent Isma'iliyya, a term coined by later heresiographers. A faction of the Mubarakiyya later developed into the Fatimid Isma'ilis, upholding the continuity of the Imamate in the progeny of al-Mubarak, acknowledging al-Mubarak himself as their sixth Imam. This enumeration was subsequently retained by the various branches of the Isma'ili. A major crisis arose among the Shia after the death of Ja’far al-Sadiq, who had five sons. Abd Allah al-Aftah and Isma'il al-Mubarak were the eldest sons by his first wife Fatima, a granddaughter of Hasan Ibn Ali. Al-Muba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Known for its ancient architecture, Souks of Tunis, souks, and blue coasts, it covers , and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert; much of its remaining territory is arable land. Its of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela. Located on the northeastern coast, Tunis is the capital and List of cities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya). It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of Africa Proconsularis and extended beyond it, but did not include the Mauretanias. To the south, Ifriqiya was bounded by the semi-arid lands and salt marshes named el-Djerid. The northern boundary fluctuated from as far north as Sicily to the North African coastline, and the western boundary usually reached Béjaïa. Ifriqiya is bordered to the west by the Central Maghreb, with which the borders are fluid depending on the chroniclers and the eras. The capital was briefly Carthage, then Kairouan, Qayrawan (Kairouan), then Mahdia, then Tunis. The Aghlabids, from their base in Kairouan, initiated the invasion of Southern Italy beginning in 827, and established the Emirate of Sicily, which lasted until it was conquered by the Normans, and the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south, and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime boundary, maritime borders with Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 455,503 square kilometres (175,871 square miles), with a coastline of approximately , Yemen is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Sanaa is its constitutional capital and largest city. Yemen's estimated population is 34.7 million, mostly Arabs, Arab Muslims. It is a member of the Arab League, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Owing to its geographic location, Yemen has been at the crossroads of many civilisations for over 7,000 years. In 1200 BCE, the Sab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Aziz Billah
Abu Mansur Nizar (; 10 May 955 – 14 October 996), known by his regnal name as al-Aziz Billah (), was the fifth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, from 975 to his death in 996. His reign saw the capture of Damascus and the Fatimid expansion into the Levant, which brought al-Aziz into conflict with the Byzantine emperor Basil II over control of Aleppo. During the course of this expansion, al-Aziz took into his service large numbers of Turkic and Daylamite slave-soldiers, thereby breaking the near-monopoly on Fatimid military power held until then by the Kutama Berbers. Biography Nizar, the future al-Aziz Billah, was born on 10 May 955, the third son of the fourth Fatimid Caliph, al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (). His mother, Durzan, usually known as ('the Lady of al-Mu'izz') was the chief concubine of al-Mu'izz, and likely of Bedouin origin. She was known for her beautiful singing voice, which earned her the nickname ('Twitter'). She is also recorded as the first Fatimid female pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim Al-Naysaburi
Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhı̄m al-Nisaburi or al-Naysaburi (; ) was an Isma'ili scholar from Nishapur, who entered the service of the Fatimid caliphs al-Aziz Billah and al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in Cairo. His life is relatively obscure, and is known chiefly from references in his works. Among them three stand out as highly important for Fatimid and Isma'ili history: the ''Istitār al-imām'', a historical work that offers unique information on the early history of the Isma'ili movement and the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, the ''Risāla al-mūjaza'', which contains an exposition on the qualities and duties of the ideal Isma'ili missionary, and the ''Ithbāt al-imāma'', an influential analysis of Isma'ili conceptions of the imamate, combining rationalist philosophical argument with Islamic theology. Life Very little is known about Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi's life, apart from what can be gleaned from his works. As his '' nisbah'' reveals, he came from Nishapur, which at the time was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radi Abdullah
Abu ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl (, 825 – 881), also known as al-Zakī (), al-Raḍī () and al-Muqtadā al-Hādī (), was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tenth of the Isma'ili Imams, succeeding his father, Muhammad al-Taqi (). Before his death in 881, he entrusted the care of his son and successor, Abd Allah al-Mahdi who was then around 8 years old to his full brother, Sa'id al-Khayr, also known as Abu'l-Shalaghlagh. Historical background With the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq in 765, Isma'il () and Muhammad (), the gravity of the persecution of Isma'ili Imams and their supporters by the Abbasids had considerably increased. The Isma'ili Imams were compelled to hide, therefore, the first dawr al-satr ('period of concealment') came into force from 765 to 909. During this period, the Imams were known as ''al-a'imma al-masturin (''). The Imam's identity was hidden to protect the Imam from being persecuted by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twelver Shi'ism
Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in occultation (''ghayba'') and will reappear as "the awaited Mahdi" (''al-Mahdi al-muntazar''). Twelver Shi'as believe that the Twelve Imams are divinely appointed as both spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and that they possess special knowledge and authority to guide the Muslim community. According to Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who rule over the Muslim community (''Ummah'') with justice, and are able to preserve and interpret the Islamic law (Sharia) and the esoteric meaning of the Qur'an. The words and deeds ('' sunnah'') of Muhammad and the Imams are a guide and model for the Musl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muhammad Al-Mahdi
Muhammad al-Mahdi () 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 justice and redeem Islam. Hasan al-Askari, the eleventh Imam, died in 260 AH (873–874), possibly poisoned by the Abbasids. Immediately after his death, his main representative, Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi, claimed that the eleventh Imam had an infant son named Muhammad, who was kept hidden from the public out of fear of Abbasid persecution. Uthman also claimed to represent Muhammad, who had entered a state of occultation. Other local representatives of al-Askari largely supported these assertions, while the Shia community fragmented into several sects over al-Askari's succession. All these sects, however, are said to have disappeared after a few decades except the Twelvers, who accept the son of al-Askari as the twelfth and final Imam in occultation. Uthman was followed by three more agents, col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occultation (Islam)
Occultation (, ') in Shia Islam refers to the Islamic eschatology, eschatological belief that the Mahdi, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, has already been born and he was subsequently concealed, but he will reemerge and he will establish justice and peace on earth at the end of time. The signs of his (re)appearance are largely common in Shia and Sunni, Sunni, (although Sunni do not believe the Mahdi has already been born and is in occultation), and the belief in the eschatological Mahdi remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources. However, the Islamic schools and branches#Shīʿa Islam, branches of Shia Islam that believe in it differ with regard to the identity of the Mahdi. The #Twelver_Shia, mainstream Shia identifies him as Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth imam, who is believed to be responsible for the affairs of men and, in particular, their inward spiritual guidance during the occult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatimid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, it ranged from the western Mediterranean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids traced their ancestry to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, the first Shi'a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma'ili communities as well as by denominations in many other Muslim lands and adjacent regions. Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids initially conquered Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia and north-eastern Algeria). They extended their rule across the Mediterranean coast and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included—in addition to Egypt—varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, the Levant, and the Hej ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
