Ginans and Their Origins: From Allah → Qur’an → Imam → Farman → Ginan

[mahebubchatur]

Ismaili Ginans: Poetic Expressions of the Imam’s Farmans

What is a Ginan?

A Ginan is a devotional composition within the Ismaili Satpanthi tradition that conveys spiritual knowledge, guidance, remembrance, and teaching rooted in the living guidance of the Imams.

The Ginan tradition did not originate geographically in South Asia itself, but in the guidance of the Imams during periods of concealment in Persia, when Pirs and Dāʿīs were appointed and commissioned to carry the Imam’s teachings to diverse communities. As these emissaries travelled to South Asia, they expressed the Imam’s guidance in forms accessible to local populations, adopting regional languages, poetic styles, and devotional idioms already familiar within Indic religious culture.

Thus, while the literary and musical forms of Ginans reflect South Asian cultural settings, their theological origin lies in the authority and teaching of the Imam. The term Ginan derives from the Indic word gnan, meaning knowledge, reflecting their purpose as transmitters of spiritually transformative understanding. Professor Ali Asani describes Ginans as compositions filled with enlightenment that invite listeners to reflect, experience joy, and deepen spiritual understanding.

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Satpanth: the path within which Ginans emerged

The Ginan tradition developed within what came to be known as Satpanth, meaning “True Path.” This term refers to a devotional and interpretive framework through which communities encountered the teachings of the Ismaili Imams in South Asia. Satpanth was not a separate religion but a mode of presenting Islamic esoteric teachings through locally intelligible concepts, vocabulary, and symbolic forms. Within this context, Ginans functioned as primary vehicles of instruction, devotion, and identity formation, enabling communities to understand the Imam’s guidance within their existing cultural horizons.

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Origins and cultural articulation

Historically, Ismaili Pirs and Dāʿīs appointed by the Imams travelled from Persia to regions of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, and beyond beginning around the thirteenth century. Their mandate was to convey the Imam’s guidance and assist communities in recognising the Imam as spiritual guide.

Among the most prominent were Pir Shams, Pir Sadr al-Din, and Hasan Kabir al-Din, whose compositions articulated the Imam’s teachings in accessible poetic forms.

Scholars note that these Pirs engaged in a process of cultural translation rather than simple borrowing. Drawing upon established Indic devotional genres — including bhakti poetry, narrative song, and performative recitation traditions — they communicated Islamic theological concepts such as recognition of the Imam, spiritual enlightenment, and ethical transformation in culturally resonant ways. This adaptive pedagogical method allowed the Imam’s guidance to be encountered through familiar symbolic languages, ritual sensibilities, and aesthetic forms, thereby facilitating comprehension, reverence, and devotional participation without altering the underlying theological foundations.

Thus, Ginans became poetic articulations of the Imam’s taʿlim (teaching) and ta’wil (esoteric interpretation), expressed through Gujarati, Sindhi, Punjabi, Hindi, and related devotional idioms. Originally transmitted orally and later preserved in Khojki and Gujarati scripts, hundreds of Ginans continue to be recited today across the global Jamat.

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Ginans as expressions of Farmans

Ismaili tradition recognises that Ginans are rooted in the Farmans of the Imams. The Pirs, having received guidance directly from the Imam, conveyed these teachings through poetic compositions accessible to local communities.

This relationship was explicitly emphasised by Aga Khan III, who instructed murids:

“Just as you read my Ginans, you must read my farmans. The way you seek out the meaning of my Ginans, the same way seek out the meaning of my farmans too. My farmans themselves are the ginans.”

This guidance highlights the continuity between Ginans and Farmans — both functioning as channels of instruction, reflection, and understanding for the murid community.

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From Allah Allah’s Will - Qur’an → Imam → Farman → Ginan

Within Ismaili theology, revelation, interpretation, and guidance form a living continuum.
• The Qur’an represents divine revelation.
• The Imam, inheriting the Prophetic mandate, interprets and actualises this revelation for each time and context.
• The Imam’s interpretive guidance is conveyed through Farmans, articulating the application of Qur’anic principles and the Prophetic example in lived reality.
• Ginans emerge as devotional, poetic expressions through which this guidance is communicated, remembered, and internalised within particular cultural settings.

As reflected through the example of Prophet Muhammad and reiterated by Shah Rahim al-Husayni Aga Khan V:

“The fundamental principles and values of our faith have not changed. We learn them from the Qur’an, from the example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and from the Farmans of the Imams.”

Within this framework, Ginans may be understood as devotional embodiments of the Imam’s interpretive guidance — enabling communities to encounter, remember, and transmit teachings through recitation, reflection, and worship.

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Living devotional heritage

Ginans continue to be recited in congregational gatherings, devotional assemblies, and daily practices of remembrance. They preserve ethical teachings, mystical insights, and narratives of spiritual history, forming an enduring literary and devotional heritage for Ismailis whose roots lie in South Asia and whose presence is now global.

Through scholarship, preservation, translation, and communal practice, the Ginan tradition remains vibrant, ensuring that new generations can engage with their meanings as part of the living continuity of guidance.

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Further reading

A companion article, “Ginans are from Qur’an,” explores this theological continuum in greater depth, examining how the Imam’s Farmans derive from Qur’anic revelation and how Ginans serve as devotional expressions of that guidance. Readers are encouraged to consult this article alongside individual Ginan commentaries to deepen understanding of their origins, meanings, and enduring significance.

Link to article - Ginans are rooted in Farmans

M Chatur

More and references

Harvard University is offering a brand new course by Professor Ali Asani on Muslim Devotional Literature in South Asia, featuring the study of the Ismaili Ginans in their historical, cultural, and devotional contexts. The Ginans stem from the Satpanth Ismaili tradition of South Asia and Ismaili tradition attributes the authorship of the Ginans to the Pirs (the babs or supreme hujjats of the Imam) and Sayyids descended from the family of the Ismaili Imams and who were active from the 12th century to the 19th century.

The status of the Ismaili Pirs, to whom numerous Ginans are attributed, is described by the Ismaili Imam Shah Gharib Mirza (known also as Shah al-Mustansir bi’llah II):
The Pir is the person to whom the Imam of the time has granted his position, which makes him the highest amongst the creations (ashraf-i makhluqat). And whenever he (the Imam) has chosen the Pir, and appointed him, he (the Pir) must convey to others the knowledge in detail (ma‘rifat-ra ba-tafsil bi-guyad). You must attain perfection in knowledge of the Imam through him. But if he (i.e. the Imam) has not appointed a Pir, you must come to know some person amongst the possessors of knowledge (sahiban-i ilm) whom he has commissioned to guide and to preach to people (ba-dalalat wa da‘wat) so that you may attain through the guidance and summons of such a person (irshad wa da‘wat) the recognition of the Imam (ma’rifat-i Imam). Thus you will not remain in wretchedness, attaining through the illumination of his knowledge (rawshana’i-y-i ilm-i u) the recognition of the Imam. And whenever there is a Pir, the teachers will take up summons (da’wat), by his permission, remaining under his control and order.

Imam Shah Gharib Mirza (Mustansir bi’llah II),
(Pandiyat-i Jawanamardi, tr. W. Ivanow, 26)
Dr. Shafique Virani also explains the mission and context of the Ismaili Pirs in South Asia and how they claimed direct descent from the Ismaili Imams:
The family of Pirs claimed descent from Isma’il b. Ja’far, but through a line different from that of the Imams, and provided the most gifted and dedicated exponents of Ismailism in South Asia. The leaders of the community seem to have continuously been appointed from their ranks. Their activities are alluded to in a contemporary Iranian source, the anonymous treatise entitled Epistle of the Right Path. Describing how the Imams from ‘Ali through Isma’il were manifest (zahir) while those from Isma^il through Mahdi were concealed (mastur), it continues:

Mawlana Isma’il manifested in the cities of Uch and Multan, leaving indications among the people of India and displaying marvels. A community from among that Imam’s descendants still remains in that realm, and by means of those indications those people will never entertain doubts.

Shafique N. Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages, 99)
Course Title: Muslim Devotional Literatures in South Asia: Qawwalis, Sufiana Kalam (Sufi Poetry) and the Ginans
Course Number: RELIGION 1814
Professor: Ali Asani
Course Description: This course explores traditions of Islamic spirituality in South Asia through the lens of three genres: the qawwali, concerts of mystical poetry; sufiana kalam, Sufi romantic epics and folk poems; and the ginans, hymns of esoteric wisdom recited by the Satpanthi Ismailis. Since these genres represent examples of language, symbols and styles of worship shared across Islamic and non-Islamic denominational boundaries, we will also examine their relationships with other Indic traditions of devotion, particularly those associated with the so-called sant and Hindu bhakti movements. Special emphasis will be given to the impact of contemporary political ideologies, globalization and the revolution in media technology on the form and function of these genres and their relationship with contemporary communities of faith in South Asia and beyond. (See Harvard University Website)
Some of the Readings on the Ismaili Ginans from this new Harvard Course are listed below:
Ali S. Asani, The Buj Nirinjan: An Ismaili Mystical Poem. Read on Google Books.

Aziz Esmail, The Scent of Sandalwood: Indo-Ismaili Religious Lyrics. Read on GoogleBooks.
Tazim R. Kassam, Songs of Wisdom and Circles of Dance: Hymns of the Satpanth Ismaili Muslim Saint, Pir Shams. Read on Google Books.
Zawahir Moir & Christopher Shackle, Ismaili Hymns from South Asia: An Introduction to the Ginans. Read on Google Books.
Ali S. Asani, Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia. Read on Google Books.
Shafique N. Virani, “Symphony of Gnosis: A Self-Definition of the Ismaili Ginān Tradition”, in Reason and Inspiration in Islam: Theology, Philosophy and Mysticism in Muslim Thought, ed. Todd Lawson, 503-521. Read on Shafique Virani Website.
Zawahir Moir, Tazim R. Kassam, Franscoise Mallision, Ginans Texts and Contexts. Read on Google Books.
Karim Gillani, Sound and Recitation of Khoja Ismaili Ginans: Tradition and Transformation. PhD Dissertation, University of Alberta 2015. Read on University of Alberta Website.
Ali S. Asani, “From Satpanthi to Shia Ismaili Muslim”, in A Modern History of the Ismailis, ed. Farhad Daftary. Read on Harvard Website.
Shafique N. Virani, “Taqiyyah and Identity in a South Asian Community”, The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 70, No. 1 (February) 2011: 99–139. Read on the Harvard Website.
More academic studies on the Ismaili Ginans are available on Ginanic Studies courtesy of Karim Tharani.
Ismaili Gnosis

[mahebubchatur]

Ismaili Ginans, are rooted in the Quran

And indeed, the Quran is the revelation of the Lord of the worlds The Trustworthy Spirit [Gabriel] has brought it down Upon your heart, [O Muhammad] - that you may be of the warners in a clear Arabic language.
Quran 26: l92 to 195

The Quran contains blossoming of the heart and springs of knowledge.
Hazrat Ali (The Qur’an and its Interpretations vol. 1,
The Institute of Ismaili Studies)

Link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zQIUOW ... p=drivesdk

[ashraf59]

Very informative article on Ginans and their origins—Qur’an, Allah, and the Imam.

Recently, in one of the threads, we were discussing Hindu Bhajans written by Hindu Bhagats. In those Bhajans, many Ginanic words are found. For example: Kaliyug, Nakalank, Pachham Desh, Otara Khand, Sayebo aavshe, Daint Kalingo, and the idea that he will establish Satyug.

My question is: where did these Ginanic words come from? These Hindu Bhagats are both male and female.

Some are well known, like Ramdev Pir, Sahdev, Devayat Pandit, Lirbai, Dhiro Bhagat, and Mamdev. I have read their Bhajans and was quite surprised.

• Were they impressed by the Ginans?
• Were Ginans taken from Bhajans, as many Hindu scholars believe?
• Or were Bhajans copied from Ginans?

I am posting a Gujarati Bhajan written by a Hindu saint named Devayat Pandit. Please read this Bhajan, and you will find some of the words I mentioned above.

Your kind response will be appreciated.

દેવાયત પંડિત દા'ડા દાખવે
દેવાયત પંડિત દા'ડા દાખવે, સુણી લ્યોને દેવળદે સતીનાર,
આપણા ગુરૂએ આગમ ભાખિયા, જુઠડાં નહિ રે લગાર,
લખ્યા રે ભાખ્યા રે સોઈ દિન આવશે.

પહેલા પહેલા પવન ફરુકશે, નદીએ નહિ હોય નીર,
ઓતર થકી રે સાયબો આવશે, મુખે હનમો વીર.

ધરતી માથે રે હેમર હાલશે, સુના નગર મોઝાર,
લખમી લુંટાશે લોકો તણી, નહિ એની રાવ ફરિયાદ.

પોરો રે આવ્યો સંતો પાપનો, ધરતી માંગે છે ભોગ,
કેટલાક ખડગે સંહારશે, કેટલાક મરશે રોગ.

ખોટા પુસ્તક ખોટા પાનિયા, ખોટા કાજીના કુરાન,
અસલજાદી ચુડો પહેરશે, એવા આગમના એંધાણ.

કાંકરીએ તળાવે તંબુ તાણશે, સો સો ગામની સીમ,
રૂડી દીસે રળિયામણી, ભેળા અરજણ ભીમ.

જતિ, સતી અને સાબરમતી, ત્યાં હોશે શુરાના સંગ્રામ,
ઓતરખંડેથી સાયબો આવશે, આવે મારા જુગનો જીવન.

કાયમ કાળીંગાને મારશે, નકળંક ધરશે નામ,
કળિયુગ ઉથાપી સતજુગ થાપશે, નકળંક ધરશે નામ,
દેવાયત પંડિત એમ બોલ્યા, ઈ છે આગમનાં એંધાણ.
Devayat Pandit

[kmaherali]

દેવાયત પંડિત દા'ડા દાખવે

Google Translation

Devayat Pandit Da'da Dakhve
Devayat Pandit Da'da Dakhve, Suni Lyone Devlade Satinar,
Naase Gurue Aagam Bhakhiya, Juthdaan nahiye re lagar,
Lakhya re bhakhiya re soi din aaha.

First the wind will blow, there will be no water in the river,
Saibo will come from Otar, Hanmo Veer will speak.

The earth will be hammered, Suna Nagar Mozar,
Lakhmi will loot the people, no Rao will complain.

Poro re raaha saint of sin, earth demands food,
some will be killed by sword, some will die of disease.

False books, false drinks, the Quran of false judges,
genuine ones will wear chuda, such are the fuel of aahaam.

They will pitch their tents on the gravel pond, the boundary of a hundred villages,
the Rudi day is full of flowers, Arjan Bhima is together.

Caste, Sati and Sabarmati, there will be the battle of Shura,
Saibo will come from Uttarakhand, the life of my age will come.

They will forever kill the blacks, they will bear the stain of their name,
they will raise the Kali Yuga and establish the Sat Yuga, they will bear the stain of their name,
Devayat Pandit said, this is the fuel of the Aagam.
Devayat Pandit

[ashraf59]

Thanks KBhai