Can you name these silent Da'is. By the way Imam called every follower his dai, " Be My Dai".kmaherali wrote:And there could be many many silent Dais as wellswamidada wrote:List of Ismaili Da'es and famous missionaries:
Adopted from FB
Be My Da'i - Hazar Imam
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mahebubchatur
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AFarman in 1965 explaining alsobthe role of Dais
Hazar Imam explaining the role of Dais in a very Important Farman Hazar Imam made in 1965 to the pioneering Jamat in Africa, Ivory Coast.
“I want you to know how much importance I attach to My new Jamat.
Five years ago, not one member of the Jamat had not thought of Ivory Coast. Now there is not only a Jamat in Cote d'lvoire, but a Jamat Khanna & investments of the Jamat , and a semblance of new life that is beginning.
And this Reminds me of the days of Da'is. When the Imam sent a Da'i, He told him to go and spread the faith in distant lands, and there was no physical contact between Da'i and Imam.
In the conditions which were very difficult, they accomplished their mission successfully. Today, such a mission has been accomplished in even more difficult conditions, and I am very proud of that, very very proud.
Remember the Dai. Nour-AI-Hayat: I think this is a big step in the history of our Jamats. I am on that today, maybe you don't even realize it, but that in ten years, when the Jamat will be many, you will realize that you were the first to come to settle in West Africa, to open the doors in other countries for the Jamat.
I am very proud of it. I am proud that it is not just courageous work, it is work that has been done on Farmans that I gave you.
I told you: "See you in Ia Cote d'lvoire". And you opened not only horizons for this Jamat, but to Jamats all over the world. You also have a guarantee of security, and on the part of two or three families, it is admirable, it is admirable. When you were in the Congo, you were not alone, here you went alone.
You have created a foundation of the understanding between the Government and our Jamats, and I am very proud of it. Very, very, proud.
Think well of the Da'is in time, and those who left alone, without knowing where they were going, without to know what they were going to encounter, what were going to be the living conditions they were going to encounter.
But they were leaving and they were settling down. And here you did the same, but you did it three, four, five, six centuries later, and you can't do better now in the future, you can't can not do more for the lmam, for the Jamat , than to continue on the way where you left
now, the way of sincerity and friendship, of humility, because here it is necessary that the foundations which are maintained, and subsequently, there will be many other families that will come
settle here, and who have already told Me about their intentions.” #AgaKhan #Ismaili #OneJamat
https://www.facebook.com/15348147601242 ... 679395322/
“I want you to know how much importance I attach to My new Jamat.
Five years ago, not one member of the Jamat had not thought of Ivory Coast. Now there is not only a Jamat in Cote d'lvoire, but a Jamat Khanna & investments of the Jamat , and a semblance of new life that is beginning.
And this Reminds me of the days of Da'is. When the Imam sent a Da'i, He told him to go and spread the faith in distant lands, and there was no physical contact between Da'i and Imam.
In the conditions which were very difficult, they accomplished their mission successfully. Today, such a mission has been accomplished in even more difficult conditions, and I am very proud of that, very very proud.
Remember the Dai. Nour-AI-Hayat: I think this is a big step in the history of our Jamats. I am on that today, maybe you don't even realize it, but that in ten years, when the Jamat will be many, you will realize that you were the first to come to settle in West Africa, to open the doors in other countries for the Jamat.
I am very proud of it. I am proud that it is not just courageous work, it is work that has been done on Farmans that I gave you.
I told you: "See you in Ia Cote d'lvoire". And you opened not only horizons for this Jamat, but to Jamats all over the world. You also have a guarantee of security, and on the part of two or three families, it is admirable, it is admirable. When you were in the Congo, you were not alone, here you went alone.
You have created a foundation of the understanding between the Government and our Jamats, and I am very proud of it. Very, very, proud.
Think well of the Da'is in time, and those who left alone, without knowing where they were going, without to know what they were going to encounter, what were going to be the living conditions they were going to encounter.
But they were leaving and they were settling down. And here you did the same, but you did it three, four, five, six centuries later, and you can't do better now in the future, you can't can not do more for the lmam, for the Jamat , than to continue on the way where you left
now, the way of sincerity and friendship, of humility, because here it is necessary that the foundations which are maintained, and subsequently, there will be many other families that will come
settle here, and who have already told Me about their intentions.” #AgaKhan #Ismaili #OneJamat
https://www.facebook.com/15348147601242 ... 679395322/
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mahebubchatur
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Re: Be my Dais - Meaning and significance..
Hazar Imam’s has said what is a Farman in the constitution and our faith is Din and Dunya “ Any pronouncement, direction, order or ruling made or given by Mawlana Hazar Imam.”kmaherali wrote:The constitution is not a Farman. It is a zaheri document that is read by non-Ismailis as well. Hence the Shahada mentioned in the preamble is incomplete. The second article mentions general Shia doctrine and not specific Ismaili doctrine.mazharshah wrote: With due respect, I agree with your above explanation. Indeed, Preamble and constitution is Farman. The First Article of Preamble is most IMPORTANT. Being as Dai of Imam Ismailis should reach out to masses, mostly non Ismailis to explain them real Ismailism. My observation is that after 1986 the Preamble is not explained to jamaits or even put on notice boards inside JK in English or vernacular languages so that jamails should be familiar with Preamble.
According to Ismailism Imamat has always existed and did not begin with Hazart Aly.
And regarding the presence and unity of the Noor of Imam
Noor - Light of Imams and Prophet Mohammed are the same. “Two thousand years before creation, Muhammad and ‘Ali were one Light (nur) before God.” – Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, (Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide in Early Shi ‘ism, p. 31)
https://www.facebook.com/15348147601242 ... 26177/?d=n
The soul, spark and light is within us seeking and awaiting the grace and blessings of actualisation.
“Allah sent down that Spirit to His Prophet and it did not ascend back to the heaven since it was sent down, and it is within us.” - Imam Muhammad al-Baqir
Basa’ir al-darajat, Section 9, Chapt 17:10, p.814
Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) said the Noor from Allah has been with them since Hazrat Adam.
“I and Ali b. Abi Taalib both were a light (Nur) in the presence of Allah fourteen thousand years before the creation of Adam. When Allah created Adam, he deposited this light in Adam’s loins. We remained together as one light until we were separated in Abdul Muttalib’s loin. Thereafter, I was endowed with Prophethood and Ali with Imamat - (Nabuwah- Waliya)
(Among others, many Sunni scholars have documented Hadis-e-Nur: including Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal in his Musnad)
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mahebubchatur
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- Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm
Be My Da'i - Hazar Imam
During the 24th #Ismaili Imam Mawlana ʿA‘lā Muhammad
The Chief Dā‘ī was Kiyāʾ al-Dīn Hasan-i-Sinān
In 2018 Didar, Hazar Imam unprecedentedly called on every Ismaili to be his Dā‘ī— a change towards universal inclusive ethical responsibility, & pluralism.
Kiya' al-Din Hasan-i-Sinan, Chief Dai, acted as the Imam's chief executor, ensuring the spiritual truths of Qiyāma revealed by Imam 'A'lã Muhammad were faithfully conveyed. He organized the da'wa, shared the Imam's Farmans, and coordinated political and military strategy — always in support of the Imam.
Da'wa (Mission)
* The da wa organization at Alamut included dais (missionaries) and scholars who supported the Imam in sharing and upholding Farmans - both spiritual teaching and political institutional organization.
* During and after the proclamation of Qiyama, the Imam and dawa emphasized inner meanings (batin) the Imam revealing Allah’s truths as the living Imam designated by Allah - the interpreter and embodiment of religion's deepest truths.- Farmans and Allah’s will
DaT:
Acted as the executive leader, administrator, and public representative of the Nizāri community and fortress state.
They managed day-to-day affairs, military defense, and community leadership, carrying out Farmans (directives) conveyed by the Imam. These instructions were upheld, taught, and disseminated to the community through the network of missionary dã'is.
Link
https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/2010 ... hqfO552USg
The Chief Dā‘ī was Kiyāʾ al-Dīn Hasan-i-Sinān
In 2018 Didar, Hazar Imam unprecedentedly called on every Ismaili to be his Dā‘ī— a change towards universal inclusive ethical responsibility, & pluralism.
Kiya' al-Din Hasan-i-Sinan, Chief Dai, acted as the Imam's chief executor, ensuring the spiritual truths of Qiyāma revealed by Imam 'A'lã Muhammad were faithfully conveyed. He organized the da'wa, shared the Imam's Farmans, and coordinated political and military strategy — always in support of the Imam.
Da'wa (Mission)
* The da wa organization at Alamut included dais (missionaries) and scholars who supported the Imam in sharing and upholding Farmans - both spiritual teaching and political institutional organization.
* During and after the proclamation of Qiyama, the Imam and dawa emphasized inner meanings (batin) the Imam revealing Allah’s truths as the living Imam designated by Allah - the interpreter and embodiment of religion's deepest truths.- Farmans and Allah’s will
DaT:
Acted as the executive leader, administrator, and public representative of the Nizāri community and fortress state.
They managed day-to-day affairs, military defense, and community leadership, carrying out Farmans (directives) conveyed by the Imam. These instructions were upheld, taught, and disseminated to the community through the network of missionary dã'is.
Link
https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/2010 ... hqfO552USg
-
mahebubchatur
- Posts: 784
- Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm
Be My Da'i - Hazar Imam
“Those who served the Imam historically, were given the title of “dai”. You are all dais today — all of you. So you are all representing the Imam in your lives, in your work, in your practice. And I give you special blessings for success.…
Those of you who are interested in history, read up upon the dais of our history! There is much to learn — the way the Jamat practiced centuries ago. There is much to learn. It is a source of knowledge, it is a source of understanding of our tradition. So if you have the time and you are interested, read up on the history of the dais of our Jamat around the world. And I think you will find inspiration, you will find ideas that are worth keeping alive today. So this historic continuity is a part of our faith, to which I attach the greatest importance.”
— Mawlana Shah Karim Al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾, Baytu’l-Khayal Mulaqat, Lisbon, Portugal, July 7, 2018.
During his Diamond Jubilee, Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾ initiated something whose full significance many in the Jamat have yet to contemplate — he conferred the title of da‘i upon every member of the community. In doing so, the Imam directed those who are ready to reflect on what this title truly means and what it demands. It is in that spirit that this section explores the role, purpose, and responsibilities of the Ismaili da‘i as preserved in our traditional sources.
Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq⁽ᶜ⁾ has said:
“‘Be for us silent dā‘īs’, and they asked, ‘How can we make the appeal, O son of the Messenger of God, if we are silent?’ He replied, ‘Act in accord with what we commanded you to do with respect to obeying God and forbid what we forbade you to do.’”
— Sayyidnā Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm al-Naysābūrī, al-Risāla al-mūjaza al-kāfiya fī ādāb al-duʿāt, translated by Verena Klemm and Paul E. Walker with Susanne Karam as A Code of Conduct: A Treatise on the Etiquette of the Fatimid Ismaili Mission, 41).
The da‘i’s first and foremost duty is complete obedience to the Imam of the Time. As Sayyidna Naysaburi illustrates through the concept of the “silent da‘i,” this obedience need not be expressed in words — it must be made visible in action, such that an observer finds in that person’s conduct a living example of the tariqah’s wisdom and ethics.
Anyone who seeks to answer the Imam’s call to be a da‘i should begin here: know the religious duties and ethical obligations of the tariqah, fulfill them to the highest degree, and abstain entirely from what the Imam has forbidden.
“In the case of the ‘daa-ee’ [da‘i] his first and foremost duty is to live in strict adherence to the principles laid down by his faith. He should be pious to the extreme....”
— Sayyidnā Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, Kitāb al-himma fī ādāb atbā‘ al-a’imma, translated by Jawad Muscati and A. Moulvi as Code of Conduct for the Followers of Imam, 134-135.
Inseparable from this obedience is full faith in the Imam of the Time — finding no fault in him and refraining from prying into his personal affairs. This presupposes that one has become genuinely and intellectually convinced that the Ismaili Imam is the divinely designated guide not only of the Ismaili community, but of all humanity.
“To obey the commands and prohibitions of the Prophet in toto is enjoined on us by God. It is an act of devotion to Him. God has linked our devotion to Him with our devotion to the Imams. Lip-profession of devotion in words ceases to be a devotion unless it is prompted by conviction and is followed by practice.
To criticise the Prophet or to pry into his affairs or to show disapproval of his actions in words or in thoughts is abominable. It is strictly prohibited by God who through His holy Book has enjoined on us all to submit ourselves to his [i.e. the Prophet’s] will. Our faith is incomplete without our submission to his will. The holy Imams occupy a similar position. They are the representatives of the Prophet on earth and our devotion to them is devotion to the Prophet.
It logically follows that it is our bounded duty to obey the commands of every Imam of the time and submit to his will. To criticise him or to pry into his affairs is as abominable as to criticise the Prophet or to pry into his affairs.”
— Sayyidnā Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, Code of Conduct for the Followers of Imam, 127-128.
Beyond obedience and faith, the da‘i carries a second, equally central responsibility: to be a bearer of true knowledge, capable of illuminating the souls of the believers.
“Our lord the Commander of the Faithful [Imam ‘Ali])…said: ‘Dā‘īs in religion distinguish between doubt and certainty.’ Distinguishing between doubt and certainty is to separate truth from falsehood. It is possible that he intended it to be between the literal exterior and the inner meaning. Someone who does not know the true and certain, how can he distinguish doubt from certainty, and the truth from falsehood?
The dā‘ī must know the difference between truth and falsehood, so that he can distinguish one from the other, lest he judge the false to be true, and the true to be false.”
— Sayyidnā al-Naysābūrī, A Code of Conduct, 40.
“The Ismaili da‘wa was, self-consciously, the instrument through which true religion — valid law and doctrine, proper belief and action, correct science and knowledge of the universe, rightful loyalty to God and His agent for human affairs, appropriate appreciation for the difference between appearance and reality, between the purely physical and the truly spiritual — was made known to mankind in general and to believers in particular.”
— Paul E. Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism: The Ismaili Neoplatonism of Abū Ya‘qūb al-Sijistānī, 6.
The da‘is are the foremost teachers of the Ismaili community. They are expected to become competent in addressing the full range of religious questions a believer may encounter: the practice of faith, the recognition of the Imam, the divine laws of creation, the nature of angels and jinn, and the purpose, origin, and final end of humankind.
Historically, the da‘is developed this competence within the formal Ismaili da‘wa, where they were trained as deputies under the hujjah of their region, learning to articulate and transmit the teachings of the Ismaili tariqah with clarity and authority.
“The da‘wa....was organized in ‘islands’ (jazāʼir, singular jazīra) under control of a higher ranking dā‘ī who bore the title of ḥujja (argument, proof or guarantor).”
“Subordinate to the ḥujja were numerous regional and local dā‘īs....”
— Heinz Halm, The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning, 57-58.
Through their direct spiritual connection to the Imam, the hujjahs were able to train the da‘is in a body of knowledge whose authority was guaranteed at its source. The written works of these hujjahs—Sayyidna Nasir-i Khusraw, Sayyidna Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, Sayyidna Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani, Sayyidna al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi, Sayyidna Ja‘far b. Mansur al-Yaman, Qadi al-Nu‘man, and others — have survived to this day and remain an indispensable resource for any who seek to fulfill Mawlana Shah Karim⁽ᶜ⁾’s call to be the Imam’s da‘is.
“As for showing thankfulness to the Knower (who guided you), that is through obedience to him. As for thankfulness for the knowledge (he gave you), that is through putting it into action and calling (others) to it. And as for thankfulness for the (right religious) practice (he taught you), that is through steadfastness in (continuing) it and in calling (people) to it.”
— Sayyidnā Ja‘far b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, Kitāb al-‘Ālim wa’l-Ghulām, translated by James W. Morris as The Master and the Disciple: An Early Spiritual Dialogue, 63-64.
In these three forms of thankfulness, we find a precise map of everything explored in this section. Obedience to the Knower corresponds to the complete submission and faith in the Imam described by Sayyidna Qadi al-Nu‘man. Putting knowledge into action corresponds to the silent da‘i of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq⁽ᶜ⁾—the one whose deeds speak before his words. And calling others to knowledge corresponds to the da‘i’s responsibility to illuminate and transmit what he has received.
The following passage from the same text makes the weight of this final obligation unmistakably clear.
“Then, when his guidance had been completed and he had reached the goal of his aspiration, he (the Knower) was duty-bound to show thanks to his Maker and to exert himself for his Lord (84:6). For he used to hear his own (spiritual) father (walid) repeat a proverb which for him was like his soul in relation to his body: ‘The most excellent of good deeds is giving life to the dead’ (5:30). So he thought to himself:
‘I too used to be dead, and he gave me life; I was ignorant, and he gave me knowledge. I am not the first person to be ignorant, so that I attained knowledge before everyone else; nor am I the last one to be ignorant, so that the process of (spiritual) teaching will come to an end. Therefore, it is only right for me, because of my gratitude for this blessing, to pass on this (divine) trust (4:58; 33:72, etc.) to those who come after me, just as those who preceded me have handed it down to me. For the beginning of this affair is from God, and it only reached me through its many intermediaries (asbāb), the first passing it on to the second, the second to the third, (and so on) until it descended from the heavenly host (37:8; 38:69) to the creatures of this lowly world.
After that, did it tear asunder the veil (between God and humanity), and did the ‘gateways’ (abwāb) pass it onward until it reached me, (only) so that I could be its goal and ultimate end? Not at all! For those who have transmitted it and handed on the trust in this way (before me) are more deserving of precedence and (spiritual) gains: what they have earned does not belong to me, so that I could rely on it. No, I am part of what they have earned through their actions (of teaching me). Nor does their precedence relieve me from having to act: so now I need to seek knowledge through (continuing right) action, just as (at first) I needed to seek knowledge.’
— Sayyidnā Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, The Master and the Disciple, 64-65.
The passage above reminds us that this knowledge did not originate with us — it has descended through countless intermediaries before reaching our hands, and it was never meant to stop here. Imam Shah Karim⁽ᶜ⁾ has reaffirmed the role of the da‘i for our time, and the works of the great hujjahs remain accessible.
Yet the historical da‘is did not rely on texts alone — they were formed within a living chain of transmission, under the guidance of those whose souls had been directly illuminated by the Imam. Whether such guidance still exists today, and where it might be found, are questions no serious seeker can avoid.
These are the questions Part 3 will confront.
Ya ‘Ali Madad,
Navid Amiri
April 11th, 2026
Those of you who are interested in history, read up upon the dais of our history! There is much to learn — the way the Jamat practiced centuries ago. There is much to learn. It is a source of knowledge, it is a source of understanding of our tradition. So if you have the time and you are interested, read up on the history of the dais of our Jamat around the world. And I think you will find inspiration, you will find ideas that are worth keeping alive today. So this historic continuity is a part of our faith, to which I attach the greatest importance.”
— Mawlana Shah Karim Al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾, Baytu’l-Khayal Mulaqat, Lisbon, Portugal, July 7, 2018.
During his Diamond Jubilee, Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾ initiated something whose full significance many in the Jamat have yet to contemplate — he conferred the title of da‘i upon every member of the community. In doing so, the Imam directed those who are ready to reflect on what this title truly means and what it demands. It is in that spirit that this section explores the role, purpose, and responsibilities of the Ismaili da‘i as preserved in our traditional sources.
Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq⁽ᶜ⁾ has said:
“‘Be for us silent dā‘īs’, and they asked, ‘How can we make the appeal, O son of the Messenger of God, if we are silent?’ He replied, ‘Act in accord with what we commanded you to do with respect to obeying God and forbid what we forbade you to do.’”
— Sayyidnā Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm al-Naysābūrī, al-Risāla al-mūjaza al-kāfiya fī ādāb al-duʿāt, translated by Verena Klemm and Paul E. Walker with Susanne Karam as A Code of Conduct: A Treatise on the Etiquette of the Fatimid Ismaili Mission, 41).
The da‘i’s first and foremost duty is complete obedience to the Imam of the Time. As Sayyidna Naysaburi illustrates through the concept of the “silent da‘i,” this obedience need not be expressed in words — it must be made visible in action, such that an observer finds in that person’s conduct a living example of the tariqah’s wisdom and ethics.
Anyone who seeks to answer the Imam’s call to be a da‘i should begin here: know the religious duties and ethical obligations of the tariqah, fulfill them to the highest degree, and abstain entirely from what the Imam has forbidden.
“In the case of the ‘daa-ee’ [da‘i] his first and foremost duty is to live in strict adherence to the principles laid down by his faith. He should be pious to the extreme....”
— Sayyidnā Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, Kitāb al-himma fī ādāb atbā‘ al-a’imma, translated by Jawad Muscati and A. Moulvi as Code of Conduct for the Followers of Imam, 134-135.
Inseparable from this obedience is full faith in the Imam of the Time — finding no fault in him and refraining from prying into his personal affairs. This presupposes that one has become genuinely and intellectually convinced that the Ismaili Imam is the divinely designated guide not only of the Ismaili community, but of all humanity.
“To obey the commands and prohibitions of the Prophet in toto is enjoined on us by God. It is an act of devotion to Him. God has linked our devotion to Him with our devotion to the Imams. Lip-profession of devotion in words ceases to be a devotion unless it is prompted by conviction and is followed by practice.
To criticise the Prophet or to pry into his affairs or to show disapproval of his actions in words or in thoughts is abominable. It is strictly prohibited by God who through His holy Book has enjoined on us all to submit ourselves to his [i.e. the Prophet’s] will. Our faith is incomplete without our submission to his will. The holy Imams occupy a similar position. They are the representatives of the Prophet on earth and our devotion to them is devotion to the Prophet.
It logically follows that it is our bounded duty to obey the commands of every Imam of the time and submit to his will. To criticise him or to pry into his affairs is as abominable as to criticise the Prophet or to pry into his affairs.”
— Sayyidnā Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān, Code of Conduct for the Followers of Imam, 127-128.
Beyond obedience and faith, the da‘i carries a second, equally central responsibility: to be a bearer of true knowledge, capable of illuminating the souls of the believers.
“Our lord the Commander of the Faithful [Imam ‘Ali])…said: ‘Dā‘īs in religion distinguish between doubt and certainty.’ Distinguishing between doubt and certainty is to separate truth from falsehood. It is possible that he intended it to be between the literal exterior and the inner meaning. Someone who does not know the true and certain, how can he distinguish doubt from certainty, and the truth from falsehood?
The dā‘ī must know the difference between truth and falsehood, so that he can distinguish one from the other, lest he judge the false to be true, and the true to be false.”
— Sayyidnā al-Naysābūrī, A Code of Conduct, 40.
“The Ismaili da‘wa was, self-consciously, the instrument through which true religion — valid law and doctrine, proper belief and action, correct science and knowledge of the universe, rightful loyalty to God and His agent for human affairs, appropriate appreciation for the difference between appearance and reality, between the purely physical and the truly spiritual — was made known to mankind in general and to believers in particular.”
— Paul E. Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism: The Ismaili Neoplatonism of Abū Ya‘qūb al-Sijistānī, 6.
The da‘is are the foremost teachers of the Ismaili community. They are expected to become competent in addressing the full range of religious questions a believer may encounter: the practice of faith, the recognition of the Imam, the divine laws of creation, the nature of angels and jinn, and the purpose, origin, and final end of humankind.
Historically, the da‘is developed this competence within the formal Ismaili da‘wa, where they were trained as deputies under the hujjah of their region, learning to articulate and transmit the teachings of the Ismaili tariqah with clarity and authority.
“The da‘wa....was organized in ‘islands’ (jazāʼir, singular jazīra) under control of a higher ranking dā‘ī who bore the title of ḥujja (argument, proof or guarantor).”
“Subordinate to the ḥujja were numerous regional and local dā‘īs....”
— Heinz Halm, The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning, 57-58.
Through their direct spiritual connection to the Imam, the hujjahs were able to train the da‘is in a body of knowledge whose authority was guaranteed at its source. The written works of these hujjahs—Sayyidna Nasir-i Khusraw, Sayyidna Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, Sayyidna Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani, Sayyidna al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi, Sayyidna Ja‘far b. Mansur al-Yaman, Qadi al-Nu‘man, and others — have survived to this day and remain an indispensable resource for any who seek to fulfill Mawlana Shah Karim⁽ᶜ⁾’s call to be the Imam’s da‘is.
“As for showing thankfulness to the Knower (who guided you), that is through obedience to him. As for thankfulness for the knowledge (he gave you), that is through putting it into action and calling (others) to it. And as for thankfulness for the (right religious) practice (he taught you), that is through steadfastness in (continuing) it and in calling (people) to it.”
— Sayyidnā Ja‘far b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, Kitāb al-‘Ālim wa’l-Ghulām, translated by James W. Morris as The Master and the Disciple: An Early Spiritual Dialogue, 63-64.
In these three forms of thankfulness, we find a precise map of everything explored in this section. Obedience to the Knower corresponds to the complete submission and faith in the Imam described by Sayyidna Qadi al-Nu‘man. Putting knowledge into action corresponds to the silent da‘i of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq⁽ᶜ⁾—the one whose deeds speak before his words. And calling others to knowledge corresponds to the da‘i’s responsibility to illuminate and transmit what he has received.
The following passage from the same text makes the weight of this final obligation unmistakably clear.
“Then, when his guidance had been completed and he had reached the goal of his aspiration, he (the Knower) was duty-bound to show thanks to his Maker and to exert himself for his Lord (84:6). For he used to hear his own (spiritual) father (walid) repeat a proverb which for him was like his soul in relation to his body: ‘The most excellent of good deeds is giving life to the dead’ (5:30). So he thought to himself:
‘I too used to be dead, and he gave me life; I was ignorant, and he gave me knowledge. I am not the first person to be ignorant, so that I attained knowledge before everyone else; nor am I the last one to be ignorant, so that the process of (spiritual) teaching will come to an end. Therefore, it is only right for me, because of my gratitude for this blessing, to pass on this (divine) trust (4:58; 33:72, etc.) to those who come after me, just as those who preceded me have handed it down to me. For the beginning of this affair is from God, and it only reached me through its many intermediaries (asbāb), the first passing it on to the second, the second to the third, (and so on) until it descended from the heavenly host (37:8; 38:69) to the creatures of this lowly world.
After that, did it tear asunder the veil (between God and humanity), and did the ‘gateways’ (abwāb) pass it onward until it reached me, (only) so that I could be its goal and ultimate end? Not at all! For those who have transmitted it and handed on the trust in this way (before me) are more deserving of precedence and (spiritual) gains: what they have earned does not belong to me, so that I could rely on it. No, I am part of what they have earned through their actions (of teaching me). Nor does their precedence relieve me from having to act: so now I need to seek knowledge through (continuing right) action, just as (at first) I needed to seek knowledge.’
— Sayyidnā Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, The Master and the Disciple, 64-65.
The passage above reminds us that this knowledge did not originate with us — it has descended through countless intermediaries before reaching our hands, and it was never meant to stop here. Imam Shah Karim⁽ᶜ⁾ has reaffirmed the role of the da‘i for our time, and the works of the great hujjahs remain accessible.
Yet the historical da‘is did not rely on texts alone — they were formed within a living chain of transmission, under the guidance of those whose souls had been directly illuminated by the Imam. Whether such guidance still exists today, and where it might be found, are questions no serious seeker can avoid.
These are the questions Part 3 will confront.
Ya ‘Ali Madad,
Navid Amiri
April 11th, 2026