Authority & Nur (light), of Imam in Quran & Farmans

Discussion on doctrinal issues
swamidada
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:59 pm

Re: Explanation of Imam Ilm, Nass, and Bayah

Post by swamidada »

mahebubchatur wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:40 am A new Video released by the Institute of Ismaili Studies through The Ismaili.
ILM is Imam’s divinely ordained inspired & guided Knowledge. Nass is designation of Authority of Imam and, Bayah is giving and acceptance by Imam of allegiance devotion and obedience to Farmans of Imam

Link to video
https://youtu.be/R-hiWIh208A

More on

Bayah
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=9235


ILM
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 0584#70584
I have noticed when a video by any Ismaili individual or institution is uploaded on U Tube its comments are blocked. I do not understand why the comments are blocked? Allow discussion, let the the truth prevail and flourish.
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Re: Explanation of Imam Ilm, Nass, and Bayah

Post by mahebubchatur »

mahebubchatur wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:40 am A new Video released by the Institute of Ismaili Studies through The Ismaili.
ILM is Imam’s divinely ordained inspired & guided Knowledge. Nass is designation of Authority of Imam and, Bayah is giving and acceptance by Imam of allegiance devotion and obedience to Farmans of Imam

Link to video
https://youtu.be/R-hiWIh208A

More on

Bayah
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=9235


ILM
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 0584#70584
A video released IIS through The Ismaili on Ghadir e Khum https://youtu.be/Va8BJmpH8eE

more about IIS http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 2339#72339
 
swamidada
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:59 pm

Re: Explanation of Imam Ilm, Nass, and Bayah

Post by swamidada »

mahebubchatur wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 9:49 am
mahebubchatur wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:40 am A new Video released by the Institute of Ismaili Studies through The Ismaili.
ILM is Imam’s divinely ordained inspired & guided Knowledge. Nass is designation of Authority of Imam and, Bayah is giving and acceptance by Imam of allegiance devotion and obedience to Farmans of Imam

Link to video
https://youtu.be/R-hiWIh208A

More on

Bayah
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=9235


ILM
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 0584#70584
A video released IIS through The Ismaili on Ghadir e Khum https://youtu.be/Va8BJmpH8eE
As usual comments are blocked, read the following message comes with video.

"Comments are turned off". Eid e Ghadir is celebrated by almost all Shias, why to shy or scared to block comments and discussion.
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Difference between Shia & Sunni Islam

Post by mahebubchatur »

What is Shia Islam? A Primer on the Twelver & Ismaili Shia

“A primer lecture on Shia Islam that speaks to the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam in terms of theology and beliefs.

Presented by Dr. Khalil Andani (PhD Islamic Studies - Harvard), who is Assistant Professor of Religion at Augustana College

August 2022
👇🏽

https://youtu.be/gUMeZq9jTx8
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Re: Explanation of Imam Ilm, Nass, and Bayah

Post by mahebubchatur »

swamidada wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:45 pm
mahebubchatur wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 9:49 am
mahebubchatur wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:40 am A new Video released by the Institute of Ismaili Studies through The Ismaili.
ILM is Imam’s divinely ordained inspired & guided Knowledge. Nass is designation of Authority of Imam and, Bayah is giving and acceptance by Imam of allegiance devotion and obedience to Farmans of Imam

Link to video
https://youtu.be/R-hiWIh208A

More on

Bayah
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=9235


ILM
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 0584#70584
A video released IIS through The Ismaili on Ghadir e Khum https://youtu.be/Va8BJmpH8eE
As usual comments are blocked, read the following message comes with video.

"Comments are turned off". Eid e Ghadir is celebrated by almost all Shias, why to shy or scared to block comments and discussion.
It seems The.Ismaili & Institute of Ismaili studies (IIS), have a policy of no comments on their video releases on YouTube.
Those interested can if they wish to, give feed back direct to them via their websites. Others are sharing in these forums. More - thread regarding IIS in these forums
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=9397
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Re: Authority & Nur (light), of Imam in Quran & Farmans

Post by mahebubchatur »

Imam explains what happens to donations from the community and the goal of enabling the institution’s (entities) of the community to be empowered with competence and capacity to manage and make decisions , based on Imams guidance thinking & values of the faith

Interview

“ MC: How is your institution organised, the Imamat of the Ismaili sect? For example, is your own property inseparable from the property of the Imamat itself?

Aga Khan The Imamat revenue is given by the community to the Imam. He has a responsibility to manage the Imamat revenue. Now, in Shia Islam, and this is true of the Twelvers and of the Seveners, the Imams or the Ayatollahs, as it would be in Twelver Shi’ism, are allowed or authorised to retain certain percentage of the Imamat revenue.

MC: Can you tell me how much that is?

Aga Khan “ In Ismaili tradition, because there is nothing which I have seen in writing, it is 10% at the present time, but the interesting thing is that, in effect, I would say easily 98% of those funds, and in fact at times much more than 98%, in fact probably of the order of 150%, goes back to the community.

Aga Khan " I am proud of two things. The first is the creation, in a variety of countries, of institutions of the community which possess real autonomy, which do not depend on the intervention, nor the thinking, nor the support of the Imam. "

BBC Radio 4 Interview, Michael Charlton (London, United Kingdom)

more at 👇🏽

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/1988/

And

http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... 2f6d1276b1
swamidada
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:59 pm

Re: Explanation of Imam Ilm, Nass, and Bayah

Post by swamidada »

mahebubchatur wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 5:33 am
swamidada wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:45 pm
mahebubchatur wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 9:49 am

A video released IIS through The Ismaili on Ghadir e Khum https://youtu.be/Va8BJmpH8eE
As usual comments are blocked, read the following message comes with video.

"Comments are turned off". Eid e Ghadir is celebrated by almost all Shias, why to shy or scared to block comments and discussion.
It seems The.Ismaili & Institute of Ismaili studies (IIS), have a policy of no comments on their video releases on YouTube.
Those interested can if they wish to, give feed back direct to them via their websites. Others are sharing in these forums. More - thread regarding IIS in these forums
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=9397
Ismaili leadership is hiding behind POLICY, PREROGATIVE, PRIORITY. They have no guts to to respond NEGATIVE PROPAGANDA ABOUT IMAM AND ISMAILISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Hazar Imam is spending $100+ millions (may be more, I don't have exact figure, neither leadership declares) on IIS AND ITREBs. There are around 150 IIS staff members and may be 1000+ staff members of all ITREBs on pay roll. Expenditure includes salaries, insurance policies, medical, paid leaves, rents, administrative costs, traveling, books for libraries, scholarships and publishing. WHAT IS OUT COME?!! Yearly few books, mostly edited translations or some work by non Ismaili authors and scholars. DOES IIS PRODUCE ANY TALL FIGURE IN PAST 50 YEARS LIKE QAZI NOAMAN, AL KIRMANI, MUED SHIRAZI, NASIR KHUSRAW AND OTHERS. OUR LEADERSHIP IS LIKE NISHISTAND, GUFTAND, KHORDAND WA BARKHASTAND. Conservative leadership is still living in era of MSMS. From 1960 till 2018 Imam made some important changes, leadership listened from one ear and out from other. They did not implemented Hidayat which was most important and because of their attitude THOUSANDS OF YOUTH AND FAMILIES LEFT ISMAILISM AND ADOPTED OTHER TARIQAS.
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Form and essence in Quran

Post by mahebubchatur »

“As Imam of the Ismaili sect, I am in a position to adapt the teachings of the Quran to the modern condition. On the question of modernity the issue is essentially whether one is affecting the fundamental moral fabric of society or whether one is affecting the fundamentals of religious practice. As long as these two aspects are safeguarded the rest can be subject to adjustment” Hazar Imam, Aga Khan IV

http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/27512
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Important related Farmans

Post by mahebubchatur »

“The Imam is perfect when still in the
form of sperm in the loins of his father
and the pure womb of his mother."

Imam Hasan 'ala-dhikrihi al-salam (Tusi 2005)

"We are the hujjah (proof) of God and His Gate. We are the tongue as well as the Face of God; we are the Eyes of God [guarding] His creation and we are the Guardians of the Divine Command (wulat al-amr) on earth.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, Arzina Lalani, Early Shi‘i Thought (Institute of Ismaili studies).
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Genealogy from Hazrat Adam to Imam e Zaman

Post by mahebubchatur »

Hazrat Adam To Sultan Mohamed
Shah the Agakhan

The following Genealogy from Hazrat Adam to Sultan Mohammed Shah the Aga Khan is found in a poem in Persian which was written by the late Khaki Shah Khuashani in the journal called Iran." It was printed
in Leningrad by the Russian Oriental Society. Mr. A. A. Semenone of Tashkent (Russian Turkistan) was responsible for contributing the above poem in the year 1929. Comparing this genealogy with the Imams are slightly different. This may be due to the fact that one Imam was as Hyder. Mushkil Kusha and the present Imam of the Ismailis is also known as
Ahmed and Mohammed,- Editor.

Hazrat Adam
Shish
Sem
Malkus Salaam
Malkan
Islam
Haroon
Samoon Assafa
Shakhan
Adnan
Ma'add
Nizar
Muizz
Ilyas
Mudrik
Malik
Khuzayma
Kenan
Nazar
Malik
Fahr
Luwa
Ghalib
Murra
Ka'b
Hazrat Kilab
Abdu'l-Manaf
Hashim
Abdull-Muttalib
Abu Talib
Ali
Husavn
Zaynu'l-Abedin
Baqir
Jafar
Ismail
Muhammad
Wafi Ahmad
Tagi
Razi Abdullah
Mahdi
Muhammad
Muhammad
Qa'im
Mansur
Muizz
Aziz
Hakim
Zahir
Mustansir Billah
Nizar
Hadi
Muhatdi
Qahir
Hazrat Jalalu'ddin Hasan
Alau'd-din
Rakhnu'd-din
Hasan Khurshah
Shamshul Haq
Tabriz
Qasim Shah
Islam Shah
Muhammad bin
Islam Shah
Mustansir
Billa II
Salamullah
Garibullah
Nuruddin
Murad
Zhulfiquar
Nuru'd dahr
Khalilu'llah
Nizar
Sayyid Ali
Hasan Ali
Qasin Ali
Abu'l Hasan Ali
Khalilu'llah
Hasan Ali
Ali Shah
Sultan Muhammad Shah
Attachments
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mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
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Ismaili Muslims & Prophets - Jesus Christ

Post by mahebubchatur »

A lecture on “ Jesus in esoteric Islam - Ismaili Muslim Christology
by Dr Khalil Andani

Link
https://youtu.be/Kf3cYHSVxUE

Article in the The Ismaili 24 Dec 2022

“ Why do #Muslims revere #Jesus?

Muslims regard Jesus (peace be upon him) as one of the great prophets who brought divine guidance to humanity before Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).

Link
https://twitter.com/theismaili/status/1 ... yA6uxZVQRA
Attachments
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mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Why Imam calls all murids as his spiritual Children

Post by mahebubchatur »

Noor Mawlana Hazar Imam address all his followers as ‘My Beloved Spiritual Children’. and he gives them His “paternal & maternal” blessings & guidance (Farmans)


This is explained by Imam

Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah -AgaKhan III, explained this in His farman given in Mumbai on January 27, 1946.

The farman can be found in the Baitul-Khayal Khangi Chopri (book) and is directly quoted from there first in a transliterated form of Gujarati and then translated into English.

Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah said:

“Amo tamone amaaraa ruhaani bachaa tarike sambodhye chhie te bhaashaa ni sabhyataa maate ke tamone saaru lagaadwaa maate nathi kahetaa. Pan tame amaaraa ruhaani bachaa evi rite chho ke jevi rite tamaaraa sharir tamaaraa jismaani maa baap maathi paydaa thayaa chhe tevi rite tamaaraa ruh amaaraa nur maathi paydaa thayaa chhe”

This farman (Guidance) is translated as follows:

“I address you as my spiritual children not out linguistic etiquette, nor to make you feel good. However, you are my spiritual children in the sense just as your physical bodies have come from your physical parents, in the same manner your souls have been created from My Nur (Noor)”

All Mankind is created from a single soul 👇🏼

O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from one single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” Quran 4:1

O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware. Quran 49:13,

Hazar Imam

“Central to my life has been a verse in the Holy Quran which addresses itself to the whole of humanity. It says:

“Oh Mankind, fear your Lord, who created you of a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them scattered abroad many men and women…’ I know of no more beautiful expression about the unity of our human race — born indeed from a single soul.”

https://the.ismaili/speeches/address-bo ... ns-chamber
swamidada
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:59 pm

Re: Authority & Nur (light), of Imam in Quran & Farmans

Post by swamidada »

Chatur Saheb a question for you. Substance of soul is same but bodies have different colors and features. Is Imam addressing souls or bodies by saying "My spiritual children"?
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Do Ismailis believe the Imam is God?

Post by mahebubchatur »

Do Ismailis believe the Imam is God?

Ismaili theology regards God as absolutely transcendent:
He is beyond matter, spirit, names, descriptions & attributes.

Imam is a divinely guided human holding divine authority:

He is the human mirror of the Light (Nur) of Ali & Muhammad.

The light (Nur -Noor) is the first and greatest creation of God
Ismaili philosophers calls ir the first Intellect

The Quran calls it divine command (amr) and Holy Spirit (ruh).

This has been the Ismaili theology for the last 1000 years.

Why is the Imam of the Time called Speaking Qur'an or Speaking Book (Kitab) of God?

"Indeed, I am leaving among you, that which if you hold fast to them, you shall not go astray after. One of them is greater than the other: The Kitab of God is a rope extended from the sky to the earth, and my Family ('itrati) - the people of my house (Ahl al-Bayti) - and they shall not separate until they meet at the Paradiscal Pool, so be mindful how you are with them."
- Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Tirmidhi, Book 49, Hadith 4155 &4157: Online)
Summary: When the Prophet Muhammad told the Community to hold fast to "the Kitab of God" and his Ahl al-Bayt and proclaimed that the Kitab of God and his Ahl al-Bayt shall "never separate from each other" - he was not telling the Community to follow both the Qur'anic Text and his Progeny as two separate things; nor was the Prophet saying that his Progeny will always keep a copy of the Qur'anic text with them. The Qur'anic Text did not exist when the Prophet made this statement. In fact, the word "Kitab Allah" in the Qur'an means the "Decree of God" (see 2:101, 3:23, 4:24, 5:44, 8:75, 9:36, 18:27, 30:56, 33:6, 35:26). In reality, the Prophet is declaring that God's Kitab - meaning continuous guidance, knowledge and authority (all indicated by the term "Kitab Allah") will always remain fused with his Ahl al-Bayt and Progeny on earth until the end of the world. Even though the Prophethood and Qur'anic revelation have ended, the Progeny of Muhammad and his Ahl al-Bayt remain in the world as the "possessors" of God's Kitab (guidance, authority) and through them, the Community of Muhammad will have continuous access to the single eternal Kitab of God until the end of time.

What is Prophet Muhammad referring to when he says he is leaving behind "the Kitab of God" and his "Progeny" (itrat) or Ahl al-Bayt? The meaning of the Progeny/Ahl al-Bayt is a bit more obvious - considering that various Sunni and Shia sources report that the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet are exclusively Imam Ali, Hazrat Fatimah, Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn. For example, the Sunni Hadith book Jami' al-Tirmidhi reports that the Prophet recited Qur'an 33:33 - "And God only wishes to keep away from you all impurity, O Ahl al-Bayt, and purify you with a thorough purification":

The Prophet placed a cloak (kissa’) over al-Hasan, al-Husayn, 'Ali and Fatimah, then he said: 'O God, these are my Ahl al-Bayt and the close ones, so remove the impurities (rijs) from them and purify them thoroughly." So Umm Salamah said: 'And am I with them, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: "You are fine in your place. (Sahih al-Tirmidhi, Book 49, Hadith 4245: Read Online)

The Prophet said to hold fast to the Kitab of God and that this Kitab always remains with the Ahl al-Bayt. So what does the term "Kitab of God" (Kitab Allah) mean here?

Most people believe that the Kitab Allah means the Qur'anic Text in the form of a "book". However, the Prophet recited the Qur'an as purely oral recitations during his 23-year mission and there was no book-text compilation of the Qur'an when Muhammad was alive. There was no need for any Qur'an Text for anyone to possess because Prophet Muhammad himself was the expounder of the Qur'anic Recitations in every matter:

"The Prophet functioned as the projection of the divine message embodied in the Qur’an. He was the living commentary of the Qur’an, inextricably related to the revelatory text. Without the Prophet the Qur’an was incomprehensible, just as without the Qur’an the Prophet was no prophet at all."
- Abdul Aziz Sachedina, (“Scriptural Reasoning in Islam”, Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 5/1 (2005); cited in Adis Duderija, The Hermeneutical Importance of Qur’anic Assumptions in the Development of a Values Based and Purpose Oriented Qur’an Sunna Hermeneutic)

Prophet Muhammad never gathered the Qur'anic recitations into a "book" during his lifetime and he left no such "book" when he died. The Qur'an actually refuses to behave as a "book in writing" in several verses like the one below:

And even if We had sent down to you, [O Muhammad], a written scripture on a page and they touched it with their hands, the disbelievers would say, “This is not but obvious magic.”
– Holy Qur’an 6:7

Even further, the term "kitab" as it appears and is used in the Qur'an does not simply mean "the Qur'an" or the Qur'an compiled as a codex called mushaf. The word "Kitab Allah" in the Qur'an usuallly means the "Decree of God" (see 2:101, 3:23, 4:24, 5:44, 8:75, 9:36, 18:27, 30:56, 33:6, 35:26). Several Qur'anic verses make a careful difference between "al-kitab" and "al-qur'an" (the recitation) or "quranun" (a recitation). The Qur'an uses the term "al-kitab" to refer to multiple realities including:

1) The Divine Guidance revealed to all prophets including Muhammad;
2) the celestial heavenly Kitab in which all things are recorded by God;
3) specific legal injunctions concerning things like inheritance, marriage, commerce.

None of the above meanings of kitab as used in the Qur'an mean "physical text' or "physical book." According to a thorough semantic analysis of the Qur’an carried out by non-Muslim Qur’anic studies scholars J. Fiegenbaum, Daniel A. Madigan, and Nicolai Sinai, the Qur’anic word kitab in the context of divine revelation stands for “Divinely-authorized guidance” and not a “physical book.” This is proven by how the verb kataba, which means “to write”, is used in the Qur’an: whenever God is the agent of the verb kataba (to write), the meaning of the verb is always “to prescribe” or “to decree” or “to determine” and never to physically write anything (see Qur’an: 2:216, 9:51, 13:39, 6:54, 6:73, 19:35, 40:68, 68:47, 2:187, 9:51, 5:32, 58:21, 6:12, 58:22, 7:156, 15:4, 2:180, 49:3, 5:45, 6:12, 7:156, 2:79).

Thus, the word kitab as used in the Qur’an is very expansive and broad; kitab properly means “divine authoritative command” or “divine guidance”, regardless of how this guidance is recorded or stored. One scholar of Qur'anic Studies, Daniel Madigan, concludes the following about the meaning of "kitab" in the Qur'an:

“The Qur’an’s very claim to authority rests on there being a single, univocal, and integral kitab, manifested in the past and now manifest once more through the mission of the Prophet…The logic of the Qur’an’s approach demonstrates the impossibility of understanding al-kitab as a fixed text, a book. More than one group of people has been given al-kitab; if it were a fixed text, then each group would have the same text…The claim that something is kitab is a claim to authority and knowledge, not a statement about the form in which it is kept.”
- Daniel A. Madigan, ( The Qur’an’s Self-Image, 178-179)

Overall, the term "kitab" as is used in the Qur'an does not mean physical "book" or "text". The Kitab Allah refers to God's knowledge, authority, and guidance by which He guides human beings according to changing situations and events - just as the Qur'an's own verses were revealed to respond to the community's needs.

"In this respect, the Qurʾān does not present the kitāb as a closed and definable corpus of text, but rather as an ongoing relationship of guidance...So when the Qurʾān speaks of itself as kitāb, it seems to be talking not about the form in which it is sent down but rather about the authority it carries as a manifestation of the knowledge and command of God."
- Daniel A. Madigan, (“Kitab”, in Encyclopedia of the Qur’an 2013, Read Online)

The Custom ( sunnah) of God according to the Qur'an is to continue giving Kitab or divine guidance to the communities through the direct descendants of the Prophets. This is supported by specific Qur'an verses that tell us God bestowed the Kitab to specific descendants of the previous Prophets:

"We sent Noah and Abraham and placed prophethood and the Kitab among their progeny."
– Holy Qur'an 57:26

“And We bestowed on him (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob, and We established the Prophethood and the Kitab among his progeny, and We gave him his reward in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he verily is among the righteous.”
– Holy Qur'an 29:27

"Or are they jealous of mankind because of that which Allah of His bounty hath bestowed upon them? For We had already given the progeny of Abraham the Kitab and wisdom and conferred upon them a great kingdom."
– Holy Qur'an 4:54

"With some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them unto a straight path. That is the guidance of Allah wherewith He guideth whom He will of His bondmen.Those are the ones to whom We gave the Kitab and Authority and Prophethood. But if the disbelievers deny it, then We have entrusted it to a people who are not therein disbelievers."
– Holy Qur'an 6:89

And We certainly gave Moses the Kitab, so do not be in doubt over his meeting. And we made it guidance for the Children of Israel. And We appointed from among them Imams guiding by Our Command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs.
- Holy Qur’an 32:23-24

In all of the above verses, God gave the Kitab to the direct descendants of previous Prophets including Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, it is logical that the Kitab of God also continues with the direct descendants of the last prophet - Prophet Muhammad. As such, when the Prophet Muhammad told the Community to hold fast to "the Kitab of God" and his Ahl al-Bayt and proclaimed that the Kitab of God and his Ahl al-Bayt shall "never separate from each other" - he was not telling the Community to follow both the Qur'anic Text and his Progeny as two separate things; nor was the Prophet saying that his Progeny will always keep a copy of the Qur'anic text with them. The Qur'anic Text did not exist when the Prophet made this statement. As shown above, the word "Kitab Allah" in the Qur'an means the "Decree of God" (see 2:101, 3:23, 4:24, 5:44, 8:75, 9:36, 18:27, 30:56, 33:6, 35:26). In reality, the Prophet is declaring that God's Kitab - meaning continuous guidance, knowledge and authority (all indicated by the term "Kitab Allah") will always remain fused with his Ahl al-Bayt and Progeny on earth until the end of the world. Even though the Prophethood and Qur'anic revelation have ended, the Progeny of Muhammad and his Ahl al-Bayt remain in the world as the "possessors" of God's Kitab (guidance, authority) and through them, the Community of Muhammad will have continuous access to the single eternal Kitab of God until the end of time.

Thus, the Imam of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt in every time and age is the bearer of the Kitab Allah - which he carries in his heart and soul, not in the form of a written scripture. The Qur'an even says that the Kitab which God reveals to the Prophet also exists in the hearts of a special possessors of knowledge:

And thus We have sent down to you the Kitab. And those to whom We gave the Kitab believe in it. And among these [people of Makkah] are those who believe in it. And none reject Our signs except the disbelievers. And you did not recite from a Kitab before it, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt. Rather, it [the Kitab] is clear signs within the breasts of those who have been given knowledge. And none reject Our signs except the wrongdoers.
- Holy Qur’an 29:47-49

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir recited this verse (29:49): “Nay, rather it [the Kitab] is Clear Signs (ayat) in the breasts of those who are given knowledge (alladhi utu al-‘ilm).” Then he said: ‘Take note… He [God] does not say that it [the Kitab] is “between the two covers of the written text (mushaf)].” He said: “in the breasts of those who are given knowledge.” Who can they be apart from us? They are specifically the Imams.’
(Usul al-Kafi, Kitab al-Hujjah, Chapter 23, Hadith No. 23-4)

The Shi‘i Imams therefore possess the spiritual meaning (al-batin) and the esoteric interpretation (ta’wil) of the Kitab Allah in their hearts in the form of pure knowledge (al-‘ilm al-mahd) and not in the form of bookish erudition that ordinary people require to be learned. This is the meaning of the prophetic hadith that says: “‘Ali is with the Qur’an and the Qur’an is with ‘Ali. They shall never separate until they return to me in Paradise.” This is why the Imam of the Time is called the Speaking Qur'an and the Speaking Kitab of God.

"Harken ye who quest for union, who boasts that he seeks. Heed my words for I am the Book of God (Kitab Allah) that speaks!"
- Imam 'Abd al-Salaam, (Ode to the Seekers of Union, tr. Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages)

‘‘The meaning of the Kitab of God is not the text, it is the man who guides. He is the Kitab of God; he is its verses; he is scripture.’’
– Hazrat Shams-i Tabrizi, (Shafique Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages, 93)

Source IsmailiGnosis
mahebubchatur
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Article on Tawil and Imam

Post by mahebubchatur »

For Muslims, the Qurʾan and Shariʿa (divine law) brought by the Prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century AD constitute God’s message to human-kind. Since the very beginning of Islam, they have sought to understand their true meaning. They grappled with some of the Qurʾan’s apparent contradictions. For example, which verse should be taken at face value, the one that states, “Fresh faces will look at God on the last day,” or the one that says, “Eyes do not see him”? They also tried to make sense of the seeming arbitrariness of the Shariʿa. Why pray two cycles in the dawn prayer, for example, and three in the sunset prayer? Why fast in the month of Ramadan and not, say, Safar? The Fatimid hermeneutic answered these questions by harmonizing revelation and reason through the divinely guided authoritative exposition of the living Imam, from the line of the Prophet Muhammad and his Legatee ʿAlī. In this article I draw on the collected lectures of the preeminent Fatimid scholaral-Muʾayyad fī-l-Dīn al-Shīrāzī (d. 470/1078) – al-Majālis al-Muʾayyadiyya – to distill and analyze the principles of Fatimid symbolic interpretation, “taʾwīl.”

No Fatimid text enumerates the principles of their hermeneutic system;these have to be inferred. Within the genre of Fatimid taʾwīl, al-Muʾayyad’s Majālis is the culmination of their taʾwīl schematics. A deep mine of Fatimid philosophy, the Majālis systematically conceptualize knowledge in the early lectures, and then reference it and build upon it throughout. A few lectures also explicate the necessity for taʾwīl. The combination of these theoretical remarks on interpretive principles with rich and varied applications makes al-Majālis al-Muʾayyadiyya the ideal source for analyzing the principles of Fatimid symbolic interpretation.

Basing my analysis on al-Muʾayyad’s Majālis, – and drawing also on the works of two major Fatimid scholars before him, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʾman (d. 363/974) and Hamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī (d. ca. 411/1021) – I delineate in this article ten interdependent principles of Fatimid taʾwīl. They are:
(1) the rationality of faith;
(2) the inversion of the literary perception of real and figurative;
(3) the harmonization of the physical and spiritual worlds; (4) the mutual validation of the exoteric and esoteric aspects of the Shariʿa;
(5) the substance of taʾwīl manifest in God’s unity, God’s call, and the system and hierarchy of spiritual ascension; (6) the concept of living history, with the stories of the Prophets reflected in Muhammad’s mission;
(7) the methodology of taʾwīl, presented through scriptural evidence and rational proofs;
(8) taʾwīl as the true knowledge integral to salvation;
(9) the sole authority of the divinely-guided Prophet, Legatee and Imam to interpret the Qurʾan and Shariʿa; and (10) the rationale for taʾwīl.

My analysis demonstrates that al-Muʾayyad did not randomly assign esoteric meanings on a case-by-case basis. His explication of these materials is governed by a systematic hermeneutic that, as I mentioned at the outset, harmonizes reason and revelation through the divinely guided taʾwīl interpretation of the living Imam. Together, these ten principles articulate a comprehensive, coherent, and logical system of symbolic scriptural interpretation.” (Tahera Qutbuddin)

Analysis by EDITOR @ ISMAILI STUDIES
MAR 16
Author: Dr. Tahera Qutbuddin
Link to Full Chapter: Academia.edu
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Nur (light) in Quran & Farmans of Imams

Post by mahebubchatur »

“ The Qur’an throughout the history of Islam has been both the primary binding factor as well as the greatest source of confusion in the Muslim community.

The fact that a community is both bound together and confused by their founding scripture is not unique to Islam. It is a problem that is prevalent in all of the major religions of the world.

But why is this the case? Are we not all reading the same text? Even those who bore witness to the revelatory events during the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ immediately splintered into various groups upon his death. How could such a thing be possible? Is it that the Qur’an is unclear or vague? Several verses of the Qur’an seem to speak of the absolute clarity and ease of the message of God.

And strive for Allah with the endeavour which is His right. He has chosen you and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship; the faith of your father Abraham… (22:78).

Thus have We sent down clear signs; and verily Allah guides whom He will (22:16).

Yet despite verses of this sort, we know that there is great division among the Muslims surrounding the Qur’an. So then why can’t we truly see this message? What is the vision which can truly see the Qur’an as it should be seen?

Inseparable from the concept of vision is the concept of light (nur). For without light there is no vision. The Qur’an very clearly speaks about the importance of light in understanding the divine book of Allah such as in the following verses:

O men, a proof has now come to you from your Lord; We have sent down to you a manifest light (4:174).

Surely We sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and light (5:44).

People of the Book, now there has come to you Our Messenger, making clear to you many things you have been concealing of the Book, and effacing many things. There has come to you from God a light, and a Book Manifest (5:15).

But why must God send down a light when we already have light by which our eyes see? Due to modern science we know that it is not just any light that is required for the vision of any particular thing. Rather the light itself must be of a frequency which matches the vision one wishes to behold. Our normal vision uses a very narrow spectrum of light to see and the world of the infrared and the ultraviolet reveal much that is hidden from mundane human sight. Our eyes need to adjust to different energy levels and become attuned to these different bands in order to see what they hide. The reality of the need for attunement extends also to sound in that higher and lower pitches or notes differ from one another in the same way that various frequencies of light do. It is due to energy. In psychology, we also refer to the concepts of empathy and sympathy which involve a matching of our frequencies to the frequencies of the person we’re seeking to connect with and understand. Therefore, at all levels, whether physical or mental or otherwise, we must adjust our nature to the nature of that which we wish to sense and comprehend. It is with this concept in mind that we must understand the meaning of “light” in Islam.

We clearly see that this light is distinct from scripture as it is written down on pages such as 5:15, 6:91, 21:48. In 42:52 we also see that the “Book” (kitab) is actually taught to the Prophet through a spirit which God refers to as being the true light used by the Prophet to guide people.

And thus have We inspired in you a Spirit of Our command. You did not know what the Scripture was, nor the Faith. But We have made it a light (nur) whereby We guide whom We will of Our bondmen. And lo! you verily guide unto a straight path (42:52).

Now, what is this spirit and light? Because the book or scripture can be seen very visibly in its words by all people, we know that this light or spirit is not a mechanism for seeing physically. Rather it is the means by which the Prophet comprehends the Book of Allah intellectually. This connection to intellectual understanding is seen in verses where instead of describing prophets as having the book and light, it describes them as having been given the book and wisdom (hikma).

Our Lord! And raise up in their midst a Messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Your Signs, and shall instruct them in the Book and in Wisdom and purifies them. Lo! You, only You, are the Mighty, Wise (2:129).

Even as We have sent unto you a messenger from among you, who recites unto you Our Signs and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and wisdom, and teaches you that which ye knew not (2:151)

When Allah made (His) covenant with the prophets, (He said): Behold that which I have given you of the Book and wisdom. And afterward there will come unto you a messenger, confirming that which you possess (3:81).

From these verses, it is clear that the Qur’an’s essence and reality is only accessible through an intellectual power which was sent down to the prophets through a spirit. The next point of inquiry then is what really was sent down to the Prophet on the Night of Qadr?

According to popular belief, the first five ayat of Surat al-‘Alaq were sent down to the Prophet on this night.

Recite: In the Name of thy Lord who created, created Man of a blood-clot. Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the Pen, taught Man that he knew not (96:1-5).

It is important to note that the man we know as Muhammad was instantly made a Prophet and had authority over the believers the moment this took place. This means that even though the Prophet had only five verses of the scripture, he was in a position to guide the community in an absolute sense on the straight path (sirat al-mustaqim). Even when we see some of the later verses which specifically give the Prophet authority over all the believers (4:59, 4:64, 4:80, 4:83), the entire Qur’an has not yet been revealed verbally to the people. The Prophet is also said to be in possession of or having been taught the “Book” (kitab) several times in various ayat even though we know he does not reveal the final Qur’anic ayah until the end of his life.

The answer to this conundrum is made clear once again by 42:52. What the Prophet truly received was a spirit from God which is the true source of all guidance. This was what the Prophet received in its entirety on the Night of Qadr. Therefore, this light from the spirit takes precedence over all other things given to the Prophet. Within this light is the book, wisdom, and even the kingdom (mulk) which is mentioned in conjunction with some prophets (2:25). Furthermore, this means that in the absence of this spirit, there is no book, hikma or kingdom. When we see this discourse through the lens of what we know of physical light, we realize then that light of the Prophets is not words placed in their ears but rather it implies that the Prophets’ souls are brought into a frequency of energy in line with the divine frequency and this leads to the disclosure of all reality to them. This reality has been stated much more beautifully and concisely by the 14th Ismaili Imam, al-Mu‘izz, quoted in Qadi Numan’s Ta’wil al-shari‘ah as follows.

“Verily, God sent down the light [nūr] which He mentioned in the Qur’an upon the heart of Muhammad. The Prophet did not send down that divine lordly light upon the hearts of the believers because they lacked the capacity to bear it, due to the disparity between the Prophet and the believers among the common people. He only conveyed the meanings of the inspiration [waḥy] and the light – its obligations, rulings and allusions – by means of utterances composed with arranged, combined, intelligible, and audible letters. When the Prophet constructed these utterances and letters and enclosed the meanings that the inspiration contained within them, the recitation [al-qur’ān] constructed according to the light – which is the inspiration [al-waḥy] sent down [to him] – became the word of the Messenger [qawl al-rasūl]. Thus, the construction, the expressions, and the composition are due to the Prophet. Thus, it [the Qur’an] is the Speech of God [kalām Allāh] and the word of the Messenger of God [qawl rasūl Allāh].”

Imam al-Mu‘izz, in al-Qadi al-Nu‘man, Ta’wil al-shari‘ah, ed. Nadia E. Jamal, tr, Khalil Andani, “Shi‘i Ismaili Approaches to the Qur‘an: From Revelation to Exegesis”, in The Routledge Companion to the Qur‘an, edited by George Archer, Maria M. Dakake, Daniel A. Madigan, 306.


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