Ismailis

I

Introduction

Ismailis, sect of Shia Muslims, most important politically from the 10th to the 13th century. The Ismailis emerged from a dispute in 765 over the succession to Jafar al-Sadiq, whom Shia Muslims acknowledged as the sixth imam (spiritual successor to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam). The dispute centered on which of Jafar’s two sons was the seventh imam. The majority of Shia accepted a son named Musa as the seventh imam. Other Shia felt that a son named Ismail, who had died before his father, was the imam instead. This group became known as Ismailis and also as Seveners, because they originally accepted only 7 imams, rather than the 12 who were recognized by the majority of Shia (see Shia Islam).

II

Beliefs

The followers of Ismail and his son Muhammad believed that Ismail had not died but was hidden by his father Jafar to protect him. Hiding of an imam, thought to be a pious deception, is part of the Ismaili doctrine of taqiyya or tactical dissimulation (concealment) of religious beliefs at times when it is dangerous to openly practice them. Ismailis believe that Ismail will reappear to usher in the end of the world and establish truth and justice.

Although Ismailis subscribe to basic doctrines of Sunni Islam, the predominant branch of Islam, they also accept Shia belief in the infallibility and sinlessness of imams. In addition, they maintain esoteric (hidden) teachings for the initiated and believe that the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam, has esoteric interpretations beyond its overt meanings. Ismailis feel that the esoteric knowledge (batin in Arabic) was passed from Jafar to Ismail. Because of their emphasis on this knowledge, the Ismailis are sometimes called Batinis.

The religious worldview of Ismailis developed in the 9th and 10th centuries under the influence of Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, two esoteric movements that flourished in the Middle East. Like them, the Ismailis advance a belief in the creation of the universe by a process of cyclical emanations from God. Ismailis also share certain beliefs with the Druze, who arose in the 11th century from heterodox (unorthodox) Ismaili practices.

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III

History

In the 8th century Ismailis were forced into practicing their religion secretly by the Sunni Muslim majority in the Middle East. During the 9th century they formed a missionary movement (dawa) that spread their version of Islam. An Ismaili state in eastern Arabia arose from rebellion against the Sunni caliphate (leadership and realm) after 890. The rebels followed an Iraqi peasant leader named Hamdan Qarmat and so came to be called the Qarmatians. The Qarmatians are most famous for attacking Mecca, the holiest city of Islam, in 930 and keeping the sacred Black Stone (given by the angel Gabriel to Abraham, according to Islam) from the sacred shrine, or Kaaba, in their possession until 951.

Another Ismaili group, led by Ubayd Allah who claimed descent from imam Muhammad, captured parts of North Africa in the 10th century with assistance from Berber troops. They established an Ismaili state with its capital at Cairo and named the caliphate after the prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. The Fatimids, who ruled from 969 to 1171, developed a vibrant culture that extended along the Mediterranean coast into Syria.

A splinter group of Ismailis, called the Nizaris after their leader al-Nizar, arose from a regional dispute in the 11th century. Forced to flee from Egypt, they established strongholds in the mountains of northern Iran. The Nizaris had a group of religious warriors (fidais) who resisted the Seljuk dynasty, which then ruled Iran, through public murders of prominent Sunnis (see Seljuks). Christian crusaders and travelers such as Marco Polo encountered the Nizaris, heard Seljuk tales of Nizaris using hashish, and rendered the Seljuk designation of that sect—hashishiyyun—into European languages as assassin (see Assassins). In time, the word assassin came to be associated with political murder. In 1256 the Nizari strongholds in Iran were destroyed by the Mongol army under the command of Hulagu. Ismailis survived in small numbers.

Ismailis regained prominence as a mercantile community in Iran during the 19th century. The Nizari Ismaili leader moved the group’s headquarters during the 1840s from Iran to India, which already had an Ismaili community. Since that time the Nizari sect has been led by the Aga Khans. Karim Aga Khan in 1957 became Aga Khan IV.

Several other Ismaili sects also are based in India. The Bohras, also known as the Mustali Ismailis, derive from early Hindu converts to Ismailism who split from the Nizaris in 1094. The Bohras themselves split around 1600 into a majority Daudi and a minority Sulaymani subsect. Both splits resulted from disputes over succession of communal leadership. The Daudi Bohra leadership has its headquarters in Mumbai (formerly Bombay); the Sulaymani leadership, in Mumbai and Boroda. Yet another Ismaili group, the Khojas, is of Indian origin. The Khojas separated from the Aga Khan’s group over a property dispute in 1866.

Members of Ismaili communities spread from Iran and India to Pakistan, Yemen, and East Africa as a result of commerce. They have since migrated to Europe, North America, and Australia as well. Today, there are more than 2 million Ismailis worldwide.

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