Nizari

This chapter, except for the section on the Hazaras in the early Ismaili literature, has already been published under the title of ‘The Shi‘a Ismaʿili Da‘wat in Khurasan: From Its Early Beginning to the Ghaznawid Era’, at the Journal of Shʿia Islamic Studies, 2015, Vol. VIII, No. 1, pp. 37-59. In several qaṣīdas of his dīwān (1956), Farrukhī praises Sulṭān Maḥmūd Ghaznawī as the King of Zāwulistān. For further details see, Baiza, Y. (2014) The Hazaras of Afghanistan and their Shiʿa Orientation. Morgan also states that Yaʿqūb Ṣaffār “incorporated the Kharijites into his forces on terms favourable to them and then extended his power both eastwards into modern Afghanistan and westwards into Persia” (Morgan, 1988:20). The land of ancient Sīstān included Kashmīr in the east, Sindh in the south, Kirmān in the west, and Asfzār or Aspzār (the Sabzwār or the Shīndand of modern-day Hirāt province of Afghanistan) in the north. The Ṭāhirids were natives of Bādghīs, a north-western province of modern-day Afghanistan. It is worth highlighting that the term dāʿī in the Ismaili history is widely connected with the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa school. The Fatimid caliphs-imams developed the daʿwa into a highly organized system and disciplined school, in which the term dāʿī also referred to a specific rank in the Fatimid religious hierarchy. However, prior to the Fatimid caliphate, the term dāʿī was equally applicable to those who summoned people towards the Ismaili imams of the time.…

Assassins (from Arabic: أساسيون‎ Asasiyun) is the name used to refer to the medieval Nizari Ismailis. Often characterized as a secret order led by a mysterious "Old Man of the Mountain", the Nizari Ismailis were an Islamic sect that formed in the late 11th century from a split within Ismailism, itself a branch of Shia Islam. In time, the Nizaris began to pose a military threat to Sunni Seljuq authority within their territories by capturing and inhabiting many unconnected mountain fortresses…

The significance of Imamat in Shia Islam differs from the role of Imams in different communities such as the Sunni tradition. In particular, the Nizari Ismaili have a living Imam (The Aga Khan) which is a unique historical and religious figure. The community believes the Imam is their chief interpreter and sole authority (Islamic Monthly Para.8). Moreover, there is an important emphasis placed on the intellect in the community’s tradition, as well as the idea of ‘masum’ (freedom from sin). This…

far as India. An important thought to this is that contrary to popular misconception, certain branches of Islam do not promote forced conversion but prefer the longer and more intricate process of convincing potential converts through simple sharing, this only partially applies to the organized conversions. The Ismaili sect also borrowed conversion mechanisms and methods from the Hashimites who promoted spreading of religion through the usage of missionaries. India is an interesting case study…

that Orientalized the Orients. Islam was also put into question since it played a great role in shaping the idea of Orientalism. Islam for the West is a religion that came “to symbolize terror, devastation, the demonic hordes of hated barbarians. For Europe Islam was a lasting trauma” (Said 59) and this is view is what we see today as Islamo-phobia. The West constructs everything that is said about the Orient either in the past or as we see today. The Orients are lustful, violent, and lazy… in…

called the Ismailis. However, the other group who were the Ismailis detractor coalesced and had supported the younger son of Jafar, Musa to be the rightful Imam. As a result, this controversy divided the Shia into sub-groups, which labeled them into several names such as the Ithna Ashari, the Twelver Shia and the Ismaili, who were ruling Egypt, the Fatimid. In the latter eleventh century, the Fatimid states began to decline which resulted in dividing the Ismaili into further sub-groups. One of…

took over the kingdom of Khwarizm and fought Ogedei Khan’s armies. Soon Ogedei had won and had conquered other lands surrounding the Khwarizmian Kingdom. The first Ilkhan, or khan, was Hulagu Khan, the brother of Mongke and Kublai Khan. He was sent to Syria to destroy the Muslim Kingdoms all the way to the border of Egypt. Soon he was in a massive battle with the Syrians. The christian Crusaders and Muslims in Syria had always been fighting amongst themselves. But when they saw the huge Mongol…