Who or what are Ismaili Shias & the Aga Khanees? O Allah! [1:5] You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help. [1:6] Take us on the straight path. Introduction “Aga Khan” is nothing but an honorific title bestowed upon a person around 1818! This title and thereby the ascription (Aga Khanees) to the followers neither tells the full story nor gives enough of a background for a laymen (Muslim) to make up his (or her) mind about this group. In order to understand this group we need to understand a brief synopsis of their history throughout the ages, examine their creed, acts (and methods of worship) in order to arrive at a reasonable conclusion about their place in Islam. Imamah: A central concept of Shia religion: The primary and fundamental split between Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah and Shia is over the concept of Imamah after the passing away of Nabi (Sallalaho Alaihe Wassallam). Shaykh (Mufti) Taha Karaan (HA) on the concept of Imamah: In the English language we have found the most detailed and comprehensive Academic discussion on the subject to be from Shaykh (Mufti) Taha Karaan (HA) and we urge readers to review the material. He (HA) writes about the Shias: Essentially, Imâmah is about leadership of the Ummah after the demise of Rasûlullâh sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam. The Shî‘ah believe that just as Allâh chose Muhammad sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam as His Messenger to mankind, he chose and appointed a line of twelve men to succeed him as the leaders of the Ummah in all matters, spiritual as well as temporal. The first of these leaders, or Imâms as they are called, was ‘Alî ibn Abî Tâlib radiyallâhu ‘anhu. He was succeeded by his eldest son Hasan, and he by his brother Husayn. After Husayn the Imâmah continued in his progeny until the year 260AH, when the twelfth Imâm, a child of five, disappeared upon the death of his father. He is believed to be the Awaited Mahdî who will return from occultation to establish justice upon the earth. To these twelve men from amongst the family of Rasûlullâh sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam alone belongs the right to assume leadership of the Ummah. There are two aspects to Imâmah that need to be looked at with attention. The first is the nature of the appointment of the Imâms, and the second is the nature of their office. The nature of the appointment of the Twelve Imâms: As far as the nature of their appointment is concerned, it is a matter of consensus amongst the Shî‘ah that the right of their twelve Imâms to lead the Ummah was bestowed by Allâh Ta‘âlâ Himself. No distinction is made between the appointment of Muhammad sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam as the Messenger of Allâh and the appointment of the twelve Imâms as his successors. Underscoring this vital aspect of Imâmah, ‘Allâmah Muhammad Husayn Àl Kâshif al-Ghitâ, who was the most prominent Shî‘î ‘âlim of Najaf in Iraq during the seventies, writes in his book Asl ash-Shî‘ah wa-Usûluhâ: Imâmah is a divine station, just like Nubuwwah. Just as Allâh chooses whomsoever He wants to for Nubuwwah and Risâlah ... similarly, for Imâmah too, He selects whomsoever He wishes. The nature of the office of the Imâms: On this point it would be sufficient to say that the Shî‘ah bestow upon their Imâms all the perfections and accomplishments of the Ambiyâ’, and even more. It would be impossible to document here all the narrations that deal with the status of the Imâms, but it might be just as informative to quote the chapters under which they have been documented in a source that is described as a veritable encyclopaedia of the knowledge of the Imâms: Bihâr al-Anwâr of ‘Allâmah Muhammad Bâqir al-Majlisî (died 1111AH), widely reputed to be the greatest and most influential Shî‘î scholar of the Safawid era. During his lifetime he occupied the office of Shaykh al-Islâm in Isfahan, capital of the Safawids, and even to this day his works are indispensable to the Shî‘î clergy as well as their lay public. We quote here the name of the chapter, as well as the number of narrations he documents in each chapter: 1 The Imâms possess more knowledge than the Ambiyâ’ (13 narrations) 2 The Imâms are superior to the Ambiyâ’ and the entire creation. The Covenant of the Imâms was taken from them (the Ambiyâ’), the Malâ’ikah and the entire creation. The (major prophets called) ulul-‘Azm (Nûh, Ibrâhîm, Mûsâ and ‘Isâ ) attained the status of ulul-‘Azm on account of loving the Imâms. (88 narrations) 3The du‘âs of the Ambiyâ’ were answered because they invoked the wasîlah of the Imâms. (16 narrations) 4 The Imâms can bring the dead back to life. They can cure blindness and leprosy. They possess all the miracles of the Ambiyâ’ (4 narrations) 5 Nothing of the knowledge of Heaven, Earth, Jannah and Jahannam is hidden from them. The Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth was shown to them. They know all that happened and that will happen upto the Day of Resurrection. (22 narrations) 6 The Imâms know the truth of a persons faith or hypocrisy. They possess a book that contains the names of the inmates of Jannah, the names of their supporters and their enemies. (40 narrations) Ismaili Shia on the concept of Imamah: The historical underpinning for this vision of Islam is based on the cardinal principle of Shiʿite belief that, after the death of the Prophet Moḥammad, his cousin and son-in-law, ʿAli (q.v.), became Imam following a specific designation (naṣṣ) made by the Prophet, based on divine command, before his death (see ḠADIR ḴOMM). Shiʿite historical understanding thus locates itself within a framework of interpretation supported by Qurʾanic verses and Prophetic Hadith. The institution of the Imamate is to continue thereafter on a heredity basis through ʿAli and his wife, Fāṭema (q.v.), the Prophet’s daughter, succession being based on designation by the Imam of the time. Adherence to the doctrine of the Imamate as a pillar of faith meant not only acceptance of, but also devotion to, the legitimate successors of the Prophet. The Imamate is therefore linked to the concept of welāya, devotion to the Imams. The two major branches of the Ismaʿilis, the Nezāris and the Mostaʿlis, affirm a shared belief in the Imamate, but give allegiance to different lines of Imams. The Nezāri Ismaʿilis believe in the physical presence of a living Imam, who for them today is Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam in direct descent from the Prophet through ʿAli and Fāṭema. The Mostaʿlis believe that their 21st Hidden Imam went into physical concealment around 524/1130; while the Imamate continues in his line, in his physical absence authority is fulfilled by a vicegerent who acts on his behalf. At present this role is held by the 52nd dāʿi (q.v.), Sayyednā Borhān-al-Din (b. 1333/1915) who leads the Dāʾudi Ṭayyebi Bohras, while a smaller Solay-māni Bohra community found in Yemen is headed by their 51st dāʿi, ʿAbdallāh b. Moḥammad (Daftary, pp. 353-57). From Shia to Ismaili Shia: In order to eventually understand Aga Khanees you need to understand the splits within Shiaism so here is a concise history: 1 1st Imam: Sayyidina Ali (RA) is considered to be the first Imam by the Shias. 2 2nd Imam: Sayyidina Hasan (RA) is accepted by Twelver Shias as a permanent Imam while Ismaili (Aga Khanees & Bohras) consider him to be operational Imam while his brother Sayyidina Hussain (RA) to be the actual Imam. For the sake of brevity we will overlook the (minor) creedal differences and accept him as the second Imam of the Shia. 3 3rd Imam: Sayyidina Hussain (RA) First Split in the Shias: 4 Fourth Imam: Sayyidina Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (RA) who was the son of Sayyidina Hussain (RA) was accepted to be the Imam by a group 4 Fourth Imam: The Hashmi/Kaysani Shia group split up and declared the son of Sayyidina Ali (RA) from another wife Sayyidina Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (RA) to be their Imam. The Abbasid Caliphate comes from this blood lineage. However the Shias regard them to be traitors by accepting Sunni Islam and since they were Sunni Muslims the Shias remained bitterly at odds with them throughout their reign. Second Split in the Shias: Those who had elected Sayyidina Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (RA) as the 4th Imam split further after his death. 5 Fifth Imam: A group elected Sayyidina Muhammad al-Baqir (RA) as their Imam. 5 Fifth Imam: A splinter (violent) group elected his Brother Sayyidina Zayd ibn Ali (RA) as the Imam and these became the Zaydee Shias and their history takes a different course (i.e. different sets of Imams). Third Split in the Shias: Those who had elected Sayyidina Muhammad al-Baqir (RA) had a elected a sixth Imam: 6 Sixth Imam: Sayyidina Ja`far ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (RA) Shias believe that Sayyidina Ja`far ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (RA) had appointment his son Sayyidina Ismail ibn Jafar (RA) to be his successor in his lifetime but as fate would have it, he died during the lifetime of Sayyidina Ja`far ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (RA). A group of Shias believe that Sayyidina Mûsâ ibn Ja‘far al-Kâdhim (RA) the third son was then appointed by Sayyidina Ja`far ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (RA) as a successor. However a group of Shias believed that the original succession still held (valid) and therefore decided to accept the son of their Imam so here is the split on the seventh Imam: 7 Seventh Imam: Sayyidina Mûsâ ibn Ja‘far al-Kâdhim (RA) i.e. the successor after the death of Sayyidina Ismail ibn Jafar (RA) was accepted as Imam and this group became Twelver Shias 7 Seventh Imam: Sayyidina Muhammad ibn Ismail (RA) the minor (underage) son of Sayyidina Ismail ibn Jafar (RA) was then as the successor because this group of Shias believed that the Imams (due to being infallible) cannot make an error and if the father has passed away then the son must succeed him and the original order of succession cannot be rescinded and this group became Ismaili Shias (the sub group Aga Khanees of our time is from this group) since the split is over the 7th Imam this group is also called Seveners. Politically this line gave rise to Fatimid Shia dynasty. The present day (Aga Khanees) consider Cairo to be settled by their ancstors through this link to Fatimid Shia dynasty. Here is an Interview with of Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV in which he asserts his (ancestral) connection to Cairo
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 01:35:17 +0000
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