The Ismaili Imams Pdf

[Michael]

QuarterlyJournal

of the

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUTVol. XXI. Nos. 1 2

Edited byMAHMUD GHULTHE HIDDEN IMAMS OF THE ISMAILISSami N.Makarem

The names of the Isma'ili hidden Imams have been subject to much research and speculation. (1) This is because of the secrecy with which these names were always surrounded. This secrecy was due, at first, to the fear of these Imams from the'Abbasid government. The Ismaili Imams of that period were too cautious to disclose their true names; instead "they assumed names, other than their own, and used for themselves esoterically names denoting the rank of proofs (Hujjats) (2) ."(3) They "went into hiding," as al-Mu'izz says in a letter to one of his da'is in Sind, "and the da'is to protect them, called them by nicknames, choosing ones which would fit them."(4) Even though the time of fear of the ' Abbasids was no longer in existence, and the hidden Imams had long passed away, the Fatimids were insistent not to divulge or try to divulge, the names of those who had been the hidden Imams during the 'Abbasids. They seemed to insist in keeping these names a secret perhaps in order to give their followers an additional aura of secrecy which would enhance the sanctity of the movement, or because the real names of these hidden Imams were too complicated to be clarified. Other possible reasons for the Fatimids' keeping the real names of the hidden Imams a secret were stated by Husayn F. al-Hamdani. Dr. al-Hamdani is inclined to attribute this secrecy to the fact that:

The Fatimid Caliph-Imams purposely avoided discussing the matter of their ancestry, which was seldom known even to high ranking dignitaries of their hierarchy or to their confidants. It was a preconceived plan to keep their genealogy a top secret, due to the intricate and dark passages it passed through and due to contradictions involved in the adoption of assumed names. It was also politically inexpedient to discuss questions which might have resulted in long-drawn controversies, attacks and counter-attacks. Having firmly established their Empire, they could afford to practice scornful silence. (5)

It is interesting to note that although the Fatimid Imam al-Mu'izz, in one of his letters to his da'i of Sind, made it a point to refute the idea that the hidden Imams were not direct descendants of Fatima, he did not even try to disclose the real names of those hidden Imams. (6)

This secrecy led to much confusion and made it too hard a task to establish the real names of the hidden Imams. However, fortunately enough, some Isma'ili sources did not retain complete silence concerning this matter. Although these sources are not in full agreement about the hidden Imams' real names, one can, by carefully studying these sources, draw near the truth.

In his book al-Fara'id wa Hudud ad-Din, Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (flourished ca. 380/990) (7) includes a report(8) on a letter sent by 'Abdallah al- Mahdi, the first Fatimid Caliph, to Yemen in which the Caliph supposedly reveals the real names of the hidden imams. If al-Mahdi's letter is authentic, as the editor, Dr. al-Hamdani tends to believe,(9)it is one of the oldest documents that have come to light until now, and, consequently a most reliable document, especially because it was written by the Caliph al-Mahdi himself.

Unlike the usual Isma'ili account(10) that ascribes the Imamate after Ja'far ibn Muhammad to his son Isma'il, this letter tells us that the Imam after Ja'far ibn Muhammad was rather his son 'Abdallah who was later given his brother's name, Isma'il as an assumed name.(11) After him his son Muhammad became Imam and assumed the name of Muhammad ibn Isma'il(12). Then came his son 'Abdallah, followed by the latters son Ahmad, followed in turn by Ahmad's son Muhammad. (13) The report goes on to say, "Then Muhammad ibn Ahmad appointed his nephew and vested in him, by God's preference, the whole Affair.(14) [The nephew] styled himself as Sa'id ibn al-Husayn. The da'wa was directed in his name for some time. When he came to power he proclaimed his position and styled himself as 'Abdallah. He is therefore our master 'Abdallah who is the Imam, may God bless him."(15) The report says later that the real name of this Sa'id ibn al-Husayn (i.e. 'Abdallah al-Mahdi) is 'Ali ibn al-Husayn. (16) is father, i.e. al-Husayn is, as has been shown above, the third hidden Imam's brother. This third hidden Imam, as we shall see later, also assumed the name of al- Husayn, his brother's name. (However, the fact that al-Husayn was called a brother of this third hidden Imam does not necessarily prove that he was a physical brother. Spiritual parenthood was often practiced among the Ismailis).(17)

The fact that Ali ibn al-Husayn (i.e. 'Abdallah al-Mahdi), who was also called Sa'id, is a nephew of the Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad is of great significance. It means that he was not a real Imam, because the Imamate must necessarily be given only to a son. He therefore must have been what was later known in Isma'ilism as a Thistee Imam (mustawda), acting on behalf of a real one (mustaqarr).(18) The Mustaqarr Imam, as we shall see later(19), was 'Ali ibn Muhammad, then his son Abul-Qasim Muhammad ibn Ali, known as al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah. According to Ja'far ibn Mansur al- Yaman's report, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah appeared together with 'Ali ibn al-Husayn (i.e. 'Ab- dallah al-Mahdi). The report reads:

Together with him .(i.e. 'Abdallah al-Mahdi) appeared Our Master Abul-Qasim, God's blessings be on them both. His name was Muhammad. Thus the indication to al-Qa'im [son of] (20) al-Mahdi, Muhammad ibn' Abdallah Abul-Qasim, the Imam awaited for the glory of the state of true religion and for the holy war behind the banners of the faithful, was materialized (21).

With him (i.e. al-Mahdi) was the Imam al-Qaim bi-Amr Allah, Muhammad ibn 'Abdallah who is entitled to the Caliphate after him, and in his favor the Call of all the Imams (da'wat al-awliya was carried on. According to the ruling of custody, al-Mahdi Billah was his custodian pointing his high rank to his followers.(23)

This shows that al-Qa'im was the real Imam, while al-Mahdi, the first Fatimid Caliph, was only a thistee one; hence the latter could not be the physical father of the former. In Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman's report and in the passage just quoted from Idris 'Imad ad-Din's, the name 'Abdallah could not therefore denote that al-Qa'im was the physical son of Abdallah al-Mahdi himself. Now the question is, whose son could al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah be? In his book, Ghayat al-Mawalid, the Isma'ili Yemenite da'i al-Khattab ibn Hasan (d. ca. 533/1138)(24) says:

When light came out in Yemen and the country of al-Maghrib, God's lieutenant over His land, 'Ali ibn al-Husayn, God's blessing be upon him, left for the country of al-Maghrib. On his way there he passed away after he had asked his Proof (hujja) Sa'id, nicknamed al-Mahdi, to succeed him, may God's peace be on him.. ..

When al-Mahdi was about to pass away he handed the Deposit (i.e. the Imamate) over to its real locus, Muhammad ibn 'Ali, al-Qa'im bi- Amr Allah. The latter assumed if, and it continued in his progeny, may God's peace be on him.(25)

Then the Imam, the Master of the time, took off for al-Maghrib. Al- Mahdi was in his entourage. During his joumey he passed away after he had appointed his brother Sa'id al-Khayr and made him custodian and thistee for his son. Sa'id al-Khayr undertook [the son's] custody and assumed the title of Imam by order of the one who had appointed him such, so that he may veil the lieutenant of God and conceal his rank from his followers until the time would come for him to appear and for his light to break forth. [Sa'id] ordered the functionaries to abide by that and to proclaim him the rising sun so that he may act as a veil for the lieutenant of God, his son, who was to assume [the Imamate] after him. Except for the good chosen devoted pure ones who had had knowledge of God's mystery concerning His lieutenants and who had known what has been revealed to them by His devotees, no one was informed of this. God's secret behind this was kept concealed until the time came and the da'is established the da'wa and indicated their true Imam to whom they had been ordered to point. They revealed his supremacy to their followers, directed the call for him, and announced the rise of the sun from the West. They heralded the approach of the Day of Doom after the sun had risen from behind its concealing veils. (26)

Now, al-Qa'is father, whose name was 'Ali, must have been the son of Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Therefore Muhammad ibn Ahmad must have taken the name of his so-called brother al-Husayn, as an assumed name. This is also stated by a later Ismaili scholar, Ibn Zahra (flourished in the beginning of the 1Oth/16th century) (27) who says in his book, al-Usul wal-Ahkam, that the names of the hidden Imams (after Muhammad ibn Isma'il) are the following: Abdallah ibn Muhammad,(28) Ahmad [ibn 'Abdallah] and Husayn [ibn Ahmad].(29) The latter's real name, as we have seen above is Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Idris Imad ad-Din, who also confirms these names,adds to them, the following titles respectively: ar-Radi, at-Taqi and al-Muqtada al-Hadi.(30) A third Ismaili scholar, Hasan ibn Nuh (d. 939/1533)(31) though he agrees with the previous sources, gives the third Imam a different title, namely az-Zaki.(32) However, a Nizari Ismaili prayer book, entitled Du'a, lists the hidden Imams as being: Wafi Alhmad, Taqi Muhammad and Radi ad-Din Abd- allah. (33) Also in his poem, Qasida-i dhurriyye,(34) the Persian Ismaili scholar, Khaki Khurasani (flourished in the 11th/17th century)(35) gives the same list of the above mentioned prayer book (the third Imam's title though is Radi, not Radi ad-Din, and is name is omitted). Those Imams must then be respectively Abdallah ibn Muhammad, Ahmad ibn Abdallah and al-Husayn ibn Ahmad(36) (whose real name was Muhammad ibn Ahmad).

Here we cannot ignore an interesting work, entitled Istitar al-Imam, attributed to Ahmad ibn Ibrahim (or ibn Muhammad) an-Naysaburi (flourished towards the end of the 4th/10th century and the beginning of the next, under al-Aziz and al-Hakim).(37) Although this work does not mention the decease of Imam Ali ibn Muhammad (known as Ali ibn al-Husayn), i.e. al-Qa'im's father, on his way to al-Maghrib, it clearly attributes to him the title of al-Mahdi, and gives us more information about the hidden Imams. The passage which concerns us here is the following: (38)

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