Voices of Islam (49 page)

The ideal of social justice and its defense is evoked in Shiite sources, with particular reference to the life of Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet. For resisting the tyrannical rule of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid, Imam Husayn and his followers were massacred at Karbala, in present-day Iraq. This event, commemorated during the first 10 days of the month of Muharram in the Muslim calendar, has central signifi ance in Imami Shiite spirituality. The martyrdom of Imam Husayn, who is called

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Sayyid al-Shuhada’
or ‘‘Lord of the Martyrs,’’ not only catalyzed the oppo- nents to Umayyad rule but also provided a focus for Shiite religious expres- sion, strengthening loyalty around the Ahl al-Bayt and their cause of restoring a pious society among the Muslims. Both Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja‘far al-Sadiq, the fifth and sixth Imams, respectively, consolidated the position of the Shi‘a and elaborated the intellectual basis of the interpretation and practice of Shiite Islam outside of the existing political order. They also acted as important reference points for the ongoing development of Shiite spirituality and religious rituals.

A distinctive aspect of Shiite theological and legal traditions, compared to those of the Sunnis, was the elevation of reason and the use of Hadith trans- mitted through their Imams. The Imamis or Twelvers, like all Shi‘a, regard independent reasoning,
ijtihad,
as a signifi nt tool in jurisprudential thought. In theology, this principle allowed Twelver Shiites to give rational principles a wide scope in the intellectual tradition. In the absence of the Imam,
ijtihad
could only be exercised by competent and qualified religious scholars. Such individuals, called
mujtahids,
became the major source of authoritative guidance on daily issues facing believers. These scholars received their training in centers where religious learning was preserved and transmitted. Known as
madrasa
s, these traditional centers of learning devel- oped in key centers where the Imami Shiite community was strong. In addi- tion to centers in Iraq, such as in Najaf and Karbala, there were also important institutions of religious learning in Iran—in Qom, Mashhad, and Isfahan—and subsequently in the Indian subcontinent. These centers trained scholars and jurists to educate and serve the Shiite community and created important networks for the preservation and continuity of Twelver Shiite learning.

While all Shi‘a share the core practices of Islam with other Muslim com- munities, distinctive ceremonies and traditions have evolved in Shiite Islam, grounded in Shi’ism’s particular set of experiences and interpretations. In addition to the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and visiting the Prophet’s tomb in Medina, Imami Shiites regard it as important to visit the tombs of the Imams and their descendants, who in Persian are known as
Imam- zadehs.
The most important of these tombs are in Najaf (the burial place of Imam ‘Ali), Karbala (the burial place of Imam Husayn), al-Kazimayn in Baghdad (the tomb of the fi and ninth Imams), Mashhad (Imam al- Rida), and Samarra (the tomb of the tenth and eleventh Imams), which is also where the twelfth Imam went into occultation. Another popular site of pilgrimage is Qom, where the sister of the eighth Imam ‘Ali al-Rida is buried. There are also holy sites in Cairo (believed to be the place where Imam Husayn’s head was kept) and Damascus (associated with Zaynab, the sister of Imam Husayn).

The commemoration of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom is of particular signifi- cance and is remembered during the month of Muharram through

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processions in which intense grief is displayed. At
majalis,
sessions devoted to the commemoration of the martyrdom of Husayn, preachers recount the events of his death in sermons known as
rawda-khani,
and prayers are offered. Believers also reenact the tragedy of Husayn and chant poems, often through elaborate dramatic performances called
ta‘ziyeh.
The events of Karbala are commemorated globally, wherever Twelver Shiite communities can be found, and are enriched by local tradition and poetry. The gathering places at which such events take place are known as
Husayniyyas
or
Imam- baras,
which consist of extensive, decorated structures adorned with images that recall the tragedy.

ISMAILI SHI‘ISM

After Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq’s death in the eighth century
CE
, those of his followers who were loyal to his eldest son Isma‘il and his descendants struggled to keep their hopes alive. The descendants of Isma‘il, the eponym of the Ismaili Shiites, lived in very hazardous circumstances in various secret localities. By the middle of the ninth century
CE
, they had settled in Salamiyya in Syria. During this period, they concealed their identity from the public and sought to consolidate and organize the widely dispersed Ismaili community. The scholars and local leaders of the Ismailis, known as
da‘is
or ‘‘Summoners,’’ maintained contact with the Imams and organized themselves into a
da‘wa,
a network of shared commitment to the Imam and intellectual values. When they emerged into the public limelight at the begin- ning of the tenth century, the Ismaili community was remarkably well organ- ized and cohesive. This community relied on a missionary network of dedicated leaders or
da‘is
(literally, ‘‘those who summon’’), who conveyed the teachings of the Ismaili Imams effectively and with great intellectual competence.

The Ismaili
da‘is
sought to extend their infl ence and forge alliances to create the foundations of a possible state under the rule of the Imam. The opportunity of laying the foundations for a state gained momentum at the beginning of the tenth century
CE
, when the Ismaili Imam of the time, ‘Abdallah, moved from Syria to North Africa. In 910
CE
, he was proclaimed
Amir al-Mu’minin
(Commander of the Believers), with the title of
al- Mahdi
(‘‘The Guided One,’’ equivalent to the idea of ‘‘The Saviour’’). The dynasty of the Ismaili Imams, who for more than two centuries reigned over an extensive empire centered in Egypt, adopted the title of
al-Fatimiyyun
(commonly rendered as Fatimids) after Fatima, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter and wife of ‘Ali, from whom the Imams were descended. The proc- lamation of Imam ‘Abdallah al-Mahdi as the first Fatimid Caliph marked the beginning of the Ismaili attempt to give a concrete shape to their vision of Shiite Islam.

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From their initial base in the present-day country of Tunisia, the Fatimids expanded their realm of influence and authority, advancing to Egypt during the reign of the fourth Fatimid Imam and Caliph al-Mu‘izz. In 973
CE
, al-Mu‘izz transferred the Fatimid capital from North Africa to the new city of
al-Qahira
(Cairo), which was founded by the Fatimids in 969
CE
. Hence- forth, Cairo became the centre of a far-fl empire, which at its peak, extended westward to North Africa, Sicily, and other Mediterranean loca- tions, and eastward to Palestine, Syria, the Yemen, and the Hijaz with its holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The Fatimid territories participated vigorously in international trade with North Africa, Nubia, the Middle East, Europe, Byzantium (Constantinople in particular), the islands of the Mediterranean, and India. Agriculture advanced to a level of general self-sufficiency; industry received active stimulus from the state and helped boost both inland and maritime trade.

It was, however, in the sphere of intellectual life that the Fatimid achieve- ment seems most brilliant and outstanding. The Fatimid rulers were lavish patrons of learning. Their encouragement of scientific research and cultural pursuits attracted the finest minds of the age to the Caliphal court in Cairo, regardless of religious persuasion. Such luminaries included mathematicians and physicists, astronomers, physicians, historians, geographers, and poets. Al-Azhar, the chief Cairo mosque built by the Imam and Caliph al-Mu‘izz and endowed by his successors, also became a great center of learning. The
Dar al-‘Ilm
(House of Knowledge), which was established in Cairo in 1005
CE
by the Imam and Caliph al-Hakim (r. 996–1021
CE
), became famous as a leading institution of learning. Its program of studies combined a range of major academic disciplines, from the study of the Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions to jurisprudence, philology and grammar, medicine, logic, math- ematics, and astronomy. This institution, with its library of over 400,000 manuscripts, was open to followers of different religions. The impact of this cultural and intellectual flowering was not limited to the Muslim world. The infl ence of the academic institutions of Cairo and other centers of Ismaili scholarship spread into Europe, contributing signifi y to the development of scientific thought and philosophy in the West.

Ismaili intellectuals of outstanding ability, such as Abu Hatim al-Razi, Abu Ya‘qub al-Sijistani, al-Qadi al-Nu‘man, Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, al-Mu‘ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi, and Nasir-i Khusraw, made significant contri- butions to the articulation of Muslim thought and to Shiite literature. They wrote extensively, employing the philosophical tools of the age, to promote a comprehensive understanding of the concepts of
tawhid
(unity of God), prophecy, and the Imamate on the basis of general Islamic and Shiite princi- ples. Nasir-i Khusraw (d. after 1072
CE
), the well-known poet-philosopher who spread Ismaili Shi‘ism in Central Asia, sought to demonstrate the rela- tionship between philosophy and prophetic wisdom, stressing the indispen- sability of prophetic wisdom for the development of human intellect. In the

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same vein, Hasan-i Sabbah (d. 1124
CE
), the founder of an Ismaili state based at the fortress of Alamut in Iran, expounded afresh the early Shiite doctrine of
ta‘lim
(literally, ‘‘education’’), the need of humankind for revelational guid- ance as interpreted by each Imam of the age.

The founding of the Fatimid Caliphate also provided the first opportunity for the promulgation of Ismaili Shiite jurisprudential principles. The Ismaili exposition of these principles was based on Imam ‘Ali’s teachings, which had been the inspiration for the doctrinal elaborations by Imams Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja‘far al-Sadiq. In light of these teachings, the Fatimid law was formulated and implemented, above all, with due deference to their univer- salistic philosophy of religious tolerance and respect for difference. The spirit of Fatimid state policy was succinctly inscribed in one of their edicts: ‘‘Each Muslim may try to find his own solution within his religion.’’ In the same spi- rit, the Fatimids encouraged the private patronage of mosques and other pious endowments by Muslims of different legal schools, their policy reflect- ing the historical fact of a plurality of pious ways rather than a monolithic interpretation of religion. For appointments in the Fatimid judiciary, as in other branches of government, merit was a primary criterion. In elevating a Sunni jurist to the position of Chief
qadi
or judge, the Imam and Caliph al- Hakim, for example, praised the appointee’s sense of justice and intellectual caliber as determining factors. The period of Fatimid rule is also noteworthy for the support and encouragement given to Christians and Jews within the state. Many Coptic and Armenian Christians as well as Jews attained impor- tant positions, and the two communities participated actively in the social, cultural, intellectual, and economic life of the larger society. The Fatimids founded this encouragement on the Qur’anic principle of respect for the
Ahl al-Kitab,
the People of the Book, which were the Christian and Jewish communities.

In the last decade of the eleventh century
CE
, the Ismaili community suf- fered a permanent schism over the question of succession to the Imam and Caliph al-Mustansir Bi’llah, who died in 1094
CE
. One section of the commu- nity recognized his younger son al-Musta‘li, who had succeeded to the Fati- mid Caliphate as the next Imam. The other faction supported al- Mustansir’s elder son and designated heir, Nizar, as the Imam. The Nizari Ismaili Imams of modern times, known under their hereditary title of the Aga Khan, trace their descent to Nizar. Today, the two Ismaili branches are the Musta‘li and Nizari, named after al-Mustansir’s sons who claimed his heritage.

The Nizari Ismailis

The seat of the Nizari Imamate moved to Iran, where the Ismailis had already succeeded, under the leadership of Hasan-i Sabbah, in establishing

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a state comprising a network of fortified settlements. With its headquarters at Alamut, in northern Iran, the Nizari state later extended to parts of Syria. Although there were continual wars among Muslims over issues of power and territory, this period of Muslim history does not paint a simple canvas of one camp fi ng another. The military situation was further complicated by the presence of the Crusaders, who were in contact with the Nizari Ismailis of Syria. Shifting alliances among all these different groups was the normal order of the times.

It was within this context of debilitating warfare among Muslims and the rising Mongol threat to the Muslim world that the Nizari Ismaili Imam Jalal al-Din Hasan (r. 1210–1221
CE
), who ruled from Alamut, embarked on a policy of rapprochement with Sunni rulers and jurists. The Sunnis reciprocated positively, and the Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir acknowledged the legitimacy of the Ismaili Imam’s rule over a territorial state. Imam Jalal al-Din’s policy, like that of his Fatimid forebears, was a practical affi mation that while differences in the interpretation of sacred texts exist among Muslims, what matters most are the overarching principles that unite them all. In these trying times of struggle, military encounters, and changing alliances, the Ismailis of the Alamut state did not forsake their intellectual and literary traditions. Their fortresses housed impressive libraries with collections of books on various religious subjects and included philo- sophical and scientifi tracts as well as scientifi equipment. Nor did the hostile environment force the Nizari Ismailis to abandon their liberal policy of patronage to men of learning, which benefited Muslim as well a non-Muslim scholars and scientists. Their settlements in Iran also served as sanctuaries for waves of refugees, irrespective of creed, who fled both local conflicts and the Mongol onslaught. Alamut finally fell to the Mongols in 1256
CE
. Subsequently, many Nizari Ismailis found refuge in Afghanistan, Transoxania in Central Asia, China, and the Indian subcontinent, where large Ismaili settlements had existed since the ninth century
CE
.