Archive of rare books and documents

Sura Hud (11), Verse 50
"O my people! worship Allah!
you have no other god but Him.
(Your other gods)
you do nothing but invent!"
More New Materials Added On August 21, 2002

RARE ISMAILI BOOKS AND COURT DOCUMENTS

Notes: There are several articles on the subject of secretive Ismaili practices and the mysterious history of the Aga Khans and their ancestors, on this web site. The majority of them are written by me - a former Ismaili. The surfers and in particular the young educated Ismailis who are seriously looking for the truth wish to have alternate views that have been published by the learned scholars, theologians and biographers of repute, before they arrive at a self satisfying final decision. In my presentation here under, I have given the insight into several rare books as well as the recorded court documents. The basic idea is to lay bare the available evidences and testimonies before they are forgotten, lost or disappear for ever. The surfers have to bear in mind the surfacing criticism, calumny or smear are the historical facts that are not penned by me. Finally, during my research I have also come across perplexing and confounding materials that have been either penned or spoken by the Aga Khans themselves and are preserved in the published records.
I have covered portions of some texts from the available publications that have copyrights by publishers so as not to infringe upon the author's copyright to the published documents.

Please visit again, Insha'Allah, more titles and texts will be added...

An excerpt from the book jacket:
"The present-day [Karim] Aga Khan claims to be the forty-ninth in direct descent from the prophet Mohammed but he owes his eminence to the arrival in Afghanistan in 1841 of Agha Khan Mehalatee, the refugee rebel chief of a Persian province, who was adopted by the British to further the cause of Empire.
In 140 years the family of Aga Khan had risen from Asian obscurity to
dizzy heights of political and social power and great wealth."

ISBN 0-437-02555-6 and 0-437301555-6, 399 pages, 1984
Published by World's Work Ltd. - Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, Great Britain
printed by The Windmill Press, Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, Great Britain.

A few excerpts from the book jacket:
"The book opens with the legendary Aga Khan III, Indian by birth, head of his people from the age of six, confident to Queen Victoria, friend of Edward VII, president of the League of Nations, and famed for his lavish life-style
and his many beautiful European wives and mistresses."

"Aga Khans III's elder son, Aly Khan, was even more flamboyant -- soldier, diplomat, businessman, horse breeder, and internationally famous playboy.
His second wife was film star Rita Hayworth, and he had notorious affairs with
Gene Tierney, Merele Oberon, Joan Fontaine and Pamela Harriman."

ISBN 0-688-08838-4, BP 195.182E.39, 346 pages, 1995
Published by Harper Collins Publishers in Great Britain and by
William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, N.Y. 10019

A few excerpts from the book jacket:
"HOW DID ALY GET THAT WAY?"
"This first full-scale biography of Aly Khan answers that questions. And others:
How closely does the myth resemble the man?
Was he really worshipped by millions as the son of "God"?
What can the rest of us learn from a life
as fabulous, frolicking, and furious as Aly's?"
The author has included nearly two dozen rare photographs of Aly

Library of Congress catalog card number: 64-11989
Random House - New York, Publication - 303 pages, 1964

This book gives the intimate details of
Prince Aly S. Khan's marriage to Joan Barbara Guinness
on May 18, 1936 in Paris
and the birth of their son Karim
on December 13, 1936 in Geneva.

First page of a five page court document
dissolving the marriage of Petitioner Thomas L. E. B. Guinness
and Respondent Joan Barbara Guinness
(formerly, The Honourable Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller).

The uncontested charges laid by the Petitioner and
recorded within the document are that his wife
Joan Barbara Guinness
"had frequently committed adultery with Prince Aly S. Khan
from the 17th day of April 1935 until the 20th day of April 1935
at the Hotel Ritz, Place Vendom, Paris, in the Republic of France."

This document from the High Court of Justice,
Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, (Divorce.)
dated 5th Day of May, 1936 has been printed by
SHAW & BLAKE, LTD., Law Stationers and Printers,
Bell Yard, Temple Bar and 37, Surrey Street,
LONDON, W.C. 2.

This Gujrati History Book by author Raza Soorti
describes in great details the life of
the dreaded Grand Master of Alamut
HASAN BIN SABBAH
and the lives of his successors.

Publishers 'APNI DUNEEYA KARYALAY'
26 Tandel Street (North), Bombay 9, India, 166 pages

Printed in the "Keyhan" Press, Avenue Ferdouci, Teheran, Iran

In the opening paragraph of 'PREFACE' the author - professor W. Ivanow, writes:

"The purpose of this publication is to give students of Ismailism a reliable idea of the terrain on which the drama of Alamut was enacted. The 170 years of the Alamut period in the history of Ismailism is of great importance for the correct understanding of the Ismaili religious and philosophical thought..." Teheran, September 1959, W. Ivanow

Below is a significantly critical passage
from page 25 under the chapter heading
I M A M S OF A L A M U T

Note: Professors Bernard Lewis and Marshall G. S. Hodgson have stated in their various works that Hasan 'ala dhikri-hi's-salam who was later recognized as the descendant of the Fatimid Imam Nizar was in reality the son of a D'ai (Missionary) named Kiya Muhammad, the Grand Master of Alamut and a successor to Hasan bin Sabbah. Here we see a confirmation of that reality within the literature published by the Ismaili Society. No doubt this book is now a rare publication!

One of the most sacred books of the Ismailis of Badakhshan,
as it remains to this day, is a shameless plain forgery.
Another sacred book known as 'Kalam-i Pir'
has nothing whatever to do with
Sayyid Nasir-i Khusraw.
Who wrote them ??

Note: There is a FARMAN (Imam's Pronouncement), by Aga Khan III instructing his followers to read the books written by Dr. A. A. A. Faizee and Professor W. Ivanow to know the Truth of his religion.

Note: No doubt al-Ghazali was a Muslim scholar but the foundation of the main and central Sunni stream of thought is not rooted in his teachings or writings.

Krishna and Ram of India were the mythological characters of the ancient Hindu Epic Tales written by the Munnies (Hindu sages). It is a falsehood and a grave blasphemy to advocate/acknowledge that the Muslims do accept Shri Krishna and Shri Rama (the mythological Hindu gods - the legendary incarnations of Lord Vishnu) as the Divinely inspired messengers of Allah alike Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the Prophets of Israel, who were historical figures. The important question is, can a misinformed individual on the subject of Islam and the Messengers of Allah be a True Guide of Muslims and claim having Allah's Noor (Light) within him?

Call it a barefaced hypocrisy or whatever you wish,
during his Imamat the author of the above text - AGA KHAN 3rd himself did
and even the present AGA KHAN 4th himself does
forgive the SINS of the AGAKHANI ISMAILIS after collecting prescribed fees.
It is an integral part of the Ismaili ritual that no Ismaili can deny.
No doubt, many Ismailis do address Karim Aga Khan as "Our Living God"!!!
"...and who can forgive sins except Allah?" Glorious Qur'an 3: 135

The title of the above book of history is
NOORUN MOBEEN
-- ALLAH'S HOLY ROPE --
The phrase "Noorun Mobeen" translates "Manifest Light"
The "Holy Rope" refers to the Genealogy of the Aga Khans from Ali (a.s.)

This voluminous book of 823 pages was printed in 1935 from Bombay, India
to commemorate the forthcoming celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of
AGA KHAN THE THIRD (1877 - 1957)

Note: In 1936, Aga Khan the third highly recommended his followers to own a copy of this important book of history of their forty-eight Imams. His successor Aga Khan the fourth, instructed his leaders to withdrawn this book from the circulation.

May be the following two pages from this rare book give out the clues.

Above is a scanned passage from page four of 'Noorun Mobeen'.

In the underlined first text, the author claims that there are
nearly 400 Verses within the Glorious Qur'an,
revealed in the majesty (glory) of Hadhrat Ali (a.s.).
In the underlined second text, the author claims
that a learned Sunni scholar Allamah Jalaludin Siyyuti
has acknowledged that there are 300 such Verses.
The difference of 100 Verses
between these two records questions the veracity of both these records.

For the information of the surfers the name of Hadhrat Ali (a.s.)
does not appear for once in the Glorious Qur'an.

The author claims that the Glory of Hadhrat Ali (a.s.) is also recorded in
the Injeel (the New Testament) and the Tawrat (the Old Testament).
The name of Hadhrat Ali does not appear in the Holy Bible.

These printed enigmatic historical records, recommended by the late 48th Imam,
prove that the Agakhani Ismailis living during the Imamat of the 48th Imam
were totally gullible. And, the Ismaili authors, Missionaries and the Imam
of the era had taken full advantage of their ignorance and blind faith.

This must read book of 440 pages was first published in 1953
by the famous Oriental Rare Bookseller and Publisher
LUZAC & CO., of 46 Great Russell Street, London, England WC1B-3PE
The second edition was published some twenty-five years later in 1979.

To read more on the Ismaili beliefs for Pilgrimage (Hajj),
Almsgiving (Zakat), Religious War (Jihad),
Eschatology (Cycles of rebirths and Salvation) etc., etc.,
obtain a copy of this book from your
university library, the rare book dealers or the re-printers.

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton
had intimately known the personalities and religious activities of
Aga Khan the First, who had helped the British Raj for the sake of his pension.
A must read book for those who wish to know the roots of the Aga Khan Dynasty

Important Note: A vast majority of the Agakhani Ismailis are unaware of the fact that Aga Khan the First had written his auto biography entitled 'Ibrat Afza', mentioned above by the author. In this autobiography, the Aga Khan has recorded the fact that he was a devout Shi'a Ithna'Ashri and practiced the rituals of that faith with dedications. It is noteworthy to read above: "The Shi'a sects soon equated their Imams with God Himself...". I have not reproduced the page number 123.

The later half of this page is not reproduced...
Please obtain a copy from your library.

Insha'Allah, more titles and documents will be added...
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