A HISTORY OF THE AGAKHANI ISMAILIS

(Section Four)

Continued from Section Three

THE THIRD PHASE OF PROSELYTIZATION

A radical transformation

 As we have seen during the second phase of proselytization, the Khojah Sunni Muslims were converted to Khojah Shi`ah Ithna'ashries. The third phase started when Aga Khan III began making Farmans to his followers and prescribing his own formulas.

 We learn from the autobiography of Aga Khan I, historical records and court documents that the ancestors of Aga Khan III were Sufi Ithna'ashris. They had introduced the faith of their ancestors to the converts of Pir Sadr- din. The proselytized Sunni Khojahs were now following the rituals of Shi'ah Ithna'ashriyya Tariqah. But, the concept of Imamah (for the first Imam 'Ali) was that of 'Ali-un-Waliy- Allah (meaning, 'Ali is the beloved of Allah) and not of 'Ali Sahi Allah (meaning, 'Ali is truly Allah).  Aga Khan I was respected and revered by his followers as a Sufi Master, who are often called in India “Pirji” or “Pir Salamut,” and after the Khojah Case, as an Imam in the Ithna'ashriyya sense (similar to the late Ayatollah Khomeini). Since the Aga Khan had claimed his descent from Prophet's daughter, he was also given the honour that is normally bestowed upon every other Sayyid by a Muslim.

   Aga Khan I used to receive the Dassondh, very similar to the Khums received today by the Ithna'ashri Aqas in Persia and Iraq, from the Khojah Ithna'ashries. At a court hearing in 1905 (p. 432), the offerings to the Aga Khans was remarked as very similar in many respects to “Peter's Pence,” which had been offered to the Popes for so many years.

  Khojah Ismailis used to recite their Namaz (Salah) facing Mecca, read the Qur'an, attend the Majlises of Muharram and recite the Qissahs and Bayyans (narrations and tales) of the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn, during the month of Muharram in the Jama`at khanas.
 Willi Frischauer writes in The Aga Khans (p. 50):

 The Aga Khan [the first] took his religious duties very seriously, visited the jamatkhana, the Ismaili religious centre, on all holy days and led the community in prayer on the anniversary of Hazrat Huseyn's martyrdom, presiding over the ritual distribution of water mixed with the holy dust of Kerbela.

“Petit prince cheri”

In April 1881, Aga Khan I died in Bombay and his son became the next Imam. Aga Khan II's Imamate lasted for a brief period of four years. During that period a school for Khojah children was opened in Bombay. His interests in life were horse breeding, racing, and big- game hunting. Aga Khan II died in August 1885. Like his father, he was a devout Ithna'ashri. Aga Khan III recorded in his Memoirs that his father died in Poona but his body was sent to Iraq, at his own request, to be buried at Nejaf on the west bank of the Euphrates, near the tomb of Imam 'Ali, one of the holiest places on earth for the Shi'ahs.

   After the death of Aga 'Aly Shah (Aga Khan II), his young widow, Shams al-Muluk, who was popularly known among the British circles as Lady 'Aly Shah, the mother of a child of eight, became a sort of trustee and a behind- the-scenes acting leader of the Khojahs. Aga Khan III, the forty-eight Imam, was yet petit prince cheri and his uncle Aga Jangi Shah was appointed as his guardian.

  Lady 'Aly Shah was very strict and a dedicated Ithna'ashri lady. She always wore a chador (Hijab). She was deeply versed in Persian and Arabic literature. Every night, the child would go to his mother's apartments and join with her in prayer whose religion was resolutely practical, records Aga Khan. It was Lady `Aly Shah's desire that she should die in Iraq and be buried in Nejaf, near Kerbala. Following a serious illness in January, she was sent to Baghdad, where she died on February 5, 1938 and was buried next to the tomb of her husband.

   Dumasia records, Aga Khan III wrote to his friend: “No loss, not even that of my son who died in infancy which was a terrible blow to me as a father, has been quite so terrible as this.” The Aga Khan dedicated his book 'India in Transition' to his mother.

“Relentlessly was I held on the chain” — Aga Khan

   The strict discipline to which, at the age of eight, the new Imam was subjected was rigid, and even the little free time that he was allowed was subject to invasion by followers who brought him gifts, etc. In return they received thanks, blessings, and benedictions — but as a child he resented the fact that they came during the small amount of free time allowed by the curriculum and never, never during lesson time, records Aga Khan in his Memoirs (p. 12). 

  The young prince grew up feeling a deep frustration with “the typical and unchanging pattern” of his life, and expressed them in these words:

“There was no room for a holiday for me, a month, a fortnight, even a week off the chain; at the most a rare day. And relentlessly was I held on the chain.”

Aga Khan's hatred for Ithna'ashri Maulvis 

  Aga Khan developed a hatred for the strict regimentation he was subjected to by his mother and uncles. As he grew up, he developed the same resentment for the religious training he was subjected to, as well as for his tutors (the Ithna'ashri Maulvis) and their philosophy. Here are a few extracts from his Memoirs (pp. 12 and 18):

 Thereafter I had three hours' instruction in Arabic....After dinner came the horror of horrors. I was set down to two hours of calligraphy of the dreariest and most soul-destroying kind. My mother had been impressed by the advice — the foolish advice as it turned out — of Arabic and Persian scholars and pedants, who had assured her that calligraphy in the classical Persian and Arabic scripts was of the highest importance....My mother, my uncles, and everyone else in our household united in compelling me to this horrible calligraphy. It was in fact a very real martyrdom for me....
    Then I would have to go back to my gloomy treadmill and hear my tutor cursing and railing as was his habit. Since he was a Shia of the narrowest outlook he concentrated his most ferocious hatred not on non-Muslims, not even on those who persecuted the Prophet, but on the caliphs and companions of the Prophet....
    This form of Shiaism attains its climax during the month of Moharram with its lamentations and its dreadful cursings. Reaction against its hatred, intolerance, and bigotry has, I know, coloured my whole life, and I have found my answer in the simple prayer that God in His infinite mercy will forgive the sins of all Muslims, the slayers and the slain....

  In 1899, the petit prince, who was now twenty- two, got his first opportunity to address his Jama'at in Africa. He was no longer “held on the chain.” His childhood hatred was now vented in Zanzibar on 13 July in the following Farman:

 Within ten, twenty or thirty years, the Ithna'ashri religion will be worn out. After 100 years the Ithna'ashri religion will not exist at all. It will not exist in Iran either because that religion's base is not on Aq'l [the power of reasoning]. Our religion's base is on Aq'l.

“Hum Husayn” not “Hai Husayn”

  An elderly Ismaili requested Aga Khan to explain the reasoning behind his participation, during the early years of his Imamate, in the rituals of Matam (passion play), wherein the participants raise their hands, one after another, and beat their chests in a frenzy, yelling “Hai Husayn, Hai Husayn,” when according to his own Farmans, made a few years later, he was a living Husayn and his followers should not mourn or wear black dresses during the month of Muharram.

   In the words of the missionaries, the Aga Khan replied: “When I was lowering my hand to my chest, I was pointing it at my chest and saying 'Hum Husayn, Hum Husayn' instead of 'Hai Husayn, Hai Husayn.'” “Hai Husayn” is an expression of grief very similar to “Oh! Husayn.” The phrase “Hum Husayn” translates to “I am Husayn.”

 Such a remark would reflect adversely on the purity and straightforwardness of the claimant, to fulfil his parental responsibilities as a “spiritual” Father and Mother, was never thought of by the missionaries, who were more desperate to defend the action of their Imam during the early years of his Imamate.

 Accepted it was a facade, as claimed by the Aga Khan, but the above narrative clearly shows that his family members who participated routinely in these ceremonies were Ithna'ashries. In other words the Imamate of Ismail and his descendants was not recognized, even by these immediate family members of the Aga Khan, well into the first few decades of the twentieth century.

1905 — Confused followers of the Aga Khan

  The court records from the Haji Bibi Case indicate that the witnesses appearing before Judge Russell were “Khojahs” but they did not know the distinction between the sect of “Ismailis” and “Ithna'ashries.”
 For those who are unfamiliar with the fundamental differences that separate these two sub-sects of Shi`ah Muslims, here is a brief explanation. Agakhani Shi'a Ismailis believe in an ever-living Hazar (present) Imam. Karim Aga Khan is the their Hazar Imam. Shi'a Ithna'ashries believe in a Ghayab (hidden) Imam. Their last (twelfth) Imam disappeared in a grotto and is expected to return during the final period of this earth. These two concepts are basically opposite. For any Shi`ah Muslim, Imam is the base of his religion, hence he must know with certainty the past and present status of his Imam. Below are four extracts from the Bombay Law Reporter (1908, Volume 11, pp.438, 440-42, 454):

 1. The first witness of the plaintiff goes as far as to say that he considers His Highness the Aga Khan and his family as his Murshed, i.e., spiritual leader....He concludes by saying that he is a Khojah, but he is neither Ismaili nor an Asnashari. He does not know the distinction between the two.

2. [Witness] Fazulbhoy Joomabhoy Lalji in the commencement of his evidence says there is no difference between the faith of a Khoja Ismaili and an Asnashari and he said to me that the Asnasharis believed in 12 Imams. Khoja Ismailis believe the same and never believed anything else. And again he says at page 345 that he really believes the first Aga Khan was an Asnashari.

3. Witness No. 3, Nathu Virji, is neither Shia Ismaili nor Shia Asnashari. He cannot say what sort of a Shia Khoja he is. He does not understand what is meant by Shia Ismailis nor Shia Asnasharis. But he believes only in the 12 Imams.

4. [Witness] Mahomed Nanji, commission agent and doing business on his own account....But although he says that he follows at present the Khoja Shia Ismaili faith, he cannot explain what Shia Ismaili means, and to the question “If those who follow the Shia Ismaili faith believe in Hazrat Ali, and those who have succeeded him on the gadi down to the present Aga Khan as their Imams, do you still consider yourself as a Khojah following the Shia Ismaili faith,” he answered “No;” from which it would appear as if his views on the subject of his own religion were somewhat obscure to say the least.

“Aga Khan invented a new Doowa”

The following is an extract from the judgment document delivered by Justice Russell in the Haji Bibi Case (p. 425). (The name “Coochick” stands for Aga Coochick Shah a cousin of Aga Khan III; the name “Jungi” stands for Aga Jungi Shah the uncle of Aga Khan III).

 Thus Coochick, p. 187 says:
   “My case is that the present faith dates from Jungi's death, or a year after. The fanatic followers of the Aga Khan do date from that time. I cannot say before or after Jungi's death. The new religion has been going 15 years since Aga Khan's new Bhagats started preaching, 2 years before Jungi's death. I cannot say Doowa is a new invention of the last 12 or 14 years, since the present Aga Khan came of age. This new invention was never heard of before Jungi's death. Aga Khan has invented a new Doowa in Gujrati, the former one was in Arabic.”

The Judge had dined twice with Aga Khan and asked him to dinner

  In the Haji Bibi Case, Justice Russell's judgment went totally in favour of the Aga Khan. The plaintiff lost each and every one of the 128 points. The counsel for plaintiff and those defendants who supported the plaintiff retired from the case and walked out of the court. From the following text recorded by Justice Russell, one can easily visualize the influence of the Aga Khan upon the judges of the Bombay High Courts.

  At the beginning of the case to my astonishment it was suggested by plaintiff's counsel that I [Justice Russell] should not try the case as I was what he termed a friend of Aga Khan's. Mr. Inverarity [defendant's counsel] replied that in that respect I was in no different position probably than all the other Judges in Bombay. I said I had exchanged calls with the Aga Khan and had dined twice with him and had asked him to dinner and he had not been able to come.

The Judge clears the Court

  Immediately following the above recorded text we learn that during the trial of the Haji Bibi Case, when Aga Khan was being cross- examined, particularly on the subject of his own personal beliefs as a Shi'ah Muslim, the judge asked the Court to be cleared of all persons that had come to witness the trial. He further ordered that the evidence given by the Aga Khan should not to be reported or published, which in the judge's opinion would probably create hostility between the Muslim communities in Bombay.

 Under the circumstances the plaintiff (Haji Bibi), instructed her counsel not to proceed with the case. Thereupon, the counsel for the plaintiff and for the defendants who supported the plaintiff's case withdrew.

Followers of Aga Khan admonished by Iraqi Mullahs

Since the rituals of Muharram and ceremonial rites of martyrdom were introduced by Aga Khan I, every year hundreds of Shi'ite Khojahs were making regular pilgrimage to the holy Shi'ite sites in Iraq. Later on, when the Islamic Salah was replaced with Gujrati Du'a, the Iraqi Mullahs were shocked to learn that the followers of Aga Khan III, who were reciting this Gujrati Du'a instead of Arabic Namaz, had broken the most fundamental tenet of Islam itself. They were now venerating Hazrat 'Ali and therewith the Aga Khan as “Allah” by reciting “'Ali Sahi [truly] Allah.”

 The astonished Mullahs admonished the followers of Aga Khan and explained that worship of `Ali or the Aga Khan as an “associate,” “manifestation,” or “incarnation” of Allah; or truly Allah, nullifies their prayers, voids their fasting, pilgrimage, etc. In the hereafter, hell would be their place of abode if they did not stop reciting that kind of Shahadah (confession of faith) in their Du'a. The admonished Ismailis requested Aga Khan III to change the wordings of the Shahadah in the Du'a to “'Ali-un-Waliy-Allah” meaning, “'Ali is the beloved of Allah.” The Aga Khan refused to change the Shahadah and the group of enlightened Khojah Ithna'ashries left the Jama'at.

How could a God cease to be a God?

In 1956, under pressure from his Syrian followers, Aga Khan III changed the Ismaili Du'a from Gujrati to Arabic. He also changed the wordings of the Shahadah from “`Ali Sahi (truly) Allah” to “`Aliyyullah.” The later phrase translates “The `Ali, The Allah.” But, in the book of Ismaili Du'a it is translated as “`Ali is from Allah.” Today, by the virtue of this wilful mistranslation, Agakhani Ismailis claim that they are not venerating Karim Aga Khan as God.

 The fact that the Du'a had to be changed in order to make the explicit affirmation that `Ali and by inference, Aga Khan was “truly Allah” implicit, indicates the growing importance of Islam on the world stage. Yet, to say otherwise would not only go against all the Ismaili religious practices, but even expose this “religion” to the charge of hypocrisy. How could a God cease to be a God? This is why the explicit statement was converted into a less explicit one which could then be mistranslated deliberately to such modern needs as shown in my earlier publication, Understanding Ismailism.

Aga Khan's Mukhi stabbed by an Ithna'ashri

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Qadir Husayn Kerbalai, an Ithna'ashri Mullah, settled in Bombay. In 1862, he opened a Madrasa (religious school) to indoctrinate people in the Ithna'ashri school of thought. Thereafter Mullah Qadir returned to Kerbala. At the end of the nineteenth century he was invited by some Khojahs of India. Shi`ah Mujtahid in Iraq sent Mullah Qadir Husayn to Bombay. When Ismailis became aware of his activities they began threatening the Mullah and his students.

 One day the Mullah's favourite student, Killu, was mercilessly beaten by fanatic Ismailis. Killu remained hospitalized for some time and became temporarily invalid. After recovering from his injuries, he stabbed the chief Mukhi of the Aga Khan with a knife. Mukhi Hasan died. Killu admitted to the killing and was sentenced to death by hanging. The court trials of Killu, as well as his subsequent funeral procession and burial, brought the dissident Khojahs out in the open. Prominent among them were Haji Dewji Jamal, Haji Gulam Ali Haji Ismail, and Haji Khalfan Rattansi.

Two Ismaili Fida'is attack three Ithna'ashries

In 1901, the splinter group made an announcement in the newspapers and established a Khojah Ithna'ashri Jama`at in Bombay. The group became known as Chhoti (small) Jama`at, and the mainstream was called Bari (big) Jama`at. When the splinter group decided to build their separate Mosque in Bombay, it was rumoured that Aga Khan, before his departure for Europe, had offered to contribute financially. The group members rejected this offer when they learned that Aga Khan wanted to have administrative control over the Mosque, similar to the one he had over the Jama`at khanas.

 I have come across correspondence in which the author writes that Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah, Aga Khan III, had agreed to inaugurate the Khojah Ithna'ashri Mosque in Bombay, known as Pala Gali Mosque, upon his return from Europe.

 However, when Sir Sultan Mohammed was on board, returning to Bombay from Southampton, two Fidayeen's within the Ismaili community, seeking the cue from the `Hashsashins' of Alamud took upon themselves, the recourse to murder Haji Allarakia, Laljee Sajjan and Abdullah Laljee, the three known protagonists of the Isna'sheri faction whom the Ismaili `Hashsashins' identified as the destroyers of the Jammat....Whether or not, the `Hashsasins' were sponsored by the Aga Khan Sir Sultan Mohammed or his mother Lady Ali Shah is an issue that will remain shrouded in the mysteries of Mankind,....

Severance of all social and religious contacts

It was reported during the police investigation that bags of golden guineas were discovered in the hutments of these Fida'is, and a hidden hand was suspected in this murderous attack on the Ithna'ashri activists. The Fida'is were tried, convicted, and hanged. Their bodies were buried in a Muslim graveyard in Worli, a suburb of Bombay. Ismailis who had hypocritically disassociated themselves from the Fida'is during the trials began paying their respect to the martyrs by visiting their graves in Worli. Later on, at the instance of the Aga Khan, the remains of the Assassins were removed from the Muslim graveyard and buried in an Ismaili graveyard in the Khojah Mohallah. Aga Khan was now openly criticized and insulted by the dissidents for the assassination of their protagonists.

  In those days, Aga Khan used to commute in a four-horse carriage from his residence in Mazagon to the Chief Jama`at khana in Khadak. His carriage used to pass through a narrow lane known as Pala Gali. The splinter group had constructed their mosque on Pala Gali and it was likely that there would be a direct confrontation between the two rival groups during the journey. Aga Khan was obliged to change his route. The supporters of the new mosque began residing in this lane and Pala Gali became a landmark for Ithna'ashri Khojahs of Bombay. Even today, Ismaili men and women going to their Jama`at khana avoid travelling through Pala Gali. My brothers and sister and I were told by our parents not to journey through that lane and believe me, we were afraid to do that.

  Aga Khan ordered severance of all social and religious contacts with the Ithna'ashri Khojahs. Ismailis were indoctrinated by their missionaries not to eat food or even drink a glass of water in an Ithna'ashri home. Rule number 142 of the Karachi Council authorized any member of the Council to lodge a complaint in the Council against any Ismaili murid taking part in any feast, marriage, or mourning of a Khojah dissident Ithna'ashri. The offender could be excommunicated by the Council. These social restrictions divided many Khojah families permanently. Even today, there are many Ismailis who will not drink, dine or do business with the members of the Khojah Ithna'ashri Jama`at because they are considered dissidents. Khojah Ithna'ashries, on their part, contest that the Agakhani Ismailis are the ones who have deviated from the path of their ancestors and have changed the faith. The truth of course was that both had deviated from the original path shown by Pir Sadr-din. However, while Ithna'ashries still remained within the broad belief of Islam, the Ismailis transformed 'Ali into God and thus broke with Islam itself in philosophical term as well as in practice. Many Muslims who have known the inner secrets of the Agakhanis refuse to acknowledge them as Muslims.

1910 A. D. — Persian Nizaris change religious practices

Farhad Daftary records in The Isma'ilis, Their History and Doctrines (p. 537):

 Around 1910, in line with the directives issued to the Qasim-Shahi Nizaris of other countries, Agha Khan III began to introduce certain changes in the religious practices and rituals of his Persian followers. In particular, he changed or simplified some of those religious rituals that the Persian Shi`is, like other Muslims, had categorized as the furu`-i din, comprising the positive rules of the Islamic law, such as the rituals of praying, ablution, fasting, the hajj pilgrimage, and so forth.

But now they were required to set themselves drastically apart from the Twelvers, asserting their own identity as a religious community. For instance, they now recited the entire list of the Nizari Imams recognized by the Qasim-Shahis at the end of their daily prayers. They were also discouraged from joining the Twelvers at their mosques on special occasions, and from participating in the Shi`i mourning rituals of Muharram, because the Nizaris had a living and present (mawjud wa hadir) imam and did not need to commemorate any of their dead imams. Indeed, they were now required to observe only those religious pre scriptions that were directly endorsed or issued by their living imam.

 Agha Khan III was pleased by the progress made by his Persian followers when he visited them in 1951. He was particularly glad to see that the Isma'ili women had abandoned the chadur, the traditional Muslim veil worn in Persia.

   Elderly Ismailis who have lived their early years in Bombay or Zanzibar will confirm that many of the Ithna'ashriyya rites and rituals that were introduced into the Khojah community by the Aga Khan I were diligently practised by the ancestors of the Khojah Ismailis until the 1940s. I distinctly remember my childhood as an Agakhani Ismaili. The Chief Jama`at khana of Bombay, built in 1920, was across from the house where I grew up. Standing on my balcony, I could watch and hear the religious ceremonies taking place in the Jama`at khana. In most of these ceremonies I took part as a young volunteer serving cold water and Joora to the congregants. I also remember serving “Haleem and Nan” or “Kaliya and Paw” (a special dish of meat and bread) on the 10th, 20th, and 30th day Muharram, and on the “Chelum” (40th day of martyrdom) of Imam Husayn. Ismailis from the various quarters of Bombay used to assemble in the compound of the Darkhana (Chief) Jama`at khana for these annual feasts. A group of Ismailis used to build a Shabil of Hazrat Abbas near the main entrance of the Darkhana Jama`at khana and distribute Sharbat (sweetened milk and water) to the passers-by in memory of the martyrs.

  Ismailis also used to visit the Mausoleum of Aga Khan I in Hasanabad, Bombay, to offer special prayers during the month of Muharram. They would receive a packet of Malida (a mixture of roasted flour and sugar) from the Bawa Sahib, who was a close relative of the Aga Khan. On `Id al-Adha (literally, “the feast of the sacrifice”), the ceremonies of “Kurbani” (sacrifice of a dozen or so goats and a couple of cows), after the early morning `Id prayers, within the compounds of the Chief Jama`at khana was an annual event.

   On the twenty-third night of Ramadhan, Sayyid Mustaqali, another close relative of Aga Khan, would lead a special ceremony of reciting nearly 100 times or so the five venerated names of the “Pujtan-pak.” The Jama`at would be asked to place a small square card, printed with the names of the Punjtan- pak (`Ali, Muhammad, Fatima, Hasan, Husayn) on their heads (caps) and join the recitations. Often, my card would fall off from my red fez cap, which we students were obliged to wear in Jama`at khanas and religious classes. Thereafter, Mustaqali would recite a special Du'a in Gujrati wherein the entire genealogy of the Aga Khan, over 200 generations and incarnations, starting with “Fish” the first creation would be recited. And, thereafter a special Niyaz (Holy Water), prepared from the clay of Kerbala would be distributed to the Jama`at. The ceremonies of that special night would conclude with the forgiving of sins, by sprinkling the Holy Water on the face of every individual. These rituals show that there were in existence, during my childhood, beliefs within Ismaili Khojahs which had their roots for in the Ithna'ashriyya traditions such as the sacrosanctity of “clay of Kerbala.” The importation of clay from Kerbala has now been discontinued as it bears no more significance.

 Today, the majority of Ismaili students and young scholars have no knowledge of these and other rituals that were performed by their parents half a century ago because the history of the religious practices of the Agakhani Ismailis has never been written.

Niyaz was made from the clay of Kerbala

  There would arrive from time to time, at the Chief Jama`at khana of Bombay, a shipment of special clay from Kerbala. This holy clay was believed to be sanctified by the blood of the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn. I remember taking part in the making of tiny clay balls the size of a dried black pepper, along with other Ismailis. These would then be distributed to all other Jama`at khanas.

 Every morning, every Thursday evening, and on a new moon night, the person who would lead a special Du'a of Ghat-paat would dissolve one ball of clay into a bowl of water while reciting the Du'a and prepare Niyaz (Holy Water). Once the Niyaz was prepared, Ismailis would rush (today they form a queue) towards the table on which the Niyaz was placed. Upon reaching the table, they would place a cash contribution in a plate, pick up a tiny cup filled with the holy water and drink it to purify the body and spirit.

 Today, the clay of Kerbala which used to bear religious significance until the early years of the Imamate of Aga Khan III bears no more significance and as such it is not imported any more. Aga Khan himself recites a small prayer over a bowl of water and the Holy Water is ready for distribution. Almost everything that is considered “Holy” by the Agakhani Ismailis has its roots into “Hazar Imam.” The Niyaz that used to be distributed on Thursday nights is now distributed on Friday nights. And the sins are forgiven with the Holy Water on the night of the new moon.

Aga Khan was too afraid to remove a Minbar

  Aga Khan III systematically replaced almost all the ancestral rites and rituals of the Twelvers, such as prayers, ablutions, recitation of the Qur'an, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca, and of paying homage to the martyrs of Kerbala with his own prescriptions. However, Aga Khan did not uproot and throw out a Minbar (pronounced Mimbar; a pulpit in a mosque) of Hazrat Abbas and a Hoj (sunken pond) of Bibi Fatima in front of the pulpit, which were built near the main entrance on the main floor of the Darkhana Jama`at khana in Bombay. These ancient relics built with white marble during the days of Lady `Ali Shah, have survived as the living proof of Khojah community's recent history.

 During my school days, twice a week or so, the sunken pond (Hoj) of Bibi Fatima would be filled with a special sweetened milk (120 quarts) topped with almonds and pistachios. The milk would then be distributed to the Ismaili boys and girls in their schools. Hazrat Abbas was one of the most respected martyrs of Kerbala, and to uproot his marble pulpit from its foundation or to cover up the Hoj of the beloved wife of Hazrat `Ali, Bibi Fatima, would be naked aggression against Shi`ism. Aga Khan was perhaps too afraid to take upon himself such a venture.

 I could see from the balcony of my house that many Ismailis who were steadfast in their ancestral practices would visit this Minbar of Hazrat Abbas and recite their Namaz (Islamic Salah of Shi`ah Ithna'ashriyya Tariqah) facing the pulpit. Thereafter, they would offer Fateha for the martyrs of Kerbala. A few of these visitors would sit near the pulpit of Hazrat Abbas and read verses from the Holy Qur'an. Copies of the Qur'an for recitation were available at Minbar but none were available in the prayer hall of the Jama`at khana, located one floor above. Ismailis are led into believing that they have a “Speaking Qur'an” — the Aga Khan, whose Farman changes with the times. Hence it is superfluous to read a “Silent Qur'an” that is 1400 years old.

 I have heard stories from elderly Ismailis that there was a time when there used to be prayer rugs for Namaz and copies of the Holy Qur'an for recitation in the Jama`at khanas of Bombay. For some reason, during a court battle, they were lowered into a well of the Khadak Jama`at khana and the well was sealed.

 However, one physical evidence that has survived from the past is a huge water tank with rows of taps and pedestals to do Wadhu (ablution). Similar rows of taps are also to be found in the old Jama`at khanas of East Africa. Ismailis do not perform Wadhu before reciting their Du`a. Muslims are required to do ablution before reciting the Namaz or the Qur'an. The new Jama`at khanas that are built in Canada and Europe at a cost of millions of dollars do not have facilities for ablution.

 This also supports the stories that the converted Ithna'ashri Khojahs, the followers of Aga Khan I and II, used to perform ablution before reciting their Namaz and reading of the Qur'an. Several elderly relatives of my friends and my wife have personally confirmed to me that their grandfathers used to recite Namaz and read the Qur'an, in particular those whose ancestral roots are in Kutchh and Zanzibar.

Aga Khan's concept of Nubuwwa and Imamah

  In a small town of Kutchh named Mundra, Aga Khan III made a Farman which is published in a Gujrati book, Kutchh na Farman (pp. 28-29). The translation reads as follows:

 When Nabi Mohammed Mustafa departed from this world he appointed Pir Imam Hasan as his successor to carry on the work. Similarly, Murtaza Ali appointed Imam Husayn as the Imam after him.

Note: The mainstream Shi'ahs consider Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn as Imam No. 2 and 3 respectively. The Agakhani Ismailis have excluded the name of Imam Hasan from the list of their Imams and placed him in the list of Ismaili Pirs as the second Pir.

 In the Ismaili hierarchy Pir is a preacher who is appointed by an Imam to do the preaching. By declaring the successors of Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, as Pirs, and declaring the successors of Hazrat 'Ali as the Imams, Aga Khan III raised his own status higher than that of the Prophet.

Quranic verses reconstituted to establish further authority

In 1956, Aga Khan III replaced the old Gujrati Du'a with an Arabic Du'a. The majority of Agakhani Ismailis are unaware of the fact that the Aga Khan has introduced a reconstituted verse of the Qur'an in this new Du'a. Two fragmented portions from two separate verses from two different chapters were joined to make this reconstituted verse. It was done to firmly establish “the knowledge and authority of everything” in Imam-e-Mubeen (manifest Imam), meaning the Aga Khan.

 Below is the reconstituted verse of the Qur'an which Ismailis have been reciting since 1956, three times a day, in their prayers. The first two lines are from the (fragmented) beginning of verse 59 of Sura Nisa (chapter 4). The last two lines are from the (fragmented) ending of verse 12 of Sura Ya' Sin (chapter 36).

 Ya ayyuhal-lazeena amanoo, ati-Ullah
 wa atiur-Rasool wa Ulil Amri minkum
 wa kulla shai'in ahsainahu
 fee Imamim-mubeen.

Below is the translation of the above reconstituted verse, copied from the Book of Du'a published by the Ismailia Association for Africa (1963, p. 11). The words within the brackets are also faithfully reproduced from that book.

 O ye, who believe! obey God and obey the Apostle and (obey) those who hold Authority from amongst you. And we have vested (the knowledge and authority) of everything in the manifest Imam.

If one were to read the translations of above two verses separately, and in their entirety, then he or she would know that Allah has neither granted the knowledge of everything, nor vested authority over everything, to any human being, living or dead. The deleted lines of the ending verse tells us that the subject matter has to do with “writing” and not “vesting.”

Those who distort the Book

 There is among them a section
 who distort the Book with their tongues:
 (as they read) you would think
 It is a part of the Book,
 But it is no part of the Book;
 and they say, “That is from Allah,”
 But it is not from Allah:
 It is they who tell a lie against Allah,
 And (well) they know it!
     Holy Qur'an 3/78

PRE-FATIMID TO 
POST- ALAMUT PERIOD

Imam Ismail, the Seventh Imam

The name Ismailis is derived from the seventh descendant of the Prophet — the seventh Imam of the Ismailis — who was named Ismail. The Ithna'ashri Shi`ahs contend that Ismail, the elder son of Imam Jafar Sadik, died during the lifetime of his father in 762 a.d. As such, he cannot be recognized as a successor to his father, who died in 765 a.d. They contend that there are written documents to support the fact that a funeral procession of Ismail was held in Medina and attended by his father, and that the body of Ismail lies buried in Medina.
 The Ithna'ashri scholars further claim that upon the death of Ismail, the designated Imamate was revoked by his father and redesignated in favour of the younger brother of Ismail, named Musa Kazim. Thus Musa Kazim, and not Ismail, became the next Imam. Ismaili historians record that the funeral procession as well as the burial ceremony of Ismail did take place in Medina but that it “was a mere ruse to mislead the enemies.” They claim that Ismail died in Syria, approximately ten years after the death of his father (between 775 and 777). According to them, Imam Ismail's body was most probably buried in Salamiyya.
 Ismailis who used to visit Medina before the Saudi government levelled the ancient graves have personally confirmed to me of having offered “Fateha” at the grave of Imam Ismail in Medina. This practise does not seem to accord with the claims made by Agakhani Ismaili historians.

Eleventh Imam, the founder of the Fatimid dynasty

After an era of the first Dawr-i Satr (a period of concealment of the Imams), lasting for over a century, the Fatimid dynasty began in 909 a.d. with the emergence of the eleventh Ismaili Imam named `Ubayd Allah (`Abd Allah) al-Mahdi. Since the Ismaili Imams had claimed their descent from Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) through his daughter Fatima — wife of Prophet's cousin `Ali, the dynasty was called Fatimid.

 Abbasid Caliphs, the contemporary of the Fatimids, had frequently questioned the authenticity of the claim made by `Ubayd Allah, the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, of him being a legitimate descendant of the Prophet. Dr. Farhad Daftary writes in The Isma`ilis (p. 108):

 It is necessary to point out at this juncture that the issue of the genealogy of the Fatimid caliphs has been the centre of numerous controversies, some of which seem to defy satisfactory solution. The ancestors of the Fatimids, according to the later official doctrine, were the Ismaili Imams who descended from Muhammad b. Ismail. However, the Ismaili sources are very reluctant to mention the names of the so-called 'hidden imams', the links between 'Ubayd Allah (`Abd Allah) and Muhammad b. Ismail b. Ja'far; individuals who lived under obscure circumstances. Their names are, in fact, not to be found in the earliest Ismaili sources which have so far come to light.Ivanow has interpreted this silence as reflecting an Ismaili prejudice against 'uncovering those whom God has veiled'. Consequently, there has developed some disagreement among the Ismailis concerning the names, number, sequence and the actual descendance of the 'hidden imams', notwithstanding the traditional Fatimid version, namely, Muhammad b. Ismail, 'Abd Allah b. Muhammad, Ahmad b. 'Abd Allah, al-Husayn b. Ahmad, and 'Ubayd Allah ('Abd Allah) b. al-Husayn.

Fourteenth Imam and a glorious period of Ismaili history

After three unsuccessful previous attempts by his predecessors, Imam al-Mu`izz, the fourteenth Imam of the Ismaili, was successful in 969 a.d., in conquering Fustat, the then capital of Egypt. The actual honour of this conquest goes to Imam's commander of the Fatimid army, Abul Hasan Jawhar. In the north of Fustat, Jawhar built a new city al-Qahira (Cairo), which became the capital of Egypt and the seat of the Fatimid dynasty until its fall in 1171 a.d. In 970, Jawhar also laid a foundation of the famous Mosque of al-Azhar, which later on during the period of the fifteenth Imam became a site for the famous university of the same name.

 Once the Fatimid dynasty was firmly established in Egypt, the name of Abbasid Caliph was dropped from the Khutbah in Friday sermons and replaced it with the ruling Fatimid Imam. From the city of Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphs claimed supreme political and spiritual authority in Islam, and from Cairo Fatimid Caliphs claimed the similar authority in Islam. This period has been a golden era in the history of the Ismailis. The Fatimid empire extended from Palestine to Tunisia and the Fatimid Imams ruled over North Africa, Egypt and Syria.

A split in the Fatimid dynasty

  After having ruled Egypt for sixty years, Caliph al-Mustansir, the eighteenth Imam of the Fatimid Ismailis, died in 1094. After the death of al-Mustansir, his followers divided themselves into two branches. This split has been one of the major schisms in the history of Ismailis. The branch that accepted the Imamate of al-Mustansir's elder son Abu Mansur Nizar became known as Nizari Ismailis (or Nizariyya). The other branch, which followed the younger son, al-Musta`li, became known as Musta`lian Ismailis (or Musta`liyya). The members of the latter branch, who are also known as Bohras in India, do not recognize Aga Khan as their spiritual leader or Imam. The leader of the Bohra community is called Da`i Mutlaq (Absolute Preacher). Bohras have Jama`at khanas for social and religious gatherings. The ritual prayers are recited in Bohra mosques.

 Al-Musta`li became the next Fatimid Caliph with the help of his brother-in-law, al-Afdal bin Badr al-Jamali, who was the commander of the Fatimid army. Al-Afdal's army besieged Alexandria, imprisoned Nizar and his two sons, who had managed to escape from Cairo and settled in Alexandria. Historians have recorded that the prisoners were “immured” and died in prison. Ismaili legends have various versions of the escape of Imam Nizar's son Hadi and/or his wife from the prison of Alexandria. According to Ismaili versions, the escapee or escapees settled somewhere in Persia among the Assassins and later on moved to Alamut. Details of the escape from prison and settlement in Alamut are sketchy, and dates are unavailable.

1171 A.D. — End of the Fatimid dynasty

  Musta'li, who was a political puppet in the hands of his Vizier, died in 1101. Twenty years later al-Afdal was assassinated. The Fatimid Dynasty of the Musta'lian Ismailis did not last for long. In 1171, Egypt was restored to the Sunni Tariqah by the great Kurdish Muslim soldier Salah ad-Din Yusuf al-Ayyubi (d. 1193), known as Saladin in the West. Historians have recorded that Saladin effectively and ruthlessly destroyed the mutinous Fatimid Army. The heretical books of the Fatimid Ismailis were heaped on bonfires and Ismaili jurists, who were mostly Hafizi Musta'lians, were replaced with Sunni Qadis (religious judges). The bidding-prayers (Adhans) were recited in the name of the 'Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad al-Mustadi. It was from Egypt, after the supplantation of the Fatimids, that Salah ad-Din began the conquest of Syria and founded the Ayyubi dynasty.

Emergence of the dreaded Assassins

  Hasan bin Sabbah, the founder of the Assassins in Persia, was born into an Ithna'ashri family in the holy city of Qum about 1060 A.D. He was brought up in Rayy, near Tehran. Hasan's conversion to the Ismaili faith was largely due to his contact with an Ismaili Da`i named Amira Zarrab. Thereafter, he came in contact with several other Ismaili Da`is, such as, Abd-al-Malik ibn-Attash. Hasan went to Egypt to see Fatimid Imam al-Mustansir. It is not certain if he met al-Mustansir. Ismaili historians record that Hasan became an active supporter of Imam Nizar, the eldest son of al- Mustansir. Western scholars write that Hasan bin Sabbah went to Cairo in 1078 and shortly thereafter he was deported from Egypt to North Africa. There was no dispute over the succession between Nizar and Musta`li in that period. Al-Mustansir died nearly fifteen years later, in 1094.

 On his way to North Africa, Hasan's ship met with an accident. Hasan was saved and taken to Syria. From there he travelled to Persia. Upon his return to Persia, he purchased (some historians say he seized) the impregnable fortress of Alamut (alhu-amut, i.e., eagle's nest) in the Alburz mountains in Persia. Alamut became his stronghold for revolt and a centre of operations. From here he expanded his power to other fortresses and over the tribes living in the mountainous regions far removed from Alamut. His network of Assassins stretched as far as Syria. Since the order for his banishment came from Vizier Badr al- Jamali, and Jamali's son al-Afdal had taken the side of Musta`li, Hasan bin Sabbah — a Fatimid Da`i and an Ismaili propagandist — took the side of Imam Nizar after the death of al-Mustansir.

 Hasan bin Sabbah became known as “The Old Man of the Mountain” (Shaykh al-Jabal) of Persia and a Grand Master of the dreaded Assassins. It was their modus operandi that made the Assassins the most feared foe. Fida'iyyah (self-sacrificing Assassins) would infiltrate their enemies as trusted servants or teachers, in the guise of dervishes. After winning the trust of their masters, they would kill the selected leaders, including their masters, upon instructions from Alamut. The killing was mostly with a dagger, which became a symbol of their terror.  Often a Fida'i would kill himself with the same dagger after accomplishing his mission. Even a powerful opponent of the Assassins would prefer to make a friendly treaty with them rather than risk his own life at the hands of a trusted servant who might turn out to be a fida'i.

 The word Assassin comes from an Arabic term hashshashin, “consumers of hashish,” which, in Medieval Latin, became “Assassini.” There are narratives (by Marco Polo and others) that hashish was used as part of an indoctrination in order to produce the utmost obedience from the Assassins that were ultimately destined to become self-destructive disciples. There is an alternate story that refers to the sect's character as a “weaver of illusion,” again something that is produced under the influence of drugs.

 Almost all western scholars have dismissed the story found in Ismaili history books about Hasan bin Sabbah being a schoolmate of the famous poet-astronomer Omar Khayyam and the great medieval politician Nizam al-Mulk. According to the myth perpetuated by the Nizari Ismaili “history” books, the three had made a pact that if any of them rose to a high position of power, he would help the others. The basis for the dismissal of this story by Western scholars is the age differences among the three protagonists.

From Hasan I to Hasan II

Hasan bin Sabbah (Hasan I) was a great thinker and a powerful propagandist, but he never claimed to be an Imam. He was the Hujja (the proof, a high position in the hierarchy of Ismailism) and a leader of the Da'wah. Hasan's emissaries (propagandists) went in all directions and a few undertook a hazardous journey to Syria carrying the “New Preaching” (al-da`wa al-jadida) of Nizariyya Ismailism to the old followers of the Fatimid Imams of Cairo.

 Hasan bin Sabbah was a very strict disciplinarian. He killed his two sons for disobedience. From his deathbed in 1124, he appointed his lieutenant Da`i Kiya Buzurgummid as his successor. Kiya Buzurgummid, the second Grand Master of the Assassins died in 1138. His son Da`i Muhammad became the next chief of the Assassins and of the Ismailis. Muhammad died in 1162. He was succeeded by his son Hasan, who is known as Hasan II. Two and half years after his accession, at midday on 8 August 1164, in the holy month of Ramadhan, Hasan II made a historical declaration. A brief text of the declaration appears in the previous chapter. (See Section Two, sub-heading; "Break your fast and rejoice")

Sinan a companion of Hasan II

  After the proclamation, Hasan II sent his envoys in all directions to spread the message of Qiya'ma to the old followers of the Fatimid Imams. One such emissary who went to Syria was a crafty strategist named Sinan ibn Sulayman ibn Muhammad al-Basri, commonly known as Sinan Rashid al-Din. Sinan was brought up in Basra and studied with Hasan II in Alamut. He became the companion of Hasan and Alamut's chief Da`i in Syria.

 Another version tells us that Hasan's father, Da'i Muhammad, was dissatisfied by his son's intentions and ideas, which ultimately led Hasan to declare the radical theory of Qiya'ma. Sinan being an active supporter of Hasan, Muhammad forced him to leave Alamut. Sinan spent time in Syria waiting for his friend Hasan II to become the Grand Master of Alamut.

Hasan II's son changes the family genealogy

 Hasan II, the Bringer of the Resurrection, was stabbed on 9 January 1166 by his own brother- in-law, who opposed the Declaration. Hasan II's nineteen-year-old son, Muhammad II, became the new lord of Alamut. For the next forty-five years, Muhammad II expounded and propagated the Qiya'ma theory. Historians have recorded that this freedom from the Law, the open disregard for the Qur'anic ordinances, and the disrespect for the basic Islamic principles made Ismailis of Alamut Malahida, or heretics par excellence. The Assassins were openly despised and loathed by Sunni Muslims.

 Hasan II had claimed, as some historians have recorded, a kind of “Spiritual Filiation” (esoteric descent) with the Imam that was hidden or dead. Muhammad II, who was a prolific writer, “changed the very genealogy of the family” and firmly established himself and his father as the physical descendants of Imam Nizar of the Fatimid dynasty.

   Professor Marshall G. S. Hodgson (1922-68) wrote several books on the subject of the Assassins of Alamut and the struggle of the early Nizari Ismailis. Hodgson recorded in The Order of Assassins (Mouton, 1955, pp. 160-62):

 He [Muhammad II] established Hasan [his dead father] as imam in the fullest sense, and not merely the representative of the imam; thus changing the very genealogy of the family.
    ...Once Hasan, and therefore his son Muhammad, was endowed with an 'Alid genealogy, the breach with the time when there were only da'is in Alamut was complete, and the new dispensation inaugurated with all propriety.

Dr. Farhad Daftary writes in The Isma`ilis: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 392):

 According to the most widely popular version, a son born to Nizar's grandson or great-grandson, and who subsequently ruled as Hasan II, was exchanged with a son born at the same time to [Da'i] Muhammad b. Buzurg-Ummid, without the latter's knowledge. According to yet another version, a pregnant wife of Nizar's descendant at Alamut was given to Muhammad's care, and, in due course, gave birth to Hasan II. On the basis of the genealogy subsequently circulating amongst the Nizaris, there were three generations between Hasan II and Nizar, Hasan being represented as the son of al- Qahir b. al-Muhtadi b. al-Hadi b. Nizar.

 The quoted version of “a pregnant wife of Nizar's descendant at Alamut was given to Muhammad's care, and, in due course, gave birth” is recorded on page 253 of Noorum- Mubin. But, the version records that the son that was born to the pregnant wife of the Imam was named al-Qahir (not Hasan); and this child al-Qahir became the father of Hasan `ala dhikrihis-salam.

 The Ismaili story becomes more complicated when Noorum-Mubin records that Da`i Muhammad's wife gave birth to a son at the same time that Imam al-Qahir's wife gave birth to her son. Both, newborn babies were named Hasan. Al- Qahir's son became Imam Hasan and Muhammad's son became Da`i Hasan.

 The majority of historians claim there was only one Hasan, and that he was the son of Da`i Muhammad and later became Imam Hasan.

Astonishing historical comparison of “two Hasans”

Here is a brief summary of a historical comparison of “Two Hasans,” which is to be found in the books of Ismaili history.

 1. Imam Hasan was born in 1126/1127.
  Da'i Hasan was born in 1127.

 2. Imam Hasan died in 1166.
  Da'i Hasan died in 1166.

 3. Imam Hasan's father, al-Qahir, died in 1162.
  Da'i Hasan's father, Muhammad, died in 1162.

 4. Imam Hasan's son was named ala- Muhammad.
  Da'i Hasan's son was named Muhammad II.

 5. Imam Hasan's son was born in 1147.
  Da'i Hasan's son was born in 1147.

A chain of fabrication

 In order to try and somehow maintain the myth of uninterrupted succession of their Imams the Nizaris, as we have shown, were obliged to resort to quite outrageous and far fetched distortions of what most trained and unbiased historians have recorded about the period in question.

 The enormity of this deception will be better appreciated if we summarize the chain of these fabrications relating to the Alamut period.

 1. It has been accepted by most historians dealing with this period that al-Mustansir's eldest son, Abu Mansur Nizar together with his two sons were imprisoned by Nizar's brother al-Musta`li who had usurped the Fatimid throne. It is also generally recognizes by these historians that Nizar and his two sons perished in the prison.

 But, Nizari historians insist that Nizar's son Hadi and/or his wife escaped from the prison although they adduce no evidence to substantiate this claim. Indeed, they are not even sure who out of them escaped nor are they able to confirm exactly how, when and where they escaped to or what happened to them over many decades.

 2. By all known historical records, Hasan II was the son of Da`i Muhammad who had succeeded his father Da`i Kiya Buzurgummid to the Alamut throne. Moreover Hasan II also known as Hasan, `ala dhikrihis-salam for his Declaration of Qiya'ma, never himself during his lifetime made any claim to be an Imam. It seems most unlikely that a man who dared to make such a dangerous declaration, on behalf of or in the name of a dead or hidden Imam, would wholeheartedly welcome the added authority of him being an Imam and could get away with it by proclaiming it at the same time.

  The fact that he did not claim to be an Imam therefore convincingly proves that neither he nor his supporter regarded Hasan II as Imam. The best he could do was to claim a corre sponding authority to act on behalf of a dead or hidden Imam as his Hujjah, which claim happened to be deduced by some as esoteric filiation. Even then, within seventeen months of his radical Proclamation, he was murdered by his own brother-in-law who happened to disagree with him.

 3. It was his son Muhammad II, who in order to appropriate for himself the respected Fatimid genealogy, elaborated the doctrine of the Qiya'ma and posthumously declared his father a full fledged Imam. As his son and successor, he automatically became Imam himself. This of course had nothing to do with truth but with political power and gaining added authority to command his subjects. He being a prolific writer could conjure such a move and at the same time propagate it.

   Muhammad II's deception of course very much suited the Nizari historians who were seeking uninterrupted succession of Imams from the Fatimid dynasty, provided they could substantiate Muhammad II's claim by any subterfuge.

 4. In order to “prove” this direct descent from Nizar, there was no choice but to concoct the filmland scenario of two newly born sons being exchanged without Da`i Muhammad's knowl edge or alternatively through another scenario where two sons, one of a Da`i and another of an Imam, conveniently born exactly at the same time and place happen to have the same name, Hasan.

 5. The story becomes even more weird and complicated if one examines the claim made by Noorum-Mubin: “a pregnant wife of Nizar's descendant at Alamut was given to Da`i Muham mad's care, and, in due course gave birth” not to Hasan but to his father, al-Qahir. The convoluted scenario reaches its climax when Noorum-Mubin gives a further twist to this saga by alleging that al-Qahir, who was raised in the house of Da`i Muhammad, had a son named Hasan. It so happened that Da`i Muhammad's wife also gave birth to a son named Hasan. The drama does not end here. Noorum-Mubin records that after the death of al-Qahir and Da`i Muhammad, which also happens to be in the same year, both the Hasans had claimed Imamate but only the son of al-Qahir was the bona fide claimant.

Twenty-fifth Imam proclaims himself a Sunni Muslim

  In 1210, Muhammad II, the prolific writer, died of poisoning. He was succeeded by his son Hasan III. In Ismaili history he is known as the twenty-fifth Imam Jalal al-Din Hasan. Hasan III made a complete turnabout from the teachings of his grandfather and circulated a letter announcing strict observance of the Islamic Shari`ah Laws by his followers. Sunni legislators were invited to Alamut to instruct Ismailis in the use of new mosques in the Ismaili villages.
   Dr. Farhad Daftary writes in The Isma`ilis (p. 405):

 Our Persian historians relate that upon his accession, Hasan [III] publicly repudiated the doctrine of the qiyama and proclaimed his adherence to Sunni Islam, ordering his followers to observe the Shari`a in its Sunni form.

Twenty-sixth Imam slaughtered by his homosexual lover

 Hasan III died of dysentery in 1221 and was succeeded by a child of nine named Ala al-Din, Muhammad III. This twenty-sixth Imam of the Ismailis is depicted by historians as a “sickly and unbalanced corrupt figure.” Muhammad III was murdered in 1255.
 In 1987, a book examining the history of the Assassins was published in Great Britain by the Aquarian Press. It is entitled The Assassins — Holy Killers of Islam. Author Edward Burman of the University of Leeds writes (p. 86):

 Muhammad was murdered by Hasan Mazandari, who had once been his lover and who had received one of the Master's concubines as his wife. Thus the penultimate Grand Master of the Persian Assassins died ignominiously, slaughtered with an axe by the hand of a former homosexual lover.

  Ala-uddin Muhammad was succeeded by his son Ruknu'd-din Khurshah, “the last Khudawand of Alamut.” In 1256, Ruknu'd-din surrendered to the Mongols and within a period of one year all the fortresses and strongholds of the Assassins were razed to the ground. A Brief History of Ismailism records that 80,000 Ismailis were killed by the Mongolian soldiers of Hulegu Khan. Noorum-Mubin records that even babies that were sleeping in their cradles were killed in the massacre. In the words of professor Bernard Lewis in The Assassins (p. 95), historian Ata Malik Juvayni (1226-83) writes:

 'He [Ruknuddin] and his followers were kicked to a pulp and then put to the sword; and of him and his stock no trace was left, and he and his kindred became but a tale on men's lips and a tradition in the world.'

Associating others with Allah

 It will be said (to them):
 “Call upon your `partners' (for help)”:
 they will call upon them,
 but they will not listen to them;
 and they will see the penalty (before them);
 (How they will wish)
 `If only they had been open to guidance!'
      Holy Qur'an 28/64

Please click  HERE  to read Section Five