Posted on December 31, 2008Janna
Paradise, the abode of the righteous in the hereafter, is called in the Koran, al-janna, meaning the garden. It occurs under this name over hundred times. In addition to this figure, the Koran uses the same word janna in the sense of an earthy garden...
Ismai Articles
Posted on December 31, 2008Jamatkhana
The word jamatkhana means communal house or communal gathering place. The Persian word khana means house or place, such as khana'i chaslm (the socket of the eyes), khana'i zumbur (a bee-hive) or khana'i murgh (a bird's nest). The Jamatkhana is a...
Posted on December 10, 2008Jahiliyya
The word jahiliyya means ignorance, which is taken to refer to the pre-Islamic period. It was the age of tribalism and is reckoned to cover the period of about a century before the advent of Islam. In pre-Islamic literature, and to a considerable...
Posted on December 2, 2008Jahannam (Hell)
The word jahannam is derived from jihinnam means a deep pit, and as it is said in Arabic: bir'un jahannam'un means a well whose depth is very great. The word jahannam occurs 77 times in the Koran. Another name for hell, which bears a similar...
Posted on November 29, 2008Ithna Asharites
"The death of Imam Jafar Sadik in 148/765 marked the beginning of the decentralization of Shi'ite religious authority. The Ithna Asharites or the Twelvers, the Shi'ite sect supported Musa Kazim as their next Imam after Imam Jafar Sadik. Musa Kazim...
Posted on November 28, 2008It Is Through Your Light That It Has Come To Be So
In Egypt, the festival of Navroz was celebrated with great pomp. It must be known that Egypt under the Fatimid remained largely a Sunni country and Ismailism won only a limited following among the population. Cairo alone housed a large Sunni...
Posted on November 17, 2008Ismailis in Yamen
Imam Radi Abdullah had dispatched his da'is in all directions, the most acclaimed among them was Ibn Hawshab. When the Imam found that Ibn Hawshab was groomed enough for the responsibility of its promulgation, he jointly entrusted him and his...
Posted on November 7, 2008Ismailis in United States of America, and United Kingdom
The Ismailis of Malaysia emigrated from India in 1920 under the guidance of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah and were settled in Federation of Malaya and State of Singapore, the country now is known as Malaysia. The Ismailis in Malaysia have good and...
Posted on April 1, 2006Ismailis in Iran
"Tradition has it that Imam Muhammad bin Ismail left Medina and went to southern Iraq, where he acquired the epithet of al-maktum (veiled one), and then at Nishapur in disguise, where he lodged for some times. Afterwards, the Imam proceeded towards...
Posted on October 19, 2008Ismailis in Afghanistan
The word Afghanistan means the land of the Afghans and the word afghan (awghan or aoghan) means the mountaineers. The oldest Indian literature refers it as Balhekdes. The Persians called it as Zablistan and Kabalistan. To the Greeks, it was Bakhtar...
Posted on October 16, 2008Ismailis
The Shi'a Ismaili Muslims are now a global jamat and spread all over the world, ranging from Australia down south to the Arctic zone in Canada, up north. In all countries of their settlement, including the very new ones, Ismailis are seen to exist...
Posted on April 1, 2006Ismailia Socio-Economic Conference
"The First World Ismailia Socio-Economic Conference was held on Tuesday, December 15, 1964 on the ground of the Aga Khan Gymkhana, Karachi. Pakistan was fortunate to be the venue of this most important Conference. It was a sunny, bright and...
Posted on October 16, 2008Ismailia Associations
"In 1944, Imam Sultan Muhammad changed the name of Recreation Club Institute into the Ismailia Association for India. Ali Muhammad Macklai was appointed its President with Alijah Rajab Ali Muhammad Dandawala as Vice-President and Itmadi Rehmatuallah...
Posted on October 13, 2008Ismaili Volunteers Corps
The English word volunteer means one who voluntarily offers or enrolls himself for military service, in contrast to those who are under obligation to do so, or who form part of a regular army. The original French word corps d'armee became short...
Posted on April 1, 2006Ismaili Scouts
The modern scouting movement was started in the world for the purpose of training the youths in the essentials of good citizenship and it arose in 1908 after the appearance of the book, Scouting for Boys written by the then inspector general of...
Posted on October 13, 2008Ismaili Rule In Sind And Hind
"The Abbasid caliph al-Mutamid (d. 279/892) had handed over the charge of Sind to the Saffarid chief, Yaqub bin Layth, in order to divert his intentions from attacking Iraq. As a result, Yaqub bin Layth acquired the power of Sind, Balkh and...
Posted on October 8, 2008Ismaili Journalism
"Journalism in the modern usage is one of the younger professions. The first prototype of the modern newspaper was the series of public announcements, known during the Roman empire as Acta Diurna published daily from 59 B.C., and later in Venice as...
Posted on October 4, 2008Ismaili Flag - Significant Features Of Both Colors
"We have described above the features of green and red colours. We will briefly proceed to discuss significant characteristics of these two colours together. Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) writes in Muqaddimah (1:186) that Khadija asked, what garment he...
Posted on September 27, 2008Ismaili Flag - Post-Alamut Period
The post-Alamut is the longest period in the Ismaili history, and so is most obscure and dark due to the dearth of the historical informations. It almost covers 580 years for 18 Imams, who lived in different villages and towns in Iran. They had no...
Posted on September 21, 2008Ismaili Flag - Modern Period
"Imam Hasan Ali Shah (1817-1881) arrived in India in 1842. He died and buried in Hasanabad, Bombay in 1881. He was succeeded by his son Imam Aga Ali Shah (1881-1885), who also died in Poona on August 17, 1885. His body in a bier was brought to...
Posted on September 19, 2008Ismaili Flag - Islamic Period
"The Islamic state of Medina continued the old Arab custom. In this context, the sources mention two synonyms, i.e., liwa (flag) and rayah (standard). It was liwa (pl alwiyah), which was ordinarily used in all expeditions; but ruyat (pl. of rayah)...
Posted on September 16, 2008Ismaili Flag - Fatimid Period
"Imam Radi Abdullah (840-881) had sent his da'is in all directions from Syria to propagate Ismailism. The most acclaimed among them was Ibn Hawshab (d. 914), who was sent to Yamen in 880. He made a large conversion and established an Ismaili rule. He...
Posted on September 10, 2008Ismaili Centre
The Ismaili Centre has great importance in Ismaili society. It serves as a multipurpose place for a faithful. An Ismaili does not enter the Centre for worship only but he also learns a lesson how to lead a life of chastity, contenment, tolerance,...
Posted on September 7, 2008Ismaili
The word batin is derived from batan means hidden, concealed, covert, inward, inner or esoteric. Ibn Taymiyya quotes Hasan Basari as related that, "Verily, each Koranic verse has an outer meaning and the inner meaning" (Majmu Fatwa, Riyad, 1382 AH,...
Posted on September 4, 2008Islamic Era
The word calendar is derived from Latin kalendae means first day of the month. It stands for dating system in the world. From ancient time man used time reckoning system based upon the movement of the sun and the moon. The altering phrases of moon...
Posted on July 18, 2007Golden Jubilee Of H.H. Prince Karim Aga Khan
The 11th July, 2007 is going to mark historically an inauguration of the Golden Jubilee of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hazar Imam. This is the glorious historical era when the Ismailis are scattered all over the world, not confined to East...
Posted on July 14, 2007Silver Jubilee Of H.H. Prince Karim Aga Khan
The Imam appeared in a ceremonial high-walled black cap, a white tunic and a brown, embroidered robe. Sitting between Mata Salamat Umm Habibeh and his own wife, the Prime Minister Mohammad Ali recorded the whole ceremony with his 3-D camera,...
Posted on July 14, 2007Platinum Jubilee Of Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan
To mark the completion of his seventy years of Imamate, the Ismailis decided to weigh the Imam in platinum. The Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in Karachi on 3rd February, 1954 in presence of 50,000 Ismailis.
Posted on July 14, 2007Diamond Jubilee of Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan
In a message to “Diamond Jubilee Souvenir Year Book," the Imam said, “The Ismailia history has passed through several stages of development. My Diamond Jubilee marks such a stage in the present times. With it a phase of consolidation and cooperation...
Posted on July 14, 2007Jubilee Celebrations In Ismaili History
A peep into the historical records tends to reveal the culture of holding the jubilee festival which was celebrated for the first time by Moses in obedience to the commands of religion before the inauguration of the Christian era. The Law of Moses...
Posted on July 14, 2007Golden Jubilee Of Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan
Bombay was the venue for the celebrations in India. Huge crowd in festive and solemn mood had gathered at Hasanabad to attend the unique occasion on January 19, 1936. When the Imam and Begum arrived at 10.35 a.m. to receive one of the most...
