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Dawr Al-satr
Satr () is a term used by the Isma'ili Shi'a for various periods in their history where the true Imamate in Ismaili doctrine, imam was hidden () and represented through agents. These periods of concealment () might end with the renewed public manifestation of the imam, or continue until the present day. Entering into concealment did not mean that the line of imams stopped with the hidden imam; the Isma'ili concept is thus different from the concept of occultation (Islam), occultation () as conceived by the Twelver Shi'a. History Pre-Fatimid Isma'ilism The first period of concealment () for the Isma'ilis began in 765, with the death of the Imamate in Ismaili doctrine, imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, and lasted until the proclamation of the Fatimid Caliphate in 909, when Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah came forth as imam and caliph. In the meantime, the Isma'ili imam was hidden (), and his return was expected by the Isma'ili faithful as the ('the Rightly Guided One') or ('He Who Arises'), a messia ...
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Isma'ili
Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kazim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the Imamah (Shia doctrine), true Imām. After the death of Muhammad ibn Isma'il in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning () of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Usulism and Akhbarism into the more literalistic () oriented, Shia Islam developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismaili, Alevism, Alevi, Bektashi Order, Bektashi, Alians, Alian, and Alawites, Alawite groups focusing on the mysticism, mystical path and nature of God in Islam, God, along with the "Imam of the Time" representing the mani ...
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Al-Mustansir Billah
Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Mustanṣir biʾllāh (‎; 2 July 1029 – 29 December 1094) was the eighth Fatimid Caliph from 1036 until 1094. He was one of the longest reigning Muslim rulers. His reign was the twilight of the Fatimid state. The start of his reign saw the continuation of competent administrators running the Fatimid state ( Anushtakin, al-Jarjara'i, and later al-Yazuri), overseeing the state's prosperity in the first two decades of al-Mustansir's reign. However, the break out of court infighting between the Turkish and Berber/Sudanese court factions following al-Yazuri's assassination, coinciding with natural disasters in Egypt and the gradual loss of administrative control over Fatimid possessions outside of Egypt, almost resulted in the total collapse of the Fatimid state in the 1060s, before the appointment of the Armenian general Badr al-Jamali, who assumed power as vizier in 1073, and became the ''de facto'' dictator of the country under the nominal rule of al ...
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Hassan II Of Alamut
Ḥasan ʿAlā Zikrihi's-Salām (Persianحسن على ذكره السلام) or Hassan II was the hereditary Imam of the Nizari Isma'ilis of the Alamut Period from 1162 until 1166. From his capital of Alamut he ruled parts of Persia and Syria. His chief subordinate in Syria was Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the Old Man of the Mountain. Biography Controversy over descent There are conflicting reports of Hassan's origin. One of the only historical reference extant, Juwayni (who was hostile to Ismailis), claims that Hassan was the son of Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid, Fatimid dai and lord of Alamut. According to Juwayni's reports, Hassan first implicitly claimed the imamate and then claimed to be the caliph himself. However, Nizari sources generally claim an Alid descent for Hassan, and believe that Hassan ibn Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid is distinct from Hassan II of Alamut. Leadership In 1164 Hassan, leading the Nizari sect of Ismaili Islam, proclaimed the '' Qiyamat'', the abrogation of S ...
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Hassan Al-Qahir
Al-Qāhir ibn al-Muhtadī bi-Quwwat Allāh () or Ḥasan al-Qāhir was the 22nd Imam of the Shia Nizari Ismailis. He is believed to have lived in occultation in the Nizari Ismaili state centrered around Alamut Castle. He is believed to have been represented externally by Kiya Buzurg-Ummid, and later on by Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid. There is not a great deal known about al-Qahir except that which is recorded traditional doctrine of the Nizari Isma'ili; he was the father of their 23rd Imam, Hasan 'Ala Zikrihi's-Salam, and according to tradition, revealed himself to his followers in 1164 as the son of "Muhammad al-Muhtadi". However, the existence of al-Qahir and his two predecessors is considered obscure. On the one hand, because they are said to have lived in secrecy and, on the other hand, because contemporary historiographical works by the Ismailis were destroyed in the Middle Ages. The oldest genealogies of the imams following Nizar date from the 15th and 16th centuries. Sunn ...
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Al-Muhtadi (Nizari Imam)
Muhammad (I) al-Muhtadi (), was the 21st Imam of the Nizari Ismailis. He was a concealed Imam. According to Ismaili historiography, al-Muhtadi (the Rightly Guided) was the elder son of the 20th Nizari Imam, al-Hadi, who moved around 1094 from Egypt to Northern Persia close to the region around Alamut. Here he was under the protection of the Nizari leaders Hassan-i Sabbah (d 1124) and Kiya Buzurg-Ummid (d 1138). Life Muhammad bin Ali, surnamed al-Muhtadi is reported to have been born in 502/1109 at the castle of Lambsar. He was the first Ismaili Nizari Imam to be born in Persia. He is also known as Muhtadi and Muhammad I. He became the Imam of the Nizari Ismailis after the death of his father, Imam al Hadi, in the year 530 AH. His first move was to shift his headquarter to the fortress of Alamut and he focused on developing the Ismaili Army (Fidai) to be able to defend the Ismaili fortresses from the invaders. He also paid attention to the organization of the da'is and to intr ...
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Ali Al-Hadi Ibn Nizar
Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan, or ʿAlī, surnamed Al-Hādī (Arabic: علي الهادي بن نزار) (470 AH/1076 CE – 530 AH/1136 CE) was the 20th Ismaili Nizari Imam. Born in Cairo, he was about 17 years old when his predecessor, Imam al-Mustansir, died, and 20 years old during the assumption of his Imamate in 490 AH/1097 CE. Henceforward, the seat of Ismaili Imamate was transferred from Egypt to Persia owing to the division among the Ismailis, where Hasan bin Sabbah had founded the Nizari Ismaili state. Name ''Abu Ali Al-Hasan'' son of Nizar son of Al-Mustansir Billah. Syrian resources mention his name as Ali Al-Hadi Ibn Nizar, علي الهادي بن نزار commonly referred to by the title al-Hadi الهادي meaning ''The Guide.''  According to a copy of a letter from the 21st Imam Al-Muhtadi to the Syrian Ismaili, the proper name was Al-Hadi Ali. A careful reading of this important letter composed by his son the 21st Ismaili Nizari Imam Al-Muhtadi may imply that he ...
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Nizari Isma'ili State
The Nizari state (the Alamut state) was a Nizari Isma'ili Shia state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah after he took control of the Alamut Castle in 1090 AD, which marked the beginning of an era of Ismailism known as the "Alamut period". Their people were also known as the '' Assassins'' or ''Hashashins''. The state consisted of a nexus of strongholds throughout Persia and the Levant, with their territories being surrounded by huge swathes of hostile as well as crusader territory. It was formed as a result of a religious and political movement of the minority Nizari sect supported by the anti-Seljuk population. Being heavily outnumbered, the Nizaris resisted adversaries by employing strategic, self-sufficient fortresses and the use of unconventional tactics, notably assassination of important adversaries and psychological warfare. They also had a strong sense of community as well as total obedience to their leader. Despite being occupied with survival in their hostile environment, ...
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Alamut Castle
Alamut (, meaning "eagle's nest") is a ruined mountain fortress located in the Alamut region in the South Caspian Sea, Caspian, near the village of Gazor Khan in Qazvin Province in Iran, approximately 200 km (130 mi) from present-day Tehran. In 1090 AD, the Alamut Castle, a mountain fortress in present-day Iran, came into the possession of Hassan-i Sabbah, a champion of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Ismaili cause. Until 1256, Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the Nizari Ismaili state, which included a series of List of Ismaili strongholds, strategic strongholds scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by swathes of hostile territory. Alamut, which is the most famous of these strongholds, was thought impregnable to any military attack and was fabled for its heavenly gardens, library, and laboratories where philosophers, scientists, and theologians could debate in intellectual freedom. The stronghold survived adversaries includin ...
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Hasan-i Sabbah
Hasan al-Sabbah also known as Hasan I of Alamut, was an Iranian religious and military leader, founder of the Nizari Ismai'li sect widely known as the ''Hashshashin'' or the Order of Assassins, as well as the Nizari Ismaili state, ruling from 1090 to 1124 AD.Lewis, Bernard (1967), ''The Assassins: a Radical Sect of Islam'', pp 38-65, Oxford University Press Alongside his role as a formidable leader, Sabbah was an accomplished scholar of mathematics, most notably in geometry, as well as astronomy and philosophy, especially in epistemology. E. G. Brown ''Literary History of Persia'', Vol. 1, p. 201. Nizam al-Mulk Tusi, pg. 420, foot note No. 3 It is narrated that Hasan and the Persian polymath Omar Khayyam were close friends since their student years. He and each of the later Assassin leaders came to be known in the West as the Old Man of the Mountain, a name given to the sect's leader in the writings of Marco Polo that referenced the sect's possession of the commanding mountain ...
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Musta'li
Musta'li Isma'ilism () is a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate ninth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah (). The Nizari the other living branch of Ismailism, led by Aga Khan V believe the ninth caliph was al-Musta'li's elder brother, Nizar. The Musta'li originated in Fatimid-ruled Egypt, later moved its religious center to Yemen, and gained a foothold in 11th-century Western India through missionaries. The Tayyibi and the Hafizi Historically, there was a distinction between the Tayyibi and the Hafizi Musta'lis, the former recognizing at-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim as the legitimate heir of the Imamate after al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah and the latter following al-Hafiz, who was enthroned as caliph. The Hafizi view lost all support following the downfall of the Fatimid Caliphate: later Musta'lis are all Tayyibi. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin was the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community. ...
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Nizari
Nizari Isma'ilism () are the largest segment of the Isma'ilism, Ismailis, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasise independent reasoning or ''ijtihad''; Pluralism (philosophy), pluralism—the acceptance of racial, ethnic, cultural and inter-religious differences; and social justice. Nizaris, along with Twelvers, adhere to the Jaʽfari jurisprudence, Jaʽfari school of Fiqh, jurisprudence. The Aga Khan, currently Aga Khan V, is the spiritual leader and Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imam of the Nizaris. The global seat of the Imamate in Ismaili doctrine, Ismaili Imamate is in Lisbon, Portugal. Early history Nizari Isma'ili history is often traced through the unbroken hereditary chain of guardianship, or ''walayah'', beginning with Ali, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, whom Shias believe the prophet Muhammad declared his successor as Imam during the latter's Farewell Pilgrimage, final pilgrimage to Mecca, and continued in an unbroken chain ...
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Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile Delta, Nile River delta. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, eventually replacing Memphis, Egypt, Memphis, in present-day Greater Cairo, as Egypt's capital. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" and "Pearl of the Mediterranean Coast" internationally, Alexandria is a popular tourist destination and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and petroleum, oil pipeline transport, pipelines from Suez. The city extends about along the northern coast of Egypt and is the largest city on the Mediterranean, the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second-largest in Egypt (after Cairo), the List of largest cities in the Arab world, fourth- ...
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