Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

The word kaba means it swelled or became prominent or it became high and exalted (ala wa-rtafa'a). The Kaba is a rectangular building in Mecca, almost in the center of the Masjid al-Haram, whereof the front and back walls (north-east and south-west) are each 40 feet in length, and the two side-walls 35 feet each, the height being 50 feet, the four walls running north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east.

When the soul departs from the body at the moment of death, and that which is left behind is nothing but an empty shell. The mortal remains are treated with dignity, love and respect. In Islam, the disposal of the dead body and funerary rites normally include: washing the body, shrouding and prompt burial.

It was another stronghold of the Syrian Ismailis. The Ismaili da'i Abu al-Fath purchased it in Jabal Bahra from Saiful Mulk bin Amrun in 527/1132. The acquisition of Kadmus and another Masiyaf provided the Syrian Ismailis with a territorial nucleus for the Amirate, which they established and lasted for more than a century. Later, the Mamluk Sultan al-Zahir Baybars occupied Kadmus in 671/1273.

The word kafir (pl. kuffar) is derived from kfr means cover, hide or conceal. In religious context it means to cover benefits received. The verb kafara denotes the characteristics attitude of those who, having received God's gifts of benevolence, try to conceal and ignore them, who are ungrateful to the Gracious God, who even take the offensive against Him.

"Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ali, surnamed al-Kahir bi-Quwatullah, or al-Kahir bi-Ahkami'l was born in 520/1126. His official name with Alamut's records was Hasan bin Muhammad, also known as Hasan I.

In Baghdad, the Abbasid caliph Muktafi (d. 555/1160) was ruling at that time, and was succeeded by caliph Mustanjid (d.566/1170). In Iran, the Seljuq sultan Muhammad I (d. 555/1160) was succeeded by Suleman Shah (d. 556/1161) and Arslan (d.571/1176). In Egypt, the Fatimid ruler al-Faiz (d.555/1160) was followed by al-Adid (d. 567/1171), the last of the Fatimids.

It is the collection of the different farmans of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah in Gujrati published by the Ismailia Association for India. It is divided into two volumes, the first was published in 1953, entitled Kalam-i Imam-i Moobin (388 pages), containing the farmans of September 1, 1885 to February 20, 1910. It covered almost 160 visits of the Imam in India and East African countries.

Kalam-i Mawla, i.e., the sayings of Imam Ali bin Abu Talib, is a poetical work of 328 verses, composed in Hindi. It is a manual of ethics for believer, stating the virtues to be cultivated and the vices to be shunned. It is recited in the Jamatkhana.

The term kalma (pl. al-kalma, kalmat) means word matter, sentence or verse. The word kalma is used 26 times, al-kalma 4 times and kalmat 8 times in the Koran. In Islamic terminology it refers to the confession of faith. This testimony in the terminology of the jurists is called iman mujmal (a brief expression of faith). It is simply by bearing witness to the truth that a man enters the fold of Islam.

KARAMAH [ see MUJIZAH ]

The Koranic word karim means nobility of lineage, a man of noble birth, going back to an illustrious ancestry and unblemished pedigree, occurring 270 times in the Koran. Since in the old Arab conception of human virtue, extravagant and unlimited generosity was the most conspicuous manifestation of man's nobility, karim had acquired also the meaning of a man characterized by an extravagant generosity.

"He was born in Geneva on 28th Ramzan, 1355/December 13, 1936. Lady Aly Shah (d. 1938) had given his name, Karim. He was born in the wake of cataclysm in the world. From the age of four years, he acquired the rudiments of formal education from Miss Doris Lyon, the governess and a friend of his family.

"Imam Kassim Ali was born most probably in 1086/1675. He was also known as Syed Aga Jafar, or Syed Jafar. His mother related to a Safavid amir of Kirman. According to the later sources, Imam had married to one of the daughters of Shah Tahmasp II (d. 1145/1732).

His period of Imamate witnessed several vital cataclysm in Iranian kingdom, therefore, the Ismaili mission exercised great care. Imam Kassim Ali also took part in the politics like his father, and was also the governor of Kirman. He however came to reside in Mahallat during the ending period of his Imamate.

Abul Kassim Muhammad Kuhpayai, known as Amiri Shirazi, or Kassim Amiri was a famous Ismaili scholar and poet. He was born possibly in 953/1545 in Kuhpayai, a village in the vicinity of Ispahan. He served Shah Tahmasp in the Safavid court for 30 years, then fell into disfavour. The tradition has it that a court theologian, Hilli Hasan bin Yousuf aroused the king against him. Shah Tahmasp arrested him for alleged impeachment being an infidel, and blinded him in 973/1565. He was imprisoned in Shiraz, and was executed by Shah Abbas in 999/1591.

Imam Kassim Shah, known as Syed Kassim Muhammad was most probably born in Daylam. He is said to have lived shortly in Armenia and Anatolia in the circle of the Bekhtashahis, a growing Sufi order in the Kurds and Turkomans. The tradition most possibly of later period indicates that Imam Kassim Shah had flourished a small village in Azerbaijan, called Kassimabad, which seems almost doubtful. It is however probable that the village, in which Imam Kassim Shah either resided, or where he used to see his followers, was termed, Kassimabad by the Iranian followers.

The word kawthar means abundance. It is related that the Prophet's son Tahir, born of Khadija, died and there was no male issue of the Prophet. His opponents, such as Umar bin A'as and Hakam bin A'as taunted the Prophet, calling him abtar. The word abtar is derived from batr meaning the cutting off, as applied to a beast, means one whose tail is cut off, denoting the one whose succession in his seed has ceased.

"March 17, 1962 : The Mayor and Town Council of Arzachena (Sardinia) made an Honorary Citizen of the Town.

August 4, 1965 : The Mayor of Abidjan conferred the honour of Freeman of Abidjan and presented with the "Golden Key" to the city.

November 15, 1966 : Presented the Golden Key to the Town of Majunga (in Malagasy Republic) by the Mayor.

April 4, 1980 : Mayor of Lahore presented the Freedom of the City of Lahore.

February 15, 1981 : Mayor Abdul Sattar Afghani of Karachi presented the "Key of Karachi City".

"In 7/629, about six weeks after the Prophet's party returned from Hudaibia, they learnt that the Jews in Khaibar were planning to make an inroad on Medina. To forestall these moves, the Muslims marched on Khaibar, about 92 miles from Medina, with 1600 men, and covered the distance in three forced marches and reached the enemy territory before dawn on the fourth morning. The two armies met at first at Natat and fought each other strongly.

The Persian word khak-i shafa means healing clay. The burial of the dead bodies in Karbala or Najaf, and the use of Karbala clay in holy water once held a firm dominance in the Ismaili community in Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.

The term occurs in the Koran twice in the singular and seven times in the plural as khala'if or khulafa. By far its most prevalent meaning in the Koran is successor, substitute, replacement or deputy, which is clear in the verbal and nominal plural occurrences. The rare meaning of the term is inhabitant or settler on earth. The meaning is most evident in 2:30 where God says to the angels: "I am making on earth a khalifa" clearly meaning Adam.

"Mirza Khalil, mostly known as Khalilullah Ali I was born in Anjudan. It is related that Imam Nuruddin Ali nominated him as his successor in presence of the Indian and Syrian Ismaili pilgrims at Anjudan.

Imam Khalilullah Ali is said to have examined the economical conditions of the poor Ismailis residing in Iran, India, Syria, Badakhshan and Central Asia, and sent necessary aids through his family members. He also reviewed the then system of Ismaili mission of different regions, and caused vital changes specifically in the religious practices in India.

"Imam Khalilullah Ali II was born in 1153/1740 in the city of Kirman. His upbringing in Mahallat began under the care of his uncle, Mirza Muhammad Bakir at the age of two years, and got rudiments of his formal education at home.

Khamr is the drink prohibited in the Koran. The word khamr is derived from the verb khamara means it veiled or covered or concealed a thing, and wine is called khamr because it veils and shrouds the intellect of man. The word khamr occurs six times in the Koran, once in subjective case (5:90), twice in objective case (12:36, 41) and thrice in genitive case (2:219, 5:91, 47:15).

The word khanava'dan is derived from the Persian, khana-a'badan, means may the house be flourished. As it is also said, a'badan shudan (to be inhabited), a'badan kardan (cultivate or build) or khanaysh abad (may this house be full and prosperous). The word a'badan is nearly synonymous with abad.

It was a land tax collected from non-Muslims. It was also prevalent among the Iranians, known as kharaj. The Romans called it tributum soli. When Khaibar was conquered, the Muslims had neither enough slaves to cultivate the newly conquered lands nor they have time to do it themselves. The Jews offered to cultivate the lands as tenants of the state and pay it a part of the produce. The Prophet granted their request and fixed the kharaj at half of the produce. Thus, the institution of kharaj came into being among the Arabs.

""This day I preferred your religion for you, and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion" (5:3)

"When the first World War ended in November, 1918 the fate of the defeated Ottoman Empire in Turkey was no longer in doubt. The other fallen empires, Austria-Hungary had been dismembered, and the Ottoman Turks could not hope to escape the consequences of allying themselves with Germany. For Indian Muslims this raised grave issues of the political power of Islam. They had provided a large number of recruits in the war and had contributed materially towards the defeat of Turkey.

It appears that the word panjibhai was coined most probably in the tradition of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent during 17th century. This word was also used in the 14th part of the old prayer. The word panjibhai means the hand shaking brother. It was generally used for those who served inside the prayer-hall. It became more common for those who served inside and outside the community during the Aga Khan Case of 1866.

"The new converts during the operation of the Ismaili mission in India became known as the khoja - a title firstly came to be originated during the time of Pir Satgur. Syed Imam Shah (d. 926/1520) describes in his Moman Chetamani (no. 198-199) that, "Pir Satgur Nur had converted them, and consigned a path to be protected. He made them Khojas after conversion, and gave the essence of the path.

Khojki, Khwaja Sindhi, Chali Akhari or Khwajki Sindhi Surat Khat is a traditional script of the Ismailis of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. It was originated most probably in Sind, then it spread in other parts of India. It is also said that it was an earliest script for writing Sindhi. The Indian tradition has it that it was invented by Pir Sadruddin (1300-1416), who mostly converted the Hindu Lohana caste.

"It means knowing oneself. Man seeks evidence for everything. He is always seeking knowledge, and seeks to know the cause, effect and proof of things. Nothing is haphazard, everything leaves its trace. Man is the trace of the Creator; he is His evidence. Everything in His existence is an ayatullah (sign of God). If man knows himself, then he has known his God. The Prophet said: "He who knows himself has known his Lord" (man araf nafsahu faqad araf rabbahu).

It is a Persian word for God. It is a combination of two terms, khwud (self) and ay (coming), means Self-Created.

"Khums literally means one-fifth or 20%. In Islamic legal terminology, it means one-fifth of the items which a person acquires as wealth.

It means fifth part levied on the Muslim soldiers on the ghanima (booty) they received in the battle.

As for the khums, the Koran says: "And know that whatever thing you acquire in war, a fifth (khums) of it is for God and for the Prophet and for the near of kin (ahl al-bayt); and the orphans and needy and travellers" (8: 41)

In the period of the Prophet, when the ghanima (booty) was distributed, each soldier was to pay khums (fifth) from it. The accumulated amount of khums was divided into two parts as follow:-

The word khutba (pl. khutub) means public address, speech, lecture, discourse, oration or sermon. In past, the khatib (preacher) traditionally invoked the name of the recognized caliph after the Friday prayer at a congregational mosque (jam'ah masjid), and during pilgrimage and at the time of special festivities.

"The word kiya means lord or ruler. Buzrug Ummid or Kiya Buzrug Ummid was the second hujjat and ruler after Hasan bin Sabbah in Alamut, who most probably was born in 455/1062 in the peasant family of Rudhbar. He passed most of his childhood in Rudhbar in cultivation of his father's land. Kiya Buzrug Ummid had been a handsome young page, whom Hasan bin Sabbah had converted before almost 480/1087. He played a leading role during the possession of Alamut in 483/1090. He was an outstanding organizer, talented da'i and an able administrator.

"The word koran is derived from the Syriac, keryana, meaning scripture reading or lesson. The average authorities however hold that the term is simply the verbal noun from kara'a means he read or recited. Its other forms are yakra'o (he recites), akra'o (I recite), nakra'o (we recite), etc. The verb kara'a occurs 17 times, and koran 70 times in the Koran.

The Persian word karsazi means religious dues, which was collected by the authorized persons from each region in India. During the post-Alamut period, the musafir was the tithe-collector in the time of Pir Shams. In Sind, the tithe-collector was called khiyto, in Gujrat the bawa and the vakil in Kutchh. In the time of Pir Taj al-Din, two eminent brothers had embraced Ismailism, viz. Shah Kapur and Shah Nizamuddin. Shah Kapur and his descendant executed the role of collecting religious dues in India and transferred to the Imam in Iran.

"The word kursi in Arabic means throne. The Aramaic word kurseya and the Hebrew kisse, both also mean throne. Among the Arabs there is an idiom of calling the learned men or savants, karasi. The word kursi occurs twice in the Koran (2:255 and 38:34)