MOWLANA SHAMSUD-DIN MUHAMMAD
28th Imam -(654 A.H. - 710 A.H.)
The destruction of the Ismaili fortress at Alamut, together with the efforts of the Mongols to completely destroy the followers of the Ismaili sect, greatly crippled the Ismaili movement, and for a long time it was believed that the Ismaili sect had been destroyed, and that the families of the Imams had been wiped out too. But history has shown us that the sect was not destroyed. Many Ismailis in Persia were saved by Taqiya (disguise) and other means; many others fled to Afghanistan, to the Himalayas and to Sind.Ismaili tradition says that Imam Ruknud-Din Khair Shah, the last of the Imams at Alamut, sensing danger for his family and for the Ismaili community at Alamut, sent his son, Shamsud-Din Muhammad, then a boy of seven years, to a place of safety with his uncle. It is known from the Persian poet Nizari Quhistan that Imam Shamsud-Din Muhammad and Imam Qasim Shah lived in Adharbayjan, and the vicinity of Adharbayjan seems to have been the centre of Imamat for about two centuries.
Imam Shamsud-Din Muhammad lived as a Zardoz (an embroider) for the purpose of Taqiya (concealment) and was commonly known as Muhammad Zardoz. Referring to the Imam, whom he knew, Nizari Quhistan wrote:
"HE IS THE KING OF THE WORLD,
THE CROWN OF RELIGION,
HE IS THE SON OF ALI, WHO IS THE LIGHT
OF THE EYES OF THE KING OF THE WORLD,
HE IS THE FATHER OF SPIRITUALISM
AND THE SWEETEST FRUIT OF THE ETERNAL
GARDEN OF CREATION."
Pir Shams:
Pir Shamsud-Din Subzwari traced his descent to Imam Ismail
through Sayyed Hashamali who had
gone
to Cairo from Yemen. Hashamali's mother was Khairun-Nissa, who
also traced her genealogy to
Imam
Ja'far as-Sadiq. It was Hashamali who was entrusted to accompany
Imam Hadi, son of Imam
Nizar
from Cairo to Alamut. A strong group of these Ismaili Sayyeds
moved from Cairo to Sabzwar in
Iran
and Pir Shams was froin that colony.
Pir Shams was asked by Mowlana Qasim Shah to carry out the
Ismaili Da'wa in countries beyond
the
boundaries of Iran. Before starting the mission entrusted to
him, Pir Shams presented himself in
the
holy presence of Imam Qasim Shah, kissed Imam's hand and received
his blessings. When he
reached
Badakshan, a large number of people came to see him and after
being convinced, they accepted
the
Ismaili faith and swore allegiance to Imam Qasim Shah.
Pir Shams then left Badakshan for Tibet, where he stayed for a
few days to carry out his mission.
He
then proceeded to Kashmir by way of Hindu Kush, passing through
Ghazna, Chinab and
Analnagri.
Throughout his journeys, Pir Shams remained steadfast in his
faith, although often he could not
get any
food for any price and had to starve. He endured all these
difficulties with an unflinching heart
and at
last succeeded in reaching his destination. He settled in
Kashmir and learnt local languages so
that he
could preach to the people in their own tongue.
Shams Tabriz:
Pir Shamsud-Din Sabzwari has been confused with Shams Tabriz.
Shams Tabriz was the
"Spiritual
Master" of Mowlana Jalalud-Din Rumi, the great mystic poet of
Iran. Rumi wrote a book of
poems
in honour of his master, entitled "Diwan of Shams Tabriz" which
has been translated by R.A.
Nicholson. Shams Tabriz,. was the son of Imam Alaid-Din Muhammad
of Alamut; he left the
fortress
before its destruction, even before Imam Shamsud-Din Muhammad,
the son of Imam Ruknud-Din
Khair Shah had left. He also attained recognition as a Saint,
but, he did not go to India.
Imam Islam Shah, son of Imam Qasim Shah succeeded his father to
the Imamat. It was during the
period of his Imamat that Tamarlane, the Tartar, conducted a
campaign through Persia during
which
he, without doubt, massacred many Ismailis.
Ismaili tradition informs us that Imam Islam Shah resided at
Shahri Babak and later at Kahak. It
seems
that the Ismaili Imams maintained their connection with
Adharbayjan until a much later date;
however,
it is highly probable that Imam Islam Shah found it necessary to
shift his residence during
Tamarlane's
purge of the Ismailis.
Imam Islam Shah sent Pir Sadrud-Din (known as Pir Sadardin in
Indo-Pak), to India. Pir
Sadrud-Din
had been trained under Pir Shamsud-Din Sabzwari and assumed
charge of the communities in
Kashmir,
Sind and Punjab. Because of his teaching, there are thousands of
Ismaili Muslims today in India,
Pakistan, Burma and Africa.
Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah also maintained the growing Ismaili
community in India under
Pir
Sadrud-din.
Ismailis in Persia passed through a long period of unexpected
calamity and continuous persecution
in
the form of the Mongol invasion and mass killings by Tamarlane.
Therefore, for many years,
Isrnailis
had to live under strictest secrecy in Persia. Anjudan, and
later Kahak came to be known as the
residences of the Imams. However, Ismailism continued to grow in
the sub-continent of India
during
Imamat of Mowlana Mustansir-bi-Lah II, Mowlana Abdas-Salaam and
Mowlana Ghareeb
Mirza.
The oldest of the 3 mausoleums in Anjudan contains the grave of
Imam Mustansir bil-Lah II. It is
an
octagonal building with a conical dome. It is popularly known as
Shah Qalander but no reason
for this
can be found.
It is not known where Imam Abda-Salam's grave is. Behind an old
mosque and not very far from
the
mausoleum of Imam Mustansir bil-Lah, there is another mausoleum
known as Shah Ghareeb.
Within
the mausoleum, there are five graves besides the one in the
centre,and others are outside.
The name of Imam Ghareeb Mirza does not appear an any one of
those graves.
It would seem that the next Imams, i.e. Mowlana Abuzar Ali,
Mowlana Murad Mirza, Mowlana
Zulfiqar Ali, Mowlana Nurud-Din Ali, Mowlana Khalilullah Ali and
Mowlana Nizar must have
moved
to Kahak, because near the western end of that village, is the
mausoleum of Mowlana Nizar. This
is
within a garden, and the building has several rooms, each with
several graves in the style of Sufic
mausoleums in Persia. Mowlana Nizar is buried in the main
chamber which is dome-shaped.
An interesting fact to be noted here is that some of the graves,
apparently of those of the servants
of
the Imams, bear Khojki inscriptions; these could presumably be
the graves of the Indian followers
of
the Imam.
In the gardens belonging to the house of the Imam, there is a
stone platform raised on stone legs
like
a table and set in a depression. Local inhabitants say that Imam
Nizar used to sit upon this
platform,
which when the depression was filled with water, formed an
island, where he used to receive
his guests,
who were seated amidst flower-beds around the water.
The unsettled political condition which marked the next century,
is reflected in the very fact that
we
do not have much information about the Imams of this period.
Indeed we know almost nothing of
the
activities of Mowlana Sayyed Ali, Mowlana Hasan Ali and Mowlana
Qasim Ali.
Our 44th Imam, Mowlana Abul Hasan Ali was for some time the
governor of Kirman under the
Zend
kings. It is thought by some that Mowlana Abul Hasan Ali
accompanied Nadir Shah to India at
the
time of his invasion in 1738 A.D. The Imam retired from his
position at kirman and resided in
Muhallat.
Indian tradition places his death in around 1194 A.H.(1780
A.D.)
Imam Abul Hasan Ali is said to be buried in the mausoleum of the
famous Sufi, Mushtak Ali. The
grave, which is said to be of Imam Abul Hasan Ali's, is covered
with a greenish coloured slab,
with no
inscription. A little distance from his tomb, there is another
mausoleum, octagonal in shape. The
inscription on this seems to record the burial of a daughter of
the Imam. Other graves are also
there,
but their condition makes it impossible to identify them. W.
Ivanow thinks that it is possible that
some
of the Imams were buried at Najaf, for it was a recognized custom
at that time.
After his death, Mowlana Abul Hasan Ali was succeeded by his son,
Mowlana Khalilullah Ali,
who was
also known as Sayyed Kahaki, because he had established his
residence at
Kahak near Muhallat. His position as the Spiritual head of the
Ismailis was recognized by the
Persian
sovereign, Fateh Ali Shah. Mowlana Khalilullah Ali was greatly
revered by his followers. Ismailis
from
India as well as from other countries used to make pilgrimages to
Kahak to pay tribute to their
Imam
and to receive Imam's benedictions. The praise of the Imam has
been given in Kalami Pir as
follows:
"One who riseth by the Command of God,
The River (Qayyer) of the present time and eternity, The Source
of Generosity and Mercy, our
Master,
Our Lord, one who knows the Mysteries of what is Open and what is
Hidden. Our Lord Shah
Khalilullah Ali Prostration and Glorification be due at
His mention."
Mowlana Khalilullah Ali took up a temporary residence at Yezd.
In 1817, Imam and a number of
his
followers were killed by a mob, provoked by a mullah who was
jealous of Imam's popularity.
Mowlana Khalilullah Ali was buried at Najaf. His murder
terrified the ruler, Fateh Ali Shah, who
ad
' ministered severe punishment to the ones who were guilty of
this crime; the mullah was cast
naked
into a freezing pond and beaten with thorny stick.
The young son of the Imam, Mowlana Shah Hasan Ali Shah, was
richly rewarded by Fateh Ali
Shah,
who gave him the districts of Kum and Muhallat, in addition to
Imam's inherited estate. Fateh Ali
Shah
also recognized Shah Hasan Ali Shah as the head of the Ismailis
and gave him the title of Aga
Khan.
Later, he gave the Imam one of his daughters, Sarv-e-Jahan, in
marriage.
The young Prince, Mowlana Shah Hasan Ali, governed well. Fortune
smiled upon him as long as
Fateh
Ali Shah lived, but upon Fateh Ali Shah's death in 1834, a civil
war broke out and the Royal
Princes
got into a dispute as to who should be
the successor to the Royal throne. This changed the situation of
the Ismailis in Persia and the
Persian
Period of Nizari Ismaili Imams came to an end.
Back to top
MOWLANA QASIM SHAH
29th Imam - (710 A.H. - 771 A.H.)
Imam Shamsud-Din Muhammad was followed by his son Imam Qasim Shah
to the throne of
Imamat.
Both the Imams contributed a great deal to the reorganization of
the Ismaili Da'wa and a number
of
Dais were sent out of Iran. One of these was Pir Shamsud-Din
Sabzwari.Back to top
MOWLANA ISLAM SHAH
30th Imam
and
MOWLANA MUHAMMAD BIN ISLAM SHAH
31st Imam
Back to top
THE GREAT SATR (CONCEALMENT) PERIOD OF PERSIA
MOWLANA MUSTANSIR BI--LAH II32nd Imam
to
MOWLANA ABUL HASAN ALI
44th Imam
Back to top
MOWLANA KHALILULLAH ALI
45th Imam - (1730 A.D. - 1817 A.D.)
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