The Nizari Ismailites Abolishement of the Sharia

1. A. DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT UP TO THE QIYÂMÂ

The Shî'îtes, the supporters of 'Alî and his descendants, started to develop their idea of the Imâm leadership soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (632 A.D.) The term imâm originally designated a caravan-leader and means 'the one who goes in the front'. (1) According to the Shî'îtes 'Alî, the prophet's son-in-law and cousin, was the first Imâm, and only his bloodline could rightfully claim the religious leadership. 'Alî was also an "executor of the prophet's will" (Wasî), and the unique relationship between the prophet (nabî) and the executor of his will could be traced back even

To the time of Adam. Adam was the first prophet and Seth his executor; other such pairs had appeared regularly in history from then on. This 'division of labor' between the speaker of the revealed word, and the one who puts this message into practice by interpreting it for the believers, took on a central role in Shî'îsm. Speculations regarding the status of the executor, seen as Imâm, became increasingly esoteric, setting the Shî'îtes even further apart from the Sunnites. This tendency also created schisms within Shî'îsm itself. Shî'îsm seemed to lose interest in the Prophet, concentrating, instead, on the figure of the Imâm.

A political and religious leader, the Imam nevertheless came to be seen as a super-human being.

During the reign of theImam Ja'far as-Sâdiq (d. 765 A.D.) This development became increasingly apparent, and the party following Ja'far's son Ismâ'îl (hence the term Ismâ'îlîs) granted Ismâ'îl almost divine qualities. The schism of 765 A.D. Separated the lsmâ'ilîs from the adherents of another of Ja'far's sons, Műsâ al-Kâzim, whose line started the Twelver-Shî'îte Imam-genealogy. Divergent lines of Imams resulted from controversies about the ruling Imam's special designation (nass) of his rightful heir.

The Ismâ'îlîs, then, strengthened dogmas of the Imam's divinity and sinlessness, as well as his right to interpret law and scripture with absolute authority (ta'lîm), regardless of traditional consensus ('ijmâ). Also, "designation", in the usual sense of the term, ceased to be all-important; spiritual lineage sometimes took precedence over blood-ties. A special power in the Imam-soul was thought to transmigrate to the Imam-heir. These lines of general spiritualization, cosmic speculations, and allegorical interpretations of past and present events minimized the importance of external history. As Hodgson says, "The only thread of historical continuity which remained, in principle, was the Alid ancestry, mediated through the nass of designation. All else was archetype and analogy " (2)

According to Ismâ'îlî tradition Ismâ'îl "disappeared" (a common manner of expressing that a divine figure cannot really die) white still alive in order to elude his enemies. His followers established an extensive, tightly organized propaganda and missionary system (da'wa). Roughly two hundred years after the Ismâ'îli schism the Fâtimid dynasty established itself firmly in Egypt and continued the lsmâ'îli success until the next break in the Imam-line under al-Mustansir in 1094 A.D. The esoteric doctrines deepened and acquired new charac- teristics during these centuries. The idea of cyclical periods of revelation, for instance, implied that the Imâm could be hidden, or in full view. When the Imam is hidden, his "witness", (hujja), testifies to the Imam's existence and keeps in contact with him. The Hujja is then the temporal and spiritual leader of the mission (da'wa); he is, in fact, the sole, personified means of access to the hidden Imâm. Since the faithful can never be left in the dark without visible leader- ship, the hujja is always present when the Imâm is hidden. But it is also possible for hujja and Imam to be visibly present at the same time.

The power of the Imam, whether he is seen or not, filters down through the hierarchy in which the hujja occupies the highest position. In the cycle of openness, (kashf), the Imâm is visible to everybody; these cycles alternate with periods of occultation (satr), when the hujja takes on the responsibitity for the community. A favorite way of depicting this idea is to see the Imam as the sun, in the "open" period, and the hujja as the moon, who rules in the absence of the Imâm, obtaining his power, light, from the Imâm. One discerns here how the speculations about the Imâm-Hujja relationship has taken the place of the former ideas about the retation of the prophet to his executor.

Another central idea is that of the zâhir-bâtin principle, the idea of an external vs. a hidden, inner meaning. It is a theory of interpretation and it expresses an idea related to the notion Of the openness vs. hiddenness cycles. Applied to the exegesis of scripture and tradition, the zâhir-bâtin principle conveys, again, the idea of the overt vs. the hidden, and it emphasizes that it is necessary to grasp this doubleness of meaning. The zâhir-bâtin principle remains in force; it seems, whether the period is one of openness or of occultation.

As noted, the reign of al-Mustansir brought another schism in the line of Imâms: Nizâr, al-Mustansir's son, was originally designated as heir, but controvercies arose. At this time the Fâtimid dynasty had weakened and was forced to succumb to the Seljuk regime, and it was in this atmosphere that Nizâr, his nass withdrawn, staged a brief uprising. He lost, "disap- peared", and the Ismâ'îlites loyal to him took the name Nizârîs. They took charge of a poverful propaganda system in Iran, and, at Alaműt, they envisioned and prepared the new, ideal Ismâ'ilî state under the rule of the Mahdi, the last, returned Imâm, the ultimate savior of the faithful.

The "Lord of Alaműt", as he was later called, Hasan as-Sabbâh founded and lead this new enterprise in eschatological rule. He had grown up as a Twelver-Shî'ite in Qumm in Iran. Influenced by Ismâ'îli missionaries, however, he visited Egypt, and, according to legend, collaborated with Nizâr in his brief battle for the Imâmat. Back in Iran, Hasan looked for a suitable place to put his project, an Ismâ'îli state, into practice. By a combination of tricks and persuasions he acquired, in 1090 A.D., the fort Alaműt, where he stayed until his death in 1124 A.D.

Strengthening the doctrine of authoritative teaching (ta'lîm), Hasan applied this dogma to his own position. Hasan's followers were called "The Party of the Truthful", adhering to Hasan's total authority as supreme teacher. Of course, this party's real leader was the by now otherworldly Imâm, hidden to mortal eyes. Hasan did not try to be recognized as the Imam, rather, his role was that of the hujja, who, as noted, demanded full obedience in the occultation period. The very unity of the Party of the Truthful, in fact, proved their teacher's indeniable right to exercise absolute authority (ta'lîm). Inevitably, a certain merging of teacher and message resulted, and Hasan, although supposedly only testifying to the hidden Imâm's existence, saw his status heightened.

During Hasan 's rule the Nizârî mission expanded; other castles in Iran and also in Syria came under Nizârî hegemony. The most famous feature of Nizârîsm at this time was the fidâ'î, the specially trained soldier and fearless assassin, who, indeed, gave the movement its popular name, the Assassins.

In the decades following Hasan's death little seems to have happened as regard development of doctrines. The Nizâris were busy fighting, attempting to convert the inhabitants in the regions between the far-flung Nizâri forts. The long awaited ideal state on earth and the Mahdi were not in sight, however, and the expectations were unfulfilled. Preparations for the true, overt Imâm-rule could not remain preparation only for an indefinite span of time. Moreover, the Nizârî campaigns were not always successful. The Party of the Truthful readied itself lor the manifestation of its most fervent hopes.

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