Ismaili Quotes

If 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted' stands as a symbol of the license granted to the Ismaili elite, then the unrelated subsidiary motto 'Omnia in numero et mensura' acquires an ultimately cautionary significance. All things within measure, nothing too much.

The Sufis, the Sunni mystics with whom the Ismailis felt great affinity, had an axiom: “He who knows himself, knows his Lord.

The Templars would later encounter Ismaili dualists in the form of the Assassins, who would descend from their Syrian mountain eyrie to commit acts of terror against all sides.

The God of the mystics yearned to be known by his creatures. The Ismailis believed that the noun ilah (god) sprang from the Arabic root WLH: to be sad, to sigh for.46 As the Sacred Hadith had made God say: “I was a hidden treasure and I yearned to be known. Then I created creatures in order to be known by them.

Al-Hakim was wildly inconsistent, founding a Dar al-Ilm – House of Knowledge – similar to al-Mamun’s House of Wisdom – where not only Ismaili theology but astronomy and philosophy were taught in sessions that he himself often attended. But once Barjawan was gone al-Hakim seems to have believed that tolerance had displeased God. In 1004, noticing rich Christian caravans setting off for Jerusalem, he started executing Christians and converting churches into mosques. On hearing of the frenzied Christian rite of the Holy Fire that took place every Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he banned Christmas, Epiphany and Easter, and wine drinking as well. Then he ordered that Jews and Christians wear distinguishing clothing, a Jew a wooden cow-yoke (and in the baths a cowbell) and Christians a cross. Jews and Christians were ordered to convert or die; many pretended to convert.

The greatest of the Nizari Ismaili leaders in Syria was Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan, who ruled over their affairs from his castle at Masyaf from the early 1160s until his death in 1192. Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan referred to himself as shaykh al-jabal—the Mountain Chief—and it was from this that the moniker the Old Man of the Mountains arose, cemented in time into the popular consciousness by

This they gleaned from Muslims opposed to the Nizari Ismaili, who used various derogatory terms for them, such as Hashishiyya or Hashshashin.

Son yıllarda onun en büyük dileği Şah İsmail'i kesin bir zaferle mağlup etmekti. Kendine halife-i rahman ünvanı veren Şeybani-han'ın ideallerinden biri de İslam aleminin dini lideri olmaktı. "Bir kına iki kılıç sığmaz; İslam alemine ya ben lider olurum, ya Şah İsmail!"diyordu.

The Prophet said: A man will come out of the East who will preach in the name of the family of Muhammad, though he is the furthest of all men from them. He will hoist black flags which begin with victory and end with unbelief.

.....the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, from century to century, in diverse cultural environments. The Noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together. - His Highness the Aga Khan, The Ismaili Center London, October 19, 2003 ‘Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions’ An International Colloquium organised by Institute of Ismaili Studies

The ethics of Islam enjoin all believers, individually or through institutions such as the Ismaili Imamat, to assist the poor, the isolated, and the marginalised to improve their current circumstances and future prospects. Through the Imamat, I have tried to respond to this responsibility by creating a group of private, non-denominational agencies the Aga Khan Development Network – to respond to the needs and potential of people living in some of the poorest parts of the world, irrespective of their gender, ethnicity, or religion.” His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, World Mountain Forum UNESCO, Paris, France – June 5, 2000

[A]bove all, it has been the Qur'anic notion of the universe, as an expression of Allah's will and creation, that has inspired in diverse Muslim communities, generations of artists, scientists and philosophers? Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur'an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah's benevolent majesty. As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: 'Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah.'" His Highness the Aga Khan's 2003 Address to the International Colloquium 'Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur'an and its Creative Expressions' organised by The Institute of Ismaili Studies (London, United Kingdom)

An eighteenth-century Gujarati text of the Satpanth Nizari Isma'ilis tells of a renowned Isma'ili and Sûfî master imparting Tantric spiritual instruction to a Nath Siddha Jogi master. It includes both Islamic and Tantric terms, and demonstrates the intersection of these two traditions. A portion of this document has been published with a study by Dominique Sila Khan as "Conversation between Guru Hasan Kabiruddin and Jogi Kanipha: Tantra Revisited by the Isma'ili Preachers.

the steady proliferation of Shia Islam in the following centuries generated more rounds of hostile infighting on a larger scale within the community. This, in turn, spawned a number of radical factions, including Ismailism, the precursor to the Order of Assassins' Nizari Ismaili faith.

Truth always rests with the minority.

Ithbāth works emerged from the need to define the role and character of the Prophet ̶ an attempt to preserve traditions in the face of the rapidly changing sociopolitical realities within Muslim societies

The continuity of spiritual leadership has resulted in several key differences between the Ismailis and other Shi‘i communities. The unifying voice of the Imam at the apex of this culturally diverse community has engendered an interpretation of Islam that speaks to contemporary life, its changing challenges and realities. Maintaining a historic adherence to the Ja‘fari madhhab, while also adhering to Sufi principles of personal quest, the Ismailis seek a balance between external acts of faith (zahir) and their inner spiritual meaning (batin).

How does it work when you have a living, breathing, and divine representative of God on Earth? Do you consult a 1300-year-old holy book when you can go right to the source? To be sure, no Nizari Ismaili will tell you that the Quran is not revered in his or her faith; they will insist that there is no contradiction between the teachings of the Aga Khan and the holy text. However, to the objective observer, it’s inevitable in this situation that the Quran becomes a secondary source, a historical reference book at most. Indeed, the Aga Khan’s modern, progressive views and rulings have resulted in the Nizari Ismaili community becoming arguably the most well-integrated, secular, apolitical, nonviolent, and generally pro-West Muslim community in the world.

When your body was beautiful, you acted pretty ugly. Now that you’re ugly, you should beautify your actions. Time has made your body feeble: Yesterday a peacock, today a porcupine.

In conjunction with the development of the theology of the Occultation and the foundation of Twelver Shi’ism, another branch of Shia was also making great strides in the 9th and 10th centuries: the Ismailis.  After the death of the 6th Imam, Jafar, the Shia split between the followers of the son of his elder son Ismail (hence the term “Ismailis”) and the followers of his third son, Musa.  The followers of Musa remained based in Medina and developed an intellectual strand of Shi’ism around their clerical Imams that eventually lead to the Occultation.  The Ismailis, on the other hand, took a more political approach to their Imamate, based out of the restive Shia city of Kufa.