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Ismaili History 727 - The line of Momin Shah

It must be recollected that Momin Shah, the son of Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad was the hujjat in Syria. Since he was an elder son, therefore, a small section in Syria had considered him as his father's successor. It is related that he returned from Syria and settled down in a village called Khwand in Qazwin, bordering Gilan too. He preached the esoteric teachings of Ismailism on Sufic pattern. Momin Shah built a small khanqah (cloister) in Khwand, where he and his descendants had been revered as the 'Saints of Khwand' (sadit-i khwandia) due to their piety and learning. Momin Shah died in 738/1337 and remained faithful to the line of Kassim-Shahi. None among them had ever claimed for Imamate, or visited Syria to nourish that small growing group, who later on became known as Momin-Shahis. It must be noted that the trivial section of Momin-Shahis was neither a forgotten branch of the Ismailis, nor a schism of great importance.
Imam Mustansir billah II (d. 880/1475) mentions in 'Pandiyat-i Jawanmardi' (p. 45) that: 'At the time of my great ancestor, Shah Husayn, some followers gave him up and accepted Muhammad ibn Hanafiyya. At the time of Shah Zaynu'l-abidin, some gave up the real Imam, and accepted Zayd as an Imam. At the time of my ancestor, Shah Jafar as-Sadiq, some followers gave up the real Imam, following Musa Kazim. Some followed Abdu'l-lah. Similarly, at the time of my ancestor, Shah Mustansir bi'l-lah, some gave up the real Imam, and followed Musta'li.' One can judge from the above version that the Imam had referred to both the major and minor branches of the Shiism, but did not mention a single word for the Momin-Shahis; tending to show that it was not a serious schism, but was a group anticipating the Imamate of Momin Shah. They used to call the Syrian Ismailis as the Kassim-Shahis to distinguish themselves from them. Later on, the local disputes between them had created some sorts of isolation. Some Momin-Shahis are reported to have gone in Badakhshan for business purpose, and propagated the line of Momin Shah. It seems that they were also responsible to cultivate different names and titles of the Imams in the line of Kassim Shah and Momin Shah.

Muhammad Shah (d. 807/1404), the son of Momin Shah became the next saint (sadat) of their khanqah in Khwand, who also acquired few powers in the locality of Daylam. He was succeeded by his son, Raziuddin I (d. 833/1429), who in turn was succeeded by his son Muhammad Tahir Shah (d. 867/1462). His son Raziuddin II (d. 915/1509) had gone to Badakhshan from Sistan in 913/1508 for mission. He established his rule over a large part of Badakhshan with the help of the Ismailis during the time of a certain Taymurid amir called Mirza Khan (d. 926/1520). Raziuddin II was killed in the local tribal fighting in 915/1509. Mirza Khan then executed many Ismailis in Badakhshan.


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