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

"The Shi'ites believe in the infallibility of their Imams, for their Imams were the highest example of man's perfection. They explain it as protection from sin and is specific quality of the Imams, who are infallible or immune (immunity from error and sin). Once Ali bin Abu Talib said, "By God, if I was given the seven regions and what is under their orbits to disobey God through taking a grain of barley from the mouth of a locust, I would not do that."

"The word jinn is derived from janna, meaning he covered or concealed. It is also said to have derived from idjtinan, meaning to be hidden or concealed. The origin of jinn is said to be fire, and their function is described as that of exciting evil passions or low desires. The Koran is explicit on both these points. As regards the creation of jinn, it says: "And the jinn We created before of intensely fire" (15:27), and again: "And He created the jinn of a flame of fire" (55:15).

KARAMAH [ see MUJIZAH ]

"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.

The verb istakhbara is used forty times in the Koran and its participle, mustakbir, six times. Pride (takabbur) is very often denounced by the Koran as a sin, because of its similarity to a form of partnership with God. Pride is the sin of all those who refuse to surrender to God. It was also Satan's first sin (2:34, 38:73-4).

Jubilee is a celebration of a period of time, anniversary or other special occasions. The word jubilee is derived from the Hebrew yobel, meaning ram's horn. In the ancient time, the jubilee was announced by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet of ram's horn, and as a result, the occasion came to be known as yobel, or jubilee. The Arabic word for jubilee is also yobel, and Turkish ellinci.

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.

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 death of Imam Jafar Sadik in 148/765 marked the beginning of the decentralization of Shi'ite religious authority. The Ithna Asharites or the Twelvers, the Shi'ite sect supported Musa Kazim as their next Imam after Imam Jafar Sadik. Musa Kazim was born in 128/745 on the road between Mecca and Medina. His mother was a Berbar slave, called Hamida. Throughout the whole of his life, Musa was faced with hostility from the Abbasids. The cause of his arrest and murder is said to have been the result of the plotting of caliph Harun ar-Rashid's vizir, Yahya bin Khalid.

"In August, 1935, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah completed 50 years of his spiritual leadership and the Ismailis decided to pay a memorable tribute to their Imam by weighing him against gold and making a present of it, as a mark of their love and gratitude. For this grand program, an All-India Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee had been formed, which was inaugurated by Lady Aly Shah on October 16, 1935 at Bombay. Sir Ibrahim Rehmatullah was elected its President and Ghulam Ali Merchant as the Vice-President.

"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.

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.

"Jafar bin Mansur, the son of Ibn Hawshab was greatly distressed by the internal quarrels in which his brother, Abul Hasan Mansur played a conspiracy in killing Abdullah bin Abbas al-Shawiri in Yamen. Jafar bin Mansur was deadly against his brother and went to Maghrib at the Fatimid court. He reached Maghrib when Imam al-Mahdi had died in 322/934. He was however well received by Imam al-Qaim and his services were amply rewarded and was given the charge of mission. He was held in great esteem for his learning and ability. He also served whole heartedly to Imam al-Mansur and Imam al-Muizz.

Sixty years of his benevolent rule gave his followers a chance to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee by weighing him in diamonds. The weighing ceremony was performed in Bombay at the Brabourne Stadium on the after-noon of Sunday, 10th March, 1946. Over 100,000 Ismailis from various parts of the world had come to see this magnificent spectacle unusual event. The huge multitude present in the ceremony included fourteen ruling princes, among them the Maharajas of Kashmir and Baroda and the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. The value of the diamonds was 640,000 British pounds.

July 26, 1957 : Given title of His Highness by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

August 12, 1957 : Awarded the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar by the Sultan of Zanzibar.

October 24, 1959 : Conferred His Royal Highness by the King of Iran.

October 27, 1960 : Conferred the honour of Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry by the Portuguese Government.

August 4, 1965 : The President of Ivory Coast decorated with the highest order of the nation, the Grand Cross of the National Order.

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.

"Abu Abdullah Jafar bin Muhammad was born in 80/699 at Medina. Ibn Khallikan (1:327) and others determine his birth from the event of Amm al-Juhaf (the year of the flood) in Mecca, which according to Tabari (2:320) occurred in 80/699. According to the Arabic lexicon, jafar means stream. His father had referred to him "the best of all mankind" and "one in charge of the family of Muhammad" (qaim al-Muhammad).

Platinum is a soft, ductile and silver-white metallic element. The Spanish scientist Antonio de Ulloa discovered it in gold-bearing deposits in Columbia in 1735. The English chemist William Wollaston first obtained pure platinum in 1803; and was also the first to devise a way to produce platinum in a workable form suitable for commercial purposes. South Africa, Russia and Canada produce almost all of the world's output of platinum. Its production began about in 1925, but it began to be used for jewelry in significant amounts in 1905.

"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".

""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)