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

"The word kursi in Arabic means throne. The Aramaic word kurseya and the Hebrew kisse, both also mean throne. Among the Arabs there is an idiom of calling the learned men or savants, karasi. The word kursi occurs twice in the Koran (2:255 and 38:34)

"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.

"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.

"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).

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.

The word jahannam is derived from jihinnam means a deep pit, and as it is said in Arabic: bir'un jahannam'un means a well whose depth is very great. The word jahannam occurs 77 times in the Koran. Another name for hell, which bears a similar significance, but occurs only once in the Koran, is hawiya (101:9) means an abyss or a pit having no bottom, the root being hawa which means falling down to a depth from a highest and hence according to Raghib, it refers to low desires.

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)

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Remedial nature of hell

In 1982, the Ismailis celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the Present Imam. Jubilees are momentous occasions. The three jubilees celebrated by the 48th Imam resulted in the establishment of major new institutions for the material benefit and progress of the Ismailis. The Ismaili communities throughout the world looked forward to the Present Imam's first jubilee with much enthusiasm. Unlike his grandfather, the Present Imam did not wish to be weighed in silver.

November 30, 1967 : Given honorary Doctorate of Law (Honoris Causa) by Peshawar University.

February 6, 1970 : Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred by Sind University, Jamshoro

November 1, 1983 : Honorary Degree of the Doctorate of Laws McGill University.

May 15, 1987 : Conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) by McMaster University at Hamilton

October 11, 1989 : Awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Literature in Education from the University of London (Logan Hall) by Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, Chancellor of the University.

The word jahiliyya means ignorance, which is taken to refer to the pre-Islamic period. It was the age of tribalism and is reckoned to cover the period of about a century before the advent of Islam. In pre-Islamic literature, and to a considerable degree in the Koran, the word from the root j-h-l means not ignorance but something like barbarism. The term jahiliyya occurs four times in the Koran (33:33, 48:26, 5:50 and 3:154).

"It is one of several veins, taking blood from the head indirectly to the heart. The major ones are the right and left internal jugular veins, which arise from the base of the brain and pass down the sides of the neck, where they join the right and left brachiocephalic veins.

"July, 1981 : Awarded "Honorary Membership" of Pakistan Medical Association.

February 1970 : Pakistan army paid an honour of making Honorary Colonel of the 6th Lancers.

February 15, 1981 : Honorary Membership awarded by Pakistan Medical Association, Sind.

1985 : The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan conferred the honorary fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons.