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

The term vakil was a short form of vakil'i shah (vicegerent of the Lord) or vakil'i mawla (vicegerent of the Imam), and the term vakil'i nafs'i nafis'i humayun (vicegerent of the Imam in both his spiritual and temporal capacities) was used in Iran for the hujjat, or Pir. The word vakil means representative. Ordinarily, the office of the vakil was coined for a responsible person to represent the hujjat or Pir. The Imams appointed the vakils, but some times, the hujjat also appointed with the consent of the Imam.

"In 1897, a terrible famine broke out in Bombay and Poona. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah made not a little distinction of caste or creed while distributing grain, money and clothes during famine. He built a palace in Poona with a view to provide job opportunities and a means of livelihood to the famine stricken people. The site covered an area of 65 acres in the location of Yeravada in Poona. It construction had been made under the care of Lady Aly Shah. It cost over twelve lac rupees. It became known as the Yeravada Palace or the Aga Khan Palace.

"The word tahajjud is derived from hujud which means sleep and tahajjud literally signifies the giving up of sleep. The Tahajjud worship is so called because it is offered after one has had some sleep, and sleep is then given up for the sake of worship. It is a midnight worship, which is stated in the Koran to be voluntary: "O thou who hast wrapped up thyself!

The word tauba is derived from ta'b means to come back or return. Thus, tauba basically means return (from sin). The adjective nusuh means sincere, is the companion of the noun tauba. God demands of the believers a "sincere return" (taubatan nusuhan), and He in turn will make them enter paradise (66:8) Once Mu'adh bin Jabal said, "O'Prophet!

"The English word voluntar is borrowed from Latin, voluntary-ius or French, voluntaire means freely undertaken. It is a feeling arising or developing in the mind without external constraint having a purely spontaneous origin or character. Voluntary service refers to a work done with an intention of assisting others without expectation of its reward. Voluntary service is a universal concept and not confined to a specific culture, group or region. It is probably as old as mankind.

The Sanskrit word yoga is derived from the root yuj means to bind together, hold fast or yoke, which also governs the Latin iungere and iugum, and the French joug and so on. Yoga signifies a union of the individual soul with the Supreme Spirit. It is an old Indian practice, imparting that the man's bondage results identification of the soul with the body and that his liberation is attained through the knowledge of their separateness.

"Tahddi al-nasl means family planning. Planning is required in everything, be it concrete, sentimental, economical, social or intellectual. God declares in the Koran: "All things have We created after a fixed decree." (54:49) Similarly, the term "family" has a broad and deep meaning. The family is the first brick or unit in the social structure. To build up a family, it requires planning and providence for the number of one's offspring.

"The word tauz is derived from azha (synonym lazha), which appears to have the root meaning of clinging, as of flesh to bones, and hence expresses clinging to someone for refuge from some persons or some cause of fear. Every recitation of the Koran must begin with the formula of refuge, i.e., the isti'adhah which reads: A'uzu bi-llahi min al-shaitani'r-rajim (I seek refuge in God from the stoned Satan). It has been made obligatory through the Koran: "When you recite the Koran, seek refuge in God from Satan, the stoned one" (16:98).

"Abdullah bin Muhammad, surnamed ar-Radi, Nasir or al-Wafi (true to one's word) was also known as ar-Radi Abdullah al-Wafi or Wafi Ahmad, was born in 149/766. The tradition relates that Imam Wafi Ahmad was locally known as attar (druggist) in Nishapur and Salamia, a surname he earned after his profession in drug and medicine as a protection against his real position. He was however represented by his hujjat, Abdullah bin Maymun (d. 260/874).

"He was born on 20th Ramzan, 395/June 4, 1005. His name was Ali Abul Hasan, or Abu Ma'd, surnamed az-Zahir la-azaz dinallah (Assister in exalting the religion of God). His mother Amina was the daughter of Abdullah, the son of Imam al-Muizz. He acceded on the throne of Fatimid Caliphate and Imamate on 411/1021 at the age of 16 years. On the occasion of his coronation, a special payment in excess (fadl) of 20 dinars was granted to each soldier.

"The word taj is a Persian loanword in Arabic, which is derived from the old Persian tag, meaning crown. It is said that Dahhak was the first to wear the crown in the world. According to the hadith, "The turbans are the crowns of the Arabs" (al-ama'im tijan al-arab).

The word tawhid, infinitive of the second form of the Arabic verb w-h-d, literally means making one or asserting oneness. Derivations include wahhada means to unite, unify, connect, join, profess; wahdah means oneness, singleness, al-wahid means the One and al-ahad means the singular without number. It is applied theologically to the Oneness (wahdaniya, tawahhud) of God in all its meanings. It is the first and basic brick to believe in Islam, i.e. faith in the Unity of God.

"The word wahy is derived from waha, meaning inspire, reveal, give an idea or impression or hasty suggestion. Wahy originally signifies the making quick sign as wahiyyun means something hasty or quick, mawtun wahiyyun means a quick death, or amrun wahyun means a fast matter. Hence, it signifies the divine words communicated to His prophets.

The word zakat is derived from zaka, means it (a plant) grew, as it is said zaka al-zar (the crop grew). The other derivatives of this word, as used in the Koran (87:14), carry the sense of purification from sins, i.e., qad aflaha man tazakka (verily the pure ones prospered). According to Raghib, zakat is wealth which is taken from the rich and given to the poor, being so called because it makes wealth grew, or because the giving away of wealth is a source of purification. The word zakat occurs 32 times in the Koran.

"The word tajalli (pl. tajalliat) means theophany, theophan, self-disclosure or illumination. The Koran say: "And when Moses came to Our appointed time and his Lord spoke with him (kallamahu rabbuhu), he said, O my Lord, show me, that I may behold Thee!

"The word tawil is derived from the same root as the word awwal (first), which is also a name of God. The word tawil means to return, to cause to return, to reduce to, to find that to which a thing can be reduced. Since God is the First in relation to all things, many authorities understand the term tawil to signify taking a thing back to the First, demonstrating a thing's relationship with the First, trying things back to God. It is said awallah alaika zalutak means may God cause it to return thee.

The terms designating parents in the Koran are walidani and abawani respectively the dual form of walid (father); walida (mother) appears in both the singular and the plural. The term umm and ummahat also designate mother, and the dual form of ab, father. In certain verses the plural aba means ancestors. Natural aspects of parenthood are particularly identified throughout the Koran with maternal functions, pregnancy, giving birth, breastfeeding and weaning (16:78, 39:6, 53:32, 58:2).

"The Zamana Gallery, dedicated to presenting arts, architecture and culture of the developing world, particularly the Islamic world, is the first of its kind in the west. It was established by the Present Imam and falls unde the auspices of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

"Joan Viscountress Camrose was born on April 22 1908, the eldest daughter of the 3rd Lord Churston and 7th Duke of Leinslter, the descendant of King Edward III of Great Britain. Her father was ADC to the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon from 1902 to 1903, and then to the Duke of Connaught, from 1904 to 1906. She had three sisters, Denise, who married the 5th Lord Ebury, Lydia, who married the 13th Duke of Bedford, and Primrose, who married the 7th Earl Cadogan. In 1946, their mother became the third wife of the 7th Duke of Leinslter.

The word thal means plate and sufra means table-cloth. The Arabic word for thal (tray) is tabaq or siniyya (round tray). The word sufra in Persian means anything on or in which victuals are placed, provisions prepared by men of hospitality, such as the sufra'i dauri (a round table-cloth), sufra'i sham'dan (a lamp-dish), sufra'i fasahat (an eloquent tongue) or sufra nishin (a guest of table).