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

The word baiyat, occurring 14 times in the Koran is derived from ba'ya meaning sale and purchase, bargain or transaction. In Arabic the word yabi'u means to sell, ba'a means he sold, al-bai'u means sale and al-baya means sale and purchase. In Islamic terminology, the term baya refers to an agreement or undertaking between the master and his followers. Other synonymous expressions appearing in the Koran are al-ahd (13:19-20) and al-mithaq (33:7, 5:14).

"The word dawa (pl. du'at) is derived from du'a means to call, invite or summon, and thus the term da'i denotes one who summons. The word dawa is also used in the sense of prayers, such as dawat al-mazlum (prayer of the oppressed), or dawa bi'l shifa (prayer of the health). The word dawa virtually coined in the time of Imam Jafar Sadik and Abdullah bin Maymun founded the Ismaili dawa organization in Basra.

"The generic term sharru or precentor in Assyria can be traced in the sha'ir or poet-soothsayer of the Arabs. The Assyrian hymn was the shire, and in it we recognize the Hebrew shir (song) and the Arabic shi'r (poetry). The Psalm of David in Assyrian was the zamaru, which equates with the Hebrew zimrah (song) and mizmor (psalm). Certainly the Assyrian shigu or penitential psalm is identical with the shiggaion of the Hebrew and the shajan of the Arabs in origin.

Lack of material does not enable to give a detailed account of the Ismaili influence after the death of Shah Tahir Hussain Dakkani on 956/1549 in Ahmadnagar, India. We do not have explicit details, whether his descendants continued the Ismaili mission in the cloak of Shi'ism or not. There are however certain strong indications that a lady ruler, named Chand Bibi was secretly an Ismaili, but her faith is shrouded in her political activities. She was born in 957/1550 and died in 1006/1599, which implies that she was the contemporary of both Hyder bin Shah Tahir (d.

The term da'i al-duat means the summoner of the summoners, or the head of the da'is or chief da'i.

"The Hunza valley, a region within the Northern Areas of Pakistan, close to the border with China, reflects the dramatic terrain of the Karakoram Mountain Range, is inhabited by the Ismailis. Hunza was an autonomous feudal kingdom ruled by the Mir until 1974, when it became part of Pakistan's Northern Areas. The history of the Baltit Fort is not precisely known. It was only at the turn of the last century that occupying British forces, compiled written descriptions and some photographic records.

The Arabic word dajjal likely comes from the Syriac daggal means liar or lying. Hence, al-dajjal literally means one who conceals the truth with falsehood, the liar or a great deceiver. The word al-masih al-dajjal means to cover (a mangy camel) with tar, because the dajjal will in like manner cover the earth with his adherents. One another view suggests that dajjal is derived from dajala meaning to gild because he will deceive the people by covering up the truth.

The word dhiram is derived from Greek drachme. It is a monetary unit. It is a silver coin, originally of 2.97 grams (or 50 grains of barley with cut ends), later of varying value. Ten dhirams equaled the value of one gold dinar.

"Based on the consensus of the exegesis Jama al-Bayan, 17:16-25, Hilyat al-Awlia (3:251), al-Mustadrak (3:172), Usd al-Ghabah (5: 367) and al-Sawa'iq al-Muharaqah (p. 101), the following verse was revealed about the members of the Household of the Prophet:

"...Say: (O Apostle) I do not ask any reward from you for this (Prophethood) except the love for my near relatives .." (42:23). This verse is known as Ayat al-Mawaddat al-Qurba or Ayat al-Dhul al-Qurba.

The word baraka means abundance or plantitude of blessings and favour with perpetuity and continuity. It occurs six times in the Koran, such as tabaraka'lladhi (Blessed is He Who) and tabaraka'llah (Blessed is God), tabaraka'smu rabbika (Blessed is the name of your Sustainer). Not only it is used for God Himself and His Supreme Name (7:54, 55:78), the word mubarak (blessed) is also used for the Koran and the Kaba in the Koran (3:96, 6:92), for mountain and water of rain (41:10, 50:9), olive tree and its fruit and oil (24:35).

Charity, in the sense of giving away one's wealth, is of two kinds: voluntary and obligatory. Voluntary charity is mentioned in the Koran as itfaq (spending benevolently), ihsan (the doing of good) and sadaqa (derived from sidq, meaning truth, and comes to signify a charitable deed). The very words used to denote charitable deeds are an indication of the broadness of its conception.

"Amid the surging splendour, Imam al-Hakim emerges as an unusual personality judged by any standard. He founded Dar al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom), also known as Dar al-Ilm (House of Knowledge) in 395/1004, where the sciences including astronomy, logic, philosophy, mathematics, history, theology, languages and medicines were taught. Qadi Abul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Noman was its first supervisor. This academy was connected with the royal palace, enriched with a huge library, and distinct conference rooms and chambers.

In Arabic, it means a porcupine or hedgehog. It is possible that it derived its name from its gait. It is a name of a gray mule of the Prophet, given to him by Mukawkis. The Prophet presented it to Ali bin Abu Talib, who rode on it in the battle of Camel and Siffin. It is said that on the legs of the dhuldul a rope was usually tied by Ali's groom named Qambar, who when accompanying his master, used to tie the rope around his waist. It had three knots, called al-baghi (hand-tie), dil-baghi (tongue-tie) and bal-baghi (rein-tie).

"Sixty Christian priests of Najran, headed by Abu Harith bin Aqamah, the grand bishop of Najran, Abdu Massih and Ayham arrived in Medina on 9/631 to clarify their religious and political stance, which had spread over the Arab peninsula and to engage in discussions with the Prophet to realize the essence and truth of Islam.

The state between death and resurrection is called barzakh, which literally means a thing that intervenes between two things, isthmus or an obstacle or a hindrance. A. Jeffery suggests that it is a loan word of Persian, farsakh or parasang means a measure of land that fits the description of a physical barrier. The word barzakh occurs thrice in the Koran (23:100, 25:53, 55:20). It is used (25:53 and 55:20) in the sense, where a barrier between two seas is spoken of as barzakh.