Ismaili Dictionary & Encyclopedia
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Spiritual guide, true guide
Various Sources SATGUR, PIREncyclopedia Topic"The mission in Gujrat goes back to the period of Jaylam bin Shayban, who had established a Fatimid rule in Multan and extended his influence as far as Gujrat, whose informations are scant. Later, in 461/1068, Ahmad bin Mukarram, the second ruler of the Sulayhid dynasty in Yamen, had written a letter to Imam al-Mustansir in Cairo, when there was certain missionary activities in Gujrat. He reported in his letter that the envoys of the da'i of India had brought him a letter, asking that permission be granted to them to pass through verbal propaganda to the use of force. It indicates that there were preparations for a rising on the western coast of India, presumably in Gujrat, ruled by the then Hindu Chalukya dynasty and establish there a Fatimid enclave. It however appears that there had been no such operation in Gujrat.
In 943, Mulraja I (960-995), Chalukya prince of Kalyani founded an independent dynasty, known as Chalukya of Anahilapataka or the Solanki dynasty. He is famous for building the great temple of Rudramahalya at Sidhpur. He was succeeded by his son Chamundaraja, and he in turn was succeeded by his son Vallbaraja, who died after a short reign of six months. His son Durlabharaja (1009-1021) ruled for 12 years and was succeeded by his nephew Bhima I, who is well known in the annals of Gujrat. It was Mehmud of Ghazna who plundered the temple of Somnath in 416/1026 during the reign of Bhima I. The temple of Somnath was built upon 56 pillars of teakwood coated with lead. The principal idol itself was in a chamber. According to Ibn Athir (1st vol., p. 97), "Mehmud seized it, part of it he burnt, and part of it he carried away with him to Ghazna, where he made it a step at the entrance of the grand mosque." Gold and jewels worth 2 million dinars, and the stone phallic emblem of the god were transported to Ghazna, and the number of the slain exceeded fifty thousand. During the fierce operations of Mehmud, Bhima I had fled from his kingdom and sought refuge in Kutchh. After the departure of Mehmud, Bhima I recovered his country and rebuilt the temple of Somnath. He died in 1063 and was succeeded by his third son Karna I, who had subdued the Kolis and Bhils in his dominions. His successor was Jaysinha, surnamed Sidhraja, who ascended in 1094 as the 7th ruler of the Solanki dynasty. He was one of the most remarkable kings of Gujrat, who inflicted a crushing defeat on the ruler of Malwa and annexed it to his dominions, and assumed the title of King of Avanti. He was a just, kind and sagacious ruler and extended his patronage to learned men. It is said that Pir Satgur had arrived in Gujrat during his period. Hemacandra Suri (1088-1172) was a contemporary a prolific writer, who was patronaged by Jaysinha Sidhraja, but he made no mention of Pir Satgur in Gujrat. The most important account mostly gleaned from the ginans, tracing the advent of Pir Satgur in the reign of Jaysinha Sidhraja (1094-1143). He is said to have come to India from Setar Depa via the city of Bhildi and proceeded to Patan in Gujrat.
Pir Nuruddin, who is said to have assumed the title, Satgur (true master) or Satgur Nur (light of the true master), had made a large proselytism at Patan in Gujrat among the low castes of Kharwa, Kanbi and Kori. He cultivated the seeds of proselytism entirely with peaceful penetration, and there is no instance where force was employed. The new converts recognized Islam through Ismailism in early stage in the name of Satpanth (true path). Hence, he had planted the seeds of the Satpanth Ismailism in India, which was a meditative and mystically oriented.
The historicity of Pir Satgur is blanketed mistily in tales and miracles in florid and bombastic style absolutely bereft of historical value. Some also doubt in his historicity, which needs further research. He is said to have betrothed to the daughter of king Surchand, the chief of Navsari, and nothing else is known for historical purpose. We may safely conclude that the prime objective of his preaching was the conversion of Hindu rather than the attraction of Muslims to the Ismaili fold. The narratives of later sources provide some divergent account of the period of mission he represented in Gujrat. The weakness of the later sources, indicating however, a remote possibility, not a strong one that he was sent by Imam al-Mustansir (d. 487/1095) from Cairo. Some placed his period much later during the time of Imam Hasan Ala Zikrihi's Salam (d. 561/1166) from Alamut. According to the ginans, he came from Daylam, an epithet of Iran. It is however, much nearer to reasonable possibility that he had arrived in Gujrat when Abdul Malik bin Attash (d. after 494/1101), was active in Ismaili mission in central and western regions of Iran, with a headquarters at Ispahan. The tombstone of the shrine of Pir Satgur, located at Navsari, near Surat, places his death on 487/1095. It is also possible to draw an inference that Pir Shams (d. 757/1356) arrived in Uchh Sharif almost in 727/1328, and he writes in his one ginan (no. 64:2) that he reached there about 240 years after the death of Pir Satgur, and therefore, it is almost in conformity with the date inscribed on the tombstone.
The Sanskrit is a classical literary language of India, which existed probably with the outset of the Christian era. It is a scholarly language with a status similar to that of Latin in medieval Europe. It is an old Indo-Aryan tongue from which the Prakrit evolved during 11th century. The Prakrit is the mother of Marathi, Hindi and Gujrati languages. In its early stage, the Gujrati was known as an apbrunsh (corrupted) dialect during 12th century, representing an original imprint of the Prakrit. After having different transformations, the present Gujrati evolved with its full swing during the 14th century. Keeping all this in mind, it is safe to conclude that the language of Gujrati was yet in the cradle in a crude form during the period of Pir Satgur. It therefore deserves notice that the extant Gujrati ginans attributed to Pir Satgur are the later compositions, reflecting modernity in style.
Pir Satgur is said to have emphasized the new adherents on the practice of tithe, or religious dues; the observation of religious ethics and attendance in religious assembly. He did not introduce new rites, and as a result, no peculiar religious lodge was erected. The practice of zikr was however remained into practice. The new converts thus became known as the Khojas for the first time.
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral SATHNounAvec.
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #794general SathEncyclopedia TopicWith
Various Sources SathdoEncyclopedia TopicWith
Various Sources SathiyaEncyclopedia TopicWith, companion
Various Sources SathroEncyclopedia TopicPalm net, bedspread
Various Sources SatiEncyclopedia TopicPious, good, religious, devotee
Various Sources SatiEncyclopedia TopicA truthful woman, a chaste woman, a faithful woman; a woman who burns herself on her husband's funeral pile
Various Sources SaTINounSainte. SaTI DRAUPaDI*, SaTI TARA RANI LOTCHaNA*, SaTI SITA*, SaTI SAWITRI*?
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #795general SaTIMANounDe SaTENMA = 7e jour (après la nouvelle lune). V. Tchogario: "yara tit satainma..." Jour de l'Epiphanie.
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #796general SaTIMA JI MILASNounMijlas* fondé par Pir Shams en l'honneur du "Aswari*" de l'Imam. On y récitait l'histoire de Sourbhanr* le b
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #797general SaTIMA JO ROJONounJe
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #798general SatiyaEncyclopedia TopicTrue, believer, virtuous lady
Various Sources SatiyunEncyclopedia TopicVirtuous women
Various Sources SatiyunEncyclopedia TopicTrue female believers
Various Sources SatmeEncyclopedia TopicSeventh
Various Sources SatnaEncyclopedia TopicOf truth
Various Sources SatpanthEncyclopedia TopicTrue path
Various Sources SatpanthiEncyclopedia TopicOne who follows Satpanth (true path)
Various Sources SaTRNounSecret, caché. Période entre Imam Ismail et al-Mehdi. Daur-è-Satr: Cycle d'occultation par oppos. au cycle d'épiphanie. L'Imam n'est pas accessible directement.
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #112general SattarEncyclopedia TopicThe Veiler, The Coverer (of faults)
Various Sources SatvantiEncyclopedia TopicVirtuous, possessing quality of truth
Various Sources SatvantiyaEncyclopedia TopicTrue people, good people
Various Sources SauEncyclopedia TopicAll
Various Sources SAUMEncyclopedia TopicThe primary significance of saum is abstaining in an absolute sense (al-imsaku ani-l fi'l), and includes abstaining from eating or speaking or moving about; thus a horse that abstains from moving about, or from fodder, is said to be sa'im, and wind is said to be saum when it abates, and the day when it reaches the mid point. On two occasions in the Koran (9:112 and 66:5), those who fast are called sa'ih (from saha meaning he travelled) or spiritual wayfarers. In the sense of abstaining from speech, the word is used in the Koran in an early Meccan revelation: "Say, I have vowed a fast to the Beneficent God, so I shall not speak to any man today" (19:26). This however appears to be a fast (siyam) to keep silent and not to talk with any person; a similar fast of silence is spoken of in the case of Zacharias: "Thy sign is that thou shouldst not speak to men for three days except by signs, and remember thy Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and the morning" (3:4). It indicates that the object of the fast of silence was the remembrance of God.
In the technical language of the Islamic law, saum and siyam signify fasting or abstaining from food and drink from dawn till sunset. The word saum occurs 13 times in the Koran. Fasting commences with the new moon of Ramzan and ends on the appearance of the new moon of Shawal. What has been said hitherto relates only to the external side of the fast, but its essence is its moral and spiritual value. While laying down a practice, the Prophet primarily considered the value and spirit of the action and not the form of the action. The Prophet said, "Whoever does not give up lying and acting falsely, Go does not stand in need of his giving up food and drink" (Bukhari, 30:8).
Abstinence involves not only keeping the belly without food and drink, but needs guarding the eyes from lustful looks and the ear from listening to evil speech and the tongue from vain or foul words, and the body from following after worldly things. One who acts in this manner is truly keeping his fast, for the Prophet said to a certain person, "When you fast, let your ear fast and your eye and your tongue and your hand and every limb;" and he also said, "Many a one has no good of his fasting except hunger and thirst" (Kash al-Mahjub by Hujwiri, tr. Nicholson, London, 1967, p. 321). "To abstain only from food and drinks is child's play. One must abstain from idle pleasures and unlawful acts, not from eating lawful food. I marvel at those who say that they are keeping a voluntary fast and yet fail to perform an obligatory duty. Not to commit sin is obligatory, whereas continual fasting is an apostolic custom. When a man is divinely protected from sin all his circumstances are a fast" (Ibid., p. 322). "The spirit of man gains strength when he tries to obey God's orders and to restrain himself from those things that are prohibited by God. Unless he does so, physical abstentions alone cannot be counted as fasting" (Encyclopaedia of Islamic Spirituality, Lahore, 2000, 1:118).
The prime means for taming the nafs are the three elements in Sufi conduct, i.e., little food (qillat at-ta'am), little sleep (qillat al-manam) and little talk (qillat al-kalam). These important performances are mainly exhorted in the Ismaili tariqah in daily routine of life throughout the year.
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral SauneEncyclopedia TopicTo everyone
Various Sources SavEncyclopedia TopicPure
Various Sources Sava bharEncyclopedia TopicOne and a quarter mound (weight)
Various Sources SavadEncyclopedia TopicTaste
Various Sources SavaiEncyclopedia TopicMore
Various Sources SavaiEncyclopedia TopicBeautiful, pleasant
Various Sources SavaiEncyclopedia TopicA type of poetry
Various Sources SavajEncyclopedia TopicLion
Various Sources SavarEncyclopedia TopicAchieve, earn, morning
Various Sources SavarathEncyclopedia TopicSelfishness
Various Sources Savarath (Svarth)Encyclopedia TopicSelf-interest, selfishness, avarice
Various Sources SavareEncyclopedia TopicIn the morning
Various Sources SavaroEncyclopedia TopicPlay
Various Sources SavelaEncyclopedia TopicIn time, quickly, soon
Various Sources SaveraEncyclopedia TopicSoon, on time; morning
Various Sources SaveraEncyclopedia TopicEarly, quickly, soon
Various Sources Savrath / SvarthEncyclopedia TopicSelfishness, greed
Various Sources Savrathe / SvartheEncyclopedia TopicFor the sake of, for the purpose of
Various Sources SaWANounEt quart. SaWA LAKH = 125 000.
Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #799general SayarEncyclopedia TopicSea, ocean
Various Sources SayarEncyclopedia TopicRiver
Various Sources SAYD AL-KHAYRName9th Century. Imam Raziyuddin Abdullah's brother. Uncle and brother in law of Imam al Mehdhi. Tried to have Imam appointed from his progeny of 10 sons, but each one died one after the other.
9e S. Frère de Imam Raziyuddin Abdullah. Oncle et beau-père de Imam al-Mehdi. Essaya de placer chacun de ses 10 fils comme Imams mais chacun mourut tour à tour.
Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #359general SAYED ALI (1038-1071/1628-1660), 31ST IMAMEncyclopedia Topic"Imam Syed Ali was born most probably in Shahr-i Babak, where he passed his early life with his mother. He also came in Kahek after his father's arrival from Khorasan. He was also known as Shah Ataullah II among the Nimatullahi Sufi order. He was a popular figure as an amir in Shahr-i Babak and Kirman in the elites. He is also known as Rais al-Kirman (Lord of Kirman), an honour, which promoted him to the governorship of Kirman. He was also a leading landlord, and had acquired many lands in Shahr-i Babak and Sirjan. He built many streets in Kirman, known after his name, none of them existed during the Qajarids period.
Shah Abbas I was on the verge of death when he had no son to succeed him. He died in 1038/1629, and was succeeded by his grandson, Sam Safi, known as Shah Safi. Sir John Chardin, who was visiting Iran in 1077/1666 had remarked in his Voyages du Chevalier Chardin en Perse (Paris, 1811, 3:291) that: "When this great prince (Shah Abbas) ceased to live, Persia ceased to prosper." Under Shah Safi, the conversion of "state" to "crown" provinces was extended. His vizir Sadru Taqi put forward an argument which the new king found attractive, since the Safavid state was now relatively secure from its external enemies, he said, there was no point in allowing a large part of Safavid territory to remain in the hands of Kizilbash governors, who remitted little to the royal treasury. Thus, the provinces of Qazwin, Gilan, Mazandaran, Yazd, Kirman, Khorasan and Azerbaijan were all brought under the administration of the crown except in time of war, when Kizilbash governors were reappointed.
Shah Safi died at the early age of 32 years, as he was making preparations for an expedition to recover Kandhar from the Mughals. He was succeeded by his son, Abbas II, who came to the throne in 1052/1642 at the age of eight and a half. We may be well assured that the Ismailis acquired respite in the absence of political turmoil. Shah Abbas II managed to preserve the frontier of the empire intact, and even recaptured Kandhar from the Mughals in 1058/1648 and repulsed three subsequent attempts by the emperor Aurengzeb to recover it.
Heretofore, we have discussed that Shah Abbas I had attempted to incorporate the Sufi elements in the administrative structure in 1588, and as a result, many Kizilbash embraced Sufism in Iran. The Ismaili da'is began to preach in the cloak of Sufis, and there are certain indications that many Kizilbash had privily come under the yoke of Ismailism in the time of Imam Nizar. Thus, Imam Syed Ali also assumed among them the Turkish sounding name, Syed Abul Hasan Beg.
The liberal policy towards the Sufism declined in Iran with the death of Shah Abbas in 1038/1629. The Sufis began to be persecuted and killed, and their khanaqahs were demolished. The Sufis were searched from all corners and scourged to death. The Nimatullahi Sufi order was also not spared, and before the massacre of the Ismailis, known as Ataullahis in Khorasan and Kirman, Imam Syed Ali ordered them to join the royal army at once, which avoided the danger of massacre. It is known that a small regiment of Ataullahis in the Safavid army, was also created in Khorasan and Kirman.
Khaki Khorasani was a famous Ismaili poet. It is however probable that he had composed his poems between 1037/1627 and 1056/1645, making description of Imam Zulfikar Ali (d. 922/1516) and Imam Nuruddin Ali (d. 975/1550). The Safavids did not spare Khaki Khorasani and imprisoned him till death. It seems that he died most probably around 1056/1646.
Imam Syed Ali was made the governor of Shahr-i Babak by the Safavids because of his popularity. He had also a small army of Ataullahis. He died in 1071/1660 in Kirman after bequeathing the Imamate to his son, Hasan Ali.
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral SayyanEncyclopedia TopicBeloved
Various Sources