"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.

The 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.

"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.

SECTS [ see FIRQA ]

SELF REALIZATION [ see KHUD SHANASI ]

Shab-i Barat or Lail at-Bara'a (night of quittancy) is a non-Koranic but a very popular feast of the Muslims. It is celebrated on the night of the full moon of 14th Sha'ban, and the people devote it to the commemoration of the dead. It is considered to be the night when the "writing conferring immunity is written in heaven" or, more generally, the night during which "the fates for the coming year are destined in heaven."

It was the morning of Saturday, 7th Shawal, 3/March 23, 625

The word shafa'a is derived from shaf meaning the making a thing to be one of a pair, or the adjoining a thing to its like, and thus shafa'a signifies the joining of a man to another assisting him. In Islamic terminology, it means intercession. It is the intercession of a mediator with the right to intercede of the greater or more worthy on behalf of the lesser or less worthy. The word shafa'a occurs 29 times in the Koran.

The word shah didar or shah'jo didar means may (you bless with) Lord's glimpse. It is a taslim in the Ismaili tariqah, the believers greet each other at the end of the prayer, beholding face to face, both pronounce shah didar by shaking hand. This is an act of humble wish to refresh their spiritual relation. The Koran says, "Whosoever surrenders his face to God, being a doer of good, has verily grasped the firm hand-hold" (31:22)

"Momin Shah, the son of Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad was the hujjat in Syria. He died in 738/1337. His son Muhammad Shah (d. 807/1404) also operated the Ismaili mission in the village of Khwand in Qazwin. His son was Raziuddin I (d. 833/1429), who in turn was succeeded by his son Muhammad Tahir Shah (d. 867/1462). His son Raziuddin II had gone to Badakhshan in 913/1508, where he established his rule in the period of a certain Taymurid amir Mirza Khan (d. 926/1520).

The word shahid (pl. shuhada) is derived from the Arabic verbal root shahada, meaning to see, witness, testify or become a model and paradigm. In different grammatrical forms the words used in the Koran are ish'had, shahid, shahadah, shuhadam shahud, mashud, mashad, etc. A shahid is a martyr, who witnesses as if a martyr witnesses and see the truth physically and thus stands by it firmly. The English word martyr comes from the Greek martyrs, meaning witness.

The word shaitan (pl. shayatin) is derived from the verb shaana, meaning to detain someone in order to divert him from his intention. Another view suggests that the word is rooted from the Hebrew, satan, meaning a cord. The word shaitan is used 70 times in the Koran in the singular form, including six times in the indefinite (4:117, 15:17, 22:3, 37:7, 43:36, 81:25), plus 18 times in the plural, shayatin, which is always definite.

"Pir Shams was born most probably at Sebzewar, a town in Khorasan, lying 64 miles west of Nishapur. His father Syed Salauddin had been deputed in Baltistan by Imam Kassim Shah, who most probably came into the contact of Taj Mughal in Badakhshan. Kamaluddin Mujahri of Sebzewar writes in Malfuz-i Kamalia that Pir Syed Muinuddin Hasan of Sebzewar of Ajmer had a meeting with Syed Salauddin in Sebzewar in 560/1165.

"Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad is said to have born in 646/1230 in the fortress of Maimundiz. He was known as Agha Shams in Syria and Shah Shams in India. He is also known as Shamsu'l Haq in few Iranian poems. Poet Nizari Kohistani (d.

Shariah is an Arabic term used to designate Islamic law. It originally referred to a path trodden by camels to a water source, a course to the watering place or resort of drinkers. Hence, it means the clear path or the highway to be followed.

"The word shi'a (pl. shi'ya, ash'ya) is derived from musha'ayah, which is synonymous with following a person and obeying him. Its second letter in the root is sha'a, shia'an meaning a person who follows his peer group. According to Lisan al-Arab, al-Shi'ah means a group which is formed on the basis of a certain agreement, and every group thus formed is called Shi'ah. According to al-Qamus, the word shi'a means follower, friend or member of a group.

He was born most probably in 1268/1851 in Baghdad. He is also called Khalilullah and Shah Badin Shah. Imam Aga Ali Shah had married to Marium Sultan in Iraq, who bore two sons, Pir Shihabuddin Shah and Aga Nur Shah. These two sons were brought up in Hasanabad, Bombay. Aga Nur Shah was a good sportsman and fell down from his horse while riding and sustained serious injuries, which proved fatal and died at the age of 30 years.

The Shoes Company is an institution in the Jamatkhana, where the shoes of the visitors are deposited. The word company means an assemblage, collection or multitude of things. The Arabic word na'al (pl. ni'al) means sandal, khuff means boot and ahdhiya means shoe. The primitive shoe or sandal was a flat sole of leather, wood or matted grass with loops attached, through which the shoe-latchet, a leather thong, passed and strapped in the foot.

"The word shukr (pl. shukur) means thankfulness or gratitude. The verb to thank, to be grateful (shakara) and its various cognates, such as shukr occur 74 times in the Koran. A dominant feature of the concept of gratitude in the Koran is its use to describe the spiritual bond binding the believer to God.

The word naskh means changing or removing as it is said in Arabic naskhatish shams-azzil meaning the sun removed the shade or nasakhat al-ruhu athar al-qawmi idha adamat meaning the mind obliterated traces of the nation. The word naskh is also used in the law to denote "an order canceling the other order." It appears that once the law given for a people for a particular time must change with the passage and need of time or be improved to pave a way for further progress.

The word nass is derived from nasaba meaning to raise a thing so that it is visible. Thus, nass means designation, referring to the designation of the successor of the Imam. The Imam has his authority to appoint his successor, and it is not from any human electors or from the pledge of ordinary people.

The word natiq (pl. nutaqa) means speaking and samit means silent one, the successor to a speaker (natiq). For further detail, see IMAM AL-NATIQ

Navroz is a Persian word, meaning new day of the year. The Arabs pronounced it as Niruz or Nairuz. The Sogdians called it Nau-Sard (the new year), and also is called Nishat Afroz Jashan in Iran. It is a spring festival, beginning with the first day of the Persian solar year, corresponding to the vernal equinox and the entry of the sun into the sign of Aries, and continued until the 6th day of the month. The last day was known as the Great New Year's Day (al-Niruz al-Akbar).

It a traditional pilgrimage of the Ismailis to sacred site at the end of village of Dizbad in Iran, where gushes a spring from a rock called Naw Hisar. This pilgrimage takes place every year during a transition period after the summer, but before the harvest of plums, which is an important source of village income. The event also takes place just as the educated members of the jamat return from their holidays, such as the teachers, medical officials and government employees.

"The Arabic word nazr (pl. nazur) means an offering, gift or present, occurring seven times in the Koran. The Persian noun word nazrana means a gift offered especially to a prince to pay respect. Nazrana is a "special gift" in the Ismailis to be presented to the Imam mostly during the mehmani or any occasion to earn best blessings. It is presented individually on behalf of the family as well as collectively on behalf of a jamat or the all jamats of a country.

"The Arabic word for marriage is nikah, meaning uniting. The family is the basic social unit in Islamic society, and marriage is the fundamental Islamic institution. The husband and wife are the principals of family formation. Parents are held responsible for the social, cultural and moral growth of children as well as for their physical and health care.

"The term niyya does not occur in the Koran. The word ikhlas (sincerity) however is used 17 times in its active participial form, mukhlis, best appropriates the notion of worthy and well directed "intention" (niyya). Sincerity is the foundation of al acts of worship (2:139, 39:2, 11:14), acceptable to God and of all forms of prayer (7:29, 10:22, 29:65, 31:32, 40:14, 65, 98:5).

"Abu Mansur al-Nizar, surnamed al-Mustapha al-dinillah (the chosen for God's religion), was born in Cairo on 437/1045. He assumed the Imamate on 18th Zilhaja, 487/January 6, 1095 at the age of 50 years. He had been however proclaimed as a successor in 480/1087 before the notables in the court by his father. His participation in state affairs is scant.

"Imam Nizar was born in 982/1574 in Anjudan, and ascended at the age of 11 years. He is known as Shah Ataullah among the Iranian mystics. His father had brought him in Kahek in 992/1584, and henceforward, Kahek became the next headquarters. Kahek or Kiagrak is situated about 35 kilometers northeast of Anjudan and north-west of Mahallat. It took few years to the Ismailis to settle in Kahek and its locality.

"Naimuddin bin Jalaluddin bin Muhammad Nizari Kohistani was born in Birjand in 645/1247. He got the rudiments of his formal education at home from his father, who was also a poet himself and a devout Ismaili. Nizari attended school in Birjand and Qain, and studied Persian and Arabic literature.

The word noor means light, illumination or effulgence. Light in a general sense is that natural agent or influence, which evokes the functional activity of the organ of sight. It is viewed as the medium of visual perception generally. The word noor occurs 49 times in the Koran. The Koran is rich in reference to light, both in the literal as well as in symbolic and metaphoric senses. The most common word for light is noor, although diya appears on three occasion, also misbah and siraj.

"His name was Nur-Dahr (the light of the faith), and was also known as Nur-Dahr Khalilullah. His name however in the official list of the Imams appears as Nuruddin Ali. According to another tradition, he was also called Nizar Ali Shah. He mostly resided in Anjudan, and betrothed to a Safavid lady.

"The Pandiyat-i Jawanmardi (maxims of fortitude) is a collection of the advices of Imam Mustansir billah (d. 880/1475), which had been compiled in the time of Imam Abdus Salam (d. 899/1493). The word pandiyat is the plural of pand means advice, and jawanmardi means manliness. The term jawanmardi is the Persian translation of fata means young man or brave youth. The Koran (18:10) called the Seven Sleepers fityan (pl. of fata).

"Pani company or water-supplying is an institution in the Jamatkhana. It supplies water to the faithful daily and during the festive occasions. The word pani means water and company means assemblege, collection or multitude of things. The Arabic word birka means drinking-place or kafas al-ma means water-cage. The word ma' (pl.

It was an association of brotherhood in the Ismaili community in India. The word panjibhai means a brother shaking hand. The word occurred once in the old prayer of the Ismailis. The term panjibhai became more famous however during the Aga Khan Case of 1866 in India.

"Panjtan-i Pak (the Blessed Quincunx), Ashbah al-Khmsa (the five shadows) or Ashab al-Kisa (persons of the mantle) is a term coined for the five holy bodies, i.e., the Prophet, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain. They were created out of the substance of Illiyyun (Bihar al-Anwar, 25:10). The Koran (83:18) says, "Nay! Most surely the record of the righteous shall be in the highest places (illiyyun)." The word illiyyun is the plural of illiy or illiyyah.

The term parable is derived from the Greek arabolae, which means juxtaposition, the placing of two things or ideas side by side for comparison. In Septuagint, the 3rd century B.C. Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word parable is used as the Greek translation of the Hebrew word mashal.

In 1969, the preliminary session of the conference of the Ismailia Association for East Africa, India and Pakistan held in Karachi to discuss on religious education and the Ismaili faith in relation to other Muslims. Soon after the end of the conference, the delegates visited Paris in the middle of November, 1969 and held important conference with the Present Imam, known as the Ismailia Associations Conference

The word sha'ir occurs four times, as-shura and shi'r once in the Koran. 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).

PRIDE [ see ISTAKHBARA ]

PROPHET [ see NABI ]

PROSTRATION [see SAJADA ]

In Islam, the women are not forbidden to take part in any social and religious activities, nor is there any injunction in the Koran or the hadith shutting them up within the four walls of their houses. On the other hands, the Koran speaks of a Muslim society, in which men and women had often to meet each other: "Say to the believing men that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts; that is purer for them

The word qadi (pl. qudat) means a religious judge administrating the Islamic law. The term qadi al-qudat refers to the highest judiciary officer of the Fatimid state.

"Qadi Noman was a renowned Ismaili jurist in the Fatimid court. He espoused Ismaili faith early in life at Kairwan. His association with the Fatimids however began with his entry into the services of Imam al-Mahdi since 313/925. During the period of Imam al-Qaim, he concentrated mainly in the study of history, philosophy and jurisprudence and composed numerous works. Prior to the death of Imam al-Qaim in 334/945, he was appointed as a qadi.

The word qadr and taqdir are derived from qada. According to Raghib, it means the making manifest of the measure (kamiyya) of a thing, or simply measure. In the words of the same authority, God's taqdir of things is in two ways, by granting qudra (power) or by making them in a particular measure and in a particular manner, as wisdom requires.

Taqdir, meaning the absolute decree of good and evil by God, an idea with which the word is now indissolubly connected by the popular mind as well as thinking writers, is neither known to the Koran, nor even to Arabic lexicology. There is only one occasion in the Koran on which a derivative of taqdir is used to indicate the fate of a person.

A great deal of misunderstanding exists as to the relation of the Divine will to the will of man. All the faculties with which man has been endowed have emanated from the great Divine attributes. Yet all human attributes are imperfect, and can be exercised only under certain limitations and to a certain extent.

The doctrine of predestination or the decreeing of a good course for one man and an evil course for another, thus finds no support from the Koran, which plainly gives to man the choice to follow one way or the other. But, it is said, the doctrine of the decreeing of good and evil follows from the doctrine of the foreknowledge of God.

Statements are frequently met with in the Koran, in which God is spoken of as having written down the doom of a nation, or a man's term of life, or an affliction. Such verses have also been misconstrued as upholding the doctrine of predestination. The misconception is due to a wrong interpretation of the word kitab, ordinarily carries the significance of writing, but has been freely used in Arabic literature and in the Koran itself in a variety of senses.

A very misconception regarding the teachings of the Koran is that it ascribes to God the attributes of leading astray. Nothing could be farther from truth. While al-Hadi, or the One Who guides, is one of the ninety-nine names of God, al-Mudzill, or One Who leads astray, has never been recognized as such. If leading astray were an attribute of God, as guiding certainly is, the name al-Mudzill should have been included in the list of His names, as al-Hadi is.

The mistaken idea that God leads people astray arises out of a misconception of the meaning of the word idzlal when it is ascribed to God. The word idzlal carries a variety of meanings besides leading astray. It should be noted that wherever idzlal is attributed to God, it is only in connection with the transgressors (2:26), the unjust (14:27), and the extravagant (40:34), not the people generally.