Ismaili Dictionary & Encyclopedia

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NariyunEncyclopedia Topic

Women, slaves, maids

Various Sources NarjanEncyclopedia Topic

Offering, homage, Nazrana

Various Sources NarvakhEncyclopedia Topic

Humble, meek, submissive, pure and holy

Various Sources Narvansh (Nirvansh)Encyclopedia Topic

Childless, heirless, extinction of a race or family

Various Sources NasEncyclopedia Topic

Finish, eliminate, end

Various Sources Nas jaliEncyclopedia Topic

Web of nerves, web of intestines

Various Sources NASAFI, AN-NASAFIEncyclopedia Topic

"Abu Hatim ar-Razi was followed by Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ahmad an-Nasafi and Abu Yaqub as-Sijistani staying at Ray. An-Nasafi operated the mission mostly in Khorasan and Bukhara, and gained great success in converting the Sunni ruler, Nasr bin Ahmad, who had given allegiance to Imam al-Mahdi and paid him an annual tribute of 119 thousand dinars. Nasr bin Ahmad also entered into correspondence with Imam al-Qaim in Maghrib.

The renowned poet and intellect, Abu Abdullah bin Jafar bin Muhammad bin Hakim bin Abdur Rahman bin Adam ar-Rudaki ash-Shair as-Samarkandi, known as Rudaki (d. 329/940) also found an opportunity of espousing Ismaili faith in this period. He was a court poet of the Samanids, and composed many verses in praise of the Fatimid Imams. In one place, Maruf of Balkh, one of the earliest Samanid poets, says: "I have heard the king of poets, Rudaki as saying, `do not give allegiance to anyone save the Fatimids.'"

The Abbasids took notice of the rapid conversion of the Ismailis in Khorasan, notably Nasr bin Ahmad, and insinuated Nuh bin Nasr (331-343/943-954), the son of Nasr bin Ahmad; against his father and the Ismailis. Nuh bin Nasr dethroned his father and conducted a barbarous massacre of the Ismailis in 331/942, known in the Ismaili history as al-mainat al-uzama (great calamity) in Khorasan and Transoxania. An-Nasafi and his chief associates were also executed in the wild operations at Bukhara in 332/943. For this reason, Nasir Khusaro called him Khwaj-i Shahid and Shaikh al-Shahid. It resulted a setback in Ismaili mission, but was resumed under an-Nasafi's son, Masud, surnamed Dihqan and Abu Yaqub as-Sijistani. An-Nasafi is considered a leading Ismaili philosopher among the early Ismailis. He produced a major work, entitled Kitab al-Mahsul (Book of the Yield). Paul E. Walker writes in Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary (London, 1996, pp. 17-18) that, "So influential were al-Nasafi and this one book that, throughout the rest of the century, writers both in and outside the Ismaili fold referred to it as if it represented the intellectual heart of Ismailism."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NasikaEncyclopedia Topic

Nose

Various Sources NASIKHNoun

Verset abrogeant. Opp: Mansoukh (abrogé)

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #71general NASIR KHUSAROEncyclopedia Topic

"His full name as cited in his works, was Abu Mu'in Nasir bin Khusaro bin al-Harith al-Marwazi al-Qubadiyani. He was born in 394/1003 in Qubadiyan, a district of Balkh in Khorasan. He belonged to a family of government officials and his brother was a vizir. He, too, entered the government service in the capacity of a finance controller and in time was a successful courtier in the local Ghaznavid court. He was full of ambition, mentally alert and gifted in writing poetry. He also took interest in philosophy, natural science and various religions. He is ranked as the Real Wisdom of the East.

W. Ivanow infers from his works that he was most likely a Shi'ite Twelver and later became a Shi'a Ismaili. The tradition has it that he joined Ismaili fold after he had a dream. Corbin interprets his awakening from darkness and sleep as learning the hidden significance of the exoteric religion and what this meaning implies. He further believes that it was not simply a matter of one night but of the night of ignorance, which lasted from his birth in this earthly world.

He entered Cairo and felt instinctively that "here it is where thou shouldst seek for what thou needst." It is unlikely that his meeting with al-Muayyad fid-din ash-Shirazi (d. 470/1078) took place very soon after his arrival, for the latter was a high dignitary in the Fatimid mission. Al-Muayyad had also recently arrived in Cairo, having fled from persecution in southern Iran. When the meeting took place, Nasir Khusaro confided to al-Muayyad all the theological and philosophical questions, which tormented him, regarding the origin of the universe, the purpose of creation, the mystery of predestination and fate, about prayer, fasting, laws of inheritance, the uneven distribution of happiness, etc. However, al-Muayyad would only answer the question if Nasir first pledged an oath of secrecy. Naisr Khusaro's confessional-ode (qasida itirafiyyah) is as crucial to our understanding of his spiritual biography as the account of his dream. For, it is in its lines that he refers to his real conversion to Ismailism and initiation into Ismaili gnosis. In proves conclusively that he was converted in Egypt and not in Persia prior to his journey. The rest of the qasida is full of expressions of gratitude to al-Muayyad ("My teacher, the healer of my soul, the embodiment of wisdom and glory") and praise of Imam al-Mustansir billah ("Owner of the treasury of knowledge and the House of God. Owner of the Great Name by whom eternity exists").

Nasir Khusaro was in Egypt for six or seven years, during which he was no doubt admitted into the mission organization, received a sound education in Ismaili theology, philosophy and esoteric doctrine, and was able to offer personal homage to Imam al-Mustansir. He was appointed as the hujjat of Khorasan and Badakhshan. He returned to Iran in 444/1052 and settled in the city of Balkh. The remarkable progress he had made and the high status he reached in the Ismaili mission is indicated by his appointment as the hujjat of Badakhshan and Khorasan. Having settled down in Balkh, where he probably purchased some property, Nasir began reorganizing the local mission and to propagate the Ismaili doctrine energetically. The 5th/11th century was a period of intense persecution of Ismailis in Iran, which was dominated by the Seljuqs, and the massacres of Ismaili population were not uncommon. His activities appeared to have aroused a lot of hostility in Balkh, and it so happened that once a mob of fanatics attacked him in his house and he was barely able to escape with his life. It is not known where Nasir escaped, but eventually he found refuge in the district of Yamghan.

It is certainly due to his tireless endeavours that there are millions of Ismailis in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, China, Chitral, Hunza, Gilgit, Pamir, Yarkand etc. He spent the rest of his life in the bleak valley of Yamghan, situated in an obscure, desolate, thinly-populated vally of the Upper Oxus river in Central Asia, about 6000 feet above sea-level. It was in this narrow valley that Nasir Khusaro spent rest of his life and died in 481/1088 in Yamghan. In the introductory note of Wajh-i Din (ed. by Ghulam Reza Aavani, Tehran, 1977, p. 1), Seyyed Hossein Nasr writes, "He is one of the greatest Islamic philosopher and deserves to be studied as a major intellectual figure of Islam in general and of Ismailism in particular."

Besides being a great thinker, celebrated poet, philosopher and erudite writer, Nasir Khusaro was also an eminent traveller. He was a great diplomat and expert in winning over the hearts of people. The distance he traversed from Balkh to Egypt, and thence to Mecca and then to Fars via Basra, and ultimately back to Balkh, not counting excursions for visiting shrines and so on, was about 2220 parasangs (each one about 3 miles). His journey began in 437/1045 and travelled first to Merv to tender his resignation from government service, and then proceeded to Nishapur. From there he took the overland route via Tabriz to Syria and Palestine. He thereafter visited Mecca, and thence he arrived in Cairo by way of Damascus and Jerusalem in 439/1047. As he entered the city, Nasir Khusaro felt instinctively that "here it is where you should seek for what you need." He gave a lively picture of the great splendour of the Fatimid empire in vivid words during the time of Imam al-Mustansir, with its royal palaces, gates, gardens, shops and the normal living of the people, as well as the uncountable wealth of Egypt. He writes in his Safar-nama, (p. 55), "I saw such personal wealth there that were I to describe it, the people of Persia would never believe it. I could discover no end or limit to their wealth, and I never saw such ease and comfort anywhere."

The signs of the Fatimid presence in Jerusalem were uncountable. Nasir Khusaro was impressed by some of them, such as silver lamp donated to the Dome of the Rock, on which the name of Imam al-Mustansir was inscribed in gold letter around the bottom. The Fatimid governor of Palestine also built in the area of the Haram; Nasir Khusaro admired their inscriptions. The Fatimid presence was no less visible at the shrine of Abraham in Hebron; which was enlarged and redecorated.

He compiled many books besides the Diwan and Safar-nama, such as Rawshana'i-nama, Wajh-i Din, Gushayish wa Rahayish, Zad al-Musafarin, Jami al-Hikmatayn, etc. Gholam Reza writes in Nasir-i Khusraw (Tehran, 1977, p. 14) that, "Of course, Nasir does eulogize one person: the Caliph al-Mustansir. For him, however, the Caliph is not the representative of worldly rule or secular power, but rather the spiritual master of masters, representative of the Holy Prophet, the Pole of the Age. These eulogies are not mere poetic effusions, but deeply felt songs of devotion."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NASIRUDDIN TUSIEncyclopedia Topic

"Nasiruddin Tusi was born in Tus, Khorasan in 597/1202. In his youth, about in 624/1227, he entered the service of Nasiruddin Abdu Rahman bin Abu Mansur (d. 655/1257), the Ismaili governor in Kohistan. During his long stay at Qain and other strongholds in Kohistan, Nasiruddin Tusi procured his close friendship with the Ismaili governor, to whom he also dedicated in 633/1235 his famous work on ethics, entitled Akhlaq-i Nasiri. He went to Alamut and espoused Ismaili faith. In his Sayr wa Suluk (pp. 38-42), he narrates how, after his initial dissatisfaction with scholastic theology and philosophy, he came to realize the necessity of following an infallible Imam who would guide reason to its perfection. In all probability, Nasiruddin Tusi willingly embraced Ismailism during the time of Imam Alauddin Muhammad. He enjoyed the patronage of the Imam and his successor, until the collapse of the Alamut rule in 654/1256. The Mongol chief Halagu made him his trusted advisor, and built a great observatory for him at Maragha in Azerbaijan. He was a most voluminous writer too, and died in 672/1274. His Rawdatu't-Taslim and other short treatises bear an Ismaili imprint. Seyyed Hossein Nasr writes in Science and Civilization in Islam (Mass., 1968, p. 322) that, "The universality of Nasir al-Din's genius, which some have quite erroneously taken for lack of principles, is shown by the fact that, while in the service of the Ismailis, he was able to master their doctrines and even wrote several works which contain some of the clearest expositions of Ismailism. Among these, the Rawdat al-taslim is particularly notable, as a simple exposition of the basic doctrines of this important branch of Islam."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NASKH WA MANSUKHEncyclopedia Topic

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. In Koranic term, the word naskh means the substitution of a law by another one, so as to bring a matter to its possible maximum level. Naskh refers to the fresh injunction to replace the old one, and the old or former injunction that had been changed or removed is called mansukh or the rejected law. There are many Koranic verses which had been changed for better understanding, known as mansukh, and the new verses taking its place, are known as naskh or tejweel (transfer). Both words nash and mansukh are derived from the same root, which means according to Mu'jam al-Lughah (Beirut, 1960, 5:446-7), "abrogating any written material with another piece" (nasakha al-shay bi al-shay)

In the Hebrew of the Old Testament, the root ns kh is found four times (vide Deut. 28:63, Ps. 52:5, Prov. 2:22 and 15:25. In each time, it carries the meaning : removal or eradicate. In Akkadian Hebrew, old Aramaic and Targumic, the meaning of nasahu also is given to remove or tear away. It has been suggested that the naskh echoes the New Testament idea of the abrogation of the Old Testament Law (vide Eph. 2:15, Col. 2:14), but the Koranic conception seems somewhat more mechanical. The Muslim scholars have given a great deal of attention to the subject, but have never put the problem on the proper metaphysical level.

The Koran continued to be revealed in Mecca and Medina for 23 yeas to guide the Muslims in temporal and spiritual matters. The fundamental beliefs of Islam however remained unchanged and unaltered, while the temporal matters had been changed on certain occasions. The Koran says: "Whatever verses We abrogate (naskh) or cause thee to forget (aw nunsiha), We will bring a better one than it, or one like it" (2:106). Mustansir Mir writes in Dictionary of Quranic Terms and Concepts (London, 1987) that, "The abrogation pertains to legal and practical matter only, and not to matters of doctrine and belief."

In short, naskh means abrogating and mansukh means abrogated. It indicates that once the Muslims are imparted through the Koran on certain matters, they require some explicit guidance on the same matter after some time, so that the guidance must be fresh according to the time.

The sources indicate that there had been about 500 naskh Koranic verses. Later, Jalaluddin Suyuti in his al-Itqan (1:23) confirms only 21 naskh verses. Shah Waliullah Mohadees Delhvi gives its figure five only in Fauz al-Kabir. Dr. Saleh Subhi recently claimed that there are not more than ten abrogated verses in the Koran.

The historians and theologians also discussed the theory of naskh and mansukh. The first among them were Abul Kassim Hibatullah bin Salma (d. 410/1019) and Abul Kahir bin Tahir (d. 429/1038). According to Tafsir–i Azizi and Dhur-e-Manthur, there are three kinds of abrogated (naskh) verse in the Koran, i.e., 1) Naskh al-hukm wa al-tilawa (the removal of verses and the introduction of new verses), 2) Naskh al-tilawa duna al-tilawa (the cancellation of law, but its verses existing) and 3) Naskh al-tilawa duna al-hukm (both the verses and laws removed).

It must be borne in mind that one who study the Koran, he must have knowledge of abrogated verses. Suyuti writes in al-Itqan that a person once claimed before Ali bin Abu Talib that he had acquired good command on the knowledge of the Koran. Ali asked him, “Can you distinguish naskh from mansukh?” The man replying that he did not know the difference, Ali advised the man that he had endangered not only his own soul, but the souls of his listeners.

When the Islam spread beyond the bounds of Arabian lands, the new converted Muslims professed different culture, traditions and languages; and they felt certain modifications in laws, and ultimately it gave rise of different interpretations of the Koranic verses. If the spiritual authority of the Imam had been recognized, the Muslims had received the Koranic guidance in same vein with the change of time. Prof. Taha Hussain of Al-Azhar University writes in Glory of the Quran (p. 236) that, “As the time passes, the more need in the Islamic laws are felt to be changed, and it also means that the concept of naskh (alteration) still exists in Islam.”

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NasoEncyclopedia Topic

Run away, keep away, shun

Various Sources NASSEncyclopedia Topic

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 Imam is considered to be mansus (designated), and his absolute decision to appoint his successor is also called nass al-jali (explicit designation), nass wa-ta'yin (explicit invetiture), nass wa tawqif (explicit appointment) or nass al-sarrih (clear designation), which cannot be revoked or altered. Imam Jafar Sadik is reported to have said, "Verily, God makes changes in every thing except in the matter of Imam" (Inlillah fi kullo shain bida illa imamah). The appointment of an Imam by nass does not return by retrocession an convention reversed from whence it came is impossible. Imam Jaffar Sadik says, "Each Imam knows the Imam who is to come after him and so he appoints him as his successor" (Bihar al-Anwar, 23:73). The Imam also said, "None of us die until God has informed us of the one who is to succeed us" (Ibid. 23:71). Hence, the noor and ilm which a Imam is meant to possess by virtue of nass renders him ma'sum (infallible).

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NaSSNoun

Investiture. Montrer - pas nommer.

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #88general NASSIR MOHAMMED, 33è PIR.Name

Son of Pir Qasim Shah. Nomited to Pir by Imam Nurudin Ali.

Fils de Pir Qasim Shah. Nommé par l'Imam Nooruddin Ali.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #328general NASSIRUDDIN SHAHName

One of Pir Sadardin's six brothers. Was he also known as Sayyed Nassiruddin Kalandar Shah.

Un des 6 frères de Pir Sadardin. (Est ce le même que Seyyed Nassiruddin Kalandar Shah qui etait aussi frère de Pir Sadardin).

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #330general NASSIRUDDIN, 24è PIRName

Son of Pir Shams. Born in Sabzwar. Became Pir in 757AH at the age of 100 years. During the 10 years of his Piratan he travelled to Punjab, Kashmir, Sind and Gujerat.

Fils de Pir Shams né à Sabzwar. Pir en 757AH à l'âge de 100 ans. Durant les 10 années de son Piratan, il voyagea au Punjab, Kashmir, Sind et Gujerat.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #329general NatEncyclopedia Topic

Jamat, community

Various Sources NatakEncyclopedia Topic

Drama, dance, show

Various Sources NatakEncyclopedia Topic

Plays

Various Sources NatakEncyclopedia Topic

Spectacle, play

Various Sources NathEncyclopedia Topic

Camel's bridle or halter

Various Sources NathEncyclopedia Topic

Lord

Various Sources NathEncyclopedia Topic

Lord, husband, master, spiritual guide

Various Sources NathaEncyclopedia Topic

Ran away, dispersed

Various Sources NathdiEncyclopedia Topic

Bridle, halter

Various Sources NathiEncyclopedia Topic

Guest, traveler

Various Sources NathiEncyclopedia Topic

Is not

Various Sources NathiEncyclopedia Topic

Guest, traveller

Various Sources NATIQ & SAMIT Encyclopedia Topic

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

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral NauEncyclopedia Topic

Nine (9)

Various Sources Nau lakhoEncyclopedia Topic

Worth of nine lacs

Various Sources Naulakho hariyaEncyclopedia Topic

A necklace worth of rupees nine lacs

Various Sources NavEncyclopedia Topic

Boat

Various Sources NavEncyclopedia Topic

Nine (9), do not

Various Sources NavEncyclopedia Topic

No, did not, does not, nine (9)

Various Sources Nav bhar nagriEncyclopedia Topic

City of nine doors, i.e. body

Various Sources Nav jehiEncyclopedia Topic

Not like him