Ismaili Dictionary & Encyclopedia

JadiyaEncyclopedia Topic

Studded, attained, obtained

Various Sources JadsheEncyclopedia Topic

Will obtain, will stud

Various Sources JadtarEncyclopedia Topic

Fasted, tied, Joined, stitched, cobbled

Various Sources JaephalEncyclopedia Topic

Mace

Various Sources JaesiEncyclopedia Topic

Will go

Various Sources JaesoEncyclopedia Topic

Will go

Various Sources JAFAR BIN MANSUR AL-YAMENEncyclopedia Topic

"Jafar bin Mansur, the son of Ibn Hawshab was greatly distressed by the internal quarrels in which his brother, Abul Hasan Mansur played a conspiracy in killing Abdullah bin Abbas al-Shawiri in Yamen. Jafar bin Mansur was deadly against his brother and went to Maghrib at the Fatimid court. He reached Maghrib when Imam al-Mahdi had died in 322/934. He was however well received by Imam al-Qaim and his services were amply rewarded and was given the charge of mission. He was held in great esteem for his learning and ability. He also served whole heartedly to Imam al-Mansur and Imam al-Muizz.

Jafar bin Mansur was first to be invested the title of Bab al-Abwab by Imam al-Muizz in Cairo, for which a separate mission cell was constituted. The residential palace of Imam al-Muizz and Jafar was nearby. He always remained close to the Imam in Maghrib and Egypt as well. He rose to such a great extent that he had been given superiority over Qadi Noman, which can be judged from an event that one day, the health of Qadi Noman became impaired, therefore many visitors excluding Jafar bin Mansur came to see him. When Qadi Noman recovered, he went to see Imam al-Muizz, who asked him as to who had come to see him while he was sick. Qadi Noman thereupon complained that many persons came except Jafar. Imam al-Muizz got annoyed at him and after a short while, he took out a book and gave it to Qadi Noman to read. Qadi Noman was highly astonished at the ability of its author. The Imam asked him to imagine the name of its author. Qadi Noman said, "There could be no one else except the Imam himself who could write so well." And the Imam replied, "You have mis-judged, for the book is written by Jafar bin Mansur." Qadi Noman admitted his mistake with an apology and went to the house of Jafar to pay his respect.

Jafar bin Mansur was a prolific writer and instituted the interpretation for the school of Ismaili writings. His main works are twelve, whose few manuscripts are preserved in the University Library of Leiden. Suffice it to say that the period of Imam al-Muizz would be barren without the intellectual, philosophical and mystical achievement of Jafar bin Mansur, who died in 365/975.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral JAFAR IBN ABU TALIBName

(7th Century) Son of Imam Abu Talib and H. Ali's brother. Led the first Muslims to Abyssinia.

7e S. Fils de l'Imam Abou Talib et frère de H. Ali, conduisit les premiers musulmans en Abyssinie.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #276general JAFAR SADIK (114-148/733-765), 5TH IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

"Abu Abdullah Jafar bin Muhammad was born in 80/699 at Medina. Ibn Khallikan (1:327) and others determine his birth from the event of Amm al-Juhaf (the year of the flood) in Mecca, which according to Tabari (2:320) occurred in 80/699. According to the Arabic lexicon, jafar means stream. His father had referred to him "the best of all mankind" and "one in charge of the family of Muhammad" (qaim al-Muhammad). He is also known by the titles of al-Sadik (trustworthy), al-Sabir (patient), al-Tahir (pure one) and al-Fazil (excellent one).

Yaqubi writes that it was customary for scholars, who related anything from Imam Jafar Sadik, used to say: "the Learned One informed us". Even Malik bin Anas (d. 179/795) is reported to have said when quoting Imam Jafar Sadik's traditions: "The thiqa (truthful) Jafar bin Muhammad himself told me that ." Abu Hanifah (d. 150/767) was also a Imam's pupil for two years. The house of Imam Jafar Sadik in Medina took a real shape of a regular academy, where a galaxy of talented scholars of jurisprudence, traditions, philosophy, exegesis and theology attended the studies. It was perhaps the first academy in Islam in respect of Islamic ideology which Imam Jafar Sadik founded in Medina. The concourse of the varied minds in Medina gave an impetus to the cultivation of science and literature, where a stream of unusual intellectual activity flowed towards other Islamic states, and soon led to the growth of philosophical tendencies among the Muslims.

Abu Hashim, the eldest son of Ibn al-Hanafiya (d. 81/700) continued the mission of Mukhtar, and his followers then became known as Kaysaniyas. Caliph Hisham poisoned him, but before his death in 98/718, he quickly rushed to Humayma, and bequeathed his right to the caliphate and charge of the Kaysaniya sect to Muhammad bin Ali as he had no son.

Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet had a son, Abdullah, who never tried to establish his own caliphate. Abdullah and his son, Ali bin Abdullah resided in Humayma. It was the latter's son, Muhammad bin Ali to have taken the charge of Kaysaniya sect from the dying Abu Hashim. Thus, the house of Abbas inherited the party and organization of Abu Hashim along with his claims. Muhammad bin Ali led the Kaysaniya sect, and propagated in the name of Ahl al-Bayt, declaring that the caliph should be from Alid descent and the Umayyads had no right to rule. It was mere an ostensible slogan to perpetuate wide supports of the Alids and nourish future political ambition. Muhammad bin Ali died before attaining his objective and handed on his claims to his son, Ibrahim. He began to dispatch emissaries, starting with Khorasan, where the bulk of the Kaysaniya faction resided.

In the meantime, the newly acclaimed Umayyad caliph Marwan sought to strike at the centre of the whole movement by arresting Ibrahim. He is said to have strangled him as Yaqubi writes, by having his head put into a bag of lime until he died. Ibrahim had two brothers, Abul Abbas and Abu Jafar Mansur, both of whom escaped to Khorasan. And very soon these two brothers returned, supported by Abu Muslim's victorious troops, to lead the insurgents in their final struggle in the West. Their way had been prepared for them in Kufa by propaganda that had been carried on for more than twelve years.

In Kufa, the local reprehensive Abu Salama Hafs, the Kaysaniyan follower of Abu Hashim, known as Wazir-i Al-i Muhammad was very popular figure. Tabari (3:27) writes that, "When the news of the death of Ibrahim reached Kufa, Abu Salama on the suggestion and advice of some other Shi'as of Kufa, intended to establish the Imamate of Alids." Accordingly, he wrote letters to Imam Jafar Sadik, Abdullah al-Mahd and Umar bin Ali Zayn al-Abidin, asking each one of them in turn to come to Kufa in person and he would support their claims of Imamate. The messenger was instructed first to contact the Imam, and only if he refused, then to go to Abdullah al-Mahd, and in case of his refusal, to Umar bin Ali Zayn al-Abidin. When the messenger presented the letter first to Imam Jafar Sadik, the latter called for a lamp, burned the letter and said to the messenger, "Tell your master what you have seen" (al-Fakhri fi'l Adab as-Sultaniya, Cairo, 1966, p. 109). The messenger then came to Abdullah al-Mahd, who accepted the offer.

Meanwhile, things took a reverse turn for the Abbasid family. The army commanded by Abul Abbas and Abu Jafar Mansur, came from Khorasan to Kufa, where Abu Salama announced that Abu Muslim had now made it possible for the world of Islam to shake itself free from the Umayyads, and declared that it was to this end that he called upon them to recognize Abul Abbas, the brother of the murdered Ibrahim, as their rightful Imam and Caliph. Abul Abbas mounted the pulpit and made his inaugural speech, in which he "identified the glory of God with his own interest and those of his house. He named the Abbasids as the Ahl al-Bayt from whom uncleanliness was removed, and denied that the Alids were more worthy of the caliphate" (Tabari, 3:29). The excited crowd expressed their approval and gave their allegiance to Abul Abbas as the first caliph of the Abbasid caliphate in 132/750.

Marwan, the Umayyad caliph was at that time advancing towards Kufa with a huge army. He encountered the army from Khorasan at a point on the greater Zab river, and the battle of Zab lasted for two days. It was closely contested struggle, and the day was turned when Marwan's horse ran away without its rider. He managed to escape, but was discovered and killed. So fell the last of the Umayyads in 132/750. The total duration of the Umayyad rule till the time when Abul Abbas assumed the power of the Abbasid rule was 90 years, 11 months and 13 days.

The Alids were totally disappointed while noticing the Abbasids devouring power in the name of Ahl al-Bayt. The first task before Abbas as- Saffah therefore was to break the alliance with the Alids who were yet strong and could be dangerous. During his short rule of less than four years, he was kept fully occupied in meeting numerous insurrections and in ruthlessly killing those Alids who were suspected. The first to pay his life was Abu Salama. Abul Abbas died in 136/754, during which period, the Alids in Medina, disorganized by the frustration of their hopes, kept quiet. But when Abu Jafar Mansur, the brother of Abul Abbas as-Saffah assumed the caliphate, the Alids embittered by the usurpation of their rights by the house of Abbas, began to voice their complaints. An-Nafs az-Zakia, the son of Abdullah al-Mahd openly refused to take oath of allegiance to Mansur. Tabari (3:200) also writes that, "Malik bin Anas declared that the oath sworn to the Abbasids was no longer binding as it had been taken under compulsion."

In 137/755, Abu Muslim was lured to Iraq and murdered. Caliph Mansur thus had to face the most threatening opposition from the Alids. He concentrated his efforts on two basic points. The first was to justify the rights of his house on religious ground. The second was to gain for his caliphate the acceptance of the Muslims. He also persecuted Imam Jafar Sadik many times, but the latter retained his equanimity.

Imam Jafar Sadik died in 148/765 in Medina after the Imamate of 34 years and 7 months. Upon his death the Imamate devolved upon his elder son, Ismail. He had seven sons and four daughters. His first wife was Fatima. For the first 25 years he had only two sons by his first wife, Ismail and Abdullah and a daughter Umm Farwa. His second wife was Hamida, the mother of Musa Kazim and Muhammad. Besides, Abbas, Ali, Asma and Fatima were also the children of Imam Jafar Sadik.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral JAFFAR AS-SADIQ, IMAMName

(83AH/702-148AH/765.) Became Imam in 114 A.H. Sent Musa b. Abdullah Mahz* and Abdullah b. Moh'd b. Abdullah Mahz* to India. sv. Hulwani, Abu Sufian.

(83AH/702-148AH/765.) Devint Imam en 114 AH. Envoya Musa b. Abdullah Mahz* et Abdullah b. Moh'd b. Abdullah Mahz* en Inde. V. Hulwani, Abu Sufian.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #171general JAFFAR IBN MANSOOR AL YAMANName

see:JAFFAR IBN MANSOOR AL YAMAN

(10e S.) Petit fils du Dai Mansoor al-Yaman. Auteur du "Kitab al-Alim wa'l Ghulam". Vint au Maghreb vers 322ah après la mort de son père. For detailed English text on JAFFAR IBN MANSOOR AL YAMAN click here

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #277general JAFFAR, 4è PIRName

(49-61AH) Nominated Pir by Imam Hussein. Was born in Medina and was martyred at Karbala.

(49-61AH) Nommé Pir par l'Imam Hussein. Né à Médine et martyrisé à Kerbala.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #274general JAFFER, SEYYEDName

(14/15e S.)Son of Pir Hassan Kabirdin. Is buried at Lahore.

(14/15e S.) Fils de Pir HK. Enterré à Lahore

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #275general JagadiEncyclopedia Topic

Having manifested, having lit, having awakened

Various Sources JagadvaEncyclopedia Topic

To wake up

Various Sources JagaiyaEncyclopedia Topic

Woke up

Various Sources JaganEncyclopedia Topic

Watchful, vigilant, a congregation where worship, meditation and music are conducted

Various Sources JaganharaEncyclopedia Topic

One who wakes up

Various Sources JagatEncyclopedia Topic

Wake up

Various Sources JagdishEncyclopedia Topic

Lord of the heaven and earth

Various Sources JagindaEncyclopedia Topic

Will keep awake, will keep vigil

Various Sources JagioEncyclopedia Topic

Keep awake, remain vigilant, watchful and alert, keep vigil

Various Sources JagmagEncyclopedia Topic

Shining, glittering

Various Sources Jagmag jagmagEncyclopedia Topic

Shining and bright

Various Sources JagmageEncyclopedia Topic

Glitter, shine, dazzle

Various Sources JagtaEncyclopedia Topic

While awake

Various Sources JagtanaEncyclopedia Topic

While awake

Various Sources JAHANNAMEncyclopedia Topic

The word jahannam is derived from jihinnam means a deep pit, and as it is said in Arabic: bir'un jahannam'un means a well whose depth is very great. The word jahannam occurs 77 times in the Koran. Another name for hell, which bears a similar significance, but occurs only once in the Koran, is hawiya (101:9) means an abyss or a pit having no bottom, the root being hawa which means falling down to a depth from a highest and hence according to Raghib, it refers to low desires. Four names of hell are taken from the analogy of fire, viz. jahim, derived from jahm signifying the burning or blazing of fire, but this word is applied to the fury of war as well as of fire, while tajahhama, another measure from the same root means he burned with vehemence of desire or covetousness and niggardliness also he became strained in disposition, occurring 23 times in the Koran. Sa'ir is derived from sa'r means the kindling of fire, and it is metaphorically applied to the raging of war or outbreak of disease, occurring 8 times in the Koran. Su'ur is used in the sense of distress (54:24). Saqar is derived from saqara, means the heat of the sun scorched a man, occurring 4 times in the Koran. Laza means flame, and in one form talazza is metaphorically used for burning with anger, occurring only once in the Koran (92:14). Hutama is derived from hutam means the crushing or grinding of everything to powder or the breaking of a thing, also rendering infirm or weak with age, while hutama means a vehement fire, occurring twice in the same context (104:4-5). The most common description, al-nar (fire) occurs 125 times in the Koran. Besides, hell has lahab means flames (77:31), and it punishes by combustion, aza'b al-hariq (3:181). The nar hamiya (101:11) means a raging fire.
The topography of hell

""The fire is spread out above and below in layers (39:16), enclosed (90:20), with sparks as big as forts (77:32). Its fuel is human beings and stones (2:24, 66:6), especially, unbelievers (3:10), the unjust (72:15), and polytheists and whatever they worship besides God (21:98). With the fire comes black smoke (yahmum, 56:43), three columns of shadow that do not protect against the flames (77:30-1), boiling water (hamim, 56:42) and the poisonous hot wind (samum, 52:27, 56:42). People's faces are turned upside down in the fire (33:66); they are dragged through it on their faces (54:48), unable to keep it away from their faces or their backs (21:39). Several times hell is called "an evil bed" (bi'sa l-mihad, 2:206), one with canopies (7:41). The sinners wander about between hell and boiling water (55:43-4).

Hell is reached by a road (sirat al-jahim, 37:23), later constructed as a bridge, and by seven gates, one for each class of sinners (15:44). Heaven is separated from hell by a wall with a gate; inside is mercy, and all along the outside is torment (aza'b, 57:13). Yet despite that barrier and the veil between them (7:46), the inhabitants of heaven and hell can see and call to each other. They compare experience: both have found their Lord's promises to be true (7:44). The "companions of the fire cry out to the companions of the garden,

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral JAHANNAM-2Encyclopedia Topic

(continued)

Remedial nature of hell

Hell, therefore, only represents the evil consequences of evil deeds, but still it is not a place merely for undergoing the consequence of what has been done; it is also a remedial plan. In other words, the chastisement is not for the purpose of torture; it is for purification so that man, rid of the evil consequences, which he has brought about with his own hands, may be made fit for spiritual advancement. The Koran has clearly set out this law regarding even those punishments, which are made to overtake man here on earth: "And We did not send a prophet in a town, but We overtook its people with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves" (7:94). It implies that God brings down His punishment upon a sinning people in order that they may turn to Him; in other words, that they may be awakened to a higher life. The same must therefore be the object of punishment in hell; it is a remedial measure. In fact, a little consideration would show that good is enjoined because it helps the progress of man, and evil is prohibited because it retards that progress. If a man does well, he himself gets the advantages of it; if he does evil, it is to his own detriment. It is a subject to which the Koran returns over and over again: "He will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will fail who corrupt it" (91:9-10), "Your striving is surely directed to various ends. Then as for him who gives in charity and is careful of his duty, and believes in goodness, We will facilitate for him the easy end. And as for him who is niggardly, and does not care for his duty, and rejects goodness, We will facilitate for him the difficult end" (92:4-10), "If you do good, you will do good for your own souls, and if you do evil, it shall be for them" (18:7), "Whoever does good, it is for his own soul, and whoever does evil, it is against it, and thy Lord is not in the least unjust to the servants" (41"46), and "Whoever does good, it is for his own soul, and whoever does evil, it is to his detriment; then you shall be brought back to your Lord" (45:15).

Purification being the great object, the man who has wasted his opportunity here must undergo the ordeal of hell in order to obtain it. Various other considerations lead to the same conclusion. In the first place, such great prominence is given to the attribute of mercy in God, that He is spoken of as having "ordained mercy on Himself" (6:12, 54); the Divine mercy is described as encompassing all things (6:148, 7:156, 40:7), so that even those who have acted extravagantly, against their own souls, should not despair of the mercy of God (39:53); and finally it is laid down that for mercy did He create all men (11:119). Such a Merciful Being could not chastise man unless for some great purpose, which purpose is to set him again on the road to the higher life, after purifying him from evil. It is like a hospital wherein different operations are performed only to save life.

The ultimate object of life of man is that he shall live in the service of God: "And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me" (51:56). The man who lives in sin is debarred from the Divine presence (83:15); but being purified by fire, is again made fit for Divine service. Hence hell is called, in one place, the mawla (friend) of the sinners (57:15), and their umm (mother) in another (101:9). Both descriptions are a clear indication that hell is intended to raise up many by purifying him from the dross of evil, just as fire purifies gold of dross. It is to point to this truth that the Koran uses the word fitna (the assaying of gold, or casting it into the fire to purify it), both of the persecutions, which the faithful undergo in this life (2:191, 29:2, 10), and of the punishment, which the evildoers shall suffer in hell (37:63). Thus, the faithful are purified through their sufferings, in the way of God, in this life; and the evildoers shall be purified by hellfire. Hell is called a "friend" of sinner, because through sufferings it will fit them for spiritual progress, and it is called their "mother" because in its bosom they will be brought up, so that they may be able to tread the path of a new life.

The Egyptian author al-Tahawi (d. 321/933) writes in his Bayan al-Sunna wal Jama'a (p. 139) that, "If He wills, He punishes them in fire in proportion to their offense in accordance with His justice. Afterwards He will withdraw these from it, in accordance with His mercy, and will send them to the garden." Finally, we must not forget the meaningful supplication in Sahifa al-Sajjadia of Imam Zayn al-Abidin: "I ask Thee to have mercy on this delicate skin, this slender frame, which cannot endure the heat of Thy sun. How then will it endure the heat of Thy fire?"

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral Jaher / ZaherEncyclopedia Topic

Manifest

Various Sources JAHILIYYAEncyclopedia Topic

The word jahiliyya means ignorance, which is taken to refer to the pre-Islamic period. It was the age of tribalism and is reckoned to cover the period of about a century before the advent of Islam. In pre-Islamic literature, and to a considerable degree in the Koran, the word from the root j-h-l means not ignorance but something like barbarism. The term jahiliyya occurs four times in the Koran (33:33, 48:26, 5:50 and 3:154).

Demoralized state is perhaps the most comprehensive phrase through which the pre-Islamic world can be concisely picturised. The whole world lay in the fast grip of paganism, savagery, debauchery, anarchy and other vices. Autocracy and despotism prevailed at an extreme in every religion. The poor were trampled down and persecuted by the rich and humanity groaned under the curse of inhumanity. Under this heavy incubus of religious was Arabia groaning when Islam suddenly and unexpectedly appeared.

The period preceding the advent of the Prophet has been designated the Dark Age by the Koran (vide 33:33 & 48:26), which epitomizes in two words. Virtually, the whole Arabia was enjoying complete independence, and the neighboring empires of Byzantine and Iran paid no attention to Arabs who were thought to be barbaric, poor and hungry. There was no central government to enforce law and order in the peninsula. The whole Arabia was rent into innumerable petty states, each clan forming a separate and independent political unit. Each tribe had a chief of its own who would lead it in battle against a hostile tribe to vindicate its rights. Tribal prejudice was common and small incidents would lead to bitter feuds, which continued for generations. But there was no law whatsoever, binding the tribe to the nation. The whole peninsula was thus like a hornet's nest.

The daily life of a Bedouin was nothing more than that of a shepherd, obtaining their livelihood from the rearing of animals, pitching their tents within certain limits and wandering in quest of water and pasture. Some, however, being more disposed to a settled life, congregated together, formed villages and the number of these still further increasingly grew into towns and cities. Their time was occupied in tillage, in the cultivation of palm tree and of other trees and plants whose fruits sustained their life.

The social condition of Arabs was deplorable as it was steeped in immorality. Human sacrifice was commonly practiced. Ancient Arabs literature is stunk with wine and other strong liquors, containing a treasure of its expressions. During a state of drunkenness, the whole assembly indulged in acts of the most shameless vice and profligacy. Rum shops were well decorated. Gambling was the next favourite pastime for them. Adultery was another vice to which the whole of Arabia was hopelessly wedded. The enemies were burnt alive, pregnant women had their bellies slashed, innocent babes and children were massacred. Usury was in vogue. The women, having no right and no social respect, were the worst sufferer in the society. They were regarded as chattels and were looked with bitter contempt. A man was free to marry any number of women and could divorce as he wished. Women were deprived of the right of inheritance. The Arabs were embarrassed at the birth of daughters and sometimes, the fathers buried them alive in spite of soul-harrowing cries. It was a custom for the eldest son to take as a wives his father's widows, inherited as a property with the rest of the estate. Slavery was another curse having a firm hold on the Arab society. The masters possessed the authority of life and death over them. The worst type of obscene language was used in expressing sex-relations. Stories of love and illicit relationships were narrated proudly and with utter want of shame in verses of the most indecent kind. In sum, women were accorded no better treatment than lower animals. Robbery, pillage and murder were also of common occurrence; human blood being almost daily shed without remorse or horror. On the death of any person, the custom was to tie his camel to his tomb and suffer it to be starved to death, and this camel they called baliyah. Nevertheless, the Arabs possessed certain natural virtues that marked them out in the post-Islamic age. They were the most eloquence nation, plain of speech, strong of memory, firm of determination, superb horsemen, loyal and trustworthy.

Religiously the Arabs were idolatrous. There were separate god and goddess for each city, tribe and locality and were figured according to the fancy of worshippers. The Kaba alone was housed with 360 idols, each personifying a representative deity of its respective tribe. Lat was an idol fixed at Taif as the deity of Thaqif tribe. Uzza was the god of Qoraish and Kanna tribes in Mecca, and the Manat was the deity of Aws and Khazraj tribes in Medina. Among them, Hubal was regarded as a biggest, and it stood on the summit of the Kaba. Within the Kaba was placed the images of Abraham, having arrows, called azlam in his hand, and a lamb standing beside him; as well as of Ismael in the same position painted on the walls of the temple. Either a statue of Mary, having Jesus Christ in her lap, was placed on the walls of temple, or her likeness in that position was painted on the walls. Besides, the Humayr of Yamen was the sun worshipper and the Kanna worshipped the moon. Human destiny was associated with the movements of the stars. Phenomena of nature affecting the fortunes of man for good or evil were attributed to their influence.

The Jews migrated and settled in Arabia probably in 5th century B.C. They gained their foothold at Khaibar and began to propagate their faith. About the 3rd century B.C., the king of Yamen, Dhu-Nawas by name, embraced Judaism. This added fresh momentum to the Jewish movement, and in the course of time Judaism won considerable ascendancy in Arabia. But the Arab nation as a whole remained addicted to its ancestral religion of idol-worship.

The Christian missionaries also began pouring into Arabia in the 3rd century A.D., and settled in Najran. Their activities were supplemented a good deal by the political influence of the two Christian powers in the neighborhood of Arabia, the Abyssinian to the west and the Roman empire to the north. Beyond this Christianity could make no headway and had a very little impact on the rotten society of the Arabs.

Unlike the rest of the Arabs, only the Hashimite family, the descendants of Abraham, adhered to their ancestral faith of monotheism, known as the Hanif. It was a small band of earnest men who discarded idolatry.

The corrupt morale of the Arabs reached its zenith, rather to a catastrophe of their ethical death. The whole Arab society was submerged in social evils, and life had no worth to them, neither was their conduct governed by any ethical code. Wine, gambling, slaughter and all inhuman indulgences were just synonymous to the very name of Arab.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral JaiEncyclopedia Topic

Having gone

Various Sources Jai pahonchoEncyclopedia Topic

Will reach

Various Sources JaishEncyclopedia Topic

Will go

Various Sources JajEncyclopedia Topic

Vessel, ship

Various Sources Jajman / YajmanEncyclopedia Topic

Performer of sacrifice; one who gets sacrifice or worship performed for oneself by priest o fBrahmin and gives him dakshina or gift; patron; donor; host

Various Sources JajoEncyclopedia Topic

Go, be

Various Sources JajriEncyclopedia Topic

Rotten

Various Sources JajuEncyclopedia Topic

More, much, many, plenty

Various Sources Jakh mariEncyclopedia Topic

Talk nonsense, making vain effort, eat humble pie

Various Sources JakiEncyclopedia Topic

Whose

Various Sources JakuEncyclopedia Topic

Whoever

Various Sources JalEncyclopedia Topic

Deceit, fraud; water

Various Sources Jal jalEncyclopedia Topic

In every water

Various Sources Jal thalEncyclopedia Topic

Water and land

Various Sources JALAL AND JAMALEncyclopedia Topic

The Divine Qualities can be divided into two groups, jalal (majesty) and jamal (beauty). Majesty, the revelation of which burns and consumes the worlds, is in one aspect rigorous, severe. Beauty on other hand is the synthesis of mercy, generosity, compassion and all analogous qualities. God has a jalal side and jamal side, the aspects of Powerful Majesty and Wonderful Kindness, and that these two fall together in Him as kamal or perfection. Jalal is a masculine aspect, the Overpowering. Jamal is a feminine aspect, the loving, kind and beautiful. Jalal and Jamal (Majesty and Beauty), also called the names of Adl and Fadl (Justice and Bounty) or Ghazab and Rahma (Wrath and Mercy) or Qahr and Lutf (Severity and Gentleness).

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral JALALUDDIN HASAN (607-618/1210-1221), 25TH IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

"Hasan, surnamed Jalaluddin was born in 583/1187. He is also called as Hasan III. During his childhood, his father had designated him as his successor. According to John Malcolm in History of Persia (London, 1815, 1:405), "He is celebrated in Persian history for the kindness and generosity of his disposition; and we are informed that this prince of the Ismailis was the handsomest man for his age".

Culling up the different narratives, it appears that few Ismailis in northern Syria had misinterpreted the notion of the qiyama among the orthodox Muslims, who also in turn, ignored its inner Islamic substance and devised a derogatory imputation and engineered anti-propaganda in hyperbolic and opprobrious words. Dr. Nassih Ahmed Mirza writes that, "Among the Syrian Ismailis who lived far away from Alamut in a different environment, the teachings of the qiyama were probably not fully understood by all" (Ibid. pp. 156-7). Under these difficult circumstances, the basic teachings of the qiyama was bound to have been different in northern Syria from what was in Iran. Between 559/1164 and 607/1210, the orthodox machine sprouted out from all directions in Iran and Syria, reviling that the Ismailis had violated the Islamic Shariah. Dahalbi (d. 748/1348) writes in Zubat at-talab fi Tarikh-i Halab that, "The proclamation of qiyama in Iran was obvious, the more so since the Syrian historians clearly know nothing of the event of Alamut." Such episodes had possibly furnished further weighty excuse for the Muslim opponents of the Ismailis to accuse them of the outright abandonment of the Islamic law. One can judge from the imponderable and starkly fictitious accounts of the contemporary diplomats and travellers, about the nature of the rumours spread against the Ismailis. In a diplomatic report of 570/1175 of an envoy, Burchard of Strassburg, who had been sent to Syria by the Roman king Frederick I Barbarossa (1152-1190), indicates that Burchard had been ill-informed by the local Muslims about the Ismailis during his visit to Syria in 570/1175, which he produced in his report in a distorted form. He writes, "The Heyssessini live without law; they eat swine's flesh against the law of the Saracens, and make use of all women..." Ibn Jubayr, the Spanish traveler had also passed through the Syrian Ismailis territories on Friday, the 18th Rabi I, 580/June 29, 1184 and describes what he learnt through oral channels that, "On their slopes are castles belonging to the heretical Ismailites, a sect which swerved from Islam and vested divinity in a man (Sinan).... He bewitched them with these black arts, so that they took him as a god and worshipped him. They abased themselves before him, reaching such a state of obedience and subjection that did he order one of them to fall from the mountain top he would do so, and with alacrity that he might be pleased." (vide The Travels of Ibn Zubayr tr. by R.J.C. Broadhurst, London, 1952, p. 264). All this sounds that the unrealistic and incredible image of the Ismailis was portrayed in Syria. Dr. Nassih Ahmed Mirza continues to write: "This misunderstanding of the spiritual aims of the qiyama, which very likely were only understood by the most learned da'is, may together with political consideration have been the factor which prompted the grandson of Hasan Ala Dhikrihi al-Salam to reinstate the observance of the ordinary rituals of the Shariah." (Ibid. pp. 158-9).

And here we cannot but call attention to the fact that the qiyama involved an emphasis on the batin along with its counterpart, the zahir, was present in Ismailism from the earliest times. It is irrational judgment of some historians that the qiyama involved an abrogation of the Shariah, since the Ismailis had seldom deprecated it. Thus, Imam Jalaluddin Hasan restricted his followers not to preach the doctrine of qiyama. The most obvious inference from this action emerges that the esoteric teachings of Islam was since privatized, and the tradition of the Sufic khanaqah (cloister) came into existence in the Ismailis to observe the esoteric practices in solitude.

Imam Jalaluddin Hasan also cemented cordial relations with the Muslims rulers, so that the Ismailis living in the mountains for many years, can accelerate their economical conditions in the different cities. There are indications that at least some of the Ismailis were becoming increasingly weary of their isolation from the outside world. To make this possible, there had to be at least a measure of outward conformity. For generating friendship with the rulers, Imam Jalaluddin Hasan greatly needed first to make the people known that the Ismailis had never abrogated the Islamic Shariah. He ordered the building of mosques and public baths. He invited the Muslim theologians from Iraq and Khorasan. According to The Cambridge History of Iran (London, 1968, 5:476), "From the time of Hasan III, the Ismailis attracted to their libraries and to their learned patronage a large number of scholars from the outer world. Such scholars were free to maintain their prior religious convictions." Ibn Wasil (d. 697/1298) writes in Mufarrid al-Kurub (p. 211) that the Syrian Ismailis were also subsequently informed in 608/1211 to follow the policy of the Imam.

Imam Jalaluddin Hasan sent his envoys to the Abbasid caliph Nasir, Muhammad Khwarazmshah, the rulers of Iraq and Azerbaijan to notify them of his religious policy, making them informed that the Ismailis were the true Muslims. Very rapidly, the Ismailis restored the lost prestige and began to spread in the Muslim cities. The Abbasid caliph Nasir also issued a decree in Baghdad in Rabi I, 608/August, 1211, proclaiming his close ties with Alamut. It is curious that the decree indicates that the Ismaili Imam had embraced Sunnism, which apparently is the addition in the original text by the later Sunni writers.

Some historians have curiously inflated in their narratives that Imam Jalaluddin Hasan had accepted the suzerainty of the Abbasids, which is also quite incorrect. Granted that the Alamut had recognized the supremacy of Baghdad, then the Abbasid khutba should have been recited in the Ismaili territories, which, of course did never occur. Secondly, if Alamut had been made the Abbasid's enclave, the rulers of Alamut followed by Imam Jalaluddin Hasan should have been directly appointed from Baghdad according to the prevalent custom, which also never took place. Imam Jalaluddin Hasan had actually cemented his friendly ties with the Abbasids and other Muslim rulers to restore the prestige of the Ismailis.

Imam Jalaluddin Hasan thus was held in high esteem and accepted as a chief amongst other chiefs, and his rights to the territories he dominated were officially acknowledged by the Abbasids. His mother went on the pilgrimage to Mecca in 609/1213 under the patronage of caliph Nasir, who received her with great pomp and deference. On that occasion, according to A Short History of the Khawarzamshahs (Karachi, 1978, pp. 72 and 207) by Prof. Ghulam Rabbani Aziz that the Abbasid caliph placed the flag of Khwarazamshah behind that of Jalaluddin Hasan, the ruler of Alamut, in the caravan of the pilgrims. She gave great amounts in charity, and had many well dug.

The improved relations were naturally beneficial to the Sunni Muslims as well. For instance, at the end of Imam Jalaluddin Hasan's rule, many Muslims including prominent scholars who were fleeing from the Mongolian strikes in Khorasan, found asylum in the Ismaili towns of Kohistan.

It is seen that the reforms of Imam Jalaluddin Hasan have been taken into wrong sense by Juvaini and other historians, tincturing with dubious stories. Juvaini claims that Imam Jalaluddin Hasan had given up the creeds of his forefather (p. 698) and professed Sunnism (p. 699). He seems to make a dogmatic different between the Imam with the previous Imams of Alamut. Granted that Imam Jalaluddin Hasan had deserted the creeds of his forefather and embraced Sunnism, then why he retained with him till death the spiritual authority of Imamate, and nominated his son as the next Imam in accordance with the fundamental concept of Shi'ism? Secondly, it is unlikely to confess the notion advanced by the historians that an Imam had adhered to the Sunnism on one hand and his followers continued to profess Shi'ism of an Ismaili tariqah on other. Imam Jalaluddin Hasan was absolutely an Imam of the Shi'a Ismaili Muslims, therefore, the opinions of the historians are utterly irrational and unrealistic. According to The Cambridge History of Iran (London, 1968, 5:470) that, "From an Imamate point of view, he (Jalaluddin Hasan) was undeniably the Imam: he had received the irrevocable designation by the preceding Imam and whatever he ordered was to be received in faith". Suffice it to say that the Syrian scholar, Arif Tamir cited a letter of Jalaluddin Hasan, in which he claims his Imamate and traces his descent from al-Nizar through Hasan II, vide Sinan Rashid-ad-Din aw Shaikh al-Jabal (cf. al-Adib, 23:45; May, 1953). It is also a matter worth consideration that his actions were not rejected by his followers, and he was also able to leave Alamut fearlessly and visited in foreign lands for 18 months and returned with no difficulty or mishap. W. Montgomery Watt writes in Islam and the Integration of Society (London, 1961, p. 77) that, "For the Ismailis, too, the Imam was an absolute autocrat, whose decrees had to be accepted. However strange his new decision might seem, a loyal follower could not question it, since he was bound to regard the Imam as knowing better than himself. In fact the community seems to have followed al-Hasan III without hesitation. He himself may genuinely have believed that he was acting in the best interests of the community."

Imam Jalaluddin Hasan also procured close relation with the ruler of Gilan, and in 608/1212, he betrothed to the four women of Gilan. One among them was the sister of Kai'kaus bin Shahanshah, the ruler of Kutum, who bore Imam's successor, named Alauddin Muhammad.

Imam Jalaluddin Hasan developed close relation with Muzaffaruddin Ozbek bin Pahlawan Muhammad (607-622/1210-1225), the sixth and last Ildenizid ruler of Arran and Azerbaijan. When Ozbek decided to deal with Nasiruddin Mengli, his deputy in Irak-i Ajam who had rebelled, he sought help from Alamut. Imam Jalaluddin Hasan departed from Alamut under command of his army in 610/1214 to Azerbaijan, where he stayed at Ozbek's court. He remained for sometimes in Bailaqan with Ozbek, whence they sent joint ambassadors to Baghdad, Syria and other lands, seeking reinforcement in expelling Mengli from Irak-i Ajam. The Abbasid sent their army in command of Muzaffaruddin Wajh Sabu and an army was likewise sent from Syria. In 611/1215, a battle was fought near Hamadan, whereupon Mengli was defeated. After the victory, Imam Jalaluddin Hasan was granted the provinces of Abhar and Zanjan.

During the year and a half when Imam Jalaluddin Hasan was in Azerbaijan, Muzaffaruddin Ozbek treated him with great consideration and that was a brotherly feeling between them. Ozbek used to send him abundant supplies of provisions and excessive quantities of money, so much so that after meeting the requirements of Imam Jalaluddin Hasan in the way of rations of every kind and after dispensing the gifts and robes of honours which he showered not only upon his great officers but also upon the generality of his troops he would still every day sent 1,000 gold dinars to his treasury for current expenses.

The beginning of 7th/13th century was a terrible age for the whole Islamic rulers of Central Asia when the Mongol hordes emerged from Mongolia and began to threaten the Islamic world. The Mongols were a people of the Siberian forest who came from north into the slippers of Mongolia. They lived in a wild and primitive state of society, and their invasion inflicted more suffering on the human race than any other incident recorded in history of mankind. The monstrous hosts indiscriminately annihilated populations, pillaged towns and cities, wreaked special vengeance upon those who dared to resist them, and to whom they had promised immunity, converted the rich and smiling fields into deserts, and left behind the smoke of burning towns. Ruthlessly exterminating young and old, male and female, they obliterated cities and towns with their denizens, their schools, their mosques, their palaces, their libraries, their art treasures, largely nomadizing the region.

The Mongol empire, carved out at the expense of the Chi'n dynasty in North China, and the Sung in South China, was founded by Temujin (1162-1227), who assumed the name of Chenghiz Khan. He united the Mongol tribes and was acclaimed paramount Khan of the Mongols by an assembly (quariltai) of Mongol chiefs in 602/1206 at Karakorum. Beginning with campaigns in 601/1205, 603/1207 and 605/1209, he led the Mongols to destroy the rules of western Asia. Late in 625/1219 he advanced towards the Jaxartes. In 626/1220, he crossed Jaxartes and marched straight on Bukhara, whose cultural heritage, the accumulated intellectual wealth of centuries were obliterated in plunder, bloodshed and arson.

It must be remembered that the Ozbek's war with Mengli ended in 14 to 15 months, but Imam Jalaluddin Hasan prolonged his stay in Azerbaijan for 18 months. He was well kept with the terrible storms of the Mongols in Iran, therefore, he at once sent his envoys to Chenghiz Khan in Karakorum on 616/1219. The ambassadors of the Imam met Chenghiz Khan in the spring of 618/1221 at Balkh. He was the first among the Muslim rulers to send messages of good will to the Khan. His other precaution seems to reveal from his prolonged stay in Azerbaijan, where he had possibly selected a most suitable region to repair during emergency for himself or for his son, or grandson or any other. It seems that he had mapped out in this context an unscathed route from Alamut to Azerbaijan.

In 618/1221, Imam Jalaluddin Hasan attended a banquet, where his enemies poisoned him. His vizir, who was the tutor of his successor, accused Imam's Sunni wives of Gilan in the conspiracy. It however resulted his death of dysentery in Ramzan, 618/November, 1221. His period of Imamate and rule lasted for 11 years, and was succeeded by his only son Alauddin Muhammad, who was then nine years old.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral JALALUDDIN, SEYYEDName

One of the sons of Pir Sadardin.

Un des fils de Pir Sadardin.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #277general JalbalEncyclopedia Topic

Burned down, lit, bright

Various Sources Jale / JhaleEncyclopedia Topic

Hold, attain, having caught hold of, supporting

Various Sources