The Paramount Need for Higher Spiritual Education

Over the past 51 years, Noor Mowlana Hazir Imam has consistently made firmans on the topic of higher spiritual enlightenment. Let us reflect deeply on the spiritual and luminous dimensions of Noor Mowlana Hazir Imam and then assess our progress on the path of enlightenment:
 

What is encompassed in Noor Mowlana Hazir Imam?
“God encompasses all the [...]

Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani (d. 1020)

Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani was a prominent Ismaili missionary during the reign of the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Hakim (996-1021). He was of Persian origin and was probably born in the province of Kirman. He seems to have spent the greater part of his life as a Fatimid da‘i (missionary) in Iraq (in Baghdad and Basra) and in [...]

Aga Khan Film – Central Asia Premiere

Dushanbe, Tajikistan – Aug 29, 2008: 6PM & 8:15PM
 
Dear Supporter
Since we started making this film, we saw how often times those with the loudest voices were the only ones to get heard and how those in power like to impose it on the rest of the people. We wanted to fight for the silenced ones. We [...]

Ismaili Castles of Syria

Peter Willey’s Eagle’s Nest is devoted to the Ismaili castles in Iran and Syria. According to Peter, the larger Ismaili fortresses are quite outstanding as examples of military architecture, their strategic position and the skilled use of natural resources to ensure that, despite the difficulties of the terrain, the castles were well supplied with food [...]

Mysteries Of Ancient World

 

Three Articles on Al-Azhar University

In Egypt, the world’s oldest university continues to teach—and to evolve—as it has for 1000 years.
For one thousand and one years the lives of the people of old Cairo have revolved round al-Azhar.
Out of the tradition of the Prophet himself, a university…
There are two faces to Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. One is new, barely 10 years [...]

ismaili-history-65fat2

Dr. Shafique Virani’s ‘Ismailis in the Middle Ages’

We have previously featured Dr. Shafique Virani’s much acclaimed book ‘The Ismailis in the Middle Ages’. Below is the website address of the author and the book.
http://www1.utm.utoronto.ca/shafiquevirani/ima/

Ali to Karim – Schedule of Performances

A Tribute to the Ismaili Imams recounts the story of our 49 Imams in seven episodes. It traces the unbroken thread of Imamat through the tapestry of Muslim civilizations woven over 1400 years of history. Staged in the wondrous world of books, it entices the audience into a realm where past and present mingle and [...]

New Islamic Garden Web Sites

The Middle East Garden Tradition
The Gardens of the Mughal Empire

Two new web sites focusing on gardens of the Middle East are now online. The Middle East Garden Tradition includes an ongoing catalog of Ottoman, Al-Andalus, Mughal, Syrian, and Persian gardens, as well as a catalog of plants of Al-Andalus, a glossary, a historical dictionary of [...]

Welcome to the heritage society

 

 
 

Nasir Khusraw’s Famous Seven Year Journey

Nasir-i Khusraw’s famous seven-year journey is recorded in his book Safarnama (Travelogue). Nasir-I Khusraw had travelled to Cairo, where he had spent a few years training as dai. In his Travelogue, he describes the splendour of the Fatimid capital as well as the wealth of Egypt:
“I estimated that there were no less than twenty thousand [...]

al-Qadi al-Nu‘man – Ismaili jurist and theologian of the Fatimid era

Qadi al-Nu‘man is regarded as the founder of Fatimid historiography.
One of the greatest Ismaili jurists and theologians of the Fatimid era, Qadi al-Nu‘man was born around 903, and entered the service of the first Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mahdi in 925. Al-Nu‘man served the next three Fatimid Caliph-Imams in various capacities, such as the keeper of the [...]

What is the full extent of “God’s creation”?

“The second great historical lesson to be learnt is that the Muslim world has always been wide open to every aspect of human existence. The sciences, society, art, the oceans, the environment and the cosmos have all contributed to the great moments in the history of Muslim civilisations. The Qur’an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to [...]

Ikhwan al-Safa

The Fatimid (909-1171) era reflected a particularly creative period in the flowering of science, art, culture and architecture. It was also accompanied by a significant development in all the religious and philosophical sciences.
It was during the first Fatimid century that the Ikhwan al-Safa (Brethren of Purity) produced their encyclopedic Rasa’il (Epistles), reflecting the contemporary state [...]

Ghadir Khumm

In common with their fellow Muslim believers the Shi’a affirm the Shahada, that is, belief in the unity of God and the model of divine guidance through God’s Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Shi‘a maintain that for the spiritual and moral guidance of the community, God instructed the Prophet to designate [...]

Ibn al-Haytham

Ibn al-Haytham (965-1039 CE), also known in Europe by the Latin names Alhacen or Alhazen, is one of the most illustrious figures in the history of science in mediaeval Islam.
Ibn al-Haytham spent many years of his life in Cairo, and was one of the most accomplished scientists at that time. His most significant contributions were [...]

Samarkand

Samarkand, one of the landmark cities of Islamic architecture, is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Samarkand lies in a vast oasis in southeastern Uzbekistan, The valley was the region’s heartland and attracted many inhabitants dating back to the first millennium B.C., making Samarkand one of the earliest centres of civilization in Central Asia.
In the fourteenth century, [...]

Astrolabe

Fatimid supremacy on the seas was possible due to their knowledge of astronomy and geography. The Fatimid Caliphs were great patrons of science and learning, thus encouraging research in astronomy and geography. There were big observatories in Cairo where scholars could follow the movement of the stars. Ibn Yunus, who worked in these observatories, is [...]

Navroz in Fatimid Era

 

In the Fatimid era, Navroz was celebrated by the Imams and later in history when the Imams lived in Iran, this holiday became an important Ismaili holiday.
“Morale and enthusiasm were kept up by the observance of various festivals of general Islamic nature; particularly those of Shia and Ismaili. Fridays and the two Idd days were [...]