- Tayyibı cosmological doctrine.pdf
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Is this is Tawil of D.Bohras
Re: Is this is Tawil of D.Bohras
The comological doctrines of the Tayyebi and Ismailis is complex and highly elaborate. However, strictly speaking, it is not classified in the "Ta'wil" literature. Rather, it belongs to the haqqaiq literature, that is more oriented to cosmology, eschatology and other highly esoteric and abstruse matters. Some of the key Tayyebi texts on this topic are considered highly secret. For example, the book Kanz al-walad by the second da'i al-mutlaq, S. Ibrahim al-Hamidi is considered so secret that only one da'i can teach its contents to the his successor da'i. Of course, in modern times these are not secret any more, and some research has been done on them, though not enough. Usually, the contents of these books are only of interest to specialists in obscure matters of theology, cosmogony etc and rarely appeal to common readers. In fact, many of these texts are written in a difficult and prolix manner, making them hard to understand without the aid of a teacher.
As an aside: the book Kanz al-walad appears tangentially in the current drama of the schism in the community: when STS decided to teach it to his successor SMB, he also included SKQ in the lessons (in addition to the raas al-huddud of STS). This may be due to the fact that STS considered that SKQ will be the 53rd da'i al-mutlaq.
Another fun fact: amongst the curiosities in the Hamdani Collection is a copy of this work written in a cipher (i.e. a code in which each arabic letter is replaced by another symbol). Apparently, Muhammad Ali al-Hamdani wrote it in this "secret" script so he could study it while on his pilgrimage and it would not be accessible in case it fell into the wrong hands.
In any case, the cosmology of the Tayyebis was essentially crystalized in this book (Kanz al-walad). Previously, there were several versions of this myth, with each da'i putting his special twist to it, in trying to interpret the allusions in the Qu'ran within the peculiar framework of Ismaili understanding of Islam. The cosmological "Drama in Heaven" is peculiar to this phase of the development.
My own study of these doctrines (both from traditional sources in the Bohras and elsewhere) makes me believe these doctrines are a mix of many different strains of thought. Certainly, Neoplatonism, but they also incorporate myths from the deep religious (pre-Islamic) past of Iran. Recall that many of the leading da'is were of Iranian or Persian origin and so it is likely that they were influenced by Manichean or Zorastrian ideas. Certainly, some Sufi groups, in particular the Nimatullahi Sufi Order of Iran, explicitly claim such a heritage, and they had contact with Ismailis also. However, this is an obscure part of the story that has not yet been studied in detail.
Under ta'wil literature, of course, amongst the key texts are Asas al-ta'wil and Ta'wil al-da'aim by S. al-Qadi al-Nu'man. These describe esoteric interpretation of various verses of the Qu'ran as pertaining to Prophethood and Imammat, and the esoteric interpretation of various external rules of the shariaa. Unfortunately, there are no full English translations of these works and I don't believe any are planned. But I may be wrong and perhaps someone from Institute of Ismaili Studies is working on this. I am not sure.
As an aside: the book Kanz al-walad appears tangentially in the current drama of the schism in the community: when STS decided to teach it to his successor SMB, he also included SKQ in the lessons (in addition to the raas al-huddud of STS). This may be due to the fact that STS considered that SKQ will be the 53rd da'i al-mutlaq.
Another fun fact: amongst the curiosities in the Hamdani Collection is a copy of this work written in a cipher (i.e. a code in which each arabic letter is replaced by another symbol). Apparently, Muhammad Ali al-Hamdani wrote it in this "secret" script so he could study it while on his pilgrimage and it would not be accessible in case it fell into the wrong hands.
In any case, the cosmology of the Tayyebis was essentially crystalized in this book (Kanz al-walad). Previously, there were several versions of this myth, with each da'i putting his special twist to it, in trying to interpret the allusions in the Qu'ran within the peculiar framework of Ismaili understanding of Islam. The cosmological "Drama in Heaven" is peculiar to this phase of the development.
My own study of these doctrines (both from traditional sources in the Bohras and elsewhere) makes me believe these doctrines are a mix of many different strains of thought. Certainly, Neoplatonism, but they also incorporate myths from the deep religious (pre-Islamic) past of Iran. Recall that many of the leading da'is were of Iranian or Persian origin and so it is likely that they were influenced by Manichean or Zorastrian ideas. Certainly, some Sufi groups, in particular the Nimatullahi Sufi Order of Iran, explicitly claim such a heritage, and they had contact with Ismailis also. However, this is an obscure part of the story that has not yet been studied in detail.
Under ta'wil literature, of course, amongst the key texts are Asas al-ta'wil and Ta'wil al-da'aim by S. al-Qadi al-Nu'man. These describe esoteric interpretation of various verses of the Qu'ran as pertaining to Prophethood and Imammat, and the esoteric interpretation of various external rules of the shariaa. Unfortunately, there are no full English translations of these works and I don't believe any are planned. But I may be wrong and perhaps someone from Institute of Ismaili Studies is working on this. I am not sure.
Re: Is this is Tawil of D.Bohras
Nicely written and explained, Biradar. Thanks.