Rasail Ikhwan as safa

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I was reading an essay by Ali Asgar Engineer on Rasail Ikhwan as safa: - <br>We find further proofs of shades of Shi’as in the Rasa’il. They describe the four festivals of the philosophic year (IV, 267-272) the third of which is the ’Id Ghadir al-Khumm, the day on which the Prophet designated, according to the Shi’a tradition, ’Ali as his successor, but, the Rasa’il maintain, the “joy (of the occasion) was marred because it was mixed with the breaking of (the covenant) and treachery” (IV,268). The last festival, ’Id al-musiba (the day of calamity) is one described as the day of the Prophet’s death and also as the day of the battle of Kerbala (10th of Muharram when Imam Husein was martyred) which is also described as the day of ‘disgrace of Islam’ (IV, 269). This is all unmistakably Shi’ite. <br>There are also references in III, 511-514 to the esoteric meaning of the Qur’an i.e. ta’wil which is also a distinct Shi’ite belief. The manifest meaning of the Qur’an (zahir) is described as the lower level of knowledge and it is meant for ’awamm (i.e. the common people) who prefer taqlid (i.e. blind imitation) and the higher form of knowledge is batin (esoteric, concealed) which is meant for the elite (khwass). This is distinctly a Shi’ite position. Thus we find in the 3rd section, page 379 that “Among people there are groups of intellectuals who would not be satisfied with taqlid but would demand proofs and the uncovering of truths (haqa’iq) and the seeking of ’illah (i.e. purpose or the reason of the religious law).” <br>Again the important question is to what sect of Shi’a the compilers or authors of Ikhwanus Safa Rasa’il belong. Obviously they could not be Zaidis as the Zaidi theology does not accord what is generally maintained in the Rasa’il. Now let us examine the possibility of the authors being the Ithna ’Asharis. There is clear statement in the Rasa’il which rules out this possibility also. For example we find in (III, 523) that <B>“So also is considered (erroneous a group) that believes that the great and guiding awaited Imam is hidden and does not appear because of the fear of the opponents. Know that the holder of such opinion remains all his life expectant of the Imam’s appearance, wishful of his coming, eager for his advent. He, then, wastes his life and dies in despair and sorrow, not having seen his Imam, nor having known his person.” </B><br>The Ithna ’Asharis believe till today that Imam Mahdi is yet to appear whereas the Isma’ilis or Fatimids believe that Imam Mahdi (Abdullah al-Mahdi) appeared in the west (North Africa) in early 9th century and founded the Fatimid empire. The above passage does not accord with the Ithna ’Ashari belief about the hidden Imam. Thus if we eliminate the Zaidis and Ithna’Asharis, the only conclusion is that the Brethren of Purity belonged to the Isma’ilis. <p>