Ismaili Qiyamah

8/11/2019 Ismaili Qiyamah

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The Qiymah is true and will happen, but a full explanation of it, either in theory or in

common doctrine, is not easy. Paul Walker, Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary, !"#

We, the $mms in descent from $mm %usayn, are present until today and we shall

remain until the Qiymah and e&en after the Qiymah.' $mm (hh )* (hh +l- (hh$n $slamic thou*ht, the ideas and themes relatin* to the end of the world fall under the doctrineof qiymah risin*, resurrection#. The Qur/an contains hundreds of references to qiymahunder&arious names includin*0 the 1ay of 2esurrection, 30456 the 1ay of 7utual 1isillusion, 890:6 the 1ayof 7utual ;allin*, 9ud*ement, =096 the 1ay of ?atherin* to*ether, 5ust as time is continuous, it can be felt, measured and a**re*ated in certain inter&als seconds,minutes, hours, days, years, decades, etc, in the same way, the qiymahwhich is e&er'occurin* canbe experienced in inter&als. When a bein* fulfills and actualiGes the limit a!! # of its own existence,this is the metamorphosis of bein* which esoteric parlance desi*nates as qiymah,resurrection.%enry ;orbin, "em#lean! $ontem#lation#. Thus, qiymahis a direct culmination and the recompensei.e. reward, punishment# of the pre&ious actions and e&ents in the life of a particular bein*. llhuman bein*s under*oqiymahas they ascend from one le&el of consciousness to the next such asthe pro*ression throu*h the mineral, &e*etable, animal, and rational souls in earthly life.Thus, we can speak of in&oluntary qiymah when the human soul experiences the death of the
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physical body and is resurrected in the astral or ima*inal body. There is also the &oluntary qiymahwhen the human soul under*oes the final death and attains union with ?od such as thespiriual mi%rjof the Prophet 7u ammad. collecti&e qiymahis somethin* experienced by a *roupof human bein*s such as a community, a nation, a ci&iliGation, or e&en humanity as a whole.When qiymahis understood as the end of the world it is referrin* to a collecti&e qiymah.This qiymahis foremost a spiritual e&ent which has conseDuences and effects in the physical world

as manifested in human history. %owe&er, the term world in this expression the end of the worldcannot be understood as the planet Harth or the physical uni&erse as a whole. world +lam#refers to the entire way of life, sets of con&entional beliefs, paradi*ms of understandin*, anddiscourses of knowled*e +ilm# that subsist amon*st human bein*s in a particular period of humanhistory called a cycle !a&r#. The end of the world refers to the conclusion death# of one suchhistorical cycle !a&r# and the be*innin* birth# of a new cycle. This transition from one historicalcycle !a&r# to the next cycle is the qiymahor the end of the world. The *reat $sm+-l- 7uslimphilosopher (ayyidn Ia -r al'1-n Es- explains as follows0

mon*st these @worldsA is the re&olution that takes place when one cycle chan*es to

another, when one prophetic tradition sunnat# and custom chan*es to another, and onereli*ion millat# chan*es to another. Hach one of these is a world, each of these is aseparate world, and when each chan*es, one may say that such and such a cycle, aprophetic tradition and a reli*ion, which did not exist and then came into existence, was a

separate world which underwent non'existence and then existenceJ Thus, when onecycle, which is another world, be*ins, the founder & i% # of the reli*ion of that cycle ismade manifest, and his appearance, form, lan*ua*e, dialect, speech, beha&ior, deeds andspiritual path, both in whole and part, are completely different @from the pre&ious cycleA.' Iasir al'1in Tusi, "he 'ara!ise of Submission, 84'8:#

1ifferent historical periods or cycles are marked by the appearance of ?od/s 7essen*ers and eachcycle or world# lasts anywhere between fi&e hundred or fifteen hundred years. $n the lan*ua*e ofthe brahamic scriptures, the cycles are referred to as the 1ays of ?od Qur/n =905# or the 1aysof ;reation ?enesis#0

KoL Four Kord is ?od Who created the hea&ens and the earth in (ix 1ays. Then %e

established the Throne.' %oly Qur/n !059

ccordin* to the esoteric meanin* ta&(l# of this &erse, the six days in which ?od creates the hea&ensand the earth are six historical cycles of prophecy and reli*ion. The world created in durin* thesesix cycles is the World of Baith +lam al-!(n#.

The ;ycle of e&ery prophet is his +day/. The time in which we are now $ mean, the time

after the Hmissary, al'7u afa, was sent forth up to the time of the 2esurrection is the+day/ of our Hmissary. The days of 7oses, >esus, and the other prophets are pastJ ?odthe Hxalted created the lifetime of this world durin* the span of the prophethood of sixprophets, each of whom had his cycle dawr # and his summons da+wat # in his +day/ rEG #, and durin* his day the Hmissary summoned people to ?odJ $f people were toexamine this interpretation, each prophetic community would occupy the position which itindeed occupies0 the ;hristians established on the fifth day, the >ews on the fourth day,the 7aGdeans on the third day. ' (ayyidn Isir'i Mhusraw, Netween 2eason and 2e&elation, tr. Hric Ormsby, =53'=5"#

$n each cycle of prophecy, the Hnunciatin* Prophet I iD # re&eals a (cripture and a reli*ious Kawshar-+ah#. ccompanyin* the I iD and later succeedin* him is the person of the Boundation ss# who is the first hereditary $mm of the cycle. The ss is succeeded by a linea*e of $mms untila Diymah when the prophetic cycle comes to an end and the next ItiD appears. The institutionof$mmah continues throu*hout these prophetic cycles ser&in* as an arc of *uidance, continuity andpermanence ;lick %ere to 2eadour pre&ious post on the continuity of the eternal $mmat in history#.n o&er&iew of these six cycles is as follows0
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When the (ixth Prophetic ;ycle comes to an end, the (e&enth ;ycle be*ins. The (e&enth ;ycle, in theQur/anic &erse abo&e, is referred to as the establishment of the Throne. This (e&enth ;ycle is the;ycle of the ?reat )iymah. This is because a cycle of prophecy consists of the dominance of thereli*ious Kaw shar(%ah# in which spiritual truths aqiq # are concealed in symbols and only a&ailableto the initiates. The ;ycle of )iymahis when the spiritual truths are un&eiled to the public. Themeanin* of qiymahis literally risin* and the meanin* of the word apocalypse is re&elation.Therefore, the qiymahor apocalypse is not the end of the physical world, but rather, the re&elation,risin* or un&eilin* of spiritual truths to humanity.

$n the cycle of e&ery Prophet, the period of the manifestation of the exoteric hir #dimension of the reli*ious law shar(%at# is called the cycle of concealment, and the cycleof e&ery )im, when the manifestation of the esoteric realities of the reli*ious lawshaqiq-i shar(%at# of the Prophets occur, is called the cycle of un&eilin* !a&r-i kashf#.' Ia -r al'1-n Es-, "he 'ara!ise of Submission, 8:#

The (e&enth ;ycle, which follows the pre&ious (ix Prophetic ;ycles, is the (pecial ;ycle of the?reat )iymahbecause it happens only once in e&ery se&eral thousand years. This ;ycleof )iymahlasts for one thousand years and is marked by special conditions and e&ents which are theculmination, fulfillment and apex of the pre&ious (ix Prophetic ;ycles. When the (ixth ;ycle the;ycle of Prophet 7u ammad reaches its climax and conclusion, it is then that the ;ycleof )iymahbe*ins0

$n the current cycle of human history, howe&er, it was still expected, as with the earliest

$sma+ilis, that full qiyama, or the ?reat 2esurrection qiyamat-i qiyamat#, would occur atthe end of the final millennial era after dam6 that is, at the end of the sixth era initiatedby the sixth law'announcin* prophet, 7uhammad. The ?reat 2esurrection, towards whichall the partial consummation of the precedin* cycles in history of mankind had beentendin*, would inau*urate the final, se&enth era the culmination of the a*es in thehistory of mankind. ' Barhad 1aftary, "he Ismailis: "heir *istory an! +octrines, $$, p. "4=#

The person who be*ins and initiates the ;ycle of )iymahis not a Prophet since 7uhammad is the(eal of the Prophets. $nstead, the au*ust personality who be*ins this )iymahis called the )im al-)iymahKord of the 2esurrection# and he is the (e&enth iq after the pre&ious (ix 7essen*ers.(ayyidn Isir'i Mhusraw d. =


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(ome examples of the minor Imm-)ims durin* the ;ycle of Prophet 7u ammad are $mm7u ammad ibn $sm+-l, $mm al'7u+-GG, $mm al' akim bi'amr llh, $mm asan + al !hirkihi al-salm, $mm (hams al'1-n 7u ammad, and others. ll of these minor )imsser&e as pre&iews orforetastes of the actual )im the )im al-)iymahwho is the (e&enth iq while theminor qiymahsare foreshadowin*s of the ?reat )iymah. %enry ;orbin explains that0

The name of )im, resurrector, is reser&ed#ar e1cellence for he who will rise up, the

Kord of the 2esurrection, at the close of the final Period of our ;ycle. Fet eachpartial )im at the end of each Period of the (eptenary, as well aseach Imm and eachmember of the Order, is also, potentially, Kord of the 2esurrection, a limb of his mysticalbody, an oratory in his Temple of Ki*ht. ' %enry ;orbin, "em#lean! $ontem#lation, =83#

Thus, the )im al-)iymah Kord of the 2esurrection# is not merely one of the se&en Imms, butrather, he is the )imof the entirety cyclical history and hisqiymahis the ?reat )iymah. (ayyidnIsir'i Mhusraw explains the difference between the )im(e&enth iq # and the pre&ious Prophetsas follows0

The >ews respect (aturday and do not work on it because of this, i.e. ?od has rested on

this day. Nut they do not know that when the 7essen*ers told people this, they meantthat the people should know that, by the command of ?od, there will come to this world(ix 7essen*ers who will instruct the people to work#. When the (e&enth will come, hewill not instruct, rather, he will *i&e them the reward of their work. nd they called it(aturday and said to respect it and that day is the day of the Kord of 2esurrection 2)im-i )iymat #, may peace be upon him. ' (ayyedna Iasir'i Mhusraw,WaCh'i 1in, ;hapter $$, tr. BaDuir 7uhammad %unGai, +Ilm Maa3ine, ol. ==, Io. 9",1ecember =:4! 7arch =:44, p. "8#

&isual depiction of the (e&en Prophetic ;ycles of dam, Ioah, braham, 7oses, >esus,

7uhammad, and the Qa/im. Hach ;ycle spans approximately =,


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' Noustan %irCi, A Stu!y of /isalah al-.ahira, Ph1 Thesis, 7c?ill Rni&ersity, 7ontreal,October =::9, =55#

7any reli*ions ha&e described the comin* of the )imunder different terms and symbols such asthe Messiah, the Kalki A0atara, Matreyah, the Mah!i, and others. ccordin* to the $sm+-l- *nosis,the )imis not some random person who appears out of nowhere, but he comes from the linea*e ofthe Immsfrom the pro*eny of the Prophet 7u ammad and $mm +l- ibn bi lib. $n the %oly

Qur/n, all the &arious names of qiymahsuch as the %our, the Kast 1ay, etc. are references andallusions to the holy personality of the )im. The Prophet 7u ammad once said0 I an! the *our&ere sent like these t&o forefiners45 That is to say, 7u ammad is the final Prophet to appear beforethe comin* of the )im. The Prophet/s analo*y of himself and the %our as two forefin*ers meansthat they are both similar in the sense of bein* di&inely'inspired human bein*s.$n $sm+-l- *nosis, the )im al-)iymahis the most eminent human bein* in the entire ;osmos. %issoul encompasses and inte*rates the &irtues of all the Prophets, Imms, sa*es, saints, and luminarieswho preceded him. $n this sense, %enry ;orbin refers to the )imas the Perfect ;hild because heis the most perfect soul to be created by the Rni&ersal (oul and it is throu*h him that Rni&ersal (oulactualiGes its own perfection.

$t is said, for example, that the )im, the aim and *oal of all the hu!6!, the de*rees orhoriGons, is the ?rand ;ycle of which the Imms are the periods or partial cycles, Cust aseach Immis himself a cycle in relation to his u!6! . J $t is also said that the )im is

the coalescence majma#, the cor#us mysticum of all the u!6! 6 each of the Immshashis own cor#us mysticum, his Temple of Ki*ht, and all are *athered to*ether andinte*rated in the (ublime Temple of the 2esurrector. %enry ;orbin, $yclical "imes an! Ismaili 7nosis, ::#

O&er one thousand years a*o, se&eral $sm+-l-#(rs, hujjats, !%(s, and philosophers offered prophecies,descriptions, and explanations of the how the ?reat )iymahwould occur and what its si*ns andeffects would be. $t must be remembered that since )iymahis a spiritual e&ent, then all the &ersesand descriptions of it in the Qur/n and other scriptures must be understood symbolically usin* thetechniDue of ta&(lesoteric interpretation#.$n a summary form, we now relate the maCor (i*ns of the )iymahand the appearance of the )imal-)iymahas outlined in the books of the $sm+-l- !a%&ah01) The Night of Power (laylat al-qadr)

nd &erily, We re&ealed him in the Ii*ht of Powernd how can We con&ey to you what is the Ii*ht of PowerS

The Ii*ht of Power is *reater than a thousand months

The n*els and the (pirit descend in it upon all decreesby the permission of their KordPeace it is, until the risin* of the 1awn.

' %oly Qur/n :!0='5The be*innin* of the ;ycle of )iymahis the appearance of the Ii*ht of Power laylat al-qa!r#.Hxoterically and historically, the Ii*ht of Power was one of the last odd ni*hts of the 7onth of2ama n. Nut esoterically in li*ht of theqiymah, the Ii*ht of Power, refers to an au*ust personalityin the World of Baith who be*ins the ;ycle of )iymah.ll tiqswere accompanied by theirAss the first Immof the new ;ycle who ser&ed asthe ujjat proof# and .b*ate# of the iq like $mm +li was for the Prophet 7u ammad, or
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$mm (hith (eth# was for Prophet dam. (imilarly, eachImmhas a son who ser&es ashis ujjat .band later succeeds him like $mm >a+far al' diD was for $mm 7u ammad al'NDir. On the same lines, the )im al-)iymahis also accompanied by his own ujjat or.b except thatwhereas the ujjat8.b8Ass of e&ery iq or Immcame afterhim, the ujjat or .bofthe )imcomes before him. That is to say, the )imsown father or the precedin* Imminstead ofhis son or the succeedin* Imm# will ser&e as his ujjat or .b.

Nefore the ad&ent of the se&enth cycle, *o&erned by the )aim, comestheahiqor *ujjat of the )aim4This is noteworthy, as the hujjat of an $mam is *enerallyhis contemporary. The *ujjat of the )aim, howe&er, is the harbin*er of the ad&ent of the(abbath.' (hafiDue irani, "he +ays of $reation in the "houht of asir Khusra&, $nstitute of$smaili (tudies#

The )im, in the symbolic lan*ua*e of the Qur/n, is called the Kast 1ay ya&m al-khirah# or the(e&enth 1ay in the Nible#. nd therefore, the Kast 1ay ispreceded by the *reatest of all ni*hts inthe lan*ua*e of the Qur/n, this is called the Ii*ht of Power laylat al-qa!r#. ccordin* to the scienceof ta&(l, the Ii*ht of Power stands for the *reat Immwho functions as the ujjat or .bofthe )imand the entirety of S6rat al-)a!ris a metaphor for the exalted personality of this Imm.

the ujjat of the )imcomes before him in the World of Baith and he is the Ii*ht of

Power 2laylat al-qa!r #.' (ayyidna Iasir'i Mhusraw, 9ajh-i +in, 1iscourse ""#

The Ii*ht of Power 2laylat al-qa!r# is a symbol mathal# of his .b *ate#and ujjat proof# who is *oin* to come before him. nd thus the .b of the )imis thelord of uni&ersal explanation sahib al-bayan al-kulli# and the true un&eilin* kashf al-haqiqi#45' (ayyidna al'7u/ayyad fi/l'1-n al'(hirG-, al-Majalis al-Muayya!iyyah, olume $$, 8=3#

The Ii*ht of Power is *reater than a thousand months. The inner meanin* of this is that the ujjat ofthe )imshall be *reater than a thousand Imms. This is because the ujjat of the )imwill bethe lord of uni&ersal explanation and the true un&eilin* meanin*, his teachin*s will re&eal spiritualtruths and insi*hts in clear, succinct and unprecedented manner. $ndeed, the )ims ujjat will be the*reatest Immof all the ;ycles of Prophecy *oin* back to dam0

%is sayin*, +aylat al-)a!r is better than one thousan! months/, alludes to the .bof

the )im, peace be on his mention, @who isA *reater than all of what is established by themanifestation of the *rades of the intellects, from the le*atees of the possessors of thereli*ious laws and their most radiant de*ree. ' (ayyidna al'7u/ayyad fi/l'1-n al'(hirG-, Majlis al-Muayya!iyyah, olume $$$, 4#

"he iht of 'o&er is better than a thousan! months45 That is, the ujjat of the)im issuperior in knowled*e to a thousand $mams, althou*h collecti&ely their ranks are one.' (ayyidn Isir'i Mhusraw, 9ajh-i +in, 1iscourse ""#

The meanin* of al-)a!ris the )imof the Pro*eny of 7u ammad qim-i l-i Mu amma! # and themeanin* of aylat al-)a!ris the ujjat or .bof the )im. The Qur/n explicitly states0 9ere0eale! himin the iht of 'o&er, i.e. We re&ealed the )imin the personality of his ujjat . Thismeans that the )im will carry out his mission, re&eal his knowled*e and display his *lory in thephysical world throu*h the person of his ujjat .This *ujjahorAssof the )im will be the most publicly known and renownedImmin the entireworld the people of the hir and the b in Cust as the Prophet 7u ammad was manifest to both*roups of people. (ayyidn bE tim al'2G- and (ayyidn Isir'i Mhusraw explain this as follows0

the !a%&ahis established in the name of theAssin secret and will becomemanifest inpublic in the presence of the Kast ;ompleter @the )imA.' (ayyidn bE tim al'2G- , (hin Iomoto, arly Ismaili "houht on 'ro#hecy, Ph1Thesis, "

the status of theAss will be manifest at the time of the ad&ent of the (e&enth 2ankha!!#,namely, the )im, to the people of the exoteric hir # and the esoteric b in #,


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as the rank of the iq has become completely manifest to the people of the exoteric andthe esoteric prior to the @ad&ent ofA the (e&enth 2ank the )im#4' (ayyidna Iasir'i Mhusraw, 9ajh-i +in, ;hapter =:, (ection !#

The ;ycle of )iymahis thus inau*urated in by not one, but t&ofi*ures the ujjat of the )imandthe )imal-)iymah. This idea of t&o messianic fiuresis also paralleled in the brahamictraditions. The (unni and Twel&er (h-+- 7uslims await the second comin* of the Prophet >esus and

the Mah!(of the pro*eny of Prophet 7u ammad. The >ews await 7essiah and the second comin* ofthe Prophet HliCah who functions as the interpreter of the 7essiah. These are all symbolicdesi*nations for the manifestation of the ujjat of the )imand the)imal-)iymahat thebe*innin* (e&enth ;ycle the ;ycle of )iymah.

2) The Sun and the Moon are united

&isual depiction of a lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse is a symbol of the union of the offices

of$mamah and Piratan durin* the ;ycle of Qiyamah.

nd when the 7oon is eclipsed, and the (un and 7oon are united,

%oly Qur/n !504':ccordin* to &arious $sm+-l- texts i.e. Kitab al-%;lim &al-7hulm >a+far ibn 7an Er al'

Faman6 "a a&&urt Ia -r al'1-n al' Es-#, the (un shams# stands for the Immand the 7oonqamar# stands for the '(ror (upreme *ujjat.b#. The Imm is the spiritual father of the belie&ersand the '(ror (upreme *ujjat.b# is their spiritual mother. 7etaphysically, the Imm is the locus ofmanifestation of the Rni&ersal $ntellect and the '(r is the locus of manifestation of the Rni&ersal (oul.The union of the (un and the 7oon at the time of )iymahmeans that the institutionsof Immahand 'iratanwill be united in the person of the Immdurin* the ;ycle of )iymah.

3) When the Stars darken

When the (un is shinin*, the 7oon and the (tars are present but not &isible. This symboliGes the
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manifestation of the $mam and the concealment of the 2anks of Baith hudud al'din# in the ;ycle

ofQiyamah.

nd when the stars darken

%oly Qur/n 4=03

nd when the stars are obliterated.

%oly Qur/n !!04

$n all the cycles of prophetic history, the Immsdeli&ered their ta%l(mand ta%&(lthrou*h a hierarchy ofrepresentati&es and teachers the bbs, the hujjats, the!%(s, and ma!h6ns4 This hierarchy makesup the World of Baith +lam al-!(n# and is known as the 2anks of Baith u!6! al-!(n #. $n the Worldof Iature, theImmis symboliGed by the (un, his .bsby the 7oon, and the rest of the u!6! by the(tars. This is related to the &ision of the Prophet >oseph FusEf# when he saw the (un, the 7oon,and ele&en (tars see S6rat Yus6f# prostratin* before him.When the ;ycle of )iymahbe*ins and the )imappears in the physical world, the 2anks of Baithi.e. the (tars# will cease their formal functions and theImmhimself will take o&er their roles. Thisis the meanin* of the Qur/nic &erse0

The 1ay We shall summon e&ery people with their Imm. %oly Qur/n =!0!=

This is because the Imm, as the (un of Baith shams al-!(n# will be manifest to the world and the

7oon and the (tars of Baith will no lon*er be &isible. When the (un is shinin* in its full *lory, the li*htof the 7oon and the (tars cannot be obser&ed, despite their continuous presence. $t is also related ina prophetic a!(th 0

?oodness is knotted up in the forelocks of horses till the 1ay of )iymah. Prophet 7uhammad,

Sunn Ab6 +a&6!, Nook 3=, Iumber 3=.=:.99#

Iasir Mhusraw explains that the ta&il of this is that the da+wat, th e summonin* of

humankind, will not be se&ered from the hujjats, symbolised by the horses, and the !a%is,symbolised by their forelocks, till the time of the)imsmanifestation.' (hafiDue irani, "he +ays of $reation in the "houht of asir Khusra&,;lick %ere to2ead#

The $sm+-l- !a%&ah the formal and practical !a%&ahthat acti&ely summons people to the reco*nitionof the Imm will be abolished alon* with the functions of the 2anks of Baith also confirmed by

%am-d al'1-n al'Mirmn- in hisKitb al-/iy#.

4) The Heavens are rolled up

&isual depiction of the hea&ens bein* rolled up into a scroll. The ima*ery of a scroll ser&es to

symboliGe the scroll of the shari/ah which is abro*ated in the ;ycle of Qiyamah.

The 1ay that We roll up the %ea&ens like a scroll rolled up for bookscompleted#,' e&en

as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce a new one0 a promise We ha&eundertaken0 truly shall We fulfil it. Nefore this We wrote in the Psalms, after the messa*e

*i&en to 7oses#0 +7y ser&ants, the ri*hteous, should inherit the Harth. %oly Qur/n 3=0=


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The &arious terms in the Qur/n hea&en, earth, mountains, seas, ri&ers, etc. all contain anesoteric or ta&(l(meanin* because they refer not to the physical world !uny# but to the World ofBaith +lam al-!(n#. Therefore, the real meanin* of hea&ens is the exoteric hir # and the shar(%ah,and the inner meanin* of earth is the esoteric b in # and the ar(qah . >ust as the physical hea&enssurround and protect the physical earth, the hir protects and en&elopes the b in . The rollin* up ofthe hea&ens means that the shar(%ahwill be abolished when the ;ycle of )iymahbe*ins and the

Duakin* of the earth means that the esoteric sciences will become re&ealed in a sudden way in themanner of earthDuakes e&en thou*h people may not be prepared for it.

l'(iCistn- explains that ta&(l is necessary for two cate*ories of Qur/nic &erses0 one,

&erses with physical obCects such as hea&en, earth, and mountains, and two, thealle*orical &erses. $n chapter =3 of Kitb al-IftikhrThe Nook of Pride#, al'(iCistn- *i&essome examples such as Q 3=0=


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n ima*e depictin* how knowled*e comes to li*ht. The ;ycle of Qiyamah is the Hpoch of

Mnowled*e dawr al'/ilm# and the Qur/anic description of bein* raised from the *ra&es refers to

the manifestation of once hidden or concealed knowled*e out in the open.

Our )im will be*in a Iew (ummons !u%an ja!(!an#.

' $mm >a+far al' diD,mir'7oeGGi, The 1i&ine ?uide in Harly (hiism, ==:#

The )im al-)iymahwill inau*urate a new intellectual and *nostic !a%&ah!a%&at al-ja!(!ahal-%ilmiyyah#. This is the difference between the (ummons of the )imand the (ummons of thepre&ious (ix Prophetic 7essen*ers. The (ummons of the Prophets was an exoteric hir( # andphysical +amal(# (ummons whereas the (ummons of the )im is intellectual +aql(yyah# and *nostic+ilm(yyah#0

(iCistn- specifies that the summons of @ProphetA 7uhammad, when likened to the %our,

are ritualistic whereas the summons of the )im is intellectual.The reason the )imisabsent at the time of the prophet is that his summons are different from that of theprophetJ (ince the )ims call is intellectual !a%&ah is +ilmi(yah# the )ims knowled*eis not &isible6 whereas the Prophet/s ra6l# call !a%&ah# is +amal(yah. Therefore, whilehypocrites may enter the !a&ahof a prophet, only the sincere can enter the !a&ahofthe )im6 and their souls will be recompensed accordin* to that effort ofsincerity. (iCistn- holds that ?od has ordained the !a%&ah of the )im as intellectual,not ritualistic. $t is intellectual because it cannot be operati&e throu*h force since forcewould make its followers hypocrites, not true belie&ers. Therefore, the belie&er mustpossess knowled*e 2%ilm


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al-%ilm Hpoch of Mnowled*e# is the time of the )aim, and associated with thisis tayi!, purity, and more si*nificantly, pure knowled*e al-%ilm al-mah!#J. Necausethe )aimis established at the end of the !a&r al-%aml, the epoch of the )aimis theepoch of purity safa#, tayi!and +ilm, without reli*ious obli*ation in terms of practicetaklif#.' HliGabeth 2. lexandrin, "he S#here of 9alayah: Ismalii "a&(l in 'ractice accor!in to

al-Muayya!, Ph1 Thesis, 7c?illRni&ersity, 3abir#6 with the appearance of the +messianic fi*ure/, the external aspect of reli*ion3ahir# wil lose its primacy and will be replaced by the inner aspect, namely, thephilosophical and esoteric sciencesJ $n this era, +the tables will be turned/0 the hitherto

concealed $sma+ili knowled*e will be re&ealed to all, Cud*ment day will commence andhuman history will reach its final end. ' 7ichael Hbstein, (ecrecy in $sma+ili Tradition and in the 7ystical Thou*ht of $bnal'+rabi,>ournal Asiatique, 3:4.3 3


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n ima*e of the sunli*ht shinin* throu*h the clouds. This depicts the comin* of the Qa/im and his

spiritual influence in the sense that the Qa/imhimself will not be reco*niGed directly but his

knowled*e and inspiration like sunli*ht will permeate the entire world.

1o they only wait for the %our that it should come on them all of a sudden, while they

are unawareS' %oly Quran 9"088

%e is called mah!i5 because he *uides yah!(# to a hidden teachin*.

' $mm 7u ammad al'NDir, mir'7oeGGi, "he +i0ine 7ui!ein arly Shiism, 335#

7any people expect the ad&ent of the ;ycle of )iymahto be an e&ent filled with fanfare such that allhuman bein*s will reco*niGe it. %owe&er, the Qur/n indicates exactly the opposite. The )iymahisthe most hidden and most secret of all affairs because it is a spiritual or soul'related e&ent and is onlypercei&ed by the hi*hest de*rees of souls in the World of Baith. 7any Qur/anic &erses point to thisfact0

1o they only wait for the %our that it should come on them all of a sudden

bahtatan

This means that when the ;ycle of )iymahbe*ins, most of humankind will not be aware of it due toits hidden and concealed nature. H&en the Nible describes how the )iymahthe 1ay of the Kord#shall occur secretly without anyone noticin*0

Nut the day of the Kord will come like a thief.

Iew Testament, Peter "0=amatkhana features a pattern of se&en concentric septa*ons. Hach

septa*on stands for a 7inor ;ycle of (e&en$mams. The ;enter of the (e&en %epta*ons represents

the Qa/im al'Qiyamah who appears after the ;ycle of 9: !!# $mams.

nd We ha&e bestowed upon thee the (e&en 2epeated Ones and the ?reat Qur/an4

' %oly Qur/n =504!(e&eral $sm+-l- !%(s of the Batimid period had prophesiGed that the comin* of the )imand the

be*innin* of the ;ycle of )iymahwould take place after the comin* of forty'nine Immsin the ;ycleof Prophet 7u ammad. This is based, in part, on the abo&e &erse. Hxoterically, the (e&en 2epeatedOnes refer to the se&en &erses of S6rah Btihah4 Hsoterically, the (e&en 2epeated Ones refer to aminor cycle of se&en Immsbein* repeated in se&en heptads and the ?reat Qur/n refers tothe )im al-)iymah.

The (e&en Oft'2epeated al-sab% al-mathni# are symbols of the $mams from %a rat+l-. Whene&er (e&en Imms pass away, another (e&en Imms come like the (e&en 1aysof the week, and this state remains until the 1ay of >ud*ement. ' (ayyidn bE/l'Qsim al'7al-C-, al-Majlis al-Mustans(r(yyah, ;airo, =:9!, 3:#

Nased on this &erse, (ayyidn %am-d al'1-n al'Mirmni propheciGed that the)iymahwould take placeafter the appearance of forty'nine Imms. This is summariGed in an academic study as follows0

Mirmn- firmly reCected 1ruGe statements about the imminent ad&ent of the)imby

reiteratin* that the )iymawas not near, but was to take place in the distant future whenthe lon* cycle of forty'nine Imms was concluded. Only then would the )im remo&e allthe ranks of the world of !(n @+lam a!-!(nA, which would no lon*er be necessary asintermediaries for the knowled*e of the di&ine knowled*e would become pure, actual, andno lon*er mediated. ' (imonetta ;alderini, +)lam al'd-n in $sm+-l-sm0 World of Obedience or World of$mmobilityS, .ulletin of the School of Criental an! African Stu!ies, ol. 58, Io. " =::",98!#

(imilarly, (ayyidn 7u ammad b. al' Er- the !%( of (yria wrote that the se&enth heptad set ofse&en# of Immsafter the Prophet 7u ammad is the *reatest of all because it leads to the comin* ofthe )im al-)iymah0

7u ammad b. +l- al' Er-, a Batimid !%(in (yria who died around 94!=

Ismaili Qiyamah

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