Ismaili Wisdom

This paper seeks to demonstrate the underlying teachings of the holy Qur’an in the Ginanic Literature, therefore it is essential, first of all to describe the nature of the Qur’an, as well as that of the Ginans in order to understand better the relationship between them.

The holy Qur’an is the Divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) and unites the entire Muslim ummah. In its own words in Surah 26, verses 192 to 195: “It is a revelation of the Lord of the worlds, which the True Spirit has brought down upon your (i.e. Prophet Muhammad’s) heart that you may be of the warners in plain Arabic speech.” We further learn from the Qur’an in Surah 56, verses 77-80 that: “This is indeed a noble Qur’an in the Kitab-i maknun or the hidden Book, which none touches except the purified, a revelation from the Lord of the worlds”. Kitab-i maknun is also described as the Kitab-i munir (35:25) or the Luminous Book, which is the source of the Books of all the previous Messengers of God, about whom God says: “And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his people or nation (qawm), that he might make the message clear for them.” (Surah 14, verse 4).

These scriptural references establish that the Prophets through their spiritual elevation, which in the case of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) is described as the Mi`raj, have access to the Kitab-i munir or the Kitab-i maknun and then they express their spiritual experiences in the language of their people. The transition from the luminous spiritual dimension to people’s language requires that such sublime experiences be couched in the language of parables and allegories, thus the Prophets have to “teach the wisdom of the Book”, technically known as the ta’wil or esoteric interpretation. In Shia Imami Ismaili Islam this function of giving the ta’wil or inner meaning of the allegories and parables of the Qur’an is done by the rasikhun fi’l `ilm (i.e. those who are firmly grounded in knowledge). When Imam al-Baqir was asked the identity of the rasikhun fi’l-`ilm mentioned in (3:7), he replied: “The foremost of them is God’s Messenger, for God taught him all that was revealed to him of the tanzil and the ta’wil and he knew the ta’wil of everything that was revealed to him, with no exception. After him, the legatees (i.e. his successors, the Imams) are the rasikhun who know its ta’wil in its entirety.”

This paper was presented at the International Ginan Conference of the Association for the Study of Ginans in London on 30th October 2011.