Could you please explain this verse from the Quran in more detail?
"O Believers, the Fast has been made obligatory on you just as it was prescribed for the followers of the Prophets before you. It is expected that this will produce piety in you." Quran, 2:183
Ismailis don't believe in the Quranic Transcript. So whatever Quran says doesn't matter; What matters is what the Imam of the time says in his Farmas. If Imam says Fasting in Ramadan is not obligatory, then it is not obligatory.
Your statement: "Ismailis don't believe in the Quranic Transcript. So whatever the Quran says doesn't matter", is totally false and absurd.
Besides the fact that Ismaili scholars (traditional and modern day academic) all make significant and heavy use of the Quran and Quranic exegesis in the course of educating the Ismaili Jamat and others, and in addition to the fact that the Institute of Ismaili studies has a whole department and publication series for Quranic Studies and publication of Quran tafsirs (both Shii and Sunni), the Imam of the time been very clear, in both public and personal Jamati communication, about the importance of the Quran and it's guidance in the spiritual, religious lives of Ismailis and other Muslims.
So, for example, the Imam said to his Ismaili Jamat:
For every part within the Ummah, there have been interpretations of the Qur’an, and it is important that, as time evolves, we should continue under the guidance of the Imam to seek clarity and understanding from the Quran-e-Sharif. And I want my spiritual children to know that this is an endeavour which has been undertaken on an ongoing basis, and that guidance will be given on a continuing basis…. This area of the practice of the faith is an area which is highly important but which requires commitment on behalf of the Jamat and guidance on behalf of the Imam, and I want to make it clear to my spiritual children that we are and will continue to seek out knowledge and understanding particularly from the Quran so that my murids can look forward to the future with an interpretation which is correct.
In another setting, decades ago (sorry, I forgot to copy the exact date but can get it if you truly need it), the Imām said to his Jamat:
"...It is important that if you recite or know parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain their meaning. Do not forget that our branch of Islam is an esoteric branch of Islam. Esoteric means that what is written is there, but its meaning is not there to everyone. It is there to those who are part of our Jamat. And it is important. therefore, that if you learn parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain the esoteric meaning of those parts." — Mawlana Hazir Imam
In a general, public setting, at an International Colloquium organized by the Institute of Ismaili Studies specifically on the Quran, the Imam gave the following opening statement:
"...This programme is also an opportunity for achieving insights into how the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, from century to century, in diverse cultural environments. The Noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together.
Tradition honours the vocation of the learned scholars who are gathered here for this colloquium. The Qur’an itself acknowledges that people upon whom wisdom has been bestowed are the recipients of abundant good; they are the exalted ones. Hence Islam's consistent encouragement to Muslim men and women to seek knowledge wherever it is to be found. We are all familiar that al-Kindi, even in the 9th century, saw no shame in acknowledging and assimilating the truth, whatever its source. He argued that truth never abases, but only ennobles its seeker. Poetising the Prophet’s teaching, Nasir Khusraw, the 11th century Iranian poet-philosopher, also extols the virtue of knowledge. For him, true jihad is the war that must be waged against the perpetrators of bigotry, through spreading knowledge that dispels the darkness of ignorance and nourishes the seed of peace that is innately embedded in the human soul.
This colloquium covers a range of Muslim expressions in the Arts, across time and space. Some among the eminent scholars present today have observed that, while the Qur’an may not propound a doctrine of Islamic art or material culture, it does offer imaginative scope in this direction. From early on, its passages have inspired works of art and architecture, and shaped attitudes and norms that have guided the development of Muslim artistic traditions.
In this context, would it not also be relevant to consider how, above all, it has been the Qur’anic notion of the universe as an expression of Allah’s will and creation that has inspired, in diverse Muslim communities, generations of artists, scientists and philosophers? Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur’an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah's benevolent majesty. As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: ‘Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah’.
Does not the Qur’an challenge the artist, as much as the mystic, to go beyond the physical - the outward - so as to seek to unveil that which lies at the centre but gives life to the periphery? Is not a great work of art, like the ecstasy of the mystic, a gesture of the spirit, a stirring of the soul that comes from the attempt to experience a glimpse of, and an intimacy with, that which is ineffable and beyond being?
The famous verse of ‘light’ in the Qur’an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah's creation and mercy. Many other verses of the Qur’an have similarly inspired calligraphy in all its forms, reminding us of the richness and vitality of Muslim traditions in the Arts.
It is my sincere hope that this colloquium will bring additional insights to an understanding of the Holy Qur’an as a message that encompasses the entirety of human existence and effort. It is concerned with the salvation of the soul, but commensurately also with the ethical imperatives which sustain an equitable social order. The Qur’an’s is an inclusive vision of society that gives primacy to nobility of conduct. It speaks of differences of language and colour as a divine sign of mercy and a portent for people of knowledge to reflect upon.
Ours is a time when knowledge and information are expanding at an accelerating and, perhaps, unsettling pace. There exists, therefore, an unprecedented capacity for improving the human condition. And yet, ills such as abject poverty and ignorance, and the conflicts these breed, continue to afflict the world. The Qur’an addresses this challenge eloquently. The power of its message is reflected in its gracious disposition to differences of interpretation; its respect for other faiths and societies; its affirmation of the primacy of the intellect; its insistence that knowledge is worthy when it is used to serve Allah’s creation; and, above all, its emphasis on our common humanity....."
As any true Ismaili knows, what the Tanzīl or revealed text of the Quran says is indeed extremely important, as is the Ta'wil or the layers of Esoteric meaning, the Unveiling of which is, ultimately, the task or work of the Imam of the time.
Also, no Imam ever has said Fasting in Ramadan or any other time is not obligatory. Ismailis always have been and always will be commanded and expected to observe the practice and state of fasting in its true and real form, whether or not it appears in this or that way. Fasting itself is a haqiqi (real) practice, in fact, a fact of human existence according to Ismailis.
Please do some more research on this and then if you have any questions we can discuss.
> These reforms of Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah have been documented in modern scholarship by both Ismaili and non-Ismaili historians and the oral histories of the Syrian and Iranian Jamats.
Could you please explain this verse from the Quran in more detail?
"O Believers, the Fast has been made obligatory on you just as it was prescribed for the followers of the Prophets before you. It is expected that this will produce piety in you." Quran, 2:183
Ismailis don't believe in the Quranic Transcript. So whatever Quran says doesn't matter; What matters is what the Imam of the time says in his Farmas. If Imam says Fasting in Ramadan is not obligatory, then it is not obligatory.
Your statement: "Ismailis don't believe in the Quranic Transcript. So whatever the Quran says doesn't matter", is totally false and absurd.
Besides the fact that Ismaili scholars (traditional and modern day academic) all make significant and heavy use of the Quran and Quranic exegesis in the course of educating the Ismaili Jamat and others, and in addition to the fact that the Institute of Ismaili studies has a whole department and publication series for Quranic Studies and publication of Quran tafsirs (both Shii and Sunni), the Imam of the time been very clear, in both public and personal Jamati communication, about the importance of the Quran and it's guidance in the spiritual, religious lives of Ismailis and other Muslims.
So, for example, the Imam said to his Ismaili Jamat:
For every part within the Ummah, there have been interpretations of the Qur’an, and it is important that, as time evolves, we should continue under the guidance of the Imam to seek clarity and understanding from the Quran-e-Sharif. And I want my spiritual children to know that this is an endeavour which has been undertaken on an ongoing basis, and that guidance will be given on a continuing basis…. This area of the practice of the faith is an area which is highly important but which requires commitment on behalf of the Jamat and guidance on behalf of the Imam, and I want to make it clear to my spiritual children that we are and will continue to seek out knowledge and understanding particularly from the Quran so that my murids can look forward to the future with an interpretation which is correct.
Mawlana Hazir Imam, Irshad Mubarak,Golden Jubilee Darbar, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania,August 17th 2007.
In another setting, decades ago (sorry, I forgot to copy the exact date but can get it if you truly need it), the Imām said to his Jamat:
"...It is important that if you recite or know parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain their meaning. Do not forget that our branch of Islam is an esoteric branch of Islam. Esoteric means that what is written is there, but its meaning is not there to everyone. It is there to those who are part of our Jamat. And it is important. therefore, that if you learn parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain the esoteric meaning of those parts." — Mawlana Hazir Imam
In a general, public setting, at an International Colloquium organized by the Institute of Ismaili Studies specifically on the Quran, the Imam gave the following opening statement:
"...This programme is also an opportunity for achieving insights into how the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, from century to century, in diverse cultural environments. The Noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together.
Tradition honours the vocation of the learned scholars who are gathered here for this colloquium. The Qur’an itself acknowledges that people upon whom wisdom has been bestowed are the recipients of abundant good; they are the exalted ones. Hence Islam's consistent encouragement to Muslim men and women to seek knowledge wherever it is to be found. We are all familiar that al-Kindi, even in the 9th century, saw no shame in acknowledging and assimilating the truth, whatever its source. He argued that truth never abases, but only ennobles its seeker. Poetising the Prophet’s teaching, Nasir Khusraw, the 11th century Iranian poet-philosopher, also extols the virtue of knowledge. For him, true jihad is the war that must be waged against the perpetrators of bigotry, through spreading knowledge that dispels the darkness of ignorance and nourishes the seed of peace that is innately embedded in the human soul.
This colloquium covers a range of Muslim expressions in the Arts, across time and space. Some among the eminent scholars present today have observed that, while the Qur’an may not propound a doctrine of Islamic art or material culture, it does offer imaginative scope in this direction. From early on, its passages have inspired works of art and architecture, and shaped attitudes and norms that have guided the development of Muslim artistic traditions.
In this context, would it not also be relevant to consider how, above all, it has been the Qur’anic notion of the universe as an expression of Allah’s will and creation that has inspired, in diverse Muslim communities, generations of artists, scientists and philosophers? Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur’an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah's benevolent majesty. As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: ‘Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah’.
Does not the Qur’an challenge the artist, as much as the mystic, to go beyond the physical - the outward - so as to seek to unveil that which lies at the centre but gives life to the periphery? Is not a great work of art, like the ecstasy of the mystic, a gesture of the spirit, a stirring of the soul that comes from the attempt to experience a glimpse of, and an intimacy with, that which is ineffable and beyond being?
The famous verse of ‘light’ in the Qur’an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah's creation and mercy. Many other verses of the Qur’an have similarly inspired calligraphy in all its forms, reminding us of the richness and vitality of Muslim traditions in the Arts.
It is my sincere hope that this colloquium will bring additional insights to an understanding of the Holy Qur’an as a message that encompasses the entirety of human existence and effort. It is concerned with the salvation of the soul, but commensurately also with the ethical imperatives which sustain an equitable social order. The Qur’an’s is an inclusive vision of society that gives primacy to nobility of conduct. It speaks of differences of language and colour as a divine sign of mercy and a portent for people of knowledge to reflect upon.
Ours is a time when knowledge and information are expanding at an accelerating and, perhaps, unsettling pace. There exists, therefore, an unprecedented capacity for improving the human condition. And yet, ills such as abject poverty and ignorance, and the conflicts these breed, continue to afflict the world. The Qur’an addresses this challenge eloquently. The power of its message is reflected in its gracious disposition to differences of interpretation; its respect for other faiths and societies; its affirmation of the primacy of the intellect; its insistence that knowledge is worthy when it is used to serve Allah’s creation; and, above all, its emphasis on our common humanity....."
As any true Ismaili knows, what the Tanzīl or revealed text of the Quran says is indeed extremely important, as is the Ta'wil or the layers of Esoteric meaning, the Unveiling of which is, ultimately, the task or work of the Imam of the time.
Also, no Imam ever has said Fasting in Ramadan or any other time is not obligatory. Ismailis always have been and always will be commanded and expected to observe the practice and state of fasting in its true and real form, whether or not it appears in this or that way. Fasting itself is a haqiqi (real) practice, in fact, a fact of human existence according to Ismailis.
Please do some more research on this and then if you have any questions we can discuss.
Thank you for your readership and support.
Thank you for an interesting and insightful article.
> These reforms of Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah have been documented in modern scholarship by both Ismaili and non-Ismaili historians and the oral histories of the Syrian and Iranian Jamats.
Can you elaborate and give citations for them?
All citations are in the article.