From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of titles used by the followers of
Ismailism , a branch of
Shia Islam .
The titles are of
Persian and
Arabic origin.
Nizari Ismaili titles
The hierarchy (hudūd ) of the organization of the
Nizari Ismailis of the Alamut period was as follows:
Imām (امام ), the descendants of Nizar
Dā'ī ad-Du'āt (داعی الدعات literally "Da'i of the Da'is"), "Chief Da'i"
Dā'ī kabīr (داعی کبیر ) – "Superior Da'i", "Great Da'i"
Dā'ī (داعی , literally "missionary") – "Ordinary Da'i", "Da'i"
Rafīq (رفیق , literally "companion, assistance, fellow-traveler"), plural rafīqān (رفیقان )
Lāṣiq (لاصق , literally "adherent"). Lasiqs had to swear a special oath of obedience to the Imam.
Fidā'ī (فدائی , literally "self-sacrificer")
Imam and da'i s were the elites, while the majority of the sect consisted of the last three grades who were peasants and artisans.
[1]
Other titles include:
The titles
Bābā (بابا ; Persian equivalent of the Arabic
Shaykh , "Old Man") and
Sayyidinā (Sayyidnā) (سیدنا ; literally "Our Lord" or "Our Master") was used by the Nizaris to refer to
Hassan-i Sabbah .
[2]
Kiyā (کیا ) – a ruler
[3] or commander. Notably held by
Buzurg-Ummid .
Muhtasham
[4] (محتشم ) – a governor of
Quhistan .
[5]
Mahdī - the rightly guided one
Qāim - the one who rises
Nāṭiq (ناطق) - the messenger-prophet
Waṣī (وصي) - the prophet's "legatee"
Bāb - literally "gate"
Hujjah - literally "proof"
Dā'ī al-Balagh - regional missionary
Dā'ī al-Mutlaq - absolute missionary
Mādhun - assistant
Mukāsir - debater
Shaykh - elder in Arabic
Pīr - senior elder in Persian
Mukhi - headman
Kāmādia - treasurer
Vāras/Vizier - minister
Aāmilsaheb - agent
Shāhzāda - prince
Allāma - scholar
Mu'allim - teacher
Mullāh - lesser elder in Persian
President - national leadership title
Amīr - commander
Amīr al-mu'minīn - commander of the faithful
Begum - noble lady
Māta Salāmat - Mother of Peace
Sayyid - descendant
Hakīm - doctor
Khwājah - master
Mawlānā - our master
Murshid - guide-master
Wali - guardian
Qādī - judge
Murīd - follower
Mustajib - respondent
Hājī - pilgrim
Khalif - deputy
Sitt - noble lady
Other titles
References
^ Petrushevsky, I. P. (January 1985).
Islam in Iran . SUNY Press. p. 253.
ISBN
9781438416045 .
^ Farhad Daftary, “ḤASAN ṢABBĀḤ,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, XII/1, pp. 34-37, available online at
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hasan-sabbah (accessed on 30 December 2012).
^ Joveynī, ʻAlā al-Dīn ʻAṭā Malek (1958). The history of the World-Conqueror . Harvard University Press. p. 640.
^ Also mistakenly transliterated as muhtashim .
^ Landolt, Herman; Kassam, Kutub; Sheikh, S. (2008). An Anthology of Ismaili Literature: A Shi'i Vision of Islam . Bloomsbury Academic. p. 17.
ISBN
978-1-84511-794-8 .
^
Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʻı̄lı̄s: their history and doctrines (2nd ed.).
Cambridge University Press .
ISBN
978-0-511-35561-5 .