Faith and Ethics

The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat

M. Ali Lakhani

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781786723901
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

Shi`i Ismaili Muslims are unique in following for centuries a living, hereditary Imam (spiritual leader), whom they believe to be directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad. The Imam's duty has been to guide his community on the basis of Islamic principles adapted to the needs of the time.
In this insightful book, M. Ali Lakhani examines how the ideas and actions of the current Ismaili Imam, and fourth Aga Khan, Prince Karim al-Husseini, provide an Islamic response to the challenges that face Muslims in the modern era. Prince Karim's programmes, implemented mainly through
the broad institutional framework of the Aga Khan Development Network, are aimed at improving the quality of human life among the disadvantaged, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. Addressing global issues ranging from healthcare and education to culture and civil society, the Aga Khan's initiatives are founded on core Islamic principles and values. This book is the first to provide an extensive survey of the Aga Khan's aspirations, showing how the values of integrity and dignity are at the forefront of his work, with the traditional Muslim concepts of cosmopolitanism and social justice guiding his response to the stark challenges of the modern age.
At a time when criticisms and misrepresentation surrounding Islam abound, Faith and Ethics explores the religion's universal principles and values, which the author holds to be central to the spiritual and ethical issues facing both Muslims and non-Muslims in the rapidly changing modern world. The book will be of special interest to scholars researching Islam, Muslim faith and ethics and the Ismailis, and to general readers wanting a deeper understanding of Islam.

1

The Ismaili Imam and the Imamat

The Aim of the Book

In traditional religious thought, there is understood to be an integral connection between faith and ethics that lies at the heart of human nature.¹ It is the basis of the humane bond between the self and the diversity it perceives as Other. This core connection between our spiritual nature, its intellectual foundation, and the values derived from the principles of that foundation, is central to the outlook of the Aga Khan – an outlook which informs the work of the Ismaili Imamat. This book will explore that connection, and its underlying premises and expressions, contrasting what can be seen as their perennial and universal foundations with those of both materialistic modernism and hidebound tradition. It will also illustrate how, through the institutions of the Ismaili Imamat, with their dual focus on fostering a cosmopolitan ethic of a common humanity and a compassionate ethic of human dignity, the Aga Khan aspires to an architecture of global convergence and, by his example, aims to inspire people to live ethical lives based on principles that respect their own and others’ humanity and dignity.

The principles and values promoted by the Aga Khan and represented by the institutions of the Ismaili Imamat reflect those that lie at the heart of Muslim faith and ethics, and are a muchneeded corrective to the distorted image of Islam today. In our troubled times, when the perception of Islam and its image are tarnished by the misdeeds of some, when questions are raised, particularly in the West, about whether this faith is compatible with ethical and civilised norms, and when it is a matter of public debate (often among influential shapers of opinion) whether Muslims can indeed live peaceably in the globalised world or should be banned from certain countries, the beliefs and achievements of the Ismaili Imam serve as a timely reminder of the essence of the faith of Islam and of its humanitarian values.

The Ismaili Muslims and the Aga Khan

To understand the work of the Aga Khan and the Ismaili Imamat he represents, a brief background is necessary. Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini, known as the fourth Aga Khan – an inherited title first granted to his ancestor Imam Hasan Ali Shah (1804–1881), by the Iranian Qajar ruler Fath Ali Shah (1797–1834) – is considered by the Ismaili community to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (c.570–632). A global citizen, equally at ease in the East and the West, he was born in Geneva in 1936, educated at Harvard, and, in 1957, became the 49th hereditary spiritual leader (or ‘Imam’) of the Shi‘i Imami Ismaili Muslims.² As we have seen, the Shia hold that the Prophet designated his cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib (599–661), to be his successor as leader of the Muslim community, whereas the majority Sunni branch holds that the Prophet nominated no successor, and that the spiritual and moral authority belonged instead to those learned in matters of religious law. On the death of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq, however, in 765, division within the Shia led to the formation of various sub-groups, each claiming different lines of succession from the Prophet Muhammad. The majority group came to be known as the Ithna‘ashari, or Twelver, Shia; this group formally terminated with the disappearance or occultation of their twelfth Imam. Among the Ismailis, the Nizari Ismaili branch headed by the Aga Khan is the only group characterised by having a living Imam (or, as the Ismailis refer to him, ‘Hazar Imam’).

The Ismailis enjoy a strong intellectual heritage and social ethic based on principles emphasising knowledge as an aspect of faith. This dimension of their heritage is exemplified by the founding, in the 10th century, of al-Azhar University (one of the oldest in the world) and, in the early 11th century, of the Dar al-‘Ilm (House of Knowledge) by the Fatimids in Egypt, a Shi‘i Ismaili dynasty that established the first Shi‘i caliphate in north Africa in the early 10th century. The Ismailis are also known for their strong pluralistic heritage, exemplified by the Fatimid state’s historic tolerance of different faiths and cultures, and by the diversity of Ismaili Muslim communities, or jamats, today.

The extent of the worldwide Ismaili population is not known with certainty: estimates range widely from a few million to some 15 million. The figures vary in part because the populations are in diaspora, some are culturally in flux, and many are located in troubled regions of the world where it has been difficult for them to practise their faith openly and to ‘stand up and be counted’. Ismailis are located in some 35 countries, stretching from the regions of South and Central Asia (notably in India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and western China) through the Middle East (with significant populations in Iran and strife-torn Syria) and Africa (notably the largely mercantile Khoja communities of East and South Africa, whose ancestors emigrated from India) to those of the Western world (in particular, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, where many of the Khojas, driven from their homes in Africa or Asia by political strife, or drawn by economic opportunity, resettled). Ismailis embrace numerous distinctive ethno-geographic and linguistic traditions, namely, Arab, Iranian, Central Asian, Chinese and South Asian, including, in their recent history, those of European and North American cultures. They are therefore a diverse, transnational community, representing a pluralism of traditions, and are, in the words of their Imam, ‘first and foremost, active and loyal citizens of the countries where they live, though in outlook they transcend the divisions of North and South, East and West’.³ This outlook is particularly relevant to their pluralist ethic.

The place of the Ismailis within the theological pluralism of the Muslim community is best summarised by their Imam’s statement to the International Islamic Conference held in Amman in July 2005:

Our historic adherence is to the Ja‘fari madhhab and other madhahib of close affinity, and it continues, under the leadership of the hereditary Ismaili Imam of the time. This adherence is in harmony also with our acceptance of Sufi principles of personal search and balance between the zahir and the spirit or the intellect which the zahir signifies.⁴

The Ja‘fari school of jurisprudence followed by many Shi‘i communities derives from the Shi‘i Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (702–765), whose intellectual tradition can be traced back to Imam Ali, who was not only the first Shi‘i Imam but also, for the Sunnis, one of the four ‘Rightly Guided’ caliphs.⁵ The teachings of both Imams Ali and Ja‘far are central to an esoteric dimension of Islam known as Sufism, and almost all Sufi schools or tariqas are derived from the direct spiritual lineage or influence of these two Imams.⁶ The Ja‘fari school in particular emphasises metaphysical principles (usul al-din) that are rooted in ‘the spirit or the intellect’ of the inward (batini) reality which the outer (zahiri) reality signifies. This approach, based on the interweaving of spirit and matter is, as we shall see, foundational to the Ismaili perspective on modernity, which it views not through the time-bound lens of contingent reality but through the timeless prism of a concept of the Absolute (that is, God).

The Role of the Ismaili Imam

As Imam of the Ismailis, the Aga Khan is both their spiritual and temporal leader. His dual role, which is to secure the spiritual and material well-being of the jamat, derives from Islam’s integrated view of life. As he has often noted, Islam rejects the Augustinian division between the spiritual and the temporal and its misgivings about the material realm, instead maintaining a view that seeks to balance spirit and matter, faith (din) and the world (dunya). Consequently, Islam holds that one cannot legitimately forsake the one for the other but must strive instead to maintain a proper balance between the two. In the words of the Ismaili Imam, ‘man must not shy away from the material endeavour in the name of his faith’.⁷ It is for this reason that Islam is said to be a ‘way of life’, a way of bringing one’s faith into the world by living its ethics.

Reflecting this integrated philosophy, his role is ‘to interpret and integrate the faith with worldly life’ within the humanistic ethos of Islam.⁸ He has summarised this as follows:

In the Muslim ethical tradition, which links spirit and matter, the Imam not only leads in the interpretation of the faith, but also in the effort to improve the quality of life of his community, and of the wider societies within which it lives; for a guiding principle of the Imamat’s institutions is to replace walls which divide with bridges that unite.⁹

The balancing of faith and life through ethics is a fundamental feature of the Ismaili Imam’s effort to improve the quality of life, and it ranges from the quest for equilibrium to improve individual lives to harmonising social relationships among diverse communities.

The Imam’s authority over his own followers is expressed by their spiritual allegiance (ba‘ya) to him; they acknowledge his absolute interpretive authority (an intellectual–moral authority, or ta‘lim, and an exegetical–hermeneutical authority, or ta’wil) to define the fundamental principles of Islam and to adjust its traditions to conform to those principles according to the changing needs of the times.¹⁰ There is an inherent adaptability built into this arrangement whereby the unchanging essence of this faith, whose doctrinal orthodoxy is protected by the Imam, is reflected in forms of practice modified to suit the changing contexts and needs of the jamat. The Quran provides the principial-ethical framework that the Imam of the Time interprets to guide the faithful in the practice of their faith through the changing conditions of the world. This adaptability is vital to the Ismaili communities’ survival. In the words of Prince Karim’s grandfather, Aga Khan III, ‘Ismailism has survived because it has always been fluid. Rigidity is contrary to our whole way of life and outlook’.¹¹

The faith-based principles interpreted by the Imam are used to preserve the moral fabric of the jamat and to guide them in the modern world according to the following criteria:

[T]he issue is essentially whether one is affecting the fundamental moral fabric of society or whether one is affecting the fundamentals of religious practice. As long as these two aspects are safeguarded the rest can be subject to adjustment.¹²

The criteria for these safeguards are derived from a holistic conception of reality which is central to the Muslim concept of tawhid or metaphysical oneness (discussed in Chapter 2). Within the changing contexts of modernity, the Ismaili Imam is the protector of the community’s moral standards, permitting change only to the extent that the influences and demands of the modern world are not in conflict with the principles and values expressed by the ethic of Islam. He notes

[I]f my role is to interpret the faith in regard to modern society, I have to look at the basic issue which is whether anything that we are doing is in conflict with the ethic of Islam. If it is not in conflict with the ethic of Islam then I must interpret it as being possible.¹³

The bounds of what is permissible – of individual freedom – are, in other words, metaphysically defined, determined by a faithbased ethics in which, as we shall see, the intellect is guided by the principles of its faith. The Ismaili Imam’s interpretive authority in respect of these principles is regarded by Ismailis as absolute. He functions, therefore, in the capacity of a modern-day ‘philosopher-king’,¹⁴ interpreting and guarding the principles and values of Ismailism, and eschewing ‘leadership by referendum’.¹⁵ In other words, for Ismailis, fundamental truth (that is, reality seen in terms of metaphysical oneness and its corollaries), is not simply a matter of consensus, and its moral imperatives cannot be reduced to ‘a grammar of assent’.

Within this scheme of metaphysically based principles and their ethical imperatives, the Ismaili Imam allows and promotes the role of personal search, both intellectual and contemplative, to enhance spiritual growth. As he has noted, echoing his Amman statement about ‘Sufi principles of personal search’, ‘Every individual is expected to use his intellect, his knowledge, to help him understand his faith.’¹⁶ This expectation is an aspect of the individual’s responsible use of freedom, a theme we will discuss later. It also underlines the importance of the intellect, which is to be used in the service of faith, emphasising that knowledge has an ethical dimension.

At the same time, the Aga Khan is careful not to undermine ‘the secular freedom of the community’.¹⁷ He notes, ‘I have been careful not to let the practice of the faith in any way affect or impede the secular rights of the community.’¹⁸ In temporal matters, therefore, he consults widely with his jamat, while guiding them to improve the quality of life, always within the principles and ethics of faith. This ethical premise is reflected in the work of the Ismaili Imamat and its network of agencies, known as the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which serves not only the jamat but the wider communities in which they live, as the Aga Khan has often noted, for example in the following statement:

In all interpretations of Islam, Imams are required to lead not only in interpreting the faith but also in improving the quality of life for the people who refer to them. This ethical premise is the foundation of the Aga Khan Development Network, which has long been serving the developing world without regard to ethnicity, gender or race.¹⁹

The Ismaili Imamat

The term ‘Ismaili Imamat’ historically refers to the spiritual and temporal leadership of the succession of Ismaili Imams considered by Ismailis to be directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad. More recently, the term has also come to designate the supranational legal entity representing the Ismaili Imam of the time. The Imamat has a legal status and function that is recognised by several sovereign states under international law, notably by Portugal, where the Imamat established its seat in 2015 by a treaty which acknowledged its provenance of over 1,400 years, and its continuity ‘since the time o...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Note on Illustrations
• Preface
• Note on Text and Sources
• 1. The Ismaili Imam and the Imamat
• 2. Ethical Foundations
• 3. Tradition and Modernity
• 4. The Ethos of Modernism
• 5. Pluralism and the Cosmopolitan Ethic
• 6. Cohesion Within the Umma
• 7. Islam and the West
• 8. Cultivating an Enabling Environment
• 9. Living the Ethics of Islam
• 10. Global Convergence
• Appendix of Quranic Citations
• Notes