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Bism Allah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem
Al-Hamdulillah Rab Al-Alameen
I praise Allah seeking completion of His blessing and submitting to His glory. I invoke His Holy Being in need of his sufficiency of protection. He whom He guides does not go astray; He whom He gets hostile with gets no protection; He whom He supports does not remain needy. Praise is most weighty of all this is weighted and the most valued of all that is treasured.
Praise be to Allah. He is such that senses cannot perceive Him; Places cannot contain Him; Eyes cannot see Him and veils cannot cover Him. He lies inside all hidden things and towards whom all open things guide. He cannot be seen by the eye of an onlooker, but the eye which does not see Him cannot deny Him and the mind that proves His existence cannot perceive Him.
He is One, but not by the first in counting.
He is Creator, but not through activity or labor.
He is Hearer, but not by the means of any physical organ.
He is Looker, but not by stretching of eyelids.
He is Witness, but not by nearness.
He is Distinct, but not by measurement of distance.
He is Manifest, but not by seeing.
He is Hidden, but not by subtlety.
He who describes Him, limits Him.
He who limits Him, numbers Him.
He who numbers Him, rejects His eternity.
He who asked “how?” sought a description of Him.
He who asked “where?” bounded Him.
He is the Sustainer, even though there be nothing to be sustained.
He is Powerful, even though there is nothing to be out powered.
Beginning
After the death of the Prophet Mohammed (632 AD- SAWS), the Muslim people split into two major parties: The Sunni and the Shia. The Sunni believed that the prophet did not have a successor; hence, they elected Abu Baker to be the first Caliph of Islam. The Shia, however, did not accept this theory because they firmly held that the prophet chose Ali to succeed him; both as the religious leader (Imam) and the Temporal Head (Caliph).
The Shia upheld the claim of Ali’s lineal descendent to the Caliphate and waited for the time when the Caliphate would be restored to the rightful holders. The establishment of the Fatimid state fulfilled this wish which had been strongly supported by the Ismaili Shiites all over the Islamic world.The Fatimid Dynasty
Considering themselves the direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammed (SAWS) through his daughter Fatima, and his cousin and son-in-law Ali, the Fatimid’s rose to political dominion in North Africa and established his dynasty in Tunisia in December 909. After a long period of clandestine struggle in various regions of the Islamic world they formally proclaimed their Caliphate in 910. The new Caliph Al-Mahdi was already the Imam of the Shia Ismaili‘s, but until then, he had not actually ruled a politically defined territory (see note 1).
In 969, the Fatimid’s added Egypt, much of Syria, Yemen, Hijaz, Sind and the Holy Cities of Arabia.
In Egypt, they founded the new City of Cairo, their new headquarters and proceeded by further conquests toward the completion of a long sought goal to supplant the Abbasid Caliphate. In the 5th Century, and for a brief period of time, they controlled Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire.
In 1171, over 260 years after the foundation of their state, Salah Al-Din Al-Ayoubi, finally abolished the dynasty. Upon the death of the frivolous ruler, he simply refused to allow a successor to assume the Caliphate. Salah Al-Din Al-Ayoubi was the most famous of the Muslim opponents of the Crusaders and was, at that time, Wazir to the last of the Fatimid Imam Caliphs.
Al-Hakim Bi-Amrallah
Born on Egyptian soil on August 14, 985, in Cairo, Al-Mansur Abu Ali, surnamed Al-Hakim Bi-Amrallah, was the first Fatimid Imam. He was also the sixteenth Ismaili Shia Imam and the sixth Fatimid ruler. He was declared heir apparent by his father Al-Aziz in 996, at the age of 11 years, 5 months and 6 days and by the age of 15, he assumed full power (see note 2). Al Hakim was a liberal patron of learning and culture and founded Dar Al-Ilam: House of Knowledge or Dar Al-Hikma: The House of Wisdom. In 1004 (see note 3), this institution contained a major library and taught both religious and secular subjects. When Nasir Khusran (see note 4) visited Dar El-Hikma and Al-Azhar in 1047, he founded 317 professors, 9758 students, and 200 000 manuscripts. Among these manuscripts were treasures such as 2400 illuminated copies of the Holy Qu’ran, manuscripts to the handwriting of Ibn Muglah and other master calligraphers.
Dar Al-Hikma taught the Holy Qu’ran, Hadith and jurisprudence, secular topics of logic, grammar, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and physics. Access to these treasures was free to all and a large fund established by Al-Hakim was spent on books, scholarships and on the upkeep of colleges. During his reign, a variety of learning sessions were conducted to suit various people such as the staff of the Fatimid palace, the ordinary people of Cairo and special individuals of the Ismaili Doctrine. Special sessions for women were also established at Al-Azhar and at the Palace.Al-Hakim was involved in the spread of the Fatimid ideas of Iraq and Persia and much success was gained in these areas. He was very Spartan-like in his lifestyle and to ensure the well being of his populace, he used to dress plainly and go by himself to observe, and chat with people on the streets. Due to his humbleness, he did not allow his subjects to prostrate themselves before him, a usual practice with traditional kingship. He shunned the rich robes of royalty and dressed simply, preferring to ride on a donkey then the more prestigious horse. He was brave, fair and generous, a strong ruler who was sincerely interested in the welfare of his people.
Al-Hakim regularly went to the Muqatam Hills for solitude and reflection. On one such occasion, in 1021, he never returned.
His reign was marked by prosperity and advancement, Ilam (knowledge). It is during that time that a new faith was born, Al-Tawhid. It is a faith that is not unique by its own ideas but it is rather extremely unique by its own understanding of such ideas.
Our Faith
Our sacred books are known as the Epistles of Wisdom or “Kutub Al-Hikmah”. Our name is Ahl Al-Tawhid and we are nicknamed Druze after Nashtakeen Al-Darazi.
We believe that God has identity but not form; interacts with the world through emanations; is Divine and appears in all ages.
We believe in the Five Cosmic Principles or ranks:
- The Intellect (Supreme or Universal Mind)
- The Universal Soul
- The Word
- The Antecedent or Cause or Precedent
- The Successor or Effect
In opposition to these there are five principles representing the dark side of the cosmic order. Below the five principles are the fully initiated leaders and then the large community of ordinary Druze believers. We believe in the end of times and that at death, the human soul is instantaneously reincarnated in human form. We keep tenets of our faith secret and are publicly open about few details.
We hold and practice 7 principles:
- Guarding ones tongue - word of “veracity, speaking the truth, a truthful tongue“. “The right of freedom of speech consists of speaking the Truth.”
- Cultivation and protection of the Brethren
- Excision of fallacies and falsehood
- Rejection of the villain and the aggressor
- Adoration of the Lord in every era and at all times
- Cheerful acceptance of whatever comes from God
- Spontaneous submission to His Will
We do not accept converts and strongly discourage conversion from our faith to others.
Spiritual Quotes
Our faith teaches us to not be invariably for or against anything but to be simply on the side of what is moral.
The word of Tawhid is like the wind, the hearts of men is like grass: let the wind blow over the grass and it is sure to bend.
The great man dwells in the fruit of ‘substantial’ and does not rest with the flower ‘superficial’.
Footnotes
- The event that came to mark the birth of a new empire that established its base in Tunisia, Algeria, Sicily and expanded to nearly all North Africa and the lands of the south Mediterranean. (back)
- Some sources indicate he assumed full power by the age of 14. (back)
- Some sources indicate it as 1005. (back)
- A Persian poet who converted to Islam. (back)
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