Imam Shahis

By Author: Ibrahim Machiwala Lodhi
Total Articles: 463
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"The Ismaili mission in Gujrat suffered a setback due to the negative propaganda of Nur Muhammad Shah (d. 940/1534), the son of Syed Imam Shah. He however had renounced his allegiance with the Imams, but it is doubtful that he had ever claimed Imamate for himself. Among the Imam-Shahis, a theory had been cultivated, equating Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad with Pir Shams as one and the same person. The theory has it that Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad had abdicated the Imamate in favour of Imam Kassim Shah and himself took up the mantle of the Pir and started mission in India. This "abdication theory" is also sounded in the Satveni'ji Vel of Syed Nur Muhammad Shah, which seems to have inserted in later period. The modern scholars curiously speculate that this theory was the creation of Syed Nur Muhammad Shah to legitimate his alleged claim to the Imamate that would have served his self-interest to endorse a genealogy, tracing his father back to the Ismaili Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad. It should be however noted that the Satveni'ji Vel had been in private collection of the Imam-Shahis in Pirana, containing 200 stanzas with endless errors and ...
... interpolations, whose 150 stanzas were printed in 1906 at Bombay into Khojki script for the Ismailis. The view of the modern scholars about the so-called claim of Syed Nur Muhammad Shah is based on the printed text.

W. Ivanow writes in his The Sect of Imam Shah in Gujrat (JBBRAS, XII, 1936, p. 32) that, "As he (Nur Muhammad Shah) surely could not pretend to be a son of an Imam, he had to invent a theory of his descent from the line of the Imams, and the coincidence in the names of his ancestors, (Pir) Shamsuddin, with the name of Shamsuddin the Imam, offered an easy opportunity." Being inspired with the comment of W. Ivanow, Dr. Azim Nanji writes in The Nizari Ismaili Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent (New York, 1978, pp. 63-4) that, "Since he (Nur Muhammad Shah) claimed to be an Imam, it was necessary according to standard Ismaili belief that he should want to establish a direct lineage from the Imams in order to authenticate his claims. By making Pir Shams and Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad one and the same person, and by claiming direct descent from Pir Shams, he could thus substantiate his own right to the Imamate." It seems that the scholars have not gone through the Satveni'ji Vel as thorough as required. The "abdication theory" making an Imam to degrade to the office of the Pir is the creation of later period, when a part of the ginans including Satveni'ji Vel was in the possession of the kakas in Pirana, who were responsible to distort the ginans and inserted "abdication theory" to suit their beliefs. It is therefore not justifiable to cultivate any doubtful idea for Syed Nur Muhammad Shah, charging him to have incorporated such theory in his work to boost his alleged claims.

We will discuss the alleged claims in the light of the few verses from the printed text as under: -

"Both offices of Imamate and Pirship were with Imam Shams" (78: 9)

"Shah Shams arrived in India and made his public appearance" (79: 1-2)

"Pir Shams then proceeded to Punjab after consigning Imamate to Kassim Shah. It was Samavat 1366 (1310 A.D.) when Kassim Shah assumed the Imamate. Hence, the office of the Pir was retained by Pir Shams and that of the Imamate by Kassim Shah" (94: 1-6)

It ensues from above verses that Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad had come to India, and when he intended to proceed to Punjab, he relinquished his office of Imamate to Kassim Shah, and retained the office of the Pir with him. In other words, Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad henceforth came to be known as Pir Shams. It implies that the Imamate remained with Kassim Shah and his descendants, while the office of the Pir with Pir Shams and his descendants. It is therefore crystal clear to judge that any claim of Imamate being advanced in the descent of Pir Shams cannot be validated, since he was then not an Imam, but a Pir. According to the fundamental belief of the Ismailis that an Imam is the sole authority to commission any person in his absolute discretion to the post of Pir, and thus the Satveni'ji Vel does not claim that Imam Kassim Shah had appointed or declared Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad as a Pir and therefore the "abdication theory" cannot be historically true, but it was the causation of the later Imam-Shahi kakas, whose beliefs used to be changed from time to time, who needed to interpolate the notion of the ginans.

While going through the old manuscripts of the ginans, one can find an indication that the original work of Satveni'ji Vel should have been projected for 100 stanzas, dealing with the history of the Imams and the Pirs. It was compiled between 922/1516 and 926/1520 when Syed Imam Shah (d. 926/1520) was most probably alive; therefore, it seems impossible that Syed Nur Muhammad Shah had inserted the "abdication theory" during the period of his father. There is another point to touch that Syed Nur Muhammad Shah was admittedly well grounded in Ismaili history and knew that an Imam should be the son of the Imam, therefore, his alleged claim to the Imamate is highly doubtful.

Syed Imam Shah is said to have composed Moman Chetamani in which he also admits that, "Shamsuddin was the son of Pir Salauddin, who embarked from Tabriz, and he was Pir Shamsuddin to spread the religion" (no. 204) and "He showed Kassim Shah, the Lord of the age" (no. 362). Among the Imam-Shahis, the Jannat-nama is a famous work of Syed Imam Shah, which reads: - "Recognize Pir Satgur Nur, who is (in the same authority) that of Salauddin, His son was Pir Shamsuddin and Pir Nasiruddin was from the latter." (no. 77). It further ensues from these verses that the "abdication theory" did not exist in the time of Syed Imam Shah or his son, but was coined in later period.

It is further suggested that Syed Nur Muhammad Shah had used the word nar for himself in the ginans to boost his alleged claim, which is another layer of confusion added in the modern sources. While dismissing this theory, we will have to seek the reasons. It has been observed that the reciters of the ginans used to pronounce the word nar instead of nur in many cases and gradually they found coherence in the two words, and seem to have ignored the distinction between them. They found striking parallels between these two words, and being Indians by origin, the reciters preferred to pronounce the Hindi word nar instead of the foreign word nur in many ginans. In other words, u became a like Pir Sadruddin became Pir Sadardin in the ginans.

The scrutiny of the old manuscripts also throws a flood of light that the scribes had transmuted the word nur (light) for nar (Lord), resulting the rendering of Nur Muhammad Shah to Nar Muhammad Shah in the manuscripts. The modern writers, without examining the transcriptional error, hazard to theorize that Nur Muhammad, an alleged aspirant to the office of the Imamate had claimed as nar (Imam) for himself. Given that he had applied the term nar for himself in his ginans, composed almost during his father's time, then it seems improbable that his claim originated when his father was alive. His extant ginans also do not sound in this context a little likelihood. Summing up all these materials for evidence, it is worth stressing that the reliance on the key term, can do great injustice to its interpretation and even to larger tradition, and research must cross many barriers of old tradition and poor thinking in order to stand within another world view.

It is however certain that Nur Muhammad Shah had violated the communal disciplines, engendering the principal cause of the split after 926/1520, and he was the real renegade to have forsake Ismailism. In Manazil al-Aqtab, Nur Muhammad is made responsible for separating his followers from the main Ismaili stock. W. Ivanow writes on the basis of Manazil al-Aqtab wa Basati'nul Ahbab (comp. 1237/1822) that a certain Mukhi Kheta was the head of 18000 converted Hindus during the time of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin. He was commissioned to collect religious dues in a tithe wallet (jholi) in Gujrat and send the accumulated funds back to the main treasury in Sind. Not only this practice followed during the time of Syed Imam Shah, but it was carried on even under Syed Nur Muhammad Shah himself. The tradition has it that immediately after the death of his father, Syed Nur Muhammad Shah had ordered Mukhi Kheta that the accumulated funds of Gujrat should henceforth be deposited in Pirana, instead of Sind. Mukhi Kheta emphatically refused it, which was more likely a bone contention of the defection. The religious dues at that time was collected by the authorized vakils, and deposited at Sind, and thence the accumulated fund was remitted to Iran.

It seems that a large conversion had been resulted in the time of Syed Imam Shah in Gujrat and Kathiawar, where Mukhi Kheta collected the religious dues since the time of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin, procuring there more funds than that of Kutchh, Sind and Punjab. It is therefore most probable to speculate that Syed Nur Muhammad Shah had desired the main treasury to be shifted gradually from Sind to Pirana, so that he might use the funds at his liberty. It should also be noted that between the year 926/1520 and 931/1525, the tradition of venerating the shrines of the Syeds had developed in the adherents, who had supported Syed Nur Muhammad Shah. It also seems that he had planned to make Pirana a centre of veneration more attractive than that of Uchh in Sind. In pursuit, he needed funds, which he could only generate from the main treasury, and that is why he desired to transfer it from Sind to Pirana. He however instructed his followers to deposit their religious dues and offerings in Pirana.

Mukhi Kheta could not comply with the instructions of Syed Nur Muhammad Shah. Since Sind was near Iran than that of Pirana in making remittance to the Imam, therefore, it was immaterial to transfer the main treasury from Sind. In sum, the refusal of Mukhi Kheta and the opposition of Syed Nur Muhammad Shah, had marred the relations of the Ismailis of Sind and Gujrat, and it was an early brick of the schism, making the Indian Ismailis bifurcated into the two branches, i.e., the Khojas Ismailis and the Imam-Shahis.

After being disappointed, Syed Nur Muhammad Shah came up openly to misguide the Ismailis in India. All this had been brought to the notice of Imam Nuruddin Ali in Iran, who at once outcast him from the community with an express command, and instructed the faithful Ismailis to refrain from their association with the Syeds of Pirana. Thus, Syed Muhammad Shah laid the foundation of his group, known as the Imam-Shahis. The schism took place in the emotionally charged climate around 931/1525. W. Ivanow writes in The Sect of Imam Shah in Gujrat (JBBRAS, XII, 1936, p. 45) that, "The split, caused by Nur Muhammad Shah's pretensions, has done incalculable harm to his sect. Instead of being followers of Ismailism, the ancient and highly philosophical branch of Islam, with its great cultural traditions and the mentality of a world religion, they have become nothing but a petty community of "Piranawallas", a kind of inferior Hindus, and very doubtful Muslims. Anyhow, orthodox Muslims do not regard them as Muslims, and orthodox Hindus do not regard them as Hindus." The Imam-Shahi sect lost all its cultural elements and rapidly sank deeper and deeper, with no prospect of early regeneration. It is now a hodgepodge of Hindu and Islamic elements.

Bibi Khadija, the wife of Syed Imam Shah seems to have played a seminal role in the schism. She supported Nur Muhammad Shah and repudiated the recognition of the Imam in Iran. She seems to have declared Nur Muhammad Shah as the successor of Syed Imam Shah and the dissociated group made Syed Imam Shah as the founder. She summoned Syed Rehmatullah Shah, the son of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin at Pirana to win his support, but he refused to throw off his allegiance to the Imam in Iran. He stayed at Pirana for few months, and returned after marrying with a Syed lady. It is recounted that Syed Rehmatullah propagated among the Ismaili circles in India through his messengers that he had nothing to do with the Syeds of Pirana. He also arranged to sent a large amount of religious dues through two persons in Iran. Khayr Khwah Herati (d. after 960/1553) also confirms the visit of two Indian Ismailis, the followers of Syed Rehmatullah Shah, who had come to Khorasan on their way to search for the Imam to present religious dues, vide his Tasnifat, edited by W. Ivanow, Tehran, 1961, p. 54. Syed Rehmatullah also visited Badakhshan and Anjudan and reported whole story to the Imam. He finally settled down in a village, called Kadi.

Hence, a large conversion of Syed Imam Shah in Gujrat suffered a great reverse and the half-baked adherents of Islam were dragged into the most furious blasts of hostile winds. This alarmed a group of the adherents, inducing them to retrace their steps towards the fold of Hinduism, but most of them remained faithful to Ismailism. But, a major group in Pirana dissociated at the head of Nur Muhammad Shah, followed the mixed rituals of Islam and Hinduism, like Hussaini Brahmin, Shanvi and Bad Khwans. They propagated that the successor of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin was Syed Imam Shah, who was followed by Syed Nur Muhammad Shah. The schism also effected the ginans. It is most certain that the ginans of Syed Imam Shah had been adjusted at Pirana to suit the flavour of the Imam-Shahis. The mainstream of the community, known as the Khoja Ismailis in Sind, Kutchh, Kathiawar and Gujrat continued to adhere to the Imam.

Syed Nur Muhammad Shah died in 940/1534 and was buried in the mausoleum of his father in Pirana, the necropolis of the Imam-Shahi sect. He had several sons, the oldest being Jalaluddin and Mustapha. Syed Nur Muhammad Shah had however appointed one of his younger son as his successor, called Syed Miran Khan, surnamed Sai'duddin. Several stories are recounted about the cruelty of the brothers of Syed Miran Khan, who was exiled from Pirana. The shrine of Syed Imam Shah remained in the custody of Jalaluddin and his descendants for about a century, while the pirs in the descent of Syed Miran Khan were moving about the country. Syed Miran Khan rambled as a successor of his father in Surat, Burhanpur and the towns of the Deccan.

Mention must be made on this juncture about the institution of the kakas in Imam-Shahi sect that had taken root in Pirana. This institution was the headman of the converted Hindus. The kaka was the Imam-Shahi cleric and his duty was to settle the petty disputes and collect religious taxes.

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