LITTLE is known of 'Abdallah ibn Maimun (not to be confused with the Abbasid Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun, son of Harun al-Rashid). Yet, he is one of those individuals whose activities seem to have affected the course of history. According to Bernard Lewis, Islam in History, pp. 275-6, Upon --
"'Abdallah ibn Maymun al Qaddah...an associate of Isma'il ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq (disappeared ca. 755-762), is fathered the whole complex development of the Isma'ili religion and organization up to Fatimid times. He is variously described as a Jew, as a follower of the Mesopotamian Christian heretic Bardaisan, and, most commonly, as an Iranian dualist; like his predecessor, he is alleged to have sought to destroy Islam from within in the interests of his previous religion."
It is difficult to ascertain exactly which group would have been his "previous " religion. Judging by Isma'ili literature that is available today, it would appear that there is a Gnostic system of emanation like we find in Barbelo-Gnosticism, Valentinian Gnosticism, and what came much later, in the Kabbalah.
Scholem, even,. attributes Isma'ili influences to the Kabbalah, which is certainly not impossible, since Kabbalah came from Mesopotamia, during the period of the Talmud, and it came to Europe, and it flourished among the Islamic culture of Spain at least until 1492 c.e.
And, too, in the influences we must add NeoPlatonism and the Hermetica.
Although her dates are off, Nesta Webster presents his story in Secret Societies and Subversive Movements (1924), pp. 37 ff. Even though she labors to unmask the "Jewish Peril" - which she finds in everything that exists (except in the Fascist Dictatorships and in the Roman Catholic Church), the story she tells (and mostly quotes) pertaining to Abdallah and his Batinis is worth quoting. This is, perhaps, one of the earliest examples of the Illuminati's techniques being employed, and it demonstrates the ancestry of the Templar heresy, so-called.
"The earliest Ismailis, who formed themselves into a party at about the time of the death of Mohammed, son of Ismail (i.e., circ. A.D. 770), still remained believers, declaring only that the true teaching of the Prophet had descended to Mohammed, who was not dead but would return in the fulness of time and that he was the MAHDI whom Moslems must await. But in about A.D. 872 [Our note: Might actually be a hundred years earlier, i.e., 772] an intriguer of extraordinary subtlety succeeded in capturing the movement, which, hitherto merely schismatic, now became definitely subversive, not only of Islamism, but of all religious belief."
Rather than being "merely schismatic" or "definitely subversive", it represents an authentic movement, and more, as we shall see. Continuing with Nesta,
"This man, Abdullah ibn Maymun, the son of a learned and free-thinking doctor in Southern Persia, brought up in the doctrines of Gnostic Dualism [Our query: Which doctrines of Gnostic Dualism, Mandaeanism, Manichaean doctrines, Ophites?] and profoundly versed in all religions, was in reality, like his father, a pure materialist. By professing adherence to the creed of orthodox Shi-ism, and proclaiming a knowledge of the mystic doctrines which the Ismailis believed to have descended through Ismail to his son Mohammed, Abdullah succeeded in placing himself at the head of the Ismailis."
To the Initiate, the above allegations of "pure materialism" are part of the author's vitriolic rhetoric, and part of a definite disinformation campaign. Considering the fact that this sect is Islamic, and not Jewish, one would think she'd applaud them, but since they were anti-Catholic, they were to be demonized.
Worship of the Eternal has often been demonized as materialism, because there is nothing to worship, in the same sense that one sets up a church and has people worship the true god. Like the concept that all sentient beings are God, the Eternal God, the Living God: mere worship becomes impossible.
"His advocacy of Ismail was thus merely a mask, his real aim being materialism, which he now proceeded to make into a system by founding a sect known as the Batinis, with seven degrees of Initiation. Dozy has given the following description of this amazing project:
"'To link together into one body the vanquished and the conquerors; to unite in the form of a vast secret society with many degrees of initiation free-thinkers - who regarded religion only as a curb for the people - and bigots of all sects; to make tools of believers in order to give power to skeptics; to induce conquerors to overturn the empires they had founded; to build up a party, numerous, compact, and disciplined, which in due time would give the throne, if not to himself, at least to his descendants, such was Abdullah ibn Maymun's general aim - an extraordinary conception which he worked out with marvellous tact, incomparable skill, and a profound knowledge of the human heart. The means which he adopted were devised with diabolical cunning...
"'It was...not among the Shi-ites, that he sought his true supporters, but among the Ghebers, the Manichaeans, the Pagans of Harran, and the students of Greek Philosophy; on the last alone could he rely, to them alone could he gradually unfold the final mystery, and reveal that Imams, religions, and morality were nothing but an imposture and an absurdity. The rest of mankind - the "asses" [Our note: according to one Arabic etymology for the word Assassin, it derives from the word Assass, Foundation, or Fundament, a word which was usually in Latin referred to that part of the anatomy, hence. we have the Arabs to thank for the word Ass, in that respect, as well!], as Abdullah called them - were incapable of understanding such doctrines. But to gain his end he by no means disdained their aid; on the contrary, he solicited it, but he took care to initiate devout and lowly souls only in the first grades of the sect. His missionaries, who were inculcated with the idea that their first duty was to conceal their true sentiments and adapt themselves to the views of their auditors, appeared in many guises, and spoke, as it were, in a different language to each class. They won over the ignorant vulgar by feats of legerdemain which passed for miracles, or excited their curiosity by enigmatical discourse. In the presence of the devout they assumed the mask of virtue and piety. With mystics they were mystical, and unfolded the inner meanings of phenomena, or explained allegories and the figurative sense of the allegories themselves....
"'By means such as these the extraordinary result was brought about that a multitude of men of diverse beliefs were all working together for an object known only to a few of them...' [Reinhard Dozy, Spanish Islam, (English Translation), pp. 403-5.]
Now, Nesta Webster, it must always be remembered, was a staunch supporter of the heresy known as Roman Catholicism, and its cousin Anglicanism. This is important, since any hackwriter today who writes about these detestable ideas, such as self-knowledge, Gnosis, Brotherly (and Sisterly) Love, Secret Societies, and so on, almost always use her work, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, even today. Well, there is a good reason for us to use it - there is historical truth in it. But then we are able to read many things, and accept many different points of view, not only our own, even though we are accused regularly of the opposite. This work was an influence to the Ghost-writer of Pat Robertson's New World Order.
As it is up to the successors of the Prophet of Thelema to carry on the work of purifying the rituals of the old time, what has been written of them in the form of history, pseudo-history, and exposés must be included in the job description.
We use her work, where applicable, to vindicate our position, and to demonstrate that these things are nowhere as dark and dreary as they have been represented by people who are in no position to judge our ancestral traditions.
Islam, as we know, was not accepted willingly by everybody in the areas where it spread. The same statement can be made in reference to Christianity. In the latter, however, heretics, so-called, were not tolerated at all. In the former, some heretics were tolerated as long as they belonged to some specific group. That is where Shiah Islam was important. It brought together all or most of the groups who had little or no interest in the Sunni Orthodoxy. [Interesting note: it is to the Sunni Orthodoxy that the blame goes to, for engendering Islamic fundamentalism and the kinds of groups that are respnsible for the terror in the world today. Usually the Shi'ites are considered the radicals, but this is not so. Saddam is a Sunni, bin Laden is also a Sunni, the Taliban are Sunni, and all the rest of these crooks hail from the Sunni camp.] Isma'ilism, finally, came about as a safe haven for all the sects which the others couldn't allow to exist.
In this manner, the Gnostics survived. The learning of the Greek world also survived through the Isma'ili. The precedent set by Abdallah ibn Maimun was to evolve into systems used by Western Esoteric Groups.
Religious dissimulation, insinuating brethren, the gradual unfolding of the Truth, the realization that external religions are social control mechanisms; the doctrine of Emanations, of Immortality of the Soul, the cycles of returning Avatars, and even Time Cycles, are all part of the paradigm we are researching. They are a part of our own system, as we have received them.
Elkesai introduced the concept of religious dissimulation. It was perfected by the Isma'ili, by the Illuminati, and by the Brethren of the R+C.
Some people seem to be disturbed when they find out that Self-Knowledge is really the end of all religious effort. Well, maybe it is an end, perhaps we shouldn't use the article "the". Not blind belief, which some call faith. Yet true faith is absolute certainty. There are those in the certainty crowd who will beg to disagree with me here, but that is your own red wagon, not mine. The political implications of all this, is inherent,. when one recalls the election night speech made by Big Bubba, in 1996 c.e., One's American duty is to serve the state, obey all the rules, regulations blindly, and pay more taxes in order to fund the enormous corporate bureaucracy which Washington has become. Hail Caesar!
One who worships [i.e. communes with] One's Self, is selfish. How dare we commit such a heinous heresy? GOD DAMN IT.
Now, what else do we know of Abdullah and his Batiniyya? Though it is a dated source, C. W. King, in The Gnostics and Their Remains, Second Edition, p. 412, sheds light:
"It is not a matter for surprise that the grand elements of ancient Gnosticism should have thus been discovered lurking in the secret rules of the Order of Assassins; when the origin of that order is investigated, it proves to be only a branch of the Ismaelites, or those Persians who supported the cause of the descendants of Ali. But Abdallah, himself a Magian, had from the beginning founded in the midst of these Ismaelites, a secret society composed of those Persians who had, through Arab compulsion, embraced Mohammedanism only in name. By inculcating those vital dogmas of the old Gnosis, that Knowledge was the real end of religion, and that in all scriptures the allegorical interpretation was the only true one, Abdallah united under his teaching the remnants of all the older religions that still lurked in Persia..."
In a work found on the Internet, taken from The Difference Between the Sects, by Abu Tahir 'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, we find a little more, from the Sunni perspective, pertaining to the Batiniyya:
"The Batiniyya.
The Batinis emerged at the time of the Caliph Ma'mun, with Hamdan ibn Qirmat and 'Abdullah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah at their head. They are also not Muslims. They try to build good relations with everyone, pretending to agree with them. When they find potential in someone, they invite him to their religion, they believe that punishment in this world is when the Muslims busy themselves with prayer, fasting, Hajj and Jihad. They believe that prayer means following their leader, fasting is visiting him and adultery is disclosing his secret. They allow incest and homosexuality, and in fact dismiss the entire shari'ah. They came to power and caused harm to the Muslims until the time of the 'Abbasid caliph, al-Muktafi, in around 300 AH.."
In this, we see, ideologically a kinship in this author with Epiphanius of Salamis, when he condemns the Borborites or Barbelo-Gnostics. Perhaps people should all disagree, and then that would be good religion. Not!
Continuing in another part of the site:
"The Batinis played with the words of Allah, drawing on the works of the heretic philosophers, and planted their venomous heresy into the minds of the neglectful and wretched, where they found fertile soil. They claimed that they had received insight into the 'inner' meanings of the sacred texts, and they scorned the Islam of the Companions, viewing them as simpletons who had not progressed beyond the 'outer' meanings. And, when they are told, 'Believe as the people have believed!' they say, 'Shall we believe as the fools believe?' Indeed, they are the fools, but they do not realize.' [al-Baqarah]
"In this manner, the Batinis proceeded to try to demolish the entire religion.
"The term Batini is a general, descriptive name given to all sects who rely upon the perverted methodology we have mentioned above. They include the Qaramitah and the Isma'iliyyah of earlier origin, and the Qadianis and Bahais of more recent times. Yet, the Batini approach is not always encountered in a clear form and with a distinct sectarian identity. There is another category of people among whom it has its traces and manifestations. They are individuals still donning the outward guise of mainstream Islam. Their faith is so weak that they force themselves to justify everything in the religion practically and rationally. Failing that, they resort to distortion of the meanings of the texts so as to mould them around their mentality and outlook. Others among them may not be as deficient in faith, but are impatient and presumptious. They try to fit the Qur'an to every new event and scientific discovery they encounter.
"'Mankind is a creature of haste. I shall show you My signs, so do not be impatient.'
"Beware of this approach, brothers and sisters! Remember that the texts of the Qur'an and sunnah are straightforward, and their import is clear and literal (except where it unquestionably indicated otherwise), as we mentioned at the start of this discourse. Having considered and appreciated this, you will realize the fallacy of the opinions of the heretic philosophers who claimed that Heaven and Hell are merely states of mind after death, and that there is no resurrection of the bodies."
The author also states that al'Dajjal, the False Messiah, will be a Jewish man, with one eye. I guess they weren't referring to Moshe Dayan!
Gershom Scholem writes pertaining to the Batiniyya:
"I need not go into detail about the Islamic groups, notably such esoteric sects as the Ismaili, which stressed the inner, allegorical, or mystical meaning of the Koran in contrast to the outward or literal sense, which in the higher stages of initiation lost all meaning. The Arabic authors refer to the adherents of these trends as batiniyya, or advocates of the inner meaning, that is to say, esoterics or spiritualists. It is interesting to note that the terms used by many Jewish philosophers to denote these two levels of meaning (hitson and penimi, outward and inward) never occur in this context in the older Jewish sources, but are literal translations of the corresponding Arabic terms. THUS IT IS EVIDENT THAT THIS TERMINOLOGY ORIGINATED IN ISLAM, WHENCE IT WAS TAKEN OVER BY THE JEWISH PHILOSOPHERS, WHO PROCEEDED TO IDENTIFY THE INNER MEANING WITH THE PHILOSOPHICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE TEXT, WHICH WAS NOT STRICTLY SPEAKING MYSTICAL." - The Meaning of the Torah in Jewish Mysticism, in Scholem, ON THE KABBALAH AND ITS SYMBOLISM, p. 51.
So now, it is clear, that this group gets regarded as heretical, for holding to a mystical tradition of interpretation, namely the Esoteric or allegorical interpretation. S. M. Stern, in Studies in Early Ismailism, wrote:
"The early Ismailis were seldom so denominated by their contemporaries, being called instead Qarmatians or Batinis. They themselves seem to have designated their movement simply by the name 'the mission', al-dawa, or more formally 'the right-guided mission', al-dawa al-hadiya; thus 'to be converted to Ismailism' would be rendered by them as 'to enter the mission', dakhala'l-dawa."
In a work entitled Tarikh-e-Imamat, Chapter II, we find:
"Abdullah bin Maymun al Qaddah:
"Abdullah, the son of Maymun al-Qaddah,
had served Imam Muhammad bin Ismail as his chief advisor and Dai throughout his
life. After the death of Imam Muhammad bin Ismail, he continued to be the advisor
of Imam Wafi Ahmad. He became Imam's 'Hujja' (Chief Dai), as well as his 'Hidjab'
(Cover).
"Headquarters of the Da'wa:
"Salamiya, in Central Syria, had been adopted
by Imam Muhammad bin Ismail and Dai Abdulla bin Maymun as their headquarters.
However, in his last days, Imam Muhammad bin Ismail had to go to the East. During
this journey, Imam Wafi Ahmad was born in Nishapur.
"Imam Wafi Ahmad came to Salamiya, to the headq uarters of the Da'wa. But the persecution and manhunt conducted by the Abbasid agents did not allow him to live in peace in Salamiya. Therefore, he had to travel to Daylam (Mazanderan), then to Ahwaz and onwards to Mesopotamia and Sammara. Ultimately, he came back to Salamiya where he died."
During the first six months of 2002 c.e., we have been able to access research materials which give us more clues as to the origins of the Movement. They actually connect with some of our earlier conjectures on the subject, and make some good sense.
Firstly, we came across an old article, from the Journal asiatique, "Un Grand Maître des Assassins au temps de saladin," by M. Stanislas Guyard, 1877.
This article gives a rather full documentation of the movement, of the Assassins, and of its original inspiration, the Isma'ilis. From there it traces the origins of the movement to the Batiniyya of 'Abd-allah ibn Maymun al - Qaddah. We may have reported on this in the Second-hand Book-stall pages previously, but this information belongs here, in the present chapter. We quote some of this material in the original French:
Vers le milieu du XIIe siècle de notre ère, une profonde agitation régnait dans l'Orient musulman. Les descendants de ceux qui jadis avaient porté le fer jusqu'au coeur de la France tremblaient maintenant pour leurs foyers. Depuis cinquante ans déjà les légions des Franks inondaient la Palestine et la Syrie: Édesse, Antioche, Acre, Tyr, Jérusalem étaient tombées au pouvoir des chrétiens, et de nouvelles armées se préparaient à envahir le littoral. Refoulés de toutes parts, les musulmans commençaient à perdre courage. Du haut des chaires retentissaient des appels à la guerre sainte. Tout dévôt musulman partageait sa vie entre les camps et les exercices pieux. On voyait des adolescents menés au combat par leurs précepteurs. Mais hélas! la foi elle-même, si robuste autrefois, chancelait aujour-d'hui sous les coups redoublés de l'hérésie. De farouches sectaires venus de Perse tenaient en échec les defenseurs de la religion. Des princes musulmans, quelle honte! plaçant leurs intérêts mondains au dessus des devoirs sâcrés de l'Islam, osaient se déclarer ouvertement les protecteurs de ces forcenés.
La Perse, écrasée par le second successeur de Mahomet, soumise en apparence, s'était réfugiée depuis lors dans une vie contemplative toute de souvenir et d'espérance. On disait hautement: il n'y a point d'autre dieu qu'Allah; mais dans son coeur on ajoutait: si ce n'est le dieu de nos pères. Et l'on aspirait au moment où quelque heureuse conjonction des astres restituerait à la patrie son empire séculaire. Dans la seconde moitié du 9th siècle, les astres semblaient favorables. Un riche Persan, appelé Mohammad ben Hosain et surnommé Zaidan, versé dans la philosophie, l'astrologie et la sorcellerie, acharné contre l'islamisme, avait lu dans les etoiles que le pouvoir allait enfin passer des mains des Arabes dans celles de ses compatriotes. L'instant d'agir était venu; mais comment accomplir la prediction du ciel? Zaidan fit rencontre d'un homme, Persan comme lui, originaire de la Susiane, qui, lui aussi, rèvait l'anéantissement de l'islamisme. C'était 'Abdallah, fils de Maimoun. Le moyen que cherchait Zaidan, 'Abdallah, fils de Maimoun, l'avait trouvé. Le secret de la force irresistible des Arabes, c'était leur foi; il fallait briser ce ressort. 'Abdallah deroula son plan.
Aux sectes dualistes de la Perse, 'Abdallah montrait que leur croyance en deux
principes était comprise tout entière dans son système.
En effet, ces deux principes ne sont autres que les deux hypostates de l'Ètre
ineffable: la Raison et l'Ame universelles.
Les philosophes devaient embrasser facilement la doctrine. Ne reposait-elle
pas sur la croyance à l'existence éternelle des cinq principes
admis par tous les sages de la Grèce: la Raison, l'Ame, la Matière
première, l'Espace et le Temps?
S'agissait-il des juifs, des chrétiens ou des musulmans, la tâche devenait plus difficile. Il importait avant tout de leur demontrer l'insuffisance de leurs religions respectives. C'est ici qu'apparait la suprême habileté d'Abdallah. Il avait divisé l'initiation en sept degrés, et ce n'est que peu à peu, avec les plus minutieuses précautions, qu'on captivait l'esprit du futur proselyte. On excitait sa curiosité en lui proposant des problèmes religieux dont on ne devait lui donner la solution que lorsqu'il aurait prête serment de ne rien revéler de ces mystères. En prenait-il l'engagement, on lui faisait signer un pacte, et dès lors il appartenait corps et , àme à la secte. Malheur à lui s'il avait tenté de se soustraire ensuite aux ordres de ses chefs! Le pacte signé, le nouvel; initié devait payer à l'imam une redevance (Nadjwa) qui allait grossir le trésor de la secte.
Le plan d'Abdallah séduisit le riche Zaidan, qui donna au novateur la somme énorme de deux millions de pièces d'or. 'Abdallah devait réussir à souhait. Persécuté par le gouverneur de la Susiane, il s'enfuit à Salamiyyah, ville de Syrie, située à peu de distance de Hamat, ou Epiphanie, dans la direction du sud-est, et de là ses missionnaires se répandirent de tous côtés. L'un d'eux convertit, vers 887 de notre ère, près de Koufah sur le bas Euphrate, un certain Hamdan, fameux sous le nom de Qarmat, celui-là même qui fonda la branche ismaelienne des Qarmates, dont la puissance, rapidement développée, fit trembler pendant deux siècles les khalifes sur leur trône.
For now, we shall leave this article. Basically what is being said here is that the Persians did not enjoy being overrun by the Moslems. One of them, a rich man, and a philosopher, by the name of Mohammed ben Hosein, surnamed Zaidan, was so angry that he came up with a plan to do away with the problem. Also, he had read omens in the stars pertaining to this, and so it must come to pass.
'Abdallah ibn Maimun al Qaddah was versed in Persian Dualism, and devised a scheme of initiation that had a mystical doctrine and one that appealed to Zaidan, his patron, who saw in it a means to enact his plan to get vengeance against Islam for having ruined Persia. At some time, 'Abdallah was kicked out of Susiana, and ended up setting up his group in Salamiyya, near Hamath. Later, his disciples would include Hamdan Qarmat, founder of the "neo-Isma'ili" sect of the Qarmathians.
This article also goes into the transfer from the Batinis to the Qarmathians to the Fatimites, which brings us to al-Hakim. From this we get to the Druzes. We shall go into the Druzes in more detail later. We are not convinced that any of the Angel Cults that became attached to the Isma'ili movement originated as Isma'ili movements, but were survivals of the Gnosis, were survivals of ancient native cults that had been installed in their respective areas for a long, long time. In this, we are referring not only to the Druzes, but to the Nusairis/Ansyreh/Alawaite/Alevis, to the Yarsanis, to the Yezidis (who have no connection at all to any form of Islam). All of these groups are related, not through Isma'ili philosophy, or propaganda, but through the foundations of their systems.
The second piece is, of course, The Fihrist, of al-Nadim. The version we quote from is The Fihrist: A 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture, by Abu 'lFaraj Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Nadim; edited and translated by Bayard Dodge. [Great Books of the Islamic World, Chicago: KAZI Publications, 1998.] We include some, but not most, of the footnotes of this version, and we have simplified the spelling and punctuation from the original, in order to make make the key entry easier and provide for most readers' systems that do not have all the diacritical marks that the transliterated Arabic has.
What Abu 'Abd Allah ibn Rizam said in his book in which he refuted the Isma'iliyah and exposed their schools of thought, I am presenting in Abu 'Abd Allah's own words, so that I can be free from responsibility for the truth and falsehood of the matter.
He said that 'Abd Allah ibn Maymun, this Maymun being known as al-Qaddah, was from the people of Quraj al-'Abbas near the city of al-Ahwaz. His father was Maymun, to whom was related the group known as al-Maymuniyah. This sect seemed to be attached to Abu al-Khattab Muhammad ibn Abi Zaynab, who declared the divinity of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, for whom may there be peace.
Maymun and his son were Daysaniyun [2] and for a long time 'Abd Allah the son propagated the Isma'ili doctrine asa prophet. He appeared to work miracles, declaring that the earth would roll up for him, or stretch to wherever he wished in the shortest possible time. He also used to give out news about what was happening in distant places. He had agents in the localities where he wished and, as he was kind to them, they helped him with his intrigues. They had birds which they set free to go from different localities to the place where he was, bringing news from their regions: so in this way he deceived them.
He moved to live at 'Askar-Mukram, but he was so hard pressed that he fled from there. Two of his houses in a locality known as Sabat Abi Nuh were demolished. [3] One of them was rebuilt as a mosque, but the other is a ruin to this day. Upon going to al-Basrah to dwell with a group of the descendants of the 'Aqil ibn Abi Talib, he was again so hard pressed that he fled to Salamiyah near Hims, where he purchased estates.
When he dispatched propagandists to Sawad al-Kufah, there was a favorable response from a man of that district known as Hamdan ibn al-Ash'ath, nicknamed Qarmat because of the shriveling of his back and leg. This Qarmat was a farmer and a cattle drover in a village known as Qass Bahram, or Ras Qarmat. He was a crafty person, who enlisted to take part in his propaganda movement 'Abdan, the alleged author of books which were composed and for the most part falsely attributed to him. 'Abdan played his part in the propaganda in Sawad al-Kufah, while Qarmat stayed at Kalwadhi. 'Abd Allah ibn Maymun also assigned one of his sons to al-Talaqan so he could correspond with him. This was during the year two-hundred and sixty-one [a.d. 874-875].
When 'Abd Allah died, his son Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah succeeded him. Then when Muhammad died, there was disagreement among their propagandists and the members of their sect. Some of them thought that his brother Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah was the successor, while others believed that the person to follow him was his son, also named Ahmad but nicknamed Abu al-Shalaghlagh (al-Shala'la').
Then after that there arose in the movement Sa'id ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Maymun. This Husayn died while his father was alive, but even previous to the time of Sa'id the Isma'ili propaganda had spread among the Banu al-'Ulays of the Kalb Tribe.
After leaving al-Basrah, 'Abd Allah and his sons continued to press the claim that they were descended from 'Aqil and had determined the genealogy of his descendants at al-Basrah. Due to the sons of 'Abd Allah the propaganda spread throughout the land, as the agents went to al-Rayy, Tabaristan, Khurasan, al-Yaman, al-Ahsa, al-Qatif, and Faris.
Then Sa'id went to Egypt, propagating the claim that he was a descendant of 'Ali and Fatimah, with the name of 'Ubayd Allah. There he associated with al-Nushari [the governor], being honored by the adherents of the sultan. As he consolidated his activities, information about him reached [the Caliph] al-Mu'tadid, who ordered his arrest. Accordingly, he fled to al-Maghrib where his propaganda was successful among two groups of the Berbers, and where he met with experiences that are well known, the country facilitating things for him.
When he saw that the descendant for whom he laid claim was not accepted, he caused to appear a young man who was a newcomer and whom he asserted to be a descendant of Muhammad ibn Isma'il [al-Maktum] . This was al-Hasan Abu al-Qasim, who was al-Qa'im bi-al-Amr, following 'Ubayd Allah.
During his [al-Qa'im's] lifetime, such a contempt for the Shari'ah and the basic teachings of prophecy became evident among his followers that there rose up against him a man called Abu Yazid al-Muhtasib, whose real name was Makhlad ibn Kaydad. He was a Berber of the Zanata from the Banu Yifran, an Ibadi and a Nikari. He was known as Sahib al-Himar. As his following and support grew in strength, he made war against him [al-Qa'im], besieging him in al-Mahdiyah until al-Hasan [al-Qa'im] died during the siege.
Then there ruled in his place his son Isma'il, who was surnamed Abu Tahir [al-Mansur]. As he appeared to uphold the importance of the Shari'ah, at the same time that Abu Yazid [Makhlad ibn Kaydad] supported the sect of the Ibadiyah, the populace turned away from him [Makhlad], so that he was killed and crucified. This was during the year three hundred and thirty-six [A.D. 947], but by the year forty the contempt for the Shari'ah throughout the land seemed to be similar to what it had been at the time of al-Hasan [al-Qa'im], so Allah hastened the death of Isma'il [al-Mansur].
His son, Ma'add Abu Tamim, reigned after him. This Ma'add died during the year _______ in the city of Misr, which he occupied in the year ________. There ruled in his place his son, Nizar ibn Ma'add, surnamed Abu Mansur [al-Aziz].
During the year eighty-seven [AH 287; AD 900], [Sa'id ibn al-Husayn] 'Ubayd Allah [al-Mahdi] sent Abu Sa'id al-Sha'rani to Khurasan, where he gave a false impression to the leaders by professing to be a Shi'i, leading people astray. When he died, al-Husayn ibn 'Ali al-Marwazi took his place and became well established in the region until he was imprisoned by Nasr ibn Ahmad. He died in confinement.
He was succeeded by al-Nasafi, who misled Nasr ibn Ahmad, enticing him to join the Isma'ili movement, so that he approved paying an indemnity for the death of al-Marwazi equal to one hundred and nineteen gold coins and for each gold coin, a thousand gold coins. He supposed that he was making this payment for the lord of North Africa, al-Qa'im bi-al-Amr.
When an illness overcame Nasr, confining him to his bed, he repented of having complied with al-Nasafi, making this publicly known. When he died, his son Nuh, assembled the legal authorities, making al-Nasafi attend also, so that they could examine, lay bare, and expose him.
What is more, Nuh brought light upon forty of the gold coins. Accordingly, he executed al-Nasafi along with the chiefs of the movement and the leaders who were the head men attached to al-Nasr, tearing them to pieces with every kind of violence.
The first one of the sons of Maymun al-Qaddah to go to al-Rayy, Adharbayjan, and Tabaristan was a cotton carder. When he died his son succeeded him, and when his son also died, he was followed by a man known as Ghiyath. When he passed away his son succeeded him and also a man known as al-Makhsum. He in turn died and there took his place Abu Hatim al-Warsnani, who was a dualist, then a Dahri, later becoming a zindiq giving way to doubt.
As for al-Yaman, Faris, and al-Ahsa, the propagandists reached those regions either with 'Abdan, the successor and brother-in-law of Hamdan [ibn al-Ash'ath] Qarmat, or there may have been agents preceding him: it is Allah who knows.
Before the period of the sons of Maymun al-Qaddah, there were persons close to the Magians and their Sasanian regime, for the restoration of which they strove. Sometimes they worked openly and sometimes secretly with intrigue, causing things to happen which were illegal in Islam.
It has been said that Abu Muslim, chief of the 'Abbasid movement, favored this cause and worked for it, but he was cut off before its attainment. Among those who were dedicated to the cause, coming out openly and making themselves known, there was Babak al-Khurrami, an account of whom will be given in the Ninth Chapter. [i.e., of the Fihrist.]
One of the persons agreeing with 'Abd Allah ibn Maymun in connection with his movement was a man known as Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, nicknamed Daydan, [i.e., Zaidan], who was from the region of al-Karaj, being a secretary of Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Abi Dulaf. This man was trained in philosophy and skilled in the science of the stars [astrology]. Belonging to the Shu'ubiyah, he was bitter against the Islamic government. He believed with certainty in the Universal Soul [al-Nafs], the Intelligence [al-'Aql], Time [al-Zaman], Space [al-Makan], and Matter [al-Hayula]. He also supposed that there was control and spiritual action in the stars.
In speaking about him, a reliable person told me that he believed he had discovered in the astral determinations that there would be a transition from the Islamic regime to the government of the Persians and to their religion, called the Majusiyah. This would take place at the time of the eighth conjunction, as a movement in the Muthallathah from the sign of Scorpio, indicating the faith of Islam, to the sign of Sagittarius, indicating the Persian religion. He also said that he [Muhammad ibn al-Husayn] used to exclaim, "Would that I might be the cause of this!"
As he [Muhammad ibn al-Husayn] had extensive property, exalted enthusiasm, and great craftiness, he facilitated matters for the Isma'ili movement, giving Ibn al-Qaddah ['Abd Allah ibn Maymun] authority in connection with it and aiding him with funds. He met him at al-'Askar when he was setting out to seek the sultan's court, before the time of Hamulah [4], the vizier of Ibn Abu Dulaf, when he [Abu Dulaf] rose to his rank of the governorship of al-Haramayn, with attendance upon and admission to the service.
When he died at the sultan's court, the movement was under the direction of Ibn al-Qaddah.
This is what we know about this subject, but it is Allah who can distinguish the truth regarding it from the falsehood.
DAYSAN (IBN). He was called Bardesanes. He lived 154-222. He was born near Urfa, became a Christian in 179 and then supported Gnostic heresies with a dualism between light and darkness.
So, we have one family (that of Maymun al-Qaddah) coming from the surviving followers of Bardesanes. Then we have a surviving Persian Magian, in the person of Daydan/Zaidan, who was behind the formation of the Batiniyya of 'Abd Allah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah. Not only that, it would appear that 'Abd Allah's father, Maymun himself, was tied to the Isma'ili movement through genealogy, and through affiliation. Look for the revised Chart, to follow.
[1.] "Doctrines" (madhahib) is taken from the Tonk and 1934 mss. Flugel gives the singular form, madhab. The background of the Isma'ili sect is as follows: The Shi'i branch of Islam claimed that only the direct lineal descendants of the Prophet, through his daughter Fatimah and her husband 'Ali, had the right to be the caliphs. The 6th imam or lineal descendant, who died A. D. 765, was Ja'far al-Sadiq... Ja'far al-Sadiq had numerous sons. One of the younger of these was regarded as his father's legal successor. He was Musa al-Kazim, whose followers form the main branch of the Shi'ah in Iran, Southern Iraq, and other places. Another son was Isma'il, who died prematurely, but his son known as Muhammad al-Maktum, claimed the right to the succession for his branch of the family. His followers formed the Isma'iliyah. This group developed a secret underground movement which for a number of generations threatened the existence of the 'Abbasid caliphate, their headquarters being at Salamiyah, between Hamah and Palmyra, in Syria. The genius who organized this underground movement was Maymun. Some scholars think that he was the same person as Muhammad al-Maktum, but it is more probable that he was a retainer attached to the descendants of 'Ali. Maymun and his son 'Abd Allah organized the Isma'ili conspiracy, which had branches in Persia, al-Yaman, and Fatimid North Africa. The representatives of the Isma'iliyah still existing today are the Bohra of India and the Khojas, whose chief is the Agha Khan.
[2.] This was the sect found by Ibn Daysan and regarded as very heretical by the Muslims.
[3.] 'Askar Mukram was a city of southwestern Persia and Sabat Abi Nuh was probably a street or locality in the city.
[4.] Flugel gives Hammawayh, who was the director of posts about AD 807. MS
1934 has Hamulah, who was vizier to the family of Abu Dulaf. Muhammad ibn al-Husayn
very likely left the service of Ibn Abi Dulaf in order to seek service with
the caliph. Then Ibn Abi Dulaf was evidently honored as Governor of the Two
Holy Cities and given a place at the royal court. Probably it was at this time
that Hamulah became his vizier.
We plan to add to this material as we find more source material, and have the opportunity to process it.
This was the tree from whence sprang all the rest of the sects which were to come up in the following centuries. The direct successor of the Batiniyya was the sect of Carmathians, founded by Hamdan Qarmat, the subject of the next section.
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