Abd al-Salam Shah

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Abd al-Salam Shah (died 1493/4) was the 33rd imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community.

Life[]

Originally named Mahmud, he reportedly received the honorific name 'Abd al-Salam' (lit. 'Servant of Peace') from his father, al-Mustansir Billah II, on account of the wisdom he displayed.[1] An epistle of a contemporary poet mentions that he was also known as 'Salam Allah'.[1]

He succeeded his father upon the latter's death c. 1480, at Anjudan. According to oral Nizari tradition, he died in 1493/4 and was succeeded by his son, Gharib Mirza.[2] Like his father, he tried to persuade the Nizari communities of the rival Muhammad-Shahi branch in Badakhshan and Afghanistan to recognize his leadership.[3]

Works[]

A number of writings are attributed to him:

  • Most famously, an oft-repeated ode addressed to the 'seekers of [spiritual] union', i.e. those seeking after the divine gnosis of God. According to Abd al-Salam Shah, this is achievable only through complete submission to the will and guidance of the Imam, who alone is privy to the hidden, esoteric truths of the Quran.[4]
  • Panj Sukhan kih Hadrat-i Shah Islam farmuda and ('Five Discourses Uttered by Shah Islam'), a brief essay on the moral and ritual obligations of the faithful.[5]
  • Farman-i Shah Abd al-Salam ('Decree of the Imam Abd al-Salam'), written in 1490 and addressed, according to Vladimir Ivanov, to the Muhammad-Shahi followers in Badakhshan and Kabul.[6] According to Shafique Virani, this is the "only known Qasimshahi source explicitly testifying to a rivalry between the two lines" of Nizari imams, but its current whereabouts are unknown.[6]
  • Bandi az Shah Abd al-Salam Shah Mustansir bi'llah ('A Poem of Shah Abd al-Salam [ibn] Shah Mustansitr bi'llah'), which may be the same as the ode to the 'seekers of union'.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Virani 2007, p. 120.
  2. ^ Daftary 2007, p. 423.
  3. ^ Daftary 2007, p. 433.
  4. ^ Virani 2007, pp. 120, 168–172.
  5. ^ Virani 2007, pp. 120–121.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Virani 2007, p. 121.

Sources[]

  • Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
  • Virani, Shafique N. (2007). The Ismailis in the Middle Ages. A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531173-0.
Shia Islam titles
Preceded by 33rd Imam of Nizari Isma'ilism
(Qasim-Shahi line)
1480–1493/4 		Succeeded by
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