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Abd Allah al-Radi Tenth Imam of Isma'ilism | |
|---|---|
عَبْد ٱللَّٰه الرَّضِيِّ | |
| 10th Isma'ili Imam | |
| In office 840–881 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad al-Taqi |
| Succeeded by | Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah |
| Title |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 825 |
| Died | 881 Salamiyah |
| Resting place | Salamiyah, Syria |
| Children | Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah |
| Parent |
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| Other names | al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
| Part of a series on Islam Isma'ilism |
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Abu ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl (Arabic: ابو علي الحسين بن أحمد ٱبْن عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن مُحَمَّد ٱبْن إسْماعِيل, c. 825 – 881), also known as al-Zakī (lit. 'the pure'), al-Raḍī (lit. 'the satisfied one') and al-Muqtadā al-Hādī (lit. 'whose example should be followed, and guiding'), was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tenth of the Isma'ili Imams, succeeding his father, Muhammad al-Taqi (d. 840). Before his death in 881, he entrusted the care of his son and successor, Abd Allah al-Mahdi who was then around 8 years old to his full brother, Sa'id al-Khayr, also known as Abu'l-Shalaghlagh.
Historical background
With the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq in 765, Isma'il (d. 775) and Muhammad (d. 813), the gravity of the persecution of Isma'ili Imams and their supporters by the Abbasids had considerably increased.[1][2] The Isma'ili Imams were compelled to hide, therefore, the first dawr al-satr ('period of concealment')[a] came into force from 765 to 909. During this period, the Imams were known as al-a'imma al-masturin (lit. 'the concealed Imams').[1][4][5] The Imam's identity was hidden to protect the Imam from being persecuted by the Abbasids and the community continued to operate under the authority of Muhammad ibn Isma'il.[6] According to later tradition, these Imams were Abd Allah (the 8th Imam), Ahmad (the 9th Imam) and al-Husayn (the 10th Imam).[7][8] Among the later Isma'ili historians, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi, the author of Istitār al-Imām, compiled under the Fatimid Imam, Caliph al-Aziz Billah (r. 975–995), seems to be first historian to mention the names of the three 'hidden' Imams.[8]
A modern historian of the Fatimid period, Shainool Jiwa, explains that during dawr al-satr Ismaili doctrine had spread as far as from Yemen to Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria), with its most prominent adherents being the Kutama Berbers of North Africa.[9]
Life
Husayn ibn Ahmad was born in 825 and assumed the Imamate in 840.[10] His hujjat was Ahmad, surnamed al-Hakim, a descendant of Husayn ibn Ali, to whom Abd Allah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah handed over his position.[11][10] Al-Radi's home was in Salamiyah, where he lived among the Hashimites and acted as if he was one of them.[12] He gave presents to the local governors and was lavish with hospitality.[12][13][14] He is said to have granted allowances from his wealth to the poor and disabled persons in Salamiyah without discrimination between the Isma'ilis and non-Isma'ilis.[10] His father Muhammad al-Taqi is remembered for his Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity (Rasāʿil Ikhwān al-ṣafā), which his son is said to have summarised in his Jāmiʿat al-Jāmiʿa. Al-Radi is remembered for his daʿwah or proselytising .[12][15][16]
He organised the propaganda, spread it further afield, broadcast instruction to his followers, making it manifest; he established proofs, explained the risalas (apparently the Encyclopedia of the Ikhwān al-ṣafā') and despatched his da'is everywhere. He thus made the true religion visible to those who were in search of it.[16]
— Idris Imad al-Din, ʿUyūn al-Akhbār
Al-Radi travelled to Kufa, on pilgrimage to the tombs of Ali ibn Abi Talib and his son, Husayn.[14][12] While there he met Abu al-Qasim ibn Hasan ibn Farah ibn Hawshab, who was of the Twelvers and was associated with Hasan al-Askari. He also met Ali ibn al-Fadl al-Jayshani. He sent both men to Yemen to establish the way of the Isma'iliyya there.[12] They reached Yemen, and conquered Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and exiled the ruling tribe of Banu Laydir, and established Isma'ili authority in Yemen.[15]
Al-Radi died in 881 at Salamiyah while he was travelling in the vicinity. Before his death he appointed as his trustee his brother, Sa'id al-Khayr, also known as Abu'l-Shalaghlagh. He also made Abu'l-Shalaghlagh the guardian of his son, al-Mahdi.[15][17][18] It is stated in the Istitār al-Imām that the guardian, Abu'l-Shalaghlagh, the 'acting Imam', tried to usurp the Imamate for his own line, appointing one after another his sons successively as his heir, but that all of his sons died.[19][20]
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ a b c Tajddin 1997, p. 177.
- ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 90, 95–96.
- ^ Nasr 1966, p. 159.
- ^ Makarem 1969.
- ^ Daftary 2007, p. 712.
- ^ Daftary 1998, p. 3.
- ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 100, 507.
- ^ a b Tajddin 1997, p. 205.
- ^ Jiwa 2018, p. 79.
- ^ a b c Tajddin 2009, p. 31.
- ^ Ivanow 1942, p. 256.
- ^ a b c d e Hollister 1953, p. 209.
- ^ Tajddin 1997, p. 202.
- ^ a b Ivanow 1942, p. 37.
- ^ a b c Tajddin 2009, p. 32.
- ^ a b Ivanow 1942, p. 36.
- ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 99–100.
- ^ Hollister 1953, pp. 210–211.
- ^ Ivanow 1942, p. 42.
- ^ Daftary 2007, p. 100.
Sources
- Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
- Tajddin, Mumtaz Ali (1997). Ismailis Through History (PDF). Karachi: Islamic book publisher.
- Tajddin, Mumtaz Ali (2009). Brief history of the Shia Ismaili Imams. Karachi.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Ivanow, Vladimir (1942). Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids. Islamic Research Association. ISBN 978-0-598-52924-4.
- Hollister, John Norman (1953). The Shi'a of India. Luzac. ISBN 978-8170691068.
- Makarem, Sami Nasib (1969). The Hidden Imams of the Ismailis. al-Abhath.
- Jiwa, Shainool (2018). The Fatimids. 1. The Rise of a Muslim Empire. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78453-935-1.
- Daftary, Farhad (1998). A short history of the Ismailis. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0687-0.
- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (1966). Ideals and Realities of Islam. Praeger.
