Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Second Fascicle

6— ISMÂ’ÎLIYYA: It is written in the book Milal wa Nihal:
The Shiites parted into twenty groups. One of them is the
Ismâ’îliyya group. They have seven names. Their first name is
Bâtiniyya, for they do not believe the overt meanings in the
Qur’ân al-kerîm and derive different meanings according to their
understandings. They say that the Qur’ân al-kerîm contains zâhir
(apparent) and bâtin (inner, essential) meanings; the bâtin is
necessary; not the shell, but the essence of the walnut is necessary.
However, âyat-i-kerîmas in the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-isherîfs
should be given their apparent meanings. If an âyat-ikerîma
can be understood more clearly (than an âyat-i-kerîma
which you met with formerly), then the former âyat-i-kerîma may
be given a different meaning in a manner as to conform with the
latter. Unless there is a strong necessity, it is disbelief and ilhâd to
disregard its apparent meaning and infer different meanings, for,
doing so means to change and spoil Islam.
Their second name is qarâmitâ, for it is a person named
Hamdan Qarmit who invented this sect. Hamdan is the name of a
village near the city of Wâsit in Basra.
Their third name is hurumiyya, for they say halâl about many
harâm actions.
Their fourth name is sab’iyya, for they say that there are seven
Prophets who own dispensations; six of them, they say, are
Hadrat Adam, Hadrat Nûh (Noah), Hadrat Ibrahîm, Hadrat
Mûsâ (Moses), Hadrat Îsâ (Jesus) and Hadrat Muhammad; the
seventh will be Mahdî. They say that there have been seven
imâms (religious leaders) between every two Prophets, whom
they call nâtiq. They say that there are seven religious leaders in
every century.
Their most well-known name is Ismâ’îliyya, for they say that
after the death of Imâm-i-Ja’far Sâdiq ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, his
elder son, Ismâ’îl, became the leader of the Muslims. They
appeared as follows:
Upon seeing that Islam was spreading rapidly over three
continents, the magians, that is, the fire-worshipping heretics in
India, said: “It is impossible to overcome the Muslims or to
prevent their spreading by the sword. There is no way left except
to demolish them from within. Let us mislead the young and
ignorant ones among them by giving their books meanings in
accordance with our own beliefs.” Their chief, Hamdan Qarmit,
established the following basic principles:
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