The word batin is derived from batan means hidden, concealed, covert, inward, inner or esoteric. Ibn Taymiyya quotes Hasan Basari as related that, "Verily, each Koranic verse has an outer meaning and the inner meaning" (Majmu Fatwa, Riyad, 1382 AH, 13:231). Abu Na'im related from Ibn Masud in his Kitab al-Huliya as quoted by Suyuti in al-Itaqan that, "The Koran indeed revealed in seven words, and there is not a single word which does not possess its outer and inner meanings. No doubt, Ali bin Abu Talib completely commanded the knowledge of both outer and inner meanings." Yusuf al-Bahrani (d. 1772) quotes the Prophet as saying in Kitab al-Burhan fi tafsir al-Koran (1:17) that, "Among you is one who will fight for the tawil of the Koran as I have fought for its tanzil. That one is Ali bin Abu Talib." In another tradition, the Prophet said, "I am the Lord of revelation (sahib al-tanzil) and Ali is the Lord of interpretation (shib al-tawil)." J.K. Birge writes in The Bektashi Order of Dervishes (London, 1937, p. 106) that, "This is understood to mean that Muhammad taught the external facts about what Muslims should believe and what they should do, but it is only through Ali that one can enter into an understanding of their deeper meaning." Abdullah bin Masud said, "The Koran was revealed in seven letters. There is not a single letter but it has an exterior and an interior meaning and with Ali is the knowledge of these." (Kitab al-Burhan fi tafsir al-Koran (1:21). The Ismailis are also called the Batiniyya (esotericists or interiorists) because of professing the inner aspects of Islam, and as such the Ismailism is the batini tariqah.
Ismaili:
The word sufi is derived from safa means purity, because the foremost need in Sufism is to purify the heart. The Ismaili da'is during the 8th century formed a fraternal organization in Basra, known as Ikhwan as-Safa (Brethren Purity) due to advocating Sufic tariqah. Another view suggests that the Sufis are in the first rank (saff'i awwal); others say that the Sufis claim to belong to the ashab'i suffa (the Companions of the Prophet). Some assert its derivation from suf (wool) because of wearing woolen garment (jama'i suf). The phrase labisa'l suf means he clad himself in wool occurred frequently in early Islamic literature. When the ascetism passed into mysticism, the above words generally reduced to mean he became a sufi. Fariduddin Attar writes in Mantiq-ut-Tahir (London, 1924, p.
that, "The doctrines of the Sufi is ancient in Islam, and is much spread, especially among the partisans of Ali." The Ismaili batini tariqah is the Sufi tariqah. Sufism is a form of tasawwuf in Islam. It is the code of heart (fiqh'l batin), the purification of the soul (tazkiyat'l nafs) or the feeling of God's presence (al-ihsan).Ismaili:
The Persian word darwish is from the Pahlavi driyosh is most likely derived from darviza meaning poverty. According to another view, the word darwish is composed o two syllables, dar (in) and vish (thought) means in thought. The ultimate goal of the Sufi tariqah of darwish is self-realization, and for remaining in such state (in thought), they are also called darwish. The Sufis mostly in Turkey and Persia adopted the term darwish for them, thus there is no difference between them. Spencer Trimingham writes in The Sufi Orders in Islam (London, 1971, p. 264) that, "Of course, one is darwish and a Sufi at the same time and there is no essential distinction in theory. The Sufi is a darwish and the darwish is a Sufi since neither can be in isolation from the other." The Ismaili tariqah is thus the darwishi tariqah in Islam.
Ismaili:
The Sufis in Damascus and some Arabian lands also became known as the faqir. The word faqir (pl. fuqara) is derived from faqar means poverty. The term serves to designate the Muslim mystic. The Koran says, "O men, you are the poor (al-fuqara) before God; He is the Rich" (35:15). It affirms the infinity of divine plentitude and, in the light of this richness, the state of man's dependence and his utter indigence. The Prophet also said, "Poverty (faqiri) is my pride (fakhri)." Abu Sa'id Fazalullah bin Muhammad al-Mayhani said, "al-faqr huwa'l-ghina billah means the faqiri is a wealth in God (cf. Kash al-Mahjub, London, 1911, p. 22). One of the Sufis defines the term faqir that, "The faqir is not be whose hand is empty of provisions, but he whose nature is empty of desires" (Ibid. p. 25). In sum, the tariqah of the faqir is the tariqah of the Sufis and darwish. "Hence, the term darwish referring to a person who possesses this "poverty" is the same as the Arabic term faqir used in Sufism for Muhammadan poverty" (The Encyclopaedia of Religion, 4:240).
It is therefore evident that the Shi'ite Ismaili is a Batini tariqah, the Sufis tariqah, the Darwishi tariqah or the Faqiri tariqah in Islam. It is an intellectual tariqah. The cornerstone of the Ismaili tariqah is the concept of the Imamate. The Imam is a spiritual Guide and exhorts his followers the interpretation in accordance with the time for their worldly and spiritual progress. It must be noted that Ismaili tariqah is not a random offshoot of Islam, nor is it a hotchpotch of other faiths. Ismaili tariqah is the kernel of Islam that the Prophet himself very carefully separated from the common injunctions of the Shariah. This kernel was kept reserved for the privileged few, and kept on the other hand the Shariah for the mass of ummah. There is much more in Islam than performing salat and saum.
By: Dr. D.S. Merchant
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