2009 Volume 44 Pages 19-39
The fourth/tenth (A.H./C.E.) century is one of the most crucial time to the development of Ismā‘īlī Shī‘ism not only because the Fāṭimids’ claim for the sole leadership (Imāmah) conflicts with its original belief in the advent of the messianic figure called the Qā’im, but because some thinkers adopted Greek thought, especially Neoplatonism. This article aims at contributing to elucidation of how the Ismā‘īlī thinkers made consistent their doctrine on the Qā’im with newly adopted Neoplatonism in this important century, with special reference to Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī’s (d. ca 322/933-4) Kitāb al-Iṣlāḥ, one of the oldest extant Neoplatonist-influenced texts.
The text of al-Iṣlāḥ suggests that the Qā’im will resume the full contact, which Adam had enjoyed, with the two highest hypostases of Neoplatonist cosmology, that is, the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul. Also in his text al-Rāzī implies that the advent of the Qā’im will mark or bring the full actualization of the “spiritual forms” (al-ṣuwar al-rūḥānīyah) and “simple form” (al-ṣurah al-basīṭah) of the human soul. This is also the result of the influence of the “highest simple world,” the realm of the two highest hypostases. Thus, with the background of Greek thought, especially Neoplatonism, al-Rāzī de-politicized the role and mission of the Qā’im. This idea is shared by al-Sijistani (d. after 361/971), Neoplatonist Ismā‘īlī thinker who is nearly one generation younger than al-Rāzī. Did this shared idea of the de-politicized and “spiritualized” Qā’im function as precursor for Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī’s (d. after 411/1020) own vision of the Qā’im and the postponing of his advent and the ultimate eschaton? This will be an issue of our future research.
