Читать книгу A Short History of the Fatimid Khalifate онлайн

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Fifth Grade. In this grade it was taught that the traditional practices of the religion of Islam were merely temporary, a concession to the uninstructed multitude who could not yet understand the spiritual principles of iman: they were useful as an educative influence with the ignorant, but the Qurʾanic precepts on which some of them were based had an esoteric meaning quite other than their literal form, whilst the traditional rules which had added so much detail to the laws of the Qurʾan were baseless and negligible. The disciple was taught to replace the external precepts of Islam by inner convictions. If he was a Persian he was reproached with the servile submission which the Persians had rendered to an Arab Khalif: if he were an Arab he was instructed that the privileges of the Arabs have now been transferred to the Persians. In addition to this he was taught certain principles of geometry and the properties of numbers, all applied in a mystical manner to the claims of the Imamate. He was further informed that each prophet had twelve hujjaj corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac, to the twelve months of the year, to the twelve tribes of Israel, and to the twelve nugabaʾ whom Muhammad chose from the ansar or “helpers” at Madina. These numerals “seven” and “twelve” which have been shown to possess sacred meanings, were now cited to explain why men have twelve dorsal vertebrae, seven cervical vertebrae, etc. It is as well to note that when these teachings were first put forth the other Shiʿites who followed Musa and his successors had not yet made up the number of twelve Imams.