e-Makalat Mezhep Araştırmaları Dergisi

Abstract

In Nizārī Ismā'īlism, the ritual prayer (namāz) is called duʿāʾ, which is recited three times a day (sunrise, sunset, and night). Only Ismāʿīlīs can recite this Duʿāʾ, and they do so in their places of worship called Jamāʿatkhāna. In their view, the form of prayer performed by other Muslims is exoteric (ẓāhir). In Ismā'īlism, it is understood that the conditions of Islam include both the exoteric and esoteric (bāṭin) dimensions. Similarly, the ablution, which purifiesthe body, is exoteric; while the true essence is the attainment of spiritual and inner purity. The DuʿāʾTreatise, originally written in Urdu and Arabic and consisting of six parts, includes a few verses from the Qur’ān, tasbīḥ (glorification of God), supplication, and prostration in each section. The treatise begins with the name of Alī b. Abī Ṭālib and ends with the name of Shāh Karīm al-Ḥusaynī, the imam of that time, who is still alive today. The motivation for translating and analysing this Duʿāʾ Treatise was our curiosity about the prayer practices of the Ismāʿīlīs of the Hunza region, located in the north of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan area, where the majority of the population is Aga Khan Ismāʿīlī. During our stay in the region, our interest was piqued by the absence of the call to prayer (adhan), which led us to explore their approach to and their understanding of prayer. In this sense, the evaluation of the Duʿāʾ Treatise, which Nizārīs recite in place of prayer,will contribute to a better understanding of contemporary Nizārī Ismā'īlism in Turkish academia.