Spirit & Life

“There are those …who enter the world in

such poverty that they are deprived of both

the means and the motivation to improve

their lot. Unless they can be touched with

the spark which ignites the spirit of

individual enterprise and determination,

they will only sink back into renewed

apathy, degradation and despair. It is for

us, who are more fortunate, to provide that
spark.”

(Aga Khan, India 1983)

Source blog

“In this context, would it not also be relevant to consider how, above all, it has been the Qur’anic notion of the universe as an expression of Allah’s will and creation that has inspired, in diverse Muslim communities, generations of artists, scientists and philosophers?  Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur’an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah’s benevolent majesty.  As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: ‘Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah’.  The famous verse of ‘light’ in the Qur’an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah’s creation and mercy”

Aga Khan IV,

Speech, 2003, London, U.K.

Transcription of extract from: “One on One: Interview with Peter Mansbridge, CBC, Canada, 28 October 2006″

Peter Mansbridge: Next year is your Golden Jubilee, 50 years, … whats your dream for the world in that year? … Whats your realistic hope?

Mawlana Hazar Imam: Well clearly I would like to see the areas of the world which are living in horrible poverty, I’d like to see that, replaced by an environment where people can live in more hope than they have had. I would like to see governments that produce enabling environments where society can function and grow rather than live in the dogmatisms that we have all lived through and which, I think, have been very constraining. And I would like to see solid institutional building because when all is said and done, society needs institutional capacity.”

http://www.akdn.net/video/20061025_cbc/

“The second great historical lesson to be learnt is that the Muslim world has always been wide open to every aspect of human existence.  The sciences, society, art, the oceans, the environment and the cosmos have all contributed to the great moments in the history of Muslim civilisations. The Qur’an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God’s creation”

Closing Address by His Highness Aga Khan IV at the “Musée-Musées” Round Table Louvre Museum, Paris, France, October 17th 2007

“It has always seemed to me that bridges are among the most powerful and important symbols in human society - symbols of connection, of cooperation and of harmony. When harmony breaks down and conflicts ensue, the destroying of bridges is usually among the most urgent targets. But when peace and healing come, then it is the construction and rehabilitation of bridges that marks our progress.”

Excerpt from remarks by His Highness the Aga Khan
at the Inauguration of the Ishkashim Bridge
Ishkashim, Tajikistan, 31 October 2006
http://www.akdn.org/speeches/2006Oct31.htm

“The shared destiny of the ethos of the Abrahamic tradition that unites Christians, Jews and Muslims is governed by the duty of loving care to help nurture each life that is born to its God-given potential. “

Excerpt from the Speech by
His Highness the Aga Khan
at the Banquet Hosted in Honour of Governor Perry,
Houston, June 23, 2002
http://www.akdn.org/speeches/texasb.html

“The great Muslim philosopher al-Kindi wrote eleven hundred years ago, “No one is diminished by the truth, rather does the truth ennobles all”. That is no less true today.

We have much to build with. A common Abrahamic, monotheistic tradition. Common ethical principles, founded on shared human values. Common problems of yesterday, resolved together. Common challenges of tomorrow, that we can best face together. These, and all that much more that I cannot enumerate, but are fact, are the materials with which to build a bridge. Enlightened by sound intellect, I see its structure strongly built from the realities of our world. But any structure requires bonding, and of all the bonds that can link societies, America epitomises the strongest. It is called hope. The right to hope is the most powerful human motivation I know. Its importance has been paramount in the history of this nation. It is a reasonable expectation that the next generation will be better equipped to address the challenges of life than the present one. How beautiful that bridge of hope would be between the West and the Islamic world.”

Excerpt from Baccalaureate Address
by His Highness the Aga Khan
Brown University, May 26, 1996
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101409

“An Ayat in the Holy Quran says: “Verily, God does not change a people’s condition unless they change that which is in themselves.” In the end, it is the will and the resourcefulness of the individual human being that, with Allah’s blessings and guidance, will determine our future.”

Address by His Highness The Aga Khan At The Enabling Environment Conference Kabul, Afghanistan

June 4, 2007

Historically and in accordance with Ismaili tradition, the Imam of the time is concerned with spiritual advancement as well as improvement of the quality of life of his murids. The Imam’s Talim lights the murids’ path to spiritual enlightenment and vision. In temporal matters, the Imam guides the murids, and motivates them to develop their potential. Mawlana Hazar Imam Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness Prince Aga Khan, in direct lineal descent from the Holy Prophet (S.A.S.) through Hazrat Mawlana Ali (A.S.) and Hazrat Bibi Fatima (A.S.), is the Forty-Ninth Imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

– The Constitution of The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims - Preamble (F) and (G)

One of the central elements of the Islamic faith is the inseparable nature of faith and world. The two are so deeply intertwined that one cannot imagine their separation. They constitute a “Way of Life.” The role and responsibility of an Imam, therefore, is both to interpret the faith to the community, and also to do all within his means to improve the quality, and security, of their daily lives.

– His Highness the Aga Khan at Tutzing Evangelical Academy, Tutzing, Germany May 20, 2006

“The Quran very often refers to nature as a reflection of Allah’s power of creation and says: Look at the mountains, look at the rivers, look at the trees, look at the flowers all as evidence of Allah’s love for the people whom He has created. Today I look at this environment and I say that I beleive that Allah is smiling upon you, may His smile always be upon you” — Aga Khan IV, Khorog, Tajikistan, May 27th 1995

“Islamic doctrine goes further than the other great religions, for it proclaims the presence of the soul, perhaps minute but nevertheless existing in an embryonic state, in all existence in matter, in animals, trees, and space itself. Every individual, every molecule, every atom has its own spiritual relationship with the All-Powerful Soul of God” — Memoirs of Aga Khan III, 1954.

“I cite Hazrat Ali’s words so that you may understand the spirit in which I have attempted to fulfill the mandate left to me as the 49th hereditary [Ismaili] Imam after the death of my grandfather. I quote, “No belief is like modesty and patience, no attainment is like humility, no honour is like knowledge, no power is like forbearance, and no support is more reliable than consultation”. Hazrat Ali’s regard for knowledge reinforces the compatibility of faith and the world. And his respect for consultation is, in my view, a commitment to tolerant and open-hearted democratic processes.”

Extract from the Speech made by His Highness the Aga Khan
at the Tutzing Evangelical Academy in Germany,
upon receiving the Tolerance Award, May 20, 2006

“The event which brings us together - the initiation of the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat - is a celebration of the Ismaili community’s permanent presence in, and commitment to Canada. Reflecting the pluralism of the Muslim world generally, the Ismailis are a richly diverse community within the Shia branch of Islam, who belong to distinct ethno-geographic and linguistic traditions, namely, Arab, Iranian, Central Asian, Chinese and South Asian. They live across Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, while in recent decades they have also established a substantial presence in North America and Europe. The Ismailis are, thus, a transnational community who are, first and foremost, active and loyal citizens of the countries where they live, though in outlook they transcend the divisions of North and South, East and West. Whatever the context of their lives, they all share, like other Muslims, the commitment to an ethic whose values converge on the inherent dignity of the human person as the noblest of creation. Historically, Ismailis are united by a common allegiance to the living hereditary Imam of the time in the progeny of Islam’s last and final Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) through his daughter Fatima and her husband, Hazrat Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and the first Shia Imam. In the Muslim ethical tradition, which links spirit and matter, the Imam not only leads in the interpretation of the faith, but also in the effort to improve the quality of life of his community, and of the wider societies within which it lives; for a guiding principle of the Imamat’s institutions is to replace walls which divide with bridges that unite.”

Address by His Highness The Aga Khan
Foundation Ceremony of The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat
Ottawa, Canada, June 6, 2005

This is a core principle of my own faith – Islam – that learning is ennobling, regardless of the geographic or cultural origin of the knowledge we acquire. Such teachings spurred a spiritually liberated people to new waves of adventure in the realms of the spirit and the intellect, amongst whose visible symbols were the University of al-Azhar and Dar al-Ilm established by my Fatimid ancestors in Cairo, and the illustrious counterpart institutions in Baghdad, Cordova, Bukhara, Samarkand and other Muslim centres.

– Mawlana Hazar Imam at American University of Beirut Lebanon, Beirut, June 25, 2005

Right after the passing away of Prophet Muhammad, there were processes of determination of what governance would be after his lifetime. And there were two interpretations. One was a hereditary interpretation which is essentially the essence of Shia Islam. There was a consultational process amongst leaders of the community of the time to select what was believed to be the most appropriate, most competent leader. And, therefore, two principles, or three principles were established at the time: heredity; secondly, consultation; thirdly, competence. If you look at modern states they are all there in one form or the other. So I think it is important to see how these forces which were logical, proper forces that existed just after the time of Prophet Muhammad’s death, they are still in the Islamic Ummah today, and indeed outside.

– Interview of H.H. The Aga Khan by Rajiv Mehrotra of DD TV New Delhi, India “In Conversation” November 27, 2004

The Holy Prophet’s life gives us every fundamental guideline that we require to resolve the problem as successfully as our human minds and intellects can visualise. His example of integrity, loyalty, honesty, generosity, both of means and of time; his solicitude for the poor, the weak and the sick; his steadfastness in friendship; his humility in success; his magnanimity in victory; his simplicity; his wisdom in conceiving new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam – surely all these are foundations which, correctly understood and sincerely interpreted, must enable us to conceive what should be a truly modern and dynamic Islamic society in the years ahead.

— His Highness the Aga Khan, International Seerat Conference, Karachi, Pakistan, 1976. Source

“This programme is also an opportunity for achieving insights into how the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations……The famous verse of ‘light’ in the Qur’an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah’s creation and mercy“
Aga Khan IV, Speech, 2003, London, U.K.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101325

Shi`i and Ismaili philosophy use ta’wil as a tool of interpretation of scripture. This Qur’anic term connotes going back to the original meaning of the Qur’an. The objective of Ismaili thought is to create a bridge between Hellenic philosophy and religion. The human intellect is engaged to retrieve and disclose that which is interior or hidden (batin)…….

Among the tools of interpretation of scripture that are associated particularly with Shi`i and Ismaili philosophy is that of ta’wil. The application of this Qur’anic term, which connotes “going back to the first/the beginning,” marks the effort in Ismaili thought of creating a philosophical and hermeneutical discourse that establishes the intellectual discipline for approaching revelation and creates a bridge between philosophy and religion.

Philosophy as conceived in Ismaili thought thus seeks to extend the meaning of religion and revelation to identify the visible and the apparent (zahir) and also to penetrate to the roots, to retrieve and disclose that which is interior or hidden (batin). Ultimately, this discovery engages both the intellect (`aql) and the spirit (ruh), functioning in an integral manner to illuminate and disclose truths (haqa’iq).

The appropriate mode of language which serves us best in this task is, according to Ismaili philosophers, symbolic language. Such language, which employs analogy, metaphor and symbols, allows one to make distinctions and to establish differences in ways that a literal reading of language does not permit. Such language employs a special system of signs, the ultimate meaning of which can be ‘unveiled’ by the proper application of hermeneutics (ta’wil)

Azim Nanji, Director, Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, U.K., 1995

http://www.iep.utm.edu/i/ismaili.htm

“The inability of human society to recognize pluralism as a fundamental value constitutes a real handicap for its development and a serious danger for our future…. Recognize the fact that human society is essentially pluralist, and that peace and development require that we seek, by every means possible, to invest in and enhance, that pluralism.“

Extract from the speech by His Highness the Aga Khan

at the Prince Claus Fund’s Conference on Culture and Development,

Amsterdam, Holland, September 7, 2002

“I am fortunate to lead an international community with a strong social conscience. Bridging North and South, East and West, the Ismailis have a long tradition of philanthropy, self-reliance and voluntary service. Wherever they live, they faithfully abide by the Quranic ethic of a common humanity and the dignity of man. They willingly pool knowledge and resources with all those who share our social ethic to help improve the quality of life of less fortunate men, women and children.”

Extract from the remarks made by Mawlana Hazar Imam upon receiving the Die Quadriga 2005 Prize in Recognition of the work of the Aga Khan Development Network Berlin, Germany, October 3, 2005

“Peace in the decades ahead can only be achieved when the pluralist nature of human society is understood, valued, and built upon, to construct a better future. In Islam, the pluralism of human society is well recognized, and the ethics of its multiple interpretations require that this diversity be accorded respect.”

Extract from the remarks made by Mawlana Hazar Imam at Al Khwabi, Syria, November 9, 2001

“The complexities of world problems and societies today require people educated in broad humanistic traditions in addition to the guidance and direction provided by the teaching of their religion. The history of the twentieth century is replete with examples of the danger of the systematic propagation and uncritical acceptance of dogmas, ideologies, and even theologies. More than ever, I believe that universities must shoulder the responsibility for contributing to the process of building the capacity for moral judgement in complex settings.”

Extract from the speech by Mawlana Hazar Imam at the Centenary Celebration meeting of the Association of American Universities, Washington, D.C., April 22, 2001.

“Peace in the decades ahead can only be achieved when the pluralist nature of human society is understood, valued, and built upon, to construct a better future. In Islam, the pluralism of human society is well recognized, and the ethics of its multiple interpretations require that this diversity be accorded respect.”

- Extract from the remarks made by His Highness the Aga Khan
Al Khwabi, Syria - November 9, 2001