Ginans

Part of a series on Shia Islam Ismailism

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Nizari • Druze • Mustaali

Pillars

Walayah • Salah Zakah • Sawm • Hajj • Jihad Taharah • Shahada

Concepts

The Qur'an • The Ginans Reincarnation • Panentheism Imam • Pir • Da'i al-Mutlaq Aql • Numerology • Taqiyya Zahir • Batin

History

All Imams • Fatimid Empire Hamza ibn Ali • ad-Darazi Hassan-i-Sabbah • Hashashin Dawoodi • Sulaimani • Alavi Hafizi • Taiyabi • Ainsarii Seveners • Qarmatians Sadardin • Satpanth Baghdad Manifesto

Early Imams

Ali • Hasan • Husayn al-Sajjad • al-Baqir • al-Sadiq Ismail • Muhammad Ahmad • at-Taqi • az-Zaki al-Mahdi • al-Qa'im • al-Mansur al-Muizz • al-Aziz • al-Hakim az-Zahir • al-Mustansir • Nizar al-Musta'li • al-Amir • al-Qasim

Contemporary Leaders

Aga Khan IV Mohammed Burhanuddin al-Fakhri Abdullah Taiyeb Ziyauddin Saheb Mowafak Tarif

The Ginans are a vast corpus of devotional literature in the form of lyrics / hymns, and has been the living tradition of Nizari Ismailis particularly from Indian subcontinent. The word Ginan has its roots in Sanskrit word Jnan or Gnan, which means knowledge or wisdom.

It was an oral rendition mostly by Pirs, first among whom to come to India was Pir Satgur Nur in the 12th century. Ginans are composed in many languages of the subcontinent, especially Gujarati and Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi and many more. Similar religious traditions exist in the form Qasidas (قصيدة) amongst Nizari Ismailis of Arab, Persian and Central Asian origins authored by likes of early Muslim philosophers Da'is (داعي (جمع دعاة) Qadi Noman, Nasir Khusraw and others.

Refer: www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=105688

A Scent of Sandalwood: Indo-Ismaili Religious Lyrics by Dr Aziz Esmail (I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2002). www.iis.ac.uk/view_person.asp?ID=16&type=auth

Also see Ecstasy and Enlightenment by Prof Ali S. Asani, (I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2002) ISBN 1 86064 828 2

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