Esoteric Shi'ism

Esoteric Shia Islam (Dutch: Esoterisch Sjiisme) has a long and complex history in the Commonwealth of Hindia Belanda, where it remains the largest religious denomination with nearly 40 million members, followed by the Church of Hindia Belanda.

Esoteric Shias believe in a line of twelve divinely-appointed Imams who are descendants of the Prophet through his daughter and his son-in-law, the twelfth of whom went into the Major Occultation, thus hidden, on the very day the last of his Four Deputies passed away. Together, these twelve Imams, the Prophet and his daughter form the Fourteen Infallibles who are considered to be infallible from error and sin.

The ruling administration of Esoteric Shia Islam is the Shia Convocation, headquartered in Bukit Ilias, a verdant hill range in Java, Hindia Belanda rising over 500 metres above sea level entirely owned by the administration. The Shia Convocation is headed by the Auxiliary Imam who acts as the spiritual guide of Esoteric Shias during the ongoing absence of the Imam of the Time (the Twelfth Imam), which Shias believe will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

By its recognition of the hidden Twelfth Imam, the Shia Convocation maintains that it preserves the sacred succession of gnosis (rewayat al irfan) passed down to the hidden Twelfth Imam from the time of Adam up to and since the advent of Islam, the last of all revealed religions on earth which Shias maintain to be a continuation of a perpetual divine truth. The absence of the phenomenon of the ‘Church’ in Esoteric Shia Islam means that the Shia Convocation cannot, by itself, define dogma, for that authority belongs to the Imam of the Time alone. Its work in the present-day is limited to giving spiritual guidance to its members based on the teachings of the Fourteen Infallibles and may create new interpretations deduced from their teachings.

Esoteric Shia theology revolves around doctrines of the unity of God, Divine Justice, Prophethood, the Imamate and the Last Judgement.

Beliefs

Unity of God

The unity of God (Tawhid) is one of the central doctrines of Esoteric Shia Islam which teaches that God is, at the same time, both immanent and transcendent. It further maintains that God and his creation are ultimately not separate entities since the concept of Tawhid requires that God is alone in being, along with his names, actions, attributes and theophanies, not next to or above other beings.

Tawhid is, therefore, the recognition that every being and reality in all their essences are ultimately from God, because God is the totality of being. This concept is explained metaphorically through the Parable of the Ink and Letters:

“The Ink, being God, produces letters, which are the sum of all that is in this physical world. The letters by themselves do not exist without the Ink and they came from that Ink.”

Divine Justice and Free Will

The first Shia Imam insists that God is Justice Itself. Since God is Justice, it follows that everything he does is always Just and that humankind is called to act justly in every affair to attain godliness. Esoteric Shia Islam considers Justice innate to the nature of God.

Traditions of Esoteric Shia Islam narrate that God does not create human actions and instead they are fully created by humans themselves. This constitutes the doctrine of free will, integral to Esoteric Shia Islam, which states that God has not fixed a definite and final course for human history and that humans themselves are responsible for it. Esoteric Shia Islam strictly rejects the concept of predestination which exists in other Islamic traditions such as Sunni Islam.

Prophethood

Amongst the tenets of Esoteric Shia Islam is the recognition of the existence of prophets whom God has sent to every nation on earth throughout history, culminating in the Islamic Prophet who finished the cycles of prophecy. He is therefore known as the Seal of the prophets. This doctrine of prophethood is articulated in a verse:

“For each nation We have appointed a Divine Law and a Way. Had God willed, He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He hath given you. So vie with one another in good works. Unto God ye will all return, and He will then inform you concerning that wherein ye differed”

The multiplicity of religions and belief systems in the world is, according to Esoteric Shia teachings, an intentional and necessary consequence of an Infinite God, who makes no distinction between one revelation from another.

Esoteric Shia teachings maintain that the function of prophethood is, in its very essence, a reminder to humankind of the eternal and primordial pact of fidelity into which they entered long before they were born into the terrestrial world. This mystery of creation is expressed in the divine question which, according to Esoteric Shia traditions, human spirits were required to answer from before their birth to the physical world, long before the advent of divine religions on earth: “Am I not your Lord?”. The answer was a shout of joy by humankind, as their spirits were leaving for the physical world: “Yes, Thou art our Lord and Friend”. This shout was, to Esoteric Shias, a melancholic farewell as the creation of the current world was the moment human spirits and all that exists in the physical world separated from God, who is the totality of being, and a veil was placed between the physical and the metaphysical, both being parts of the Divine Essence itself. This moment of separation is commemorated by Esoteric Shias when they perform the ritual of remembrance of God (dhikr).

The Imamate

For Esoteric Shias, the conclusion of the cycles of prophecy (nubuwah) with the death of the Islamic Prophet begins another cycle of Imamate. The necessary complement of each cycle of prophecy (nubuwah) is the Imamate and thus Esoteric Shias believe that there is always a succession of Imams (successors) on earth at any given time following the death of any given prophet.

Since Esoteric Shias believe that the Islamic Prophet is the final prophet of God sent to earth and that the entire cycles of prophecy (nubuwah) ended with his death, the line of Imams that followed his absence is also the last and final cycle of Imamate. Belief in the Imamate is central to the Esoteric Shia faith and each follower must recognise the Imam of their time.

For Esoteric Shias in the present-day, the current Imam of the Time is the hidden Twelfth Imam, whose return will coincide with the Second Coming of Christ.

History

<imgur thumb="yes" w="250" comment="A monopteros atop a small hill at the western side of the Shia Convocation Headquarters. The Auxiliary Imam delivers talks every evening from the monopteros.">I3t9kKj.jpg</imgur>

Esoteric Shia Islam arrived in Hindia Belanda by way of Maqtajer, with the arrival of partisans loyal to the cause of the Third Imam. A split between the Esoteric faction, which forms the majority of the Shia population in Hindia Belanda, and the Legalist faction, which now forms the majority of the Maqtajeri Shias, occurred 300 years following the Major Occultation of the Twelfth Imam, resulting in the 1068 Shia Schism. The Batoe Lempar Inscription recounts the arrival of these Esoteric Shias who fled Maqtajer and found refuge in the neighbouring Duchy of Serambi, present-day Hindia Belandan province of Malaya. There, they were met with open arms by the animist ruler Adipati Sangtrinila whose great-grandson Adipati Sangadinila converted to Esoteric Shiism circa 1269 CE and started a Shia dynasty in his name.

The Shia Convocation

<imgur thumb="yes" w="200" comment="Hussein al-Hakim Billah, the incumbent Auxiliary Imam.">nWiQvAO.png</imgur> The Shia Convocation is the central administration of Esoteric Shia Islam, headquartered in Hindia Belanda. Members of the Shia Convocation mainly reside in Hindia Belanda, though there is a minority of Esoteric Shias in neighbouring Maqtajer where most of the Shia population follows the legalist Zahiri Shia Islam, often at odds with Esoteric Shia Islam. The Commonwealth Government of Hindia Belanda recognises the Shia Convocation as a legal body with the ability to enter into treaties with sovereign countries, although neither its properties nor the land which it owns in Hindia Belanda enjoy the status of being sovereign.

The Shia Convocation is headed by the Auxiliary Imam, who is elected by an electoral body consisting representatives of each local Esoteric Shia jurisdiction, numbering 2,812 in total. Once elected, the Auxiliary Imam serves for life and takes upon the role of administrative head of the Shia Convocation and, by extension, spiritual guide of the Esoteric Shia faithful. The position of the Auxiliary Imam does not replace the Imamate, which is a divinely-appointed position occupied by the hidden Twelfth Imam.

Clergy

The Esoteric Shia Clergy consists of Interpreters, Panghoeloes (a Dutch-Indonesian word originally denoting a person with religious training who served the colonial government before 1929) and Mualims. Interpreters are the highest religious position an Esoteric Shia can achieve

Practices and worship

Canonical prayers

Esoteric Shias perform five canonical prayers every day, comprising the prayers of sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and night. They usually combine the noon and afternoon prayers, as well as the sunset and night prayers.

Intimate conversation with God

In addition to canonical prayers and formal rituals, there is also intimate conversation with God (munajat) in which an Esoteric Shia engages the Divine source in a private conversation. This practice was taught by the Fourth Shia Imam.

“For each one of us has fallen short and yet Thou has not spread this abroad; each of us has committed vile acts yet Thou hast not exposed us to dishonour; each of us have concealed evil deeds yet Thou didst not point us out. How many an act prohibited by Thee have we performed; and how many a command that Thou hast ordained for us have we neglected, and there is the evil that is ours, and the sins we have committed.”

Intercession

Esoteric Shia doctrines teach that the Fourteen Infallibles, prophets, saints and angels may be asked to pray to God on behalf of others due to their nearness to God.

Remembrance

Rituals of remembrance are one of the main practices of Esoteric Shia Islam. There are two kinds of remembrance rituals in Esoteric Shiism, one concerns man’s remembrance of God (dhikr) and the other concerns the remembrance of the Fourteen Infallibles and their sacrifices (taziya).

Remembrance of God (dhikr) can be done by believers wherever they may be and is begun by invocation with the tongue, then contemplation with the mind aided by human imaginal faculty. The believer who remembers God such that he experiences ego death (fana) is said to then arrive in a state of nearness to the divine presence. According to Esoteric Shia teachings, remembrance of God is the highest form of worship because it enables the complete integration of the body, spirit (ruh) and soul (nafs) in an uninterrupted nexus with God, who is referred to as the ‘Friend’.

A ceremonial form of remembrance of God (dhikr) also exists, which is done congregationally with musical accompaniment at a Bayt al-Adhkar, or House of Remembrance.

Places of worship

Esoteric Shi'ism recognises various types of places of worship, each having distinct functions.

Bayt al-Adhkar

The principal place of worship for Esoteric Shias is called a Bayt al-Adhkar, or House of Remembrance. It is often a large building or a complex of buildings where main religious activities and rituals take place on a daily basis. Every Friday, after performing the second canonical prayer of the day, Esoteric Shias gather at a Bayt al-Adhkar in order to perform a ceremonial Ritual of Remembrance (dhikr).

Bayt al-Ahzan

A Bayt al-Ahzan, or House of Sorrows, is a building dedicated to hold mourning ceremonies during martyrdom commemorations of various Esoteric Shia figures.

Mosque

The most numerous of the three types of Esoteric Shia places of worship, a mosque serves as a place for Esoteric Shias to perform the canonical prayers thrice daily. Contrary to Reformed Sunni Islam, Esoteric Shia mosques tend to be small since most religious activities take place at a Bayt al-Adhkar, where the canonical prayers can also be performed.

Social issues

Women in the Shia Clergy

Shia doctrines teach that there exists a priestly function in each believer irrespective of their gender, which allows any believer who is of sound mind and has attained maturity to lead congregational prayers. The highest religious office a woman can attain in Shia Islam is of the Interpreter (mujtahidah) which entails the authority to create new interpretations of the scriptures based on the condition and needs of the time.

Male and female Interpreters are eligible for the position of Auxiliary Imam, which is an administrative office of the Shia Convocation.

Marriage

According to Esoteric Shiism, marriage in its essence is a legal contract between a man and a woman of sound mind in order to institute a solid structure for reproduction of offspring and child-rearing. For this reason, Esoteric Shia doctrines do not recognise same-sex marriage because the reproductive function is lost in a same-sex marriage.

The Shia Convocation in Bukit Ilias

Opposition to theocracy

The Shia Convocation maintains the classical Shia position that theocracy is an unlawful form of government without the presence of the Twelfth Imam. It continues to oppose the idea of a Shia theocracy in the current era and insists that the only lawful theocracy will be the one instituted by Jesus Christ and the Twelfth Imam after their second coming.