Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani (d. 1020)

Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani was a prominent Ismaili missionary during the
reign of the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Hakim (996-1021). He was of
Persian origin and was probably born in the province of Kirman. He
seems to have spent the greater part of his life as a Fatimid da'i
(missionary) in Iraq (in Baghdad and Basra) and in central and western
parts of Iran.Al-Kirmani was part of the official Fatimid campaign
against the dissident da'is, who had also proclaimed al-Hakim's
divinity. In Cairo he produced several works in refutation of the
Druze movement and religion. Subsequently, al-Kirmani returned to Iraq
where he completed his last and magnum opus, Rahat al-'aql.

A prolific writer, al-Kirmani was one of the most learned Ismaili
theologians of the Fatimid times. He was well-acquainted with the
Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the Syriac version of the New
Testament, and the post-Biblical Jewish writings. He expounded the
Ismaili Shi'i doctrine of the imamate in numerous writings. In a few
treatises, al-Kirmani refuted the theological views of the Zaydis, the
Twelver Shi'is, and other Muslim opponents of the Fatimid Ismaili
imams. Al-Kirmani was also an accomplished philosopher belonging to
that select group of Ismaili da'is of the Iranian lands who
amalgamated in an original manner their Ismaili theology with
different philosophical traditions, notably a type of Neoplatonism
then current in the Muslim world.

Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani was a prominent Ismaili da'i or missionary and
one of the most learned Ismaili theologians and philosophers of the
Fatimid period. As in the case of other prominent missionaries who
observed strict secrecy in their activities in the midst of hostile
milieus, few biographical details are available on al-Kirmani, who
flourished during the reign of the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Hakim
(996-1021). Al-Kirmani is not mentioned in any contemporary Muslim
historical sources, but highlights of his life and career can be
gathered from his own numerous extant works as well as the writings of
the later Musta'li-Tayyibi Ismaili authors of Yaman.

Al-Kirmani's date of birth remains unknown, but he was of Persian
origin and was probably born in the province of Kirman. He seems to
have spent the greater part of his life as a Fatimid da'i in Iraq,
having been particularly active in Baghdad and Basra. In Iraq,
al-Kirmani successfully concentrated his efforts on local rulers and
influential tribal chiefs, with whose support the Ismailis aimed to
bring about the downfall of the 'Abbasids. Alarmed by the successes of
the Fatimid da'wa or mission in Iraq, the 'Abbasid caliph al-Qadir
took retaliatory measures. In 1011, he sponsored the so-called Baghdad
manifesto to discredit the Fatimids, also refuting their 'Alid
ancestry. The honorific title hujjat al-Iraqayn, meaning the hujja or
chief da'i of both Iraqs (al-Iraq al-Arabi and al-Iraq al-Ajami),
which is often added to al-Kirmani's name and may be of a late origin,
implies that he was also active in central and western parts of Iran.

Al-Kirmani rose to prominence during the reign of al-Hakim, when the
central headquarters of the Fatimid da'wa in Cairo considered him as
the most learned Ismaili theologian of the time. It was in that
capacity that al-Kirmani played an important role in refuting the
extremist ideas of some dissident da'is, who were then founding what
was to become known as the Druze movement and religion. As part of the
official Fatimid campaign against the dissident da'is, who had also
proclaimed al-Hakim's divinity, al-Kirmani was summoned in 1014 or
shortly earlier to Cairo where he produced several works in refutation
of the extremist doctrines. Al-Kirmani's writings, which were widely
circulated, were to some extent successful in checking the spread of
the extremist doctrines associated with the initiation of the Druze
movement. Subsequently, al-Kirmani returned to Iraq where he completed
his last and magnum opus, Rahat al-'aql, in 1020 and where he died
soon afterwards.

A prolific writer, al-Kirmani was one of the most learned Ismaili
theologians of the Fatimid times. He was well-acquainted with the
Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the Syriac version of the New
Testament, and the post-Biblical Jewish writings. He expounded the
Ismaili Shi'i doctrine of the imamate in numerous writings. In a few
treatises, al-Kirmani refuted the theological views of the Zaydis, the
Twelver Shi'is, and other Muslim opponents of the Fatimid Ismaili
imams. In his al-Aqwal al-dhahabiya, al-Kirmani refuted the ideas of
Abu Bakr Mohammad b. Zakariya al-Razi (d. 934), who had argued for the
necessity of revelation and prophethood while tracing all sciences to
revelational origins. Al-Kirmani was also an accomplished philosopher
belonging to that select group of Ismaili da'is of the Iranian lands
who amalgamated in an original manner their Ismaili theology (kalam)
with different philosophical traditions, notably a type of
Neoplatonism then current in the Muslim world. As a philosopher,
al-Kirmani was fully acquainted with Aristotelian and Neoplatonic
philosophies as well as the metaphysical systems of the Muslim
philosophers (falasifa), notably al-Farabi, and Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
who was his contemporary. In his Kitab al-riyad, al-Kirmani acted as
an arbiter in a philosophical debate that had taken place earlier
among some Iranian da'is, notably Muhammad al-Nasafi, Abu YaRahat
al-'aql, which is written for the advanced adepts. In this book,
al-Kirmani also propounded what may be regarded as the third stage in
the development of Ismaili cosmology in medieval times. Al-Kirmani
replaced the Neoplatonic dyad of the Intellect ('aql) and Soul (nafs)
in the spiritual world, which had been adopted by his Iranian Ismaili
predecessors, by a series of ten separate Intellects in partial
adaptation of al-Farabi's Aristotelian cosmic system. Al-Kirmani's
cosmology, representing an original synthesis of different
philosophical traditions, was not however adopted by the Fatimid
Ismailis; it later provided the basis for the development of the
fourth and final stage of Ismaili cosmology at the hands of the
Musta'li-Tayyibi scholars in Yaman.
References and Further Reading

* W. Ivanow, Ismaili Literature: A Bibliographical Survey, Tehran,
1963, pp. 40-45. Contains a survey of al-Kirmani's known works and
their manuscripts, preserved mainly in Yaman and India.
* I. K. Poonawala, Biobibliography of Ismaili Literature Malibu,
Calif., 1977, pp. 94-102. Also contains a survey of al-Kirmani's known
works and their manuscripts, preserved mainly in Yaman and India.
* J. van Ess, "Bibliographische Notizen zur islamischen Theologie.
I. Zur Chronologie der Werke des Hamidaddin al-Kirmani", Die Welt des
Orients, 9, 1978, pp. 255-261. A partial chronology of al-Kirmani's
works.
* W. Madelung, "Das Imamat in der frühen ismailitischen Lehre",
Der Islam, 37, 1961, pp. 114-127.
* H. Corbin, Cyclical Time and Ismaili Gnosis, London, 1983, index.
* F. Daftary, The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines,
Cambridge, 1990, pp. 113, 192-193, 196-197, 218, 227, 229-230,
235-236, 240, 245-246, 287, 291, 298.
* Paul E. Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, Cambridge, 1993, index.
* Paul. E. Walker, Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani: Ismaili Thought in the
Age of al-Hakim, London, 1999.
* Daniel De Smet, La Quiétude de l'intellect: Néoplatonisme et
gnose ismaélienne dans l'oeuvre de Hamid ad-Din al-Kirmani, Louvain,
1995.