ISMA`ILIYEH. A branch of the Muhammadan Shi`ah sect. Whereas the Shi`ahs find the true Imam in Milsa al Qasim, the second son of Ja`afar as-Sadiq, the Isma `iliyeh trace the succession from his eldest son, The sect was founded in Persia in the middle of the eighth century. In the ninth century new life was infused into it by the zeal and the missionary activity of 'Abdu-llah ibn Maymun. Missionaries went out in all directions. " They captivated the ignorant multitude by the performance of marvels that were taken for miracles and by mysterious utterances that excited their curiosity. To the devout they appeared as models of virtue and religious zeal: to the mystics they revealed the hidden meaning of popular teachings and initiated them into various grades of occultism according to their capac ity. Taking advantage of the eager looking-forward to a deliverer that was common to so many faiths of the time, they declared to the Musalmans the approaching advent of the ImSm Mandi, to the Jews that of the Messiah, and to the Christians that of the Comforter. but taught that the aspirations of each could alone be realised in the coming of 'All as the great deliverer " (T. W. Arnold). In these and other ways the Isma`iltyeh were able to unite together a very large number of persons of different faiths. According to F. J. Bliss, there is a large body of Isma`illyeh in Syria at the pre sent time, though the majority of the members are secret adherents. They send yearly tribute to a Sultan Mohammed Shah in Bombay, who claims to be descended from the Old Mau of the Mountain, Lord of the Assassins. They believe him to be an incarnation of the
Deity. They believe also that God dwells in a virgin who lives on the edge of the Syrian desert. " This girl is called the ro'dhah, which may be translated a green sward or pleasaunce. As long as she remains a virgin she is regarded as sacred, and the Isma`ilians wear bits of her clothing or hair from •her person in their turbans. But should she marry—and she may do so honourably— search is made for a successor, who must be a girl born on a certain day iu the year, and who should conform to certain characteristics regarding her height and the colour of her hair and eyes " (F. J. Bliss). A govern ment official, who surprised the Isma.`iliyeh at a service of adoration of the ro`dhati, found her seated in a white robe on a high chair and wearing on her head a wreath of fresh flowers. The worshippers knelt before her and chanted sacred songs. F. J. Bliss thinks that the cult of the ro'dhah is an ancient form of nature-worship which was retained when the local inhabitants accepted the strange ideas of the Isma`illyeh. " In the resultant synthesis both sets of ideas may have undergone altera tion. In its present form this nature-worship appears to be symbolic rather than sensual. There is evidence that woman is venerated a-s the symbol of the earth mother." The cults of the Isma`illyeh, the Druses, and the Nuseiriyeh are secret. In all of them initiation plays an important part. See T. P. Hughes; T. W. Arnold; F. J. Bliss.