The Scent of the Scarlet Pimpernels: Ismaili Leaders of the 11th Century AH/17th Century AD

Ismaili and anti-Ismaili sources differ dramatically in how they depict the Ismaili “inviters” (dāʿīs). To Ismaili authors, the inviters were noble, kind, and pious believers who propagated the true message of Islam, while to their detractors the inviters were sinister, unscrupulous villains. However, all agreed on one feature: the inviters generally worked discreetly and anonymously, far from the prying eyes of hostile authorities. Thus, the 11th/17th-century poem of the Ismaili Khālū Maḥmūd ʿAlī, edited and analyzed in this article, is a rarity. The poet enumerates Ismaili notables in locations scattered throughout Khurāsān, Quhistān, Badakhshān, ʿIrāq, Turkistān, and Hindūstān in a period in which we know almost nothing about the Ismailis. The article discusses the existing manuscripts of the poem and its prosody. It continues by providing a critical edition, discusses elements in the poem that reflect the literary genre of “prayers of proximity” (duʿā-yi taqarrub), and analyzes what we can deduce about the poet himself.