Ya ‘Ali Madad to all readers and seekers of Ismaili Gnosis.
This is a reminder to our sagacious subscribers to visit the Ismaili Gnosis website regularly and click on the Notes tab in the top menu. We update the Notes section frequently with short, impactful quotes and excerpts from Ismaili — and related — literature, increasingly accompanied by what is hopefully an intriguing image inspired by the text being shared. Everything in the Notes section is Open-Access, with no paywalls — ever.
Please find below our first collection of SIGN: Selected Ismaili Gnosis Notes. From time to time, we will share a new collection of Notes, bringing together selections that readers may have missed while offering ongoing inspiration and reminders of the ethical, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of the Ismaili path — dimensions especially relevant to murids of the Manifest Imam and to all who seek to deepen their faith, strengthen their intellect, and refine their souls through knowledge, discipline, enlightened practice, and ultimately, striving on the path of Gnosis toward higher enlightenment and recognition of the self — for those who know themselves, know their Lord.
To encourage further exploration, each Note in this collection includes a link to a previously published Ismaili Gnosis article, inviting readers to delve deeper into the ideas and teachings behind the selected passage.
With prayers for our subscribers’ enlightened reading,
Khayal ‘Aly
Ismaili Gnosis
September 11, 2026
Children of Your Thoughts
(September 6, 2026)
Jalal al-Din Rumi:
“How many children of your thoughts will you see in the grave after death, all surrounding your soul crying, ‘Papa’? Your good thoughts give birth to youths and houris; your ugly thoughts produce great demons.”
— Jalal al-Din Rumi, Diwan-i Shams-i Tabirizi, translated by William C. Chittick in The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, 105.
« Further Reading »
« Ismaili Wisdoms on Angels, the Grave, Resurrection, and Spreading Joy »
The Struggling Soul
(September 10, 2026)
Jalal al-Din Rumi:
“Some men have followed the intellect to such an extent that they have become totally angels and sheer light. They are the prophets and saints.... In some men sensuality has dominated their intellects, so that they have totally assumed the properties of animals. And some men have remained struggling. They are that group who feel inside themselves a suffering, a pain, a distress, a longing. They are not satisfied with their lives. These are the believers. The saints are waiting to bring the believers into their own houses and make them like themselves. And the satans are also waiting to drag them down toward themselves to the lowest of the low” [Qur’an, 95:5].
— Jalal al-Din Rumi, Fihi ma Fihi, translated by William C. Chittick in The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, 86.
« Further Reading »
« The Spiritual Significance of Struggle (Jihad) in Ismaili Islam »
Knowledge & Action
(September 10, 2026)
Pir Nasir-i Khusraw:
We say that religion consists entirely of two things: knowledge (ʿilm) and action (ʿamal). When human beings combine both of these, they are called religious. Likewise, just as human beings consist of body and soul, when these two are combined, they constitute a human being.
In religion, action is like the body, and knowledge is like the soul. Thus, the religion of someone who acts without knowledge has no soul. Indeed, it is like a carcass, which God, may He be exalted, has declared unlawful in His Book. The taʾwil of this is that action without knowledge is unacceptable, just as a carcass is unlawful [to eat].
Those who acquire knowledge but do not act [accordingly] have no religion at all, because the soul cannot be established in the world without the body. Thus, action without knowledge is better than knowledge without action, just as a carcass is better than nothing at all.
According to the calculation of jummal, ʿilm and ʿamal both have a numerical value of 140. This consists of 14 decimal sets: 100 is 10 decimal sets, and 40 is 4 sets. Since each 10 is a set, there are 14 sets in total. Fourteen consists of two heptads, with which God, may He be exalted, enjoined His Prophet. As He has said: [O Muhammad,] We have certainly given you a pair of heptads and the great Qurʾan (15:87).
One taʾwil of this verse is that God gave [His] Prophet a religion adorned with these two things: ʿilm and ʿamal, each of its decimal sets consisting of two heptads, and the great Qurʾan, which, as we mentioned earlier, comprises both ʿilm and ʿamal.
[…] Action without knowledge is the lot of animals; knowledge without action is the lot of angels; and both knowledge and action are the lot of human beings. With respect to action, human beings are equal to animals, but with respect to the knowing soul, they are equal to angels.
They [humans] occupy an intermediate position between animals and angels, so that through knowledge and action they may rise from animality to angelicity.
— Pir Nasir-i Khusraw, Wajh-i Din, Discourse 9 (unpublished draft translation by Dr. Faquir Muhammad Hunzai)
« Further Reading »
« An invitation to reflect on the path you’re walking — and where it’s truly leading you »
Recognise Your Errors
(September 10, 2026)
Sayyidna Nasir al-Din Tusi and Sayyidna Hasan-i Mahmud:
“The truth is that as long as man does not recognise his own errors, sins and shortcomings, his soul will never be able to recollect its own proper realm; [it will] fail to pass through the degrees of meritorious deeds and mount up the steps of perfection. Because of his self-love, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for him to recognise his own faults and shortcomings, and so these will remain concealed from him. Consequently, conceit will manifest itself, and there is nothing so [morally] detrimental and dangerous as this.”
— Sayyidna Nasir al-Din Tusi and Sayyidna Hasan-i Mahmud, Rawda-yi Taslim, translated by S.J. Badakhchani as Paradise of Submission, 101.
« Further Reading »
« Sacred Utterances of Mawlana Zayn al-‘Abidin⁽ᶜ⁾, Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah⁽ᶜ⁾ and Mawlana ‘Ali⁽ᶜ⁾ Advising the Jama‘at about the Worst of all Vices »
Timely Rhyme-Minder
(September 8, 2026)
“Timely Rhyme-Minder”
By: Khayal ‘Aly
(April 10, 2026)
This here is a timely rhyme-minder
for those who strive to elevate their lives
spiritually.
I am dedicating this space for you
as it may help you accept a message presented
lyrically.
Quit wasting all of your precious time
going back and forth with your soul’s
progress.
You’re only holding your own soul back,
and that’s on you if we’re being
honest.
Without delay, make the necessary changes
to prevent your faithful soul from
slipping away.
What you actually do while you’re on this path
may be more important than how long
you sit and pray.
« Further Reading »
« Original poetry and selected guidance to inspire believers to safeguard their iman and nurture the ruhu’l-iman—the soul of faith »
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