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Da'im al-Islam — The Pillars of Islam: The Foundational Ismaili Jurisprudence Text

دَعَائِمُ الإِسلَامِ — المَرجِعُ الفِقهِيُّ الأَسَاسِيُّ لِلمَذهَبِ الفَاطِمِيّ
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Da'im al-Islam (The Pillars of Islam) is the foundational jurisprudential text of the Fatimid-Ismaili-Tayyibi tradition, compiled by Al-Qadi Abu Hanifa Al-Nu'man ibn Muhammad al-Fatimi (d. 363 AH / 974 CE) at the command of Imam Mu'izz li-Din Allah, the Fatimid Imam-Caliph who established the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt and founded Cairo. The text covers the seven pillars of Ismaili Islam — Walayat, Taharat, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj, and Jihad — drawing exclusively on hadiths transmitted through the Ahl al-Bayt, particularly Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. The Dawoodi Bohra community, as the most prominent heir of the Fatimid da'wa tradition, continues to use Da'im al-Islam as a primary fiqh reference. Volume I is available in Hindi translation by Sajjad Husain Khara Ghora Wala (Udaipur) and in Urdu translation by Mulla Yunus Shakib Mubarakpuri (1964).

About the Author: Al-Qadi al-Nu’man

Full name: Abu Hanifa al-Nu’man ibn Muhammad ibn Mansur ibn Ahmad ibn Hayyun al-Maghribi al-Tamimi al-Fatimi

Date of death: 363 AH / 974 CE in Cairo (marhum, rahmahullahu ta’ala)

Al-Qadi al-Nu’man is among the greatest scholars produced by the Fatimid Imamate and the most prolific legal scholar in Ismaili history. He served as the chief Qadi (Chief Justice) of North Africa and then Egypt under multiple Fatimid Imams:

The historian Ibn Khallikan writes of him: “Nu’man ibn Muhammad was expert in the knowledge of the Quran’s zahir and batin, in Arabic grammar, jurisprudence, and the sciences of differences among the fuqaha. Every historian who has mentioned him has praised his learning, abundance of knowledge, and eloquence.”

The Scope of His Scholarship

Al-Qadi al-Nu’man compiled approximately 44 works on Fatimid theology, jurisprudence, and history. Among the most notable:

  1. Da’im al-Islam (The Pillars of Islam) — the foundational fiqh text, in two volumes
  2. Asas al-Ta’wil (The Foundation of Esoteric Interpretation) — on the principles of ta’wil
  3. Kitab al-Majalis wal-Musayarat (Imam Mu’izz’s court sessions and conversations)
  4. Iftitah al-Da’wa (The Opening of the Da’wa) — history of the early Fatimid da’wa
  5. Ta’wil al-Da’a’im al-Islam (The Esoteric Interpretation of the Pillars) — the batin counterpart to the zahir fiqh of the Da’im
  6. Ikhtilaf Usul al-Madhahib (Differences in the Foundations of Legal Schools)
  7. Kitab al-Iqtisar and Kitab al-Ikhtisar — legal compendia
  8. Arjuzatuhu Dhatil Minnan — on the history of the Imams
  9. Al-Risalatu al-Misriyya — on legal questions addressed to Cairo
  10. Mafatih al-Ni’ma — on the keys to blessings

Every chapter of the Da’im al-Islam and each of his books was submitted to the reigning Imam before publication. Imam Mu’izz Billah stated: “Whoever performs even one percent (ashar ashir) of Qadi al-Nu’man’s ‘ilm-based actions, I am his guarantor for Paradise.”

See also: Fatimid Caliphate, Imamah, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation

Why Da’im al-Islam Was Written

The text’s preface describes the context: Al-Qadi al-Nu’man witnessed the spreading of bid’ah (innovation) and sectarianism within the Muslim community — each group following its own scholars without reference to the Ahl al-Bayt’s transmitted hadiths. He recalled the hadith of the Prophet (SAW):

“When bid’ah appears in my Ummah, the ‘alim must manifest his ‘ilm. If he does not, the curse of Allah is upon him.”

Looking toward Imam Mu’izz Billah, the Imam reminded him of this hadith and commissioned him: “O Nu’man! This hadith refers to scholars like you. I have given you the order to compile a comprehensive book on the Da’im of Islam and its rulings (ahkam) — concise enough to memorize, with sound principles, drawing only on correct narrations transmitted through the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt.”

The Da’im al-Islam thus represents the Imam’s direct authorization of a jurisprudential text — a unique feature that gives it an authority in the Ismaili tradition that no independently-compiled fiqh work possesses.

The Seven Pillars: Structure and Content

Da’im al-Islam is organized around seven pillars (da’a’im — the word that gives the book its title). These are the seven foundational structures of Islamic practice in the Ismaili framework:

First Pillar: Walayat (Guardianship — Devotion to the Imam)

Pages in Hindi translation: 3–170 (the largest section — nearly a third of the entire work)

Walayat is the first and most important pillar — placed before all ritual practice because walayah to the Imam is the foundation on which all other pillars stand.

Content of Kitab al-Walayat:

Key hadith cited (from Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, through Imam Muhammad al-Baqir): “Iman is from head to toe all action. Speech is a part of action — it is the part that Allah has made obligatory upon the tongue.”

The walayat section is unique among Islamic fiqh texts: no other major legal school begins its jurisprudence with a doctrine of spiritual allegiance to a living Imam. The placement signals the entire text’s orientation: fiqh (law) is the zahir expression of walayah (inner devotion).

See also: Understanding Walayah, Imamah, Misaq The Covenant, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution

Second Pillar: Taharat (Ritual Purity)

Pages: 171–215

Content of Kitab al-Taharat:

The Ismaili wudu follows a specific form transmitted through the Ahl al-Bayt that differs in some details from the four Sunni schools — differences that the Da’im al-Islam documents through direct hadith chains to the Imams.

See also: Tahara Ritual Purity, Wudhu Explained

Third Pillar: Salat (Prayer)

Pages: 216–333

Content of Kitab al-Salat:

See also: Understanding Namaz, Five Pillars Of Islam, Understanding Dua

Fourth Pillar: Janaiz (Funeral Rites)

Pages: 334–363

Content of Kitab al-Janaiz:

See also: Janazah, Tahara Ritual Purity

Fifth Pillar: Zakat

Pages: 364–401

Content of Kitab al-Zakat:

See also: Zakat And Khums, Five Pillars Of Islam

Sixth Pillar: Sawm and I’tikaf (Fasting and Spiritual Retreat)

Pages: 402–428

Content of Kitab al-Sawm wal-I’tikaf:

See also: Five Pillars Of Islam

Seventh Pillar: Hajj

Pages: 429–491

Content of Kitab al-Hajj:

See also: Hajj Journey, Ihram And Talbiyah, Umra Guide, Understanding Tawaf

Eighth Pillar: Jihad

Pages: 492–595+

Content of Kitab al-Jihad:

Historical Significance and Authority

Memorized by Command

Imam al-Mu’izz Billah commanded the members of the Fatimid court and community to memorize the Da’im al-Islam. The book was not merely a reference but a living document embedded in the community’s memory.

Used for Fatwas

Imam al-Hakim bi-Amrillah wrote to his Da’i Harun ibn Muhammad in Yemen: “For those who request fatwas on halal and haram matters, issue them according to the Da’im al-Islam.” This direct Imam-authorization of the text as the basis of legal rulings gives it an unparalleled authority in the Ismaili tradition.

Referenced by Later Scholars

Vol. II: Mu’amalat (Civil Transactions)

The first volume covers the seven pillars (worship). Volume II covers mu’amalat — civil law, transactions, marriage, divorce, inheritance, contracts, and commercial law. Together, the two volumes constitute a comprehensive legal code for the Ismaili-Fatimid community.

Continued Use

“Today, in India, Yemen, and the Ismaili and Fatimid Dawoodi Bohra communities, this book’s legal rulings are still operative. This book is such that even a common man can become well-acquainted with Fatimid jurisprudence through it. In short, this book is the best means for a mu’min to become a ‘practicing believer’ (ba ‘amal mu’min).” — From the preface to the Hindi translation

The Relationship to Ta’wil al-Da’a’im

Qadi al-Nu’man also wrote a companion text: Ta’wil al-Da’a’im al-Islam (The Esoteric Interpretation of the Pillars of Islam) — which provides the batin (inner meaning) of each legal ruling in the Da’im. Together:

This pairing is the quintessential expression of the Ismaili principle: zahir and batin are inseparable. Legal practice without ta’wil is external form without inner meaning; ta’wil without legal practice is abstract knowledge without embodied reality.

See also: Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Haqiqat The Inner Reality, Understanding Walayah

Publication History

Arabic original: Written in Fatimid-era Cairo (c. 350-363 AH / 961-974 CE) under Imam Mu’izz Billah’s guidance. The original Arabic text exists in scholarly editions published in Egypt.

Urdu translation: First compiled and published by Janab Mulla Yunus Shakib Mubarakpuri in 1964 CE (in two volumes in the Urdu-script edition). A Gujarati-language edition by Allama Sheikh Ahmad Ali Raj Sahib was also prepared.

Hindi translation (Devanagari): Translated by Janab Sajjad Husain Khara Ghora Wala (51 Gali N. F, Kharol Colony, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India) from the Urdu edition. Computer composing by Aakib Husain Palana (53 Ajanta Hotel Street, Chetak Marg, Udaipur). Published for the benefit of Hindi-speaking Ismaili and Bohra communities. Volume I covers the seven pillars (595 pages in this edition).

See also: Fatimid Caliphate, Imamah, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Understanding Walayah, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Haqiqat The Inner Reality, Misaq The Covenant, Tahara Ritual Purity, Understanding Namaz, Janazah, Zakat And Khums, Five Pillars Of Islam, Hajj Journey, Nahjul Balagha Reference

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