Resurrection Within Resurrection: A Multi-Layered Narrative Of Qiyāma among Nizārī Ismailis

The historical phases of the Nizārī Ismailis of the Alamūt period can be broadly divided into four major phases: 1) the consolidation period of the Alamūt state, or the period of taʿlīm; 2) the period of first resurrection beginning with the declaration of qiyāmat by Ḥasan II continuing until the end of the reign of his son, Muḥammad II; 3) the period of satr which is the entire reign of Ḥasan III; and 4) the period of returning to the doctrine of qiyāmat from the time of Muḥammad III until the downfall of Alamūt. In this paper, I will try to elaborate on the fourth period.
The literature on the Nizari Ismaili’s doctrine of qiyāmat, in almost all sources – be they historical or doctrinal – speaks about one single event initiated by Ḥasan II who came to be known as Qāʾim al-qiyāma. This declaration in 559/1164 marks the beginning of social, doctrinal and political shifts in the Nizārī Ismaili community. There is, however, another shift which occurs within this new shift often ignored or left undetected because of the enormity of the original event. This new shift, which I would call a second qiyāmat gradually develops and gets consolidated during the reign of Muḥammad III.
There are several features which make the second resurrection distinct from the first one. Contrary to almost all non-Ismaili narratives of the same age, an utter abrogation of ritual laws in Ismailism seems far more unreal when we look at the second qiyāmat period. What would be theoretically quite revolutionary and radical in the abstract sense for the first qiyāmat turns out to be milder in practice in the second phase of the qiyāmat. In this paper, I will draw on sources from the fourth period and some manuscripts of different periods to demonstrate this visible shift. I will also provide some conjectures as to why this shift has come about.