About: Haft Bab-i Abu Ishaq Ibrahim

Haft Bab (Persian: ھفت باب), or “Seven Chapters,” is one of the most important literary remains of the Nizari branch of Isma’ilism from the early post-Alamut period. It was written by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim of Quhistan, an important center of Isma’ilism in Eastern Persia. For about two centuries after the Mongols destroyed the Nizari Isma’ili state of Alamut in 1256 C.E., Nizari da’wa remained inactive because the Imams were in hiding. However, from the middle of the fifteenth century C.E., the Qasimshahi Nizari imams resurfaced and established themselves in Anjudan, inspiring a rich tradition of literary activity. Haft Bab, which was written at the beginning of the sixteenth century C.E. is perhaps one of the earliest doctrinal treatises written in Persian from this Anjudan period.