The termbāb (Arabic:باب,lit. 'gateway') was used in earlyShia Islam for senior disciples, and authorised deputies, of the currentImam.[1] Less commonly, the term is also applied to the Imams themselves, as well as toMuhammad and otherprophets in Islam.[1]
The term emerged in the 9th century, designating a senior disciple of an Imam who functioned as his authorised representative. Given the belief that the Imams were divinely inspired, this disciple was the "gate" (bāb) to the Imam and the esoteric knowledge he possessed.[1] The first suchbāb is held to have beenSalman the Persian, one of the companions of Muhammad.[1] This concept hasGnostic roots, and is commonly ascribed in later literature to the 8th-century extremist (ghulāt) proto-Isma'ili group of theMukhammisa, but this is not borne out by actual 8th-century texts.[1]
The term was in use in the earlyIsma'ili movement for "a figure in the hierarchy of the missionary movement who participated in preaching an esoteric interpretation of the Islamic revelation".[1] The early Isma'ili missionary and authorJa'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman also applied the term to the designated successors of the Imams, and toAli ibn Abi Talib as the successor of Muhammad.[1]
After the establishment of theFatimid Caliphate in 909, thebāb became a rank in the official Ismai'ili religious hierarchy (thedaʿwa).[2] The Fatimid-erabāb was second only to the Fatimid imam-caliph, and is also known by the designation of "chief caller" (dāʿī al-duʿāt). The latter term is commonly used in historical sources, whereas Isma'ili sources prefer the termbāb. Thebāb functioned as the intermediary (wāsiṭa) between the Imam and the community of the faithful. Under thebāb were twelveḥujjas ("seals"), who conducted the affairs of thedaʿwa.[1][2]
The office gradually declined and disappeared altogether after the end of the Fatimid Caliphate.[2]Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, who recorded the hierarchy of theNizari Isma'ili state during the 13th century, mentions the presence of an official calledbāb-ibāṭin, co-equal with thedāʿī; but the rank is no longer mentioned in later sources.[2]
The 10th-century Isma'ili authorIbn al-Haytham reports that the Twelver Imams designated a steward of their imamate with the title ofbāb during the minority of their designated successors, but this usage does not appear in contemporary Twelver sources.[1] In Twelver sources, the term is only used for the Imams themselves, as "the gates through which (knowledge of) God is attained", in the words of the 10th-century Twelver scholarMuhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni.[1] Ali is thus often called "the gate of the prophet", who in turn is "the gate of God"; in ahadith, Muhammad is reported as saying "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the gate; will you enter the city other than by its gate?"[3]
The term was applied forThe Four Deputies of the twelfth and final Imam,Muhammad al-Mahdi:Abu Amr Uthman ibn Sa'id, his sonAbu Ja'far Muhammad,Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, andAbu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri. These men—as well as a few rivals who claimed this position—served as "gates" (abwāb), i.e., as representatives of thehidden twelfth imam in 873–940. After that, the concept of the Imam'sMajor Occultation was adopted, leading to the abandonment of the post ofbāb.[3] Later Twelver theologians, such asNasir al-Din al-Tusi, came to reject the concept of a disciple functioning as a gate for the Imam, as with the Isma'ilis, as typical ofghulāt sects.[1]
Among theAlawites, whosecosmology also has Gnostic roots, thebāb is the junior divine entity in a divine triad, under the Godhead itself, or "the Essence" (maʿnā), and "the Name" (ism) or "the Veil" (ḥijāb).[4] According to Alawite doctrine, this triad is incarnated in the successive historical cycles; the role of theism, along with thebāb, is to 'veil' the true character of themaʿnā:[5] themaʿnā is the "silent" Imam, theism is the public, "speaking" Imam, and thebāb the gateway to the Imam.[3] Thus in the present, Islamic cycle, Ali is the real Godhead, veiled by Muhammad as hisism, with Salman the Persian as hisbāb.[5] Each of the eleven Imams then had his ownbāb, who acts as the intermediary between Imam and the faithful. The founder of the Alawite sect,Ibn Nusayr, is held to have been as thebāb to the eleventh Imam,Hasan al-Askari.[5]
In theDruze cosmology, thebāb is the incarnation of the Universal intellect (ʿaql al-kull), which in the Druze cosmic hierarchy is located directly below God. Thus the founder of the Druze religion,Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, proclaimed himself thebāb to the incarnation of God, Caliphal-Hakim bi Amr Allah.[3]
In the early 19th century, some of the Twelvers in Iran consideredShaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, founder ofShaykhism, and his successorKazim Rashti as thebāb to the Hidden Imam.[3] This tradition provided the foundation of the religion ofBábism following the application of the titleBáb to its eponymous founder, Ali Muhammad Shirazi.[3]
