The concept of the last Imam in Ismailism

[schatoor]

Ya Ali Madad,

Does any one know what the Ismaili concept of the last Imam is in Ismailism? Other shia muslims believe in an Imam Mehdi who will return near the day of judgment. But what should our view on this issue be?
I know some ginans deal with this issue. But I can't remember which ones.

[kmaherali]

This is as good as asking when creation will end. It will not, as per Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah in his memoirs, creation is perpetual and constant. Hence Imamat is perpetual!

[schatoor]

So the day of Qiyama will be a time when we personally are judged, instead of a time when all the souls are judged at ones?

[kmaherali]

Yes, that is how I would interprete it.

It can also be interpreted as an end of a cycle in history, if history is interpreted in cyclical terms as it has been in the past. In that case the Qaim or the last/first Imam would be the one who brings to an end a cycle/phase and begins a new one.

There is also an interesting parallel discussion going on within Christianity on this issue in the wake of the discovery of Gnostic gospels at Nag Hammadi. These gospels were banned because they were considered as heretical. They convey that the resurrection of Christ was not to be regarded as a historical event but rather as a symbol of personal resurrection which happens to everyone. I have mentioned the book "The Gnostic Gospels" in the Books section of this forum which discusses this and other issues faced by Christianity as a result of the discoveries at Nag Hammadi.