Lit. ‘foundation’. Early Ismaili authors, like Ibn 岣wshab (d. 914) and his son Ja士far (d. 2nd half of 10th century) divided history into seven eras, each inaugurated by a ‘speaking prophet’ (n膩峁璱q), who is succeeded by a legatee, also called asas, the founder, a teaching based on the knowledge of the spiritual meaning of the message delivered by the Prophet. In this system of thought, 士Al墨 b. Ab墨 峁乴ib (d. 661) is the foundation of the imamat in the cycle of Muhammad. The writing of later Ismaili authors such as al-Nasaf墨 (d. 943), Abu Hatim al-Razi (d. 934), Ab奴 Ya士q奴b al-Sijist膩n墨 (d. after 971), present variants of this system. al-Sijist膩n墨, for instance, defines both the prophet and his legatee as an 补蝉腻蝉.
