the Chief Missionary from the fortress of Alamut several contingents, more than once, to kill him because he had arrogated the leadership to himself; Sinān would put them to death, and some of them he duped so that they became his followers.

He continues: I read in Ḥusayn al-Rāzī’s History, where he says: Muʿīn al-Dīn Mawdūd the chamberlain told me that he was present with the Ismāʿīlīs in the year 552 AH, had a private audience with Sinān, and questioned him.

Sinān said: “I was brought up in Basra, and my father was one of its leading men. This cause took hold of my heart. After an incident with my brothers, I left without provisions or mount and made my way to Alamut. There I found Ilkiyā (1) Muḥammad ibn Ṣabbāḥ, who had two sons, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. He seated me with them in the school, showed me the same kindness he showed them, and treated me as their equal, and then he died.

“Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad succeeded him and dispatched me to Syria. I set out just as I had departed from Basra. He had given me certain instructions and entrusted me with letters. I entered the Date-Sellers’ Mosque in Mosul, then travelled to Raqqa, delivered his letter to a man who supplied me and hired a mount for me to Aleppo. I met another man with his letter, who equipped me for al-Kahf, and I was ordered to reside there. I remained until Shaykh Abū Muḥammad, the man in charge, died.

“After him, Khwāja ʿAlī took over, not by explicit designation but by the agreement of a group. Then Chief Abū Manṣūr, the son of Shaykh Abū Muḥammad, and Chief Fahd came to an understanding; they sent someone who killed Khwāja, and the affair became a matter of consultation. An order then came from Alamut to kill his murderer and release Fahd, and the testament was read out to the assembly. It stated:

‘This is a covenant we have entrusted to Chief Nāṣir al-Dīn Sinān, and we have commanded him to read it to the comrades and brothers. May Allah preserve you from dissension and from following caprices, for that was the trial of the first generations, the affliction of the later ones, and a lesson to those who heed. Whoever disavows the enemies of Allah, His ally, and His religion, must show loyalty to the friends of Allah and cling to unity, for union upon oneness is the practice of the concise, all-embracing words.’