A Qur’anic term meaning both ‘proof’ and ‘presentation of proof.’ In Shi‘i Islam it designates Prophets and Imams as ‘proofs’ of God’s presence on earth. In the Ismaili daʿwa of the pre-Fatimid and Fatimid periods, it was also applied to senior dāʿīs and in the Alamut period of Ismaili history it came to be applied to those representing the Imam.
