The purpose of this series of lectures is to impart the true knowledge and deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts of the esoteric faith, i.e., the Ismaili religion especially to the youngsters of our jama’at. Our teachers took the inspiration and guidance to start this series from the following farman of Mawlana Shah Karim Shah which he made in a Religious Night School in Bombay, India on 9th November, 1967:

“There are among you certain spiritual children who are now of a sufficient level of religious knowledge to go deeper into the background and the history of our faith. It is important that those of you who have the desire to do so, should do so. I would like in the years ahead to feel that if I ask you, it may be difficult for you in the English language, but if I ask you what is the difference between Esoteric faith and Exoteric faith, you should be able to tell me. These are difficult matters, but the better and the deeper your knowledge of your faith, the and the deeper your understanding of our faith, the stronger you will be and the stronger our Jamat will be.”

On 22nd November, 1967, just thirteen days after making the above farman, Mawla reemphasized the importance of understanding the esoteric meaning of the Qur’an in the following farmÀn made in a Waezin assembly organized by the Ismailia Association, Bombay, India:

“I have told you on many an occasion how important it is that if you learn parts of the Qur’an, you should understand their meaning. It is important that if you recite or know parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain their meaning. Do not forget that our branch of Islam is an esoteric branch of Islam. Esoteric means that what is written is there, but its meaning is not there to everyone. It is there to those who are part of our Jamat. And it is important, therefore, that if you learn parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain the esoteric meaning of those parts.”