Da'i al-Du'at — the chief missionary

Dai al-duat ("chief of the missionaries") was a senior office, entrusted with the leadership of the Ismaili mission under the Fatimids. ¹

Hasan Ibrahim Hasan notes that it ranked just below the chief judge (qadi al-qudat) and wore his dress, and that the two offices were often combined in one man. ¹

Twelve naqibs assisted him in spreading the teachings, and he had deputies in the lands. He was thus the link between the caliph and his followers in the Ismaili mission. ¹

• Taking the oath of allegiance from novices, directly or through his deputies.
• Supervising the lectures in the assembly of the mission, which were presented to the caliph before they were delivered.
• Collecting the contributions (najwa) from the believing men and women, set at three dirhams and a third. Whoever paid thirty-three dinars was given a Fatimid badge, which was a slip bearing the caliph's signature.

¹