(rarely, dāʿiya ), “he who summons” to the true faith, was a title used among several dissenting Muslim groups for their chief propagandists. It was evidently used by the early Muʿtazilites [ q.v. in EI 1]; but became typical of the more rebellious among the S̲h̲īʿīs. It appears in the ʿAbbāsid mission in K̲h̲urāsān; and in some Zaydī usage. It was ascribed to followers of Abu ’l-K̲h̲aṭṭāb. It was especially important in the Ismāʿīlī and associated movements (which were called daʿwa , “summons”), where it designated generically the chief authorized representatives of the imām . Among the …