Isma'ilism is a branch or sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kazim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imām.
The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community resides in India, with sizable congregations in Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East. They also have a growing presence in Europe, North America, and Australia. The present leader is the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, Mufaddal Saifuddin who assumed office in January 2014.
Mohammed Burhanuddin was the 52nd Dā'ī al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras. He led the community for 49 years in a period of social, economic, and educational prosperity; strengthened and re-institutionalized the fundamental core of the community's faith; revived its culture, tradition, and heritage. In successfully achieving coexistence of traditional Islamic values and modern Western practices within the community, Burhanuddin completed the work his predecessor Taher Saifuddin had started. Burhanuddin was presented the highest national civilian honors of the states of Egypt and Jordan recognising his revivalism and restoration efforts. He was known in Arab countries as Azamat us-Sultan. Owing to extensive travels for community reach-out, he was the first Dā'ī al-Mutlaq to visit Europe, Australia, and America.
Musta'li Isma'ilism is a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate ninth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other living branch of Ismailism, presently led by Aga Khan IV—believe the ninth caliph was al-Musta'li's elder brother, Nizar.
Taher Saifuddin, also known as Tahir Sayf al-Din, was the 51st and longest serving Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras. Saifuddin adapted the modernisation in Western and European ideas, and established its benefits for the Bohras, whilst still steeped in the traditions and the culture of the community's Fatimid heritage. Saifuddin laid substantial groundwork in terms of philanthropy, education, entrepreneurship, social outreach, political outreach, and community upliftment upon which his successors continued to build, resulting in an unprecedented era of prosperity among the Dawoodi Bohras.
Da'i al-Mutlaq literally meaning 'the absolute, or unrestricted, missionary', is the most senior spiritual rank and office in Tayyibi Isma'ilism. The Da'i al-Mutlaq has headed the Tayyibi community since the seclusion of the 21st Tayyibi Imam, at-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim, traditionally placed in 528 AH/1134 AD.
Tayyibi Isma'ilism is the only surviving sect of the Musta'li branch of Isma'ilism, the other being the extinct Hafizi branch. Followers of Tayyibi Isma'ilism are found in various Bohra communities: Dawoodi, Sulaymani, and Alavi.
Al-Mu'ayyad fid-din Abu Nasr Hibat Allah b. Abi 'Imran Musa b. Da'ud ash-Shirazi was an 11th-century Isma'ili scholar, philosopher-poet, preacher and theologian of Persian origin. He served the Fatimid Caliph-Imām al-Mustansir Billah as a Da'i in varying capacities, eventually attaining the highest rank of Bab al-Abwab "The Gate of Gates" and Da'i al-du'at "Chief Missionary" in the Fatimid Da‘wah. In his theological and philosophical writings he brought the Isma'ili spiritual heritage to its pinnacle.
The Alavi Bohras are a Tayyibi Musta'lavi Isma'ili Shi'i Muslim community from Gujarat, India. In India, during the time of the 18th Fatimid Imam Al-Mustansir Billah around 1093 AD in Egypt, the designated learned people (wulaat) who were sent from Yemen by missionaries (du'aat) under the guidance of the imam established a da'wah in Khambhat.
Idris Imad al-Din ibn al-Hasan al-Qurashi was the 19th Da'i al-Mutlaq of Tayyibi Isma'ilis from 1428 to 1468. A major religious and political leader in 15th-century Yemen, as well as a notable theologian, Idris was also an important medieval Isma'ili historian whose work is fundamental for the history of the Fatimid Caliphate and the Isma'ili communities in Yemen.
Ali Shams al-Din ibn Abdallah was the 18th Tayyibi Isma'ili Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq in Yemen. He succeeded his brother al-Hasan Badr al-Din I in 1418, and held the post until his death in 1428, when he was succeeded by his nephew Idris Imad al-Din.
Syedna Dr. Mufaddal Saifuddin is the spiritual leader, the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of one million Dawoodi Bohras, a subgroup of the Tayyibi, Mustaali, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. He is the second son of the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq, Mohammed Burhanuddin, whom he succeeded in 2014. He is the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia situated in India. He has led a number of cultural, social, and economic initiatives. In Islamic Cairo, he rebuilt shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt and led the restoration of medieval Fatimid architecture, notably Al-Anwar Mosque, Al-Aqmar Mosque, Al-Juyushi Mosque, and Lulua Mosque. In Yemen, he has spearheaded several campaigns to improve socio-economic conditions of the inhabitants of the Haraaz region, introducing sustainable agricultural systems, improving local infrastructure and providing equal access to education for children.
Library of Arabic Literature offers Arabic editions and English translations of significant works of Arabic literature from the seventh to nineteenth centuries. The series' aim is "to revive and reintroduce classic Arabic literature to a whole new generation of Arabs and non-Arabs, and make it more accessible and readable to everyone," as very little of the corpus of Arabic literature from this period is available to an English-speaking audience. The books are edited and translated by distinguished scholars of Arabic and Islam from around the world.
Muḥammad ibn Salāma al-Quḍā'ī was a Shafi'i Sunni judge, preacher and historian in the Fatimid Caliphate of North Africa. He was of Iranian origin.
The 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras, Mohammed Burhanuddin died in January 2014. As per the tenets of the sect each predecessor is required to nominate his successor prior to his death. Following Burhanuddin's death, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin took up the office of Da'i al-Mutlaq, as per the appointment by Mohammed Burhanuddin. Khuzaima Qutubuddin claiming to have been appointed heir 50 years earlier in secrecy, challenged Mufaddal's right to be Dai in the Bombay High Court.
Ja'far us Sadiq Imaduddin or Jafar us Sadiq Mufaddal Saifuddin, is the eldest son of Mufaddal Saifuddin, the current incumbent of the office of the 53rd Dawoodi Bohra Da'i al-Mutlaq, and the grandson of Mohammed Burhanuddin. He is a poet, scholar and one of the four rectors of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah.
Syedna Ismail Badruddin (I) Bin Maulaya Raj was the 34th Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras. He succeeded the 33rd Da'i Feer Khan Shujauddin to the religious post. Syedna Ismail became Da'i al-Mutlaq in 1085AH/1657AD. His period of Dawat was 1065–1085 AH/1657–1676 AD. He is the first Da'i descendant of Moulaya Bharmal.
Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhı̄m al-Nı̄sābūrı̄ or al-Naysābūrı̄ was an Isma'ili scholar from Nishapur, who entered the service of the Fatimid caliphs al-Aziz Billah and al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in Cairo. His life is relatively obscure, and is known chiefly from references in his works. Among them three stand out as highly important for Fatimid and Isma'ili history: the Istitār al-imām, a historical work that offers unique information on the early history of the Isma'ili movement and the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, the Risāla al-mūjaza, which contains an exposition on the qualities and duties of the ideal Isma'ili missionary, and the Ithbāt al-imāma, an influential analysis of Isma'ili conceptions of the imamate, combining rationalist philosophical argument with Islamic theology.
Lamak ibn Mālik al-Ḥammādī was a qadi who was a prominent political and religious figure in 11th-century Yemen, under the Sulayhid dynasty. An Isma'ili Muslim, Lamak was sent to the court of the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate for several years from 1062 to 1067 and served as an embassy representing Sulayhid interests. He was instrumental in making Yemen the center of the Isma'ili da‘wah and also for re-establishing the da‘wah in India after its original extinction there. His visit also helped define the relationship between the Fatimids and the Sulayhids and bring their interests into mutual alignment. When he returned to Yemen, he brought some of the Fatimids' Isma'ili literature with him, which indirectly led to its survival of the Ayyubid destruction of Isma'ili manuscripts after they conquered Egypt.
