The Absolute Missionary

The 52nd Dai al-Multaq of the Dawoodi Bohras, Mohammad Burhanuddin, was born today in 1915. He would be known for his lifelong charitable activities

Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin; Source: Public Domain

In the Ismaili sect of Islam, Dai is one of the ultimate spiritual ranks, literally translating to ‘the Absolute Missionary’. Having the same religious authority as the imam, in his absence, the Dais’ are present in nearly all of the Ismaili sects - The Dawoodi Bohras, the Alavi Bohras, the Sulaymanis et cetera.

Of these, the Dawoodi Bohras are by far the largest group of Ismailis, primarily concentrated in the region of India. Believing in the principles of Shi’a Islam, their community is also organised around the Dai, one of whom is the topic of discussion today. Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Dai al-Multaq of the Dawoodi Bohras, was born on the 6th of March, 1915. Born in Surat, Gujarat, in what was then British India, his early life would be occupied with religious education - for his father, Taher Saifuddin, was the incumbent 51st Dai of the sect.

He was designated to be Dai at the age of 19, and his education intensified. Over the decades, he established himself as a learned authority, gradually filling his father’s shoes, till his death in 1965, when Burhanuddin would be appointed Dai. After a 40 day mourning period, he would get to work.

Managing a religious community was not to be an easy task, in any way. Continuing his father’s legacy, he too issued the dress code to the Bohras - a topi and kurta for men, and a rida for women. He would also be involved in restoring the Al-Hakim mosque in Cairo extensively, opening its refurbished version by 1980. In the 1990s, the same treatment would be given to the Mosque of Kufa in Iraq under his name and patronage. In the field of education, he would expand the Al Jamea tus Saifiyah, an Arabic university, to a new campus in Karachi and Nairobi; he also held the position of the chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University.

His teachings would include the absolute insistence on not charging interest on usury, opening community kitchens, hospital establishments in India, developing the Libas al-Anwar (radiant clothes) while at the same time, promoting national patriotism wherever his followers lived. His work in the upliftment of his community would earn him national honours from Egypt, Jordan, and India.