Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

“In case, a poor expires, all of you must join his funeral. There is fairest reward to walk a step in funeral of the brethren-in-faith.”
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah (Zanzibar, 16th September, 1899)

FUNERAL RITES IN THE ISMAILIS
By Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali
mumtaztajddin@yahoo.com

WHAT IS DEATH ?

The famous Pond of Ghadir al-Khumm, located in a valley between Mecca and Medina, is the place Allah had chosen to convey His last message to humanity. It is therefore the place where the Prophet Muhammad had completed his mission in March 632 as stipulated in the Qur'an suras 5:67 and 3:30. The reader will find in this volume the detailed farman that our Prophet had made at Ghadir al-Khumm as narrated by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah His Highness the Aga Khan III as well as the explanations found in other farmans.

GIRBHAVALI BY PIR SADRUDDIN
(TRANSLITERATION, TRANSLATION & EXPLANATION)
By: Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali
mumtaztajddin@yahoo.com
The word girbhavali has two letters, garbh (uterus) and vaali (vaanni) means narratives of the uterus or embryology, relating to gestation, uterus, fetus etc. In other words, it is a science of development of an embryo from fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage.

Haji Bibi Case

THE BOMBAY LAW REPORTER

ORIGINAL CIVIL.

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Before Mr. Justice Russell

HAJI BIBI

v.

H.H. SIR SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH,

THE AGA KHAN *

Witness No. 3, Nathu Virji, is neither Shia Ismaili nor Shia Ashnashri. He cannot say what sort of a Shia Khoja he is. He does not understand what is meant by Shia Ismailis nor Shia Ashnashris. But he believes only in the 12 Imams. He also says that the Bibis of the Mursheds are regarded only as their Bibis. He has never heard the Doowa in which the names of the 48 Imams are recited. He admits that the Khojas of Cutch do not regard Coochick as Dharamguru, as they regard the present Aga Khan, and he says as follows:- "The present Aga Khan is on the gadi.

I find on the issues as follows, and I direct that the issues and my findings thereon be mentioned in the decree, as I am assured that this is a convenient course to adopt:-

1. Whether the offerings and presents received by the first Aga Khan and each of his ancestors since A.D. 1770 and earlier from the Khojas in Bombay and elsewhere and also from Ismaili Shias or the investments now representing the same form part of the entire estate of the first Aga Khan's own family as alleged in para 2 of the plaint?

No.

THE AGA KHAN HEALTH SERVICES

Background Information

INTRODUCTION

Our Holy Ginans are full of details about evolution. Following are some points written by Alwaez Abualy Alibhai Aziz.

EVOLUTION

The Shah Faisal Mosque was completed in 1986 at a cost of approximately US $120 million. It was built
through the support of King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, and is named in his honour. It is one of
the largest mosques in South Asia, and has been host to dignitaries from around the world; many local people
from Islamabad also identify closely with the mosque and can be seen in the prayer hall and courtyards.

THE ISMAILI SECT

On the death of Prophet Mohammed in A.D. 632 his followers split into two groups, the Sunnis, who comprise the vast majority of Muslims, and the Shias. The point of issue was the devolution of the authority of the Prophet upon his death.

“Nothing will make me happier than to know that you are regular in attendance in Jamatkhana, and nothing will hurt me more than to know that you are irregular in attendance. I want to make this very clear indeed. This is for all my spiritual children all over the world.”

Mawlana Hazar Imam: Bombay, 8th November, 1967

“Al-Hamduli’llah, it is now tranquility in present age. You also become alike, not to relinquish religion. Let the body be immolated, but don’t abjure religion. Do not detach faith at the cost of the heads. Your eyes, tongues, hands must deem pure. There must be truth, truth and truth. The human having such qualities certainly figures an angel.” – Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, 16th Sept., 1899

The Muslims were religiously and politically fragmented during the mid-tenth and eleventh centuries. However, these conditions witnessed profound changes when the Seljuks came onto the scene. The emergence of the Seljuks as the new ruling elite was often called the period of Sunni revival. Sunni Islam became a leading player again after it overthrew the Buyyid Shi’i dynasty in Baghdad and parts of Iran. Moreover, they sponsored Sunni religious institutions and religious scholars until it reached extraordinary heights.

IT HAS LONG BEEN recognised in the scholarship on Islamisation that Muslim governors and administrators in Iran and Central Asia under the early caliphate, with few exceptions, displayed little interest in instigating mass conversion to Islam.

The impediment, which belonged to the inner nature of the preaching of Islam was connected with its conservatism of forms. When the preaching started amongst the heathen Arabs, it was easy indeed to demand that they would learn the new forms of worship and accept the new scriptures in the Arabic language. Perhaps it was not so difficult in the case of Semitic peoples who lived in close touch with the Arabs.