I recently returned from a trip to India only to receive the news on 17 January that the religious head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, of which I am a member, had sadly passed away. On receiving the news I immediately booked a flight to return to India that evening to mourn this sad loss along with thousands of other followers of His Holiness Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin who had been our spiritual leader for 50 years.
The Dawoodi Bohra community is known worldwide for its entrepreneurship and the funds from our members enterprises contribute to social good, including philanthropic efforts, building hospitals and schools and renovations and restorations of Islamic and Shi’a Islamic landmarks. We have a very small, tight-knit community made up of approximately one million adherents worldwide.
On Saturday 18 January we bade our farewell to this remarkable man, the island city was shrouded in white and thousands of people from the community took to the streets to pay their last respects. A large procession followed the Syedna to his final resting place, but very sadly our community was then struck by a further tragedy. There was a stampede of mourners trying to catch a final glimpse of our leader resulting in 18 people dying and many more being injured. This was a very sad day for our community.
His Holiness, Dr Syedna Burhanuddin was a world leader who led the Dawoodi Bohra community with sagacity and prescient judgement that commanded great respect. My memories of him stretch back to when I was boy in India and he used to visit us with his father. He was accessible, never aloof. He traversed the globe giving advice, counselling the faithful, ensuring that the community was productively engaged in trade and commerce, and that they were worthy citizens of the countries they lived in. He met many world leaders but treated everyone he met with the same respect.
His finest legacy was that he steered our community away from any form of extremism. He was a disciplinarian, but in a very logical way; firm but fair, he always gave a strong emphasis to education. Both His Holiness and his father before him were very passionate about education, regardless of sex, and we have a reputation for having well educated boys and girls – most of whom have graduated from university.
Like all religions we are evolving as the world around us changes. These can be difficult times and there are pressures on our faith, as on every other faith, to change, modernize, and reform ourselves to cope with contemporary influences.
The success of any following, be it a business, a faith or, dare I say it, a political party, is in having the right leader. His Holiness gave one injunction, in particular, that has allowed his followers to flourish around the globe. He said, wherever you live you must be loyal to that country. There must be no attempt to subvert the religion, education, laws or behaviour of the host nation; there is no rule that says you must convert everyone you meet to Islam.
His Holiness spent his entire life preaching peace, brotherhood and dignity for mankind and our community was blessed to have such a wonderful leader.
Yes very truly said sir, we have lost burhanuddin moula r.a.but we will never lost his teachings and his guidance and his love for all of us we will never forget him in our life we are very very sure that he is still looking at us with love in form of our aqa moula t.u.s syedna mufaddal saifuddin.
Long live syedna mufaddal saifuddin maula(T.U S)Khuda ali qaddar maula ni umr shareef daraaz ane daraaz karjo
Ameen
AqaMoula will shall and forever be in our hearts .He is more than my own biological parents.For me life came for me at a standstill but then he gave me the courage to stand that life has to go on and I am there for u .dont worry.
Sir Gulam Noon is married to a hindu woman and both of his daughters are married to hindu men !
Very nice article n very true no doubt.
Sir we were born to be common humans but it was Burhanuddin Maula R.A. who gave us our identity due to this uniqueness we are respected in every corner of this world and Mufaddal Maula T.U.S. continues this trend of converting a common man to a unique individual may Allah grant our Maula a long long life Amin
17 Jan 2014 , we lost our world, on this sad news we as the whole Dawoodi Bohra had lost their senses , till today we couldn’t come out of this tragic shock, We see Our beloved Sayedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ( ra ) in our 53 Dai Sayedna Muffadal Saifuddin ( TUS ) .
Very true and nicely expressed.
Ae burhanuddin na jani ghanu jiwo ghanu jiwo…..long live mola
Very well said.
Yes sir its true n very nice articale. We will never forget our beloved aqa mola burhanuddin (r a) and pray long live syenda mufaddal saifuddin (t u s )
Very true Mr. Lord, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA had always preached humanity and upbringing. We have lost our beloved father and mother.
Very True Sir & well said
Very nice & very true article
Sir very truly said and lost for one star for our universe
The turmoil that every heart feels over this loss is un-expressable. However, as soon as we see his successor, his son Seyedna Mufaddal Seifuddin we feel that sense of peace and safety. May our community continue to blossom in his leadership and may we prosper under his guidance just like we have in the past 50 years. Lord Noon, your article has evoked warm feelings of rememberance and made us count the many things that His Holiness has done for our community and mankind in general. Very well written.
Yes very true we lost our moulaRA
I am glad to read this article. It was indeed a very sad and grievous day. But Allah The Merciful gave his condolences in the form of Syedna Abu Jafarus Sadik Mufaddal Saifuddin Saheb TUS. May Allah Bless All.
Sir thanks for a true article
Though not between us.but stiLL with us..we in grief.only still believe that our beloved moula is still with us;showering his DOA and SHAFAQAT .and when our hearts pain and eyes full of tears .we just convince our hearts by saying;Ae Burhanedeen MOula..we r just missing ur body..but u are always in Our hearts..and will remain till our last breath.. And your replica is always there amongst us.MOULA mufaddal saifeddeen with his same blessings upon us..bcoz..ANGEL’S NEVER DIE…
Very true v true sir,
V r missin really v much 2 our belovd father.
Wonderful nd so true…will miss our beloved moula but dn we r blessed with His blessings as our Moula Syedna Mufaadal aqa..TUS…
Yes very true and very well written . We will miss our beloved father for now and many many generations to come.
Holiness Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin
Thanks to lord Noon for communicating that information about his life and….. religious loves!
I shall look up the relevant facts for my own further pleasure, since I am currently studying the Shia faith, in particular, in honor of a Fiver friend deceased 18 months ago. I am particularly interested in the Fivers/Seveners/and Twelvers who are probably very distant indeed from the home country of Lord Noon!
I have been wondering how many Muslims there are now in the “second chamber”?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimah
He believed he was descended from Fatimah step daughter of Mohammud, so we had a lot in common chronologically since my own forebears are recorded to a mere hundred or so years later than that of Mohammud, and of course Abrahamically to Noah.
The common Abrahamic legacy of the Angels particularly Gabriel , but Michael and Raphael as well, is fascinating but the fact that the mother of Christ is the ONLY woman mentioned in the Quran and has the longest book to herself, the Maryad, should allow extensive dialogue between Christians and Muslims in the UK to flourish gloriously……… but does it?
I regret that Mary only gave birth under an olive tree,(true or otherwise) since I rather enjoy the Myth (true or otherwise) of the Stable, after all these years!!!!! We do frequently see Olive trees back cloths in the pageants of that season
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawoodi_Bohras
Very interesting but the Yemeni branch seems to be split from the Dawoodi Bohras, the Zaeds.
Both the wikipedia entry for the Dawoodis and the late spiritual leader have what are described as “multiple issues”. I wonder whether any of the above grieving gentlemen can log on to wik to put those multiple issues right??
I appreciate the post of the noble Lord Noon; very timely.
“His finest legacy was that he steered our community away from any form of extremism.”
Which may distinguish your sect from that of the Yemenis, whom you left behind, who are not averse to Martyrization, like the missionary Christians. Always fit in ,but know your roots!
52!
Lord Noon,
Clearly it is true that you have lost a leader you admire. One cannot help but admire his desire for a program of education for girls especially when compared to the very influential forces personified by the Al Qaeda and Taliban and extreme Wahabist voices of Islam. I myself (since the September 11, 2001 attacks and more so since the election of President Barack Hussein Obama) have argued for more wariness and defense by my compatriots against the long incursions of Islam against Christians and their wars on other religions as well. I am not likely to change. But I respect the achievements of Islamic culture and peoples and always have.
I often wonder what would have been the situation in Asia if India had a true mixed government. The House of Princes or Maharajas would be divided between Hindu, Muslim and royals of other religions but mostly those two. I wonder, in such an India, if Catholic bishops most rooted in the Disciples of St. Thomas would have seat or not and whether if such a transition had occurred there would be some Christian Anglo-Indian Anglicans from the Viceregal era. Yet none of the spiritual and aristocratic achievements of India have such constitutional protection so we never will know.
I wonder if sitting in a palace near an ancient Abbey you reflect on the persecution of Christians by Muslims in ancient homelands such as Egypt. I must say that having your leader’s Mosque in Cairo to compete with Wahabists and others is probably good from my point of view. But I wonder would anyone who attends it ever defend a Coptic church from torch-bearing mob? I mean for conscience alone and not if paid to do so in ordinary duties.
The achievement of Tony Blair which I respect most is the Northern Ireland Peace Process as imperfect as it may be. He opened up the Lords more than some might think right in terms of numbers of new as opposed to old type members. But in recognition of that what hard work of peace would these new members seek out in a world awash in grievances.
My condolences to your community. He seems an extraordinary man in many ways,
Dear Noonbhai,
Excellant Blog,Educating and inspiring in the right direction.
We are sure & Hope and Pray that Syedna Mufaddal Sifuddin TUS
leads us prospectively & progressively forward to integrate
and be in front in the new age of Technology.
Sir, you have rightly mentioned that, “he always gave a strong emphasis to education. Both His Holiness and his father before him were very passionate about education, regardless of sex, and we have a reputation for having well educated boys and girls – most of whom have graduated from university”. However, his son, Sh. Mufaddal Saifuddin, who claims to be his successor, does not have the same views. He has repeatedly said in his sermons that women should not go to universities and should not work outside of their homes. He also has very strong(extreme) views on the right kind of ‘hijab’. He asked men to throw their wives out of their homes if they did not wear a ‘non-fashion rida'(hijab)! As a true follower of HH Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (RA), it deeply troubles me to hear his son take such an extreme stance! Sir, my question to you is, would you continue to support his son, Sh. Mufaddal Saifuddin claiming to be his successor and your ‘Moula’, or do you think that the late Syedna’s brother and deputy of last 50 years, Syedi Khuzaima Kutbuddin (also claiming to be his successor), is the rightful successor of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin(RA)? Here is a link to the videos (with English subtitles) of the sermons of Mufaddal Saifuddin where he expresses his views on the above mentioned topics. Please do view them…http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCca7pWJSRHDrrvfQsuHdrYQ
Sir, I read your article in Indo Gulf Times about our community, it was very well written and felt so proud reading it. Excellent Article.
http://dawoodi-bohras.com/news/2037/52/The-legacy-of-Sayedna-Mohammed-Burhanuddin/d,pdb_detail_article_comment/
I would disgaree on few things from above , since last decade , education has not been primary focus in this sect and lot of authotarian rules had set in the community , it is heading towrds belonging to club of riches , There are many bohras in india who are in very poor state and lot of corruption in the community management and now after syedna his son is well known for depriving woman from education and asking women of bohras to sit at home and make rotis (indian bread) and discourage them from working .There is lot of pressure tactics on ordinary bohras to follow and worship the new leader . Taliban style.
I too a am a member of this community, but sadly my memories of mr. Burhanuddin are of a leader who cause pain and grief in my family by his harsh policy of ex- communication. Thanks to him, we were cut off from our extended family of uncles and aunts and de barrels from the mosque. So we were also cut off from the community. We wer not the only family that was treated such.
Mr. Burhanuddin amasses vast wealth in his time, this legacy is carried on with his children and grandchildren. They live in palatial luxuries in the most expensive part of Mumbai. All this wa gathered by demanding money from poor community members.
I have no doubt mr. Noon memories are accurate. But then his place in society would have afforded different treatment.