Syedna Taher Saifuddin (4 August 1888 – 12 November 1965), also known as Taher Saifuddin, 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.
Early life Taher Saifuddin was born to Mohammed Burhanuddin I and Amatullah Aaisaheba on 4 August 1888 in Surat, British India (present day the state of Gujarat).
Da'i al-Mutlaq
Saifuddin became the 51st al-Dāʿī al-Mutlaq in the year 1915 at the age of 28.
During his reign, he rebuilt and repaired many monuments of the Fatimid Imams, al-Dāʿī al-Mutlaq, and other structures, and artifacts.
Education Saifuddin was instrumental in setting up over 350 co-ed institutes, some of which bear his name, including but not limited to: Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah in Surat, Saifee Hall in Calcutta, Saifiyah Girls School in Karachi, Saifi High in Mumbai, Saifee Nursery at Saifee Mahal in Mumbai, Saifee Eide Zahabi College in Karachi, Saifee Golden Jubilee Quaderia College in Burhanpur, Saifee Jubilee Arts and Commerce College in Sidhpur. Mohammed Burhanuddin later organized the schools under the banner of MSB Educational Institute (also known as Al Madrasa Tus Saifiya Tul Burhaniyah), which are affiliated with Indian Certificate of Secondary Education and, as of 2011, has branches in 22 cities across India, Pakistan, East Africa, and the Middle East. Burhanuddin organized the numerous religious schools world-wide known as Madrasas under the purview of the department of Attalim.
Saifuddin was appointed the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University for four consecutive terms, starting in 1953. Under Saifuddin's chancellorship, Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India, laid the foundation of Asia's largest library, the Maulana Azad Library, at AMU.
Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah
Saifuddin from his own personal wealth renovated Dars-e Saifee, an institution of Islamic studies, founded by his predecessor Abdeali Saifuddin in Surat, transformed it in to a university by introducing secular courses and establishing affiliations with international educational bodies, and consequently renamed it Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah ().
Keeping in line with tradition of his predecessor, Ismail Badr al-Din I, the talabat al-ilm () of the institution were provided with lodging and meals at full cost to the office of Dai al-Mutlaq. To further inclusion and expansion, Saifuddin admitted to Aljamea its first female students. As is tradition, in his capacity as Dai al-Mutlaq, Saifuddin personally taught select classes at the newly renovated Academy. Saifuddin brought about a structural and functional change at Aljamea: He personally oversaw the standardization of the syllabus of each class and wrote numerous memoranda and treatises which were instilled into the curriculum. To this day, the treatises written by Saifuddin and his successors, Mohammed Burhanuddin and Mufaddal Saifuddin, are taught through the year and are central subjects of al-Imtihan al-Sanawi (), among other religious and secular subjects.
After succeeding his father, Burhanuddin significantly expanded the reach of Aljamea: He added Mahad al-Zahra, an institute of Quranic studies , re-renovated the Surat campus , established campuses at Karachi , Nairobi , and Mumbai . Aljamea and its graduates have since become integral to spiritual and temporal aspects of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
Community service
Syedna Saifuddin founded Bunaiyat-tul-Eidiz-Zahabi, a volunteer-run organisation of Dawoodi Bohra Women, in the 1950s which set a precedent that led to formation of Burhani Women's Association by his son Burhanuddin; Happy Threads and Supermums by Mufaddal Saifuddin's daughter Umme Haani in , and The Radiant Arts by Mufaddal Saifuddin's daughter-in-law Zaenab Imaduddin.
In a similar vein, Saifuddin established an organisation of Dawoodi Bohra men, Shabab ul-Eid iz-Zahabi, during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of his 50 years in the office of Dai al-Mutlaq, exclusively for community service. Mohammed Burhanuddin would later found the Burhani Guards (for crowd-control at miqaats ), Tolaba ul-Kulliyat il-Mumenoon (of college and school students), Burhani Medical Idara (of medical professionals), Saifee Ambulance in India, and Burhani Ambulance in Pakistan (of paramedics and first responders). Mufaddal Saifuddin, on his first visit to North America, established Saifee Burhani Medical Association (America), on 14 March 2015.
Rasm-e Saifee
To subsidize costs and facilitate marriages among the close knit Dawoodi Bohra, Saifuddin initiated Rasm-e Saifee () in Jamnagar and later institutionalised it . Rasm-e Saifee is a singular occasion when multiple Nikah are solemnized at the hands of the Da'i al-Mutlaq and his representatives. Burhanuddin further organized it under International Taiyseer al-Nikah Committee (ITNC) (), which organizes Rasm-e Saifee throughout the year at various miqaats (). Burhanuddin's successor, Mufaddal Saifuddin, continues to uphold the tradition.
Contributions to Islamic Institutions
Saifuddin contributed vast sums of money towards the refurbishment of mosques and shrines. He along with the Nizam of Hyderabad were among the few Indian Muslims to contribute towards the renovation of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem:
Sultan Taher Saif al-Din is said to have come from India with one hundred and fifty of his followers...At the Jerusalem station he was welcomed by the Mufti and other Sheikhs of the Supreme Moslem Council and a number of Arab notables including Ragheb Bey Nashashibi. A troop of Arab boy scouts paraded in his honour and there were two bands from Moslem institutions...The sultan was reputed to be a man of great wealth who had made substantial contributions to the religious and political funds of the Arabs of this country.
Saifuddin also gifted the internal curtains which were kept in the Kaaba for decades to King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia in 1354AH, with whom he kept warm relations.
Saifuddin constructed Ghurrat-ul Masajid (), also known as Saifee Masjid, in Mumbai, Al-Mahal al-Saifee () for pilgrims in Mecca, the zarih of Ali Ibn Abi Talib in Najaf and Husayn ibn Ali in Karbala and Cairo, the mausoleum of Qutub Khan Qutub al-Din and Fakhr al-Din Shaheed. He also made and donated the kiswah for the Masjid al-Haram.
The Chandabhoy Galla Case
Ashara Mubaraka +List of cities Saifuddin presided over for Ashara as Dai al-Mutlaq CEAHCityProvinceCountry19151334SuratBombay Presidency (British Raj)19161335191713361918133719191338SiddhpurBaroda State19201339MumbaiBombay Presidency19211340SiddhpurBaroda State19221341MumbaiBombay Presidency19231342KarachiSind Division, Bombay Presidency19241343Surat / MumbaiBombay Presidency19251344Mumbai / Kapadvanj19261345Mumbai19271346Surat19281347Mumbai19291348KarachiSind Division, Bombay Presidency19301349MumbaiBombay Presidency19311350193213511933135219341353KarachiSind Division, Bombay Presidency19351354SuratBombay Presidency19361355UdaipurUdaipur State, Rajputana Agency19371356MedinaHejaz Province19381357KapadvanjBombay Presidency (British Raj)19391358Devlali19401359Khambat (Cambay)19411360ColomboWestern Province (British Ceylon)19421361SuratBombay Presidency (British Raj)19431362Dahod1943 / 19441363Mumbai19441364JhalrapatanJhalawar State, Rajputana Agency19451365SiddhpurBaroda State19461366RampuraIndore State, Central India Agency19471367MumbaiBombay Province (Dominion of India)1948136819491369SuratBombay State19501370Mumbai1951137119521372KarachiFederal Capital Territory(Dominion of Pakistan)19531373Kolkata, (Calcutta)West Bengal19541374UdaipurRajasthan19551375KarachiFederal Capital Territory(Dominion of Pakistan)19561376SiddhpurBombay State19571377Mumbai1958137819591379KarachiFederal Capital Territory19601380MumbaiMaharashtra1961138119621382KarachiWest Pakistan19631383SiddhpurGujarat19641384MumbaiMahrastra19651385KarachiWest Pakistan
Family
Saifuddin married Husaina Aaisaheba, who was also from the family of the Du'at Mutlaqeen. After her death, he then married Vazira Aaisaheba, Fatima Aaisaheba, and Amina Aaisaheba.
Saifuddin had 12 sons and 8 daughters: His sons were Mohammed Burhanuddin, Husain Husamuddin, Abdut Taiyeb Zakiyuddin, Yusuf Najmuddin, Ismail Shehabuddin, Hatim Hamiduddin, Qasim Hakimuddin, Aliasgar Kalimuddin, Shabbir Nooruddin, Abbas Fakhruddin, Mohammed al-Baqir Jamaluddin, and Khuzaima Qutbuddin. His daughters were Asma, Maryam, Khadijah, Zahra, Shireen, Banu, Fatema, and Zainab.
Saifuddin descends from the family of the early leaders of the Fatimid mission in India, Fakhr al-Din and Abd al-Qadir Hakim al-Din.
Works Rasāʾil Ramaḍāniyya (Epistles) Saifuddin's Risalah () are peculiarly titled gematrically equivalent to the Hijri year of its publication.
+ ID Title Title (Romanticized) (AH) (AH) (CE)AH STS 01ضوء نور الحق المبينḌawʾ nūr al-ḥaqq al-mubīn1335STS 02ثمرات علوم الهدىṮamarāt ʿulūm al-hudā1337STS 03زهر رياض الازليةZahr al-riyāḍ al-azaliyya1338STS 04درر البشارت Durar al-bišārāt1339AH STS 05المشرب الكوثري Al-Mašrab al-kawṯarī1340STS 06درر الهدى المضيئةDurar al-hudā al-muḍīʾa1341STS 07روض عالم القدسRawḍ ʿālam al-quds1342STS 08غرفة جنة Ġurfat ǧanna1343STS 09غرة الحقĠurrat al-ḥaqq1344STS 10ثمار جنات عدن طيبة Ṯimār ǧannāt ʿadnin ṭayyiba1345STS 11قطف شجرة خلديةQaṭf šaǧara ḫuldiyya1346STS 12زبدة برهان الصدق الواضح Zubdat burhān al-ṣidq al-wāḍiḥ1347STS 13صبغ نور Ṣibġ nūr1348STS 14غرس الجنةĠars al-ǧanna1349AH STS 15درر اسرار اْل الكرارDurar asrār āl al-Karrār1350STS 16نور روض الجنة Nūr rawḍ al-ǧanna1351STS 17بحر فضل كبيرBaḥr faḍl kabīr1352STS 18مسرات الفتح المبينMasarrat al-fatḥ al-mubīn1353STS 19الباب حظيرة القدسAl-Bāb ḥaẓīrat al-quds1354STS 20كرامة العقول الوضية Karāmat al-ʿuqūl al-waḍiyya1355STS 21صفحات عرفات المعارف Ṣafḥat ʿarafāt al-maʿārif1356STS 22انهار رياض الجنة Anhār riyāḍ al-ǧanna1357STS 23سحب بركات الخلد Suḥub barakāt al-ḫuld1358STS 24ذات البركة Ḏāt al-baraka1359AH STS 25كوثر الخلدKawṯar ḫuld1360STS 26روضة فردوس Rawḍat firdaws1361STS 27دلو غدير حق Dalw Ġadīr ḥaqq1362STS 28مشربة تسنيم نور Mašrabat tasnīm nūr1363STS 29سلسبيل حكم غدق Salsabīl ḥikam ġadaq1364STS 30سرر رشد مرفوعة Surar rušd Marfūʿa1365STS 31صور حوض مورود Ṣuwar ḥawḍ mawrūd1366STS 32تكبير سكينة فتح مبين Takbīr sakīnat fatḥ mubīn1367STS 33فلسفة فوز عظيم Falsafat fawz ʿaẓīm1368STS 34تذكرة لبيبTaḏkirat labīb1369AH STS 35سلسلة نعمة عظمى 1370STS 36نعم الصبغة الالهية 1371STS 37خزائن امام المتقين1372STS 38مفاتيح ياقوتة الحمراء 1373STS 39نهر النور الشعشعاني 1374STS 40بلاغ الدعاة الفاطميين 1375STS 41اشعة الفيض الازلي 1376STS 42امثال سدرة المنتهى Amṯāl sidrat al-muntahā13771958STS 43روضة دار السلام Rawḍat dār al-Salām137814302009STS 44توحيد الملة البيضاءTawḥīd al-Millah al-Bayḍāʾ137914312010AH STS 45بركات اصحاب التطهيرBarakāt Aṣḥāb al-Taṭhīr138014322011STS 46كمال النعم السابغةKamāl al-Aiʿam al-Sābiġa138114332012STS 47تسبيح ذهب القدسTasbīḥ ḏahab al-Quds138214342013STS 48شموس بركات الربانيينShumūs Barakāt al-Rabbāniyīn138314352015STS 49انهار فيوض الفاطميينAnhār Fūyūz al-Fātimiyyīn138414362016
Recognition Saifuddin was conferred Doctor of Theology by Aligarh Muslim University on 15 April 1946, and later accepted the chancellorship for which he was elected to for four consecutive terms.
Saifuddin was among the first to be conferred Doctor of Laws by Karachi University .
Saifuddin was voted among 100 Greatest Indian Muslims of the Twentieth Century in an opinion poll run by Milli Gazette.
Death