Abde Ali Saifuddin

Syedna Moulana Abdeali Saifuddin^[1][2] was the 43rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra. He was the son of 41st Da'i al-Mutlaq Syedna Abduttayyeb Zakiuddin and the brother of the 42nd Da'i al-Mutlaq Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin. He was a Dai, scholar and poet and one of the most venerated Dawoodi Bohra Dai's.

Life

He was born on 12 Safar 1189 Hijri, succeeded the 42nd Da'i al-Mutlaq on 18 Jumada al-Thani 1213 Hijri, died on 12 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1232 Hijri^[3] and is buried in al-Qubbah al-Najmiyah in Surat. He was only twelve when his father died. He was then brought up by his eleven- years elder brother Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin in Surat. Syedna Najmuddin himself was a great scholar. He trained and educated Abde Ali Saifuddin in the tradition and learning that was the treasured inheritance of the Fatimid-Ismaili community.

Legacy

• He Build the educational institute Al-Dars-al-Saifee in 1224 Hijri^[4] (later renamed Al Jamea tus Saifiyah by Syedna Taher Saifuddin).^[5][6]
• He built the al-Masjid al-Moazzam in Surat in 1219 Hijri,^[4] which was later renovated by Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in 1418 Hijri.^[7][6]
• During the Indian famines of 1813^[8] (1228 Hijri), 12,000 Dawoodi Bohras traveled to Surat where he housed, fed, maintained and uplifted them at his own expense.^[6]
• He made an important contribution to the development of Arabic in South Asia by developing a methodology which enabled students to quickly become proficient in Arabic.^[9] He was referred to by is contemporaries as al-Moiyed al-Asghar (the second Moiyed) after the famous Isma'ili scholar and poet Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi.^[4]
• His major contributions consist of systemizing the machinery of the Da'wah, including formalizing the cirriculum and setting out the rules and regulations of the Dawoodi Bohra teachings.^[4]

Works

His Diwan of poetry, compiled by his student Abdeali Imaduddin, comprises over 500 poems in Arabic and is an integral part of the curriculum at Al Jamea tus Saifiyah. His also composed the famous work "Ilm na moti jaro" (Arabic: علم نا موتي جرو)^[10] in Lisan al-Dawat which is memorized by every single Dawoodi Bohra member.

He penned a series of epistles known as the al-Rasail al-Saifiyah. Isma'il books such as Muntaza' al-Akhbar^[11] and Kitab al-Najah were written under his directives.

References

• (A Chronological List of Duatil Mutlaqin)