Mufaddal Saifuddin

Mufaddal Saifuddin Claimant to the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community[1][2]
Saifuddin (l) with Narendra Modi (r)
Born	(1946-08-20) 20 August 1946 Surat, Gujarat, British Raj
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Dawoodi Taiyabi Mustaali Ismaili Shia
Children	Jafar us Sadiq (b. 1973)
Parent(s)	Mohammed Burhanuddin
Relatives	Khuzaima (half-uncle)

Mufaddal Saifuddin (Arabic: مفضل سيف الدين‎; Abu Jafar-us-Sadiq Mufaddal Saifuddin) is a claimant^[1][2] to the title of 53rd Dā'ī al-Mutlaq (highest spiritual authority) of the Dawoodi Bohra.^[2] The Dawoodi Bohra are a sub group within the Mustaali, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. He is currently the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. ^{[3] [4]}

Biography

Early life

Mufaddal Saifuddin was born on 20 August 1946, on the night of Laylat al-Qadr^[5] in Surat, Gujarat,^[6] and was given the name Aali Qadr Mufaddal (Arabic:عالي قدر مفضل) by his grandfather Syedna Taher Saifuddin.^[7] He was named the Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University on April 11 2015.^[8][9]

Travels

Mufaddal Saifuddin was appointed Amirul Hajj by his father Burhanuddin in 1390 AH (1970 CE). After Hajj, he travelled to Karbala, Shaam, Misr and Yemen. During his trip to Yemen, he laid the foundations for the construction of the 3rd Da'i al-Mutlaq's Syedna Hatim's mausoleum. After that journey Burhanuddin bestowed upon him the religious honorific title Aqeeq-ul-Yemen in 1391 AH/1971 AD.^[7]

During a visit to Udaipur as Rajasthan, India, state guest

On 28 Rabi' al-thani 1435 AH (28 February 2014 CE), the Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid accompanied Saifuddin to Mumbai airport to see him off for his first visit abroad after the passing of his father Burhanuddin in January of that year. Khurshid presented Mufaddal with a letter of good wishes from Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Indian Congress, before departed to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq for a pilgrimage to the shrines of Imam Ali and Imam Husain.^[10]

Later on, in Pakistan, he was received with state protocol and was welcomed at Karachi airport by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.^[11]

The main message that Saifuddin hopes to instill on the community is that of loyalty to wherever people live, to follow the rules and be a good citizen, live in peace and make an honest living.^[12]

Succession controversy

Burhanuddin did not publicly declare any successor as late as 2011 and there were fights between rival factions of Burhanuddin's family over who should inherit control.^[13]

After Burhanuddin suffered a stroke in June 2011 in London, Mufaddal Saifuddin was declared as his successor by Muffadal's brothers.^[14] The Dawoodi Bohra community was reported of the succession by Mufaddal's brothers^[15][16] a group formed in 2013 in support of Burhanuddin's half-brother Khuzaima Qutbuddin, who was Mazoon, serving second under Dai al Mutlaq.^[17]

After the Burhanuddin's death in January 2014, Mufaddal took up his office claiming to be Dai,^[17][18][19] Qutbuddin, claiming to have been appointed heir 50 years earlier in secrecy,^[18][20][21] challenged Mufaddal's right to be Dai in court.^[22] Khuzaima also took the office as the 53rd Dai of Dawoodi Bohras having his primary headquarters in Saify Mahal where Mufaddal also resides and other in Thane, Mumbai.^[23]

The faction of Dawoodi Bohras led by Qaid Johar Ezzuddin the brother of Mufaddal who follow Mufaddal Saifuddin supports Mufaddal Saifuddin as Dai,^[24] and it is alleged that they have excommunicated Qutbuddin and his faction.^[25] However there is no official confirmation from Dawoodi Bohra community on the alleged ex-communication and progressive members have called a banned on this practice citing it as illegal.^[26]

See also

Part of a series on Shīa Islam Isma‘ilism
Concepts Qur'an Ẓāhir Bātin Nūr Pīr Ginans 'Aql ʿIlm Hujja Dā'ī Dawah Taqiyya Numerology Panentheism Reincarnation
Seven Pillars Guardianship Purity Shahada Prayer Charity Fasting Pilgrimage
Musta‘li & Nizari History Shuʿayb Nabi Shu'ayb Druze Seveners Abū-Saʿīd Jannābī Qarmatians Abū-Tāhir Al-Jannābī Fatimid Caliphate Nizari Ismaili state Baghdad Manifesto Nasir Khusraw Arwa al-Sulayhi Zoeb bin Moosa Nizari Mustā‘lī Hafizi Batiniyya Hassan-i Sabbah Assassins Alamut Lambsar Castle Alamut Castle Masyaf Castle Rashid ad-Din Sinan Satpanth Pir Sadardin Böszörmény Aga Khan Jama'at Khana Du'a
Early Imāms Ali Hasan Husayn as-Sajjad al-Baqir Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Mubārak Muhammad ibn Ismāʿīl ash-Shākir ʿAbadu l-Lāh (al-Wāfī Ahmad) Ahmad (al-Taqī Muhammad) Ḥusayn (ar-Raḍī ʿAbdillāh) ʿAbdu l-Lāh al-Mahdī bi l-Lāh al-Qāʾim al-Manṣūr al-Muʿizz al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥākim al-Ẓāhir al-Mustanṣir bi l-Lāh Nizār al-Muṣṭafā li-Dīn’il-Lāh / Aḥmadu l-Mustāʿlī bi l-Lāh Manṣūr al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām’il-Lāh Abu l-Qāsim al-Tayyib
Groups and present leaders Nizari Aga Khan IV Taiyabi Dawoodi Bohra Mufaddal Saifuddin Sulaymani Al-Fakhri Abdullah Alavi Bohra Tayyib Ziyauddin Qutbi Bohra Khuzaima Qutbuddin

• 53rd Syedna succession controversy (Dawoodi Bohra)
• Fatimid
• Da'i al-Mutlaq
• List of Dai of Dawoodi Bohra

References

External links

• Shehzada Mufaddal Bhaisaheb during Ziyaarat of Syedi Hasanpeer Saheb
• Gulf News