Taher Saifuddin
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Syedna Taher Saifuddin R.A. 51st Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra |
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| Born |
4 August 1888 Surat, British Raj |
| Died | 12 November 1965 (aged 77) Matheran, India |
| Resting place | Raudat Tahera, Mumbai |
| Organization | Chancellor, Aligarh (1953-65) |
| Style | His Holiness |
| Term | 1915–1965 |
| Predecessor | Abdullah Badruddin |
| Successor | Mohammed Burhanuddin |
| Spouse(s) | Aaisaheba Husaina |
| Children | Mohammed (b. 1915) Khuzaima (b. 1940) |
| Parent(s) |
Mohammad Burhanuddin Aaisaheba Amatullah |
Syedna Taher Saifuddin (سيدنا طاهر سيف الين, 4 August 1888 – 12 November 1965) was the 51st Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras, a sect within Shia Islam. He was the son of the 49th Da'i al-Mutlaq Mohammed Burhanuddin, whose family lineage can be traced back to Syedi Fakhruddin Shaheed.
During his reign, Taher Saifuddin RA grew ever more interested in Western and modern ideas, and over the course of it, he established a far-reaching modernisation of the Bohra community. This sets him apart from both his predecessor and his son and successor, both of whom have pursued policies of Islamization and a strong focus on tradition rather than modernization.
Saifuddin was born to Mohammed Burhanuddin and Aaisaheba Amatullah Aaisaheba on 4 August 1888 in Surat, British Raj (now in the Indian state of Gujarat).
Saifuddin became the 51st Da'i al-Mutlaq in the year 1915. He rebuilt or repaired many monuments of Fatemi Imams, Da'i al-Mutlaq and other prominent structures and artifacts.
He was the Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University for four consecutive terms. He was made honorary chancellor of this university, which had only few Bohra students, in 1953, after a series of "strategic donations" that bought him much goodwill in Congress circles, having earlier been accused of supporting the Muslim League before the independence in 1947. He also visited Karachi Pakistan to bless Dawoodi Bohra there.
Sultan Saifuddin contributed vast sums of money to 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 Tahir 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. Sultan 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.
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Wikipedia