Dispute over Dawoodi Bohras’ Dai, or religious leader: What is the case in Bombay HC (2024)
The Bombay High Court will again this week hear the dispute between the current leader of the Dawoodi Bohra sect and his challenger to the post. Hearings in the case, going on for over eight years, could conclude next month.
The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination among Shia Muslims. Traditionally a community of traders and entrepreneurs, it has over 5 lakh members in India and over 10 lakh members across the world. The top religious leader of the community is known as the Dai-al-Mutlaq.
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In 2014, the 52nd Dai-al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin, passed away, and his son, Mufaddal Saifuddin, succeeded him. This was challenged by the late Syedna’s half-brother, Khuzaima Qutbuddin, in the Bombay HC. Justice Gautam S Patel has been hearing the suit for its final disposal since November last year.
How is the leader picked?
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As per faith and Dawoodi Bohra doctrine, a successor is appointed through “divine inspiration”. A “nass” (conferment of succession) can be conferred upon any deserving member of the community and not necessarily a family member of the current Dai, although the latter is often the practice.
Qutbuddin had in April 2014 filed a suit asking the High Court to restrain the late Syedna’s son from acting as the Dai-al-Mutlaq. He also sought entry to Saifi Manzil, the house of the Syedna in Mumbai, alleging that Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin had taken over the leadership role in a “fraudulent manner”.
Qutbuddin claimed that after Burhanuddin became the new Dai-al-Mutlaq, taking over from his father Syedna Taher Saifuddin in 1965, he had publicly appointed his half-brother as the mazoon (second in command) and privately anointed him as his successor through a secret nass, prior to the mazoon announcement on December 10, 1965.
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Syedna Qutbuddin stated that in the public appointment, the persons of “higher spiritual learning present” understood that along with the title of maazoon, he was also given the title of mansoos (successor), though the latter was not conveyed in as many words. Burhanuddin asked him to keep the private nass a secret, Qutbuddin claimed. He maintained that he had abided by the oath of secrecy given to him by the 52nd Dai till his death.
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Senior advocate Anand Desai argued that as the Dai is “infallible” and as the Dai appoints a successor based on “divine inspiration of the Imam in seclusion”, the ‘nass’ or appointment of successor cannot be changed and revoked.
Qutbuddin died in 2016 in the USA. Since then, his son, Syedna Taher Fakhruddin is the plaintiff and is now seeking declaration as the leader by the High Court. Fakhruddin has claimed his father conferred the nass upon him and thus he should be declared the Dai.
What has Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin claimed?
Defendant Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin made submissions through senior advocates Iqbal Chagla, Janak Dwarkadas and Fredun Devitre.
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The lawyers argued that the nass of 1965 lacked witnesses and could not be accepted. They argued that as per established and prevalent doctrines of the Dawoodi Bohra faith, nass could be changed and revoked.
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The senior advocates told the bench that on June 4, 2011, the 52nd Dai had conferred nass on Syedna Saifuddin in the presence of witnesses at the Bupa Cromwell hospital in London, where he was admitted after suffering a stroke.
Thirteen witnesses deposed on behalf of the defendant, which included the doctors who treated the 52nd Dai, son and grandson of the deceased Dai, and others with expertise in the Dawoodi Bohra doctrine, along with the rector of the community library.
The witnesses presented documents to show that the 52nd Dai, in the year 1969, had made his intention of appointing his son (defendant) as his successor and had informed close and senior members of the community about the same and the conferment was reiterated in 2005 in secret and reaffirmed publicly in June 2011.
The senior lawyers representing the defendant questioned the silence maintained by Syedna Qutbuddin about his claim to the post of Dai between 2011 and 2014, and said he only made the claim after the Dai’s demise as an “afterthought.”
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The defendant also contended that even if nass had been conferred on the original plaintiff in 1965, as per the doctrinal belief of the community, only the last nass would be valid.
What is the dispute? In January 2014, Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin , the 52nd leader of the Dawoodi Bohras, died. His son, Mufaddal Saifuddin, succeeded him becoming the 53rd Dai-al-Mutlaq. However, Khuzaima Qutbuddin
Khuzaima Qutbuddin
Abu Taher Khuzaima Qutbuddin (5 June 1940 – 30 March 2016) was the son of the 51st Da'i al-Mutlaq, half brother of the 52nd Da'i and a Mazoon of the Dawoodi Bohras, a subgroup within the Mustaali, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. Qutbuddin was appointed as Mazoon by the Da'i al-Mutlaq, Muhammad Burhanuddin in 1965.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Khuzaima_Qutbuddin
The lawsuit was originally filed by Syedna Qutbuddin in March 2014, who claimed that despite being conferred “nass” in December 1965, Syedna Saifuddin, the son of the 52nd Dai, had announced himself as the 53rd Dai after the demise of his father in January 2014, and taken control of the community and its properties.
In a relief to the spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday (April 23) dismissed a challenge to his leadership that had been ongoing for a decade. Justice Gautam S Patel had concluded the hearing and reserved his verdict in the dispute on April 5, 2023.
After a ten-year long legal battle, the Bombay High Court has upheld Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin's position as “Dai-al-Mutlaq” or the religious leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, dismissing his nephew Taher Fakhruddin's claim. Justice GS Patel pronounced the judgment today, dismissing Fakhruddin's suit.
MUMBAI: Two days after the Bombay high court upheld Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin's position as 'Dai-al-Mutlaq' or religious leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community following a ten-year-long legal battle, and dismissed his cousin Taher Fakhruddin's claim to being the rightful successor, Fakhruddin's office on Thursday issued ...
The Dawoodi Bohras are Shia Muslims whose leader is known as the Al-Dai-Al-Mutlaq. According to members of the community, there are around 1 million Dawoodi Bohras spread around the world.
At the core of their faith is the belief that the Ahl al-Bayt, members of the Prophet Mohammed's family, are the rightful imams and successors of the like all Shia Muslims, they hold that Ali bin Abi Talib, the Prophet Mohammed's legatee, succeeded him and provided an interpretation and explanation of the Holy Quran.
The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination among Shia Muslims. Traditionally a community of traders and entrepreneurs, it has over 5 lakh members in India and over 10 lakh members across the world. The top religious leader of the community is known as the Dai-al-Mutlaq.
Syedna Dr. Mufaddal Saifuddin (T.U.S.) (Arabic: عـالي قـدر مُـفـضّـل سـيـفُ ٱلـدّين, romanized: ʿĀlī Qadr Mufaḍḍal Sayf al-Dīn) is the spiritual leader, the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of one million Dawoodi Bohras, a subgroup of the Tayyibi, Mustaali, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam.
FGM is practised by the Dawoodi Bohra, a sect of Shia Islam with one million members in India. Known as khatna, khafz, and khafd, the procedure is performed on six- or seven-year-old girls and involves the total or partial removal of the cl*toral hood.
The Dawoodi Bohra community have inherited a distinguished heritage and rich historical legacy which traces to the Fatimi imams, direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammed through Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, son in law of the Prophet, and Fatima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib.
The main difference between them and the other Muslims is that they pay special veneration to Ali, to his sons, Hassan and Hussain, and to their high priest, the mullah sahib of Surat.
Dawoodi Bohra, a branch of the Mustaali community. Suleimani Bohra, a Mustaali Ismaili community that predominantly reside in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan and India.
The Bombay High Court on April 23 upheld Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin's position as the religious leader 'Dai-al-Mutlaq' of the Dawoodi Bohra community and dismissed his nephew Taher Fakhruddin's claim that challenged Mr. Saifuddin's position as the 53rd religious leader of the community.
Bohras faced persecution from Mughals, other local Muslim rulers in India. Aurangzeb executed the 32nd Bohra Syedna accusing him of being a “Rafzi” - rejector. One Bohra peer was thrown alive into boiling oil by another local Muslim ruler. There are many such who were killed.
Syedna Abdullah Badruddin bin Syedna AbdulHusain Husamuddin (Arabic: عبدُالله بَدرُالدين); born 11 July 1846) was an Indian-born religious leader, and the 50th Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra sect.
Lisaan ud-Da'wat or Lisaan o Da'wat il Bohra or Lisan ud-Dawat (Arabic: لسان الدعوة, lit. 'language of the Da'wat', da'wat ni zabaan; abbreviated LDB) is the language of the Dawoodi Bohras and Alavi Bohras, two Isma'ili Shi'a Muslim communities primarily in Gujarat, following the Taiyebi doctrines and theology.
The Bombay High Court on April 23 upheld Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin's position as the religious leader 'Dai-al-Mutlaq' of the Dawoodi Bohra community and dismissed his nephew Taher Fakhruddin's claim that challenged Mr. Saifuddin's position as the 53rd religious leader of the community.
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