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A HISTORY OF THE AGAKHANI ISMAILIS 
This book was first published from Canada in 1991. It has been republished twice from Pakistan. The Urdu translation of the book has been published from Pakistan. (Section One) THE COMPASSIONATE I begin with my gratitude to the Beneficent and
the Compassionate,
The followers of Karim Aga Khan, the "Agakhani Ismailis," are spread out in various parts of the world. They constitute the vast majority, and comprise a controversial group, within the various sub-sects of Ismailis, who in turn form a small minority within the various groups and sects of the Islamic brotherhood. Thus, the Agakhani Ismailis represent a minute proportion, some 0.1 percent, of the Muslim world. However, their fame and profile far exceed their numbers, due primarily to the prominence of the Aga Khan and his family members through their international political, economic, and social status. Of significance has been their long association with thoroughbred horse racing in Europe; Aga Khan III's weighing in gold, diamonds, and platinum as a gift from his followers; the marriage of Prince Aly Khan Karim Aga Khan's father to renowned actress Rita Hayworth and his role as a leader of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations; the service of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan in the United Nations as High Commissioner for Refugees; and, most recently, Karim Aga Khan being named Commander of the French Legion of Honour for eminent services to humanity. It is a common belief that the ancestors of the Agakhani Khojah Ismailis were Hindus and that approximately seven centuries ago they were converted to the Ismaili faith by Pirs (authorized preachers) that came from Persia. The questions often asked are: Were these Pirs Imami Nizari Ismailis? Were they sent to India from Persia by the Ismaili Imams (spiritual leaders)? What was the Islamic Tariqah (persuasion) adopted by these converts at the time of their conversion? The faith practised by Ismailis
during the golden era of their history the Fatimid period
of the Caliphate in Cairo was within the spectrum of the various
sects, denominations, and schools of thought that exist in mainstream
Islam. This meant that they observed the Shari'ah laws at the peak
of their glory. Fatimid Imams built the first
It is interesting to learn how the dramatic change
occurred that absolved the sect from the requirements of certain
edicts of the revealed laws after the fall of the Fatimid dynasty,
in the Alamut period. The roots of the Fatimid Ismailis were in theregion
of the Middle East where Islam was born. On the other hand, the roots of
the majority of the Agakhani Ismailis, who are the Shia Imami Khojah
Ismailis, are in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, and their conversion
from Hinduism has gone through various phases of proselytization.
During the past one and half centuries, the religion ofthese converts has
undergone such drastic changes that the present generation of Agakhani
Ismailis is almost totally ignorant of the practices of their forbears
only two,
Today, only a few elderly Khojahs (Ismaili, Ithna'ashri, and Sunni Khojahs) who have read the literature published during the nineteenth century, such as Ibrat-afza (an autobiography of Aga Khan I in Persian) or its Gujrati translation published in 1861, orthose who have heard from their elders the accounts of the second and thirdproselytizing, can trace back the trails and rediscover the lost heritage. A study of primary as well as
secondary documents, some of them rare and others that have been withdrawn
from circulation or that were written for internal circulation in the ancient
form of Sindhi script called Khojki, reveals that the process
of proselytizing has gone through three distinct stages. The last two are
only a century and a half old.
In 1947-48, a couple of Ismaili students and I met the Russian professor Vladimir Alekseevich Ivanov (1886-1970), popularly known as W. Ivanow, and Vice-Chancellor Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee (1899-1981), a Sulaymani Ismaili, who were the founding members of the Ismaili Society in Bombay, to obtain their permission to translate one of their publications into Gujrati. In 1946, the Ismaili Society was founded with the aim of promoting independent and critical study of all matters connected with Ismaili faith, which included their literature, history, and philosophy. The Ismaili Society functioned with the financial support and patronage of the late Aga Khan III. The Society had undertaken a bibliographical survey of Ismaili literature. One and a half decades later, when the work was finally published by the Society in Tehran in 1963, it was in an abridged form. Professor Ivanow scrutinized 929 works, and his analysis of these many documents was published in just 180 pages. Asaf Fyzee, the founding member of the Ismaili Society, wrote, "Everything connected with Ismailism seems to be enveloped in a cloud of mystery and secrecy." Sixty-three years ago, I was born into an Agakhani Ismaili family where every member of the house over the age of five was made to recite his or her Du'a (a designated ritual prayer) in Gujrati three times a day. A prayer in which one would repeatedly prostrate oneself before a photograph of the Aga Khan and affirm with firm conviction that the photographed mortal was the physical manifestation of Allah upon this earth. His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, came to see my mother at a hospital in Southend-on-Sea, England, where I was born. He personally gave me the name by which I am known today. The late Aga Khan was well-known for his wit and uncanny ability to provoke laughter. While giving his blessings, he wittily appointed me as a Kamadia (assistant steward cum accountant) and my (late) elder brother Abdulali who was also born in England as a Mukhi (chief steward cum treasurer) of his London Jama`at. The year was 1928. As a devout follower of the Aga Khan, my father donated Rs.300,000.00 -- practically eighty percent of his entire wealth -- to the Aga Khan's Diamond Jubilee fund. Half a century ago, that was an enormous sum of money. Being the highest donor from India, he received the singular honour of weighing His Highness the Aga Khan (putting plastic boxes full of rented diamonds on the weighing scale) in Bombay, on 10 March 1946. Thereafter, contrary to the general expectations of every believing Ismaili, the downfall of our family began. My father, who had been
in the carpet and textile business, suddenly had to face charges
arising out of a small business transaction. He had sold goods meant forexport,
locally. I was a student at that time but became an accessory for having
acted as a delivery boy. Our entire stock of textiles was confiscated by
the authorities, who were
Aga Khan had his own tax problems with the government. The authorities were demanding a large sum as taxes on his revenues and funds collected from the Ismaili community. Donors who had donated substantial sums for the Diamond Jubilee were individually investigated and taxed. Aga Khan decided to stay in Europe till the matter was settled by his agents, which did not happen during his lifetime. The court proceedings were slow and the hearings dragged on for several years. To start a fresh life, I moved to West Pakistan in 1949 with a few hundred rupees in my pocket. A few years later, morally depressed and financially depleted, my father migrated to East Pakistan. After the partition of India, the Aga Khan had predicted in his private Farmans (authoritative and binding pronouncements) that Dacca and Chittagong would become London and Paris of the East. After losing a portion of his investments, my father moved to East Africa. From there, under the guidance of the Aga Khan, my family relocated to Belgian Congo. Aga Khan's prognostication that Congo would be the last colony in Africa to get its independence was wrong, and within a few years my family had to get out, following the turmoil in that country after independence. From 1949 to 1975, during my domicile in Pakistan, I diligently served the Ismailia community in various capacities. I kept up the Jama'ati tradition of serving the Hazar (present) Imam with Tan, Man, and Dhan (Body, Mind, and Money). In 1972, I was appointed President of the Ismailia Regional Council for Karachi and Baluchistan by Karim Aga Khan. I held that position till I emigrated to Canada in 1975. Towards the end of 1982, I published in British Columbia my first book on the ancestry of the Aga Khans. It was entitled From Abraham to Aga Khan. As the years went by, I continued research on the subject of Ismaili literature and history. At the same time I augmented my studies with the revealed messages that are to be found in the Qur'an and the Bible. By the grace of Allah, I got out of my tunnel vision. I could now see my beliefs from a wider perspective. A perspective whose outlook was panoramic and not restricted by inherited, imposed or prescribed thinking. I could now compare with an open mind what I had studied in the past with what I was learning in the present. Ibegan asking questions in private as well as in public, by writing memoranda and pamphlets. My doubts were strengthened
when I discovered that a large number of Ismailis had similar
doubts and difficulties in under
My frustrations germinated, but I alsostayed
within the community. I did not refrain from seeking answers from
Agakhani scholars and missionaries at public gatherings as
well as in private. I flew to Paris after communicating
with Karim Aga Khan's personal secretary hoping to getanswers
from the highest authority, the Aga
The real change in my attitude came when Idiscovered
to my utter surprise that the Aga Khan is not a direct descendant
of the
Finally, I decided to write a book based upon
my discoveries. Understanding Ismailism A Unique Tariqah of Islam
was published at
Hardly a week or two passed after the above
publication when an announcement was read in all the Jama`at khanas
of Canada,
My lawyers advised me that without going into
the merits of the book or its content, the mere fact that I had
written a book on Ismaili faith and Aga Khan without obtaininga
written permission from the Ismaili Council was sufficient cause
for obtaining an order for expulsion from the community under theordained
Constitution. I had not been a
In March 1989, I publicly withdrew my oathof allegiance
to Karim Aga Khan and at the same time invited him through the media,
as
At the end of 1989, I wrote 'Understandingthe
Bible - through Koranic Messages'. It was published at a time
in the history of the
In the middle of 1990, I began collectingbooks
and documents that would assist me in discovering the roots of my
inherited beliefs. As a teacher of a religious school,I had heard
almost all the Farmans pronounced by the Aga Khans, recited hundreds
of Ginans (hymnlike devotional songs that are recitedin the Jama`at
khanas), and read practically every book of Ismaili history that
was ublished by the Ismailia Association for India. They
all led me to believe that the
The data I had now collected told me a different
story. I decided to look outside and approached a few families of
Sunni Khojahs and Ithna'ashri Khojahs whose ancestors were
also converted from Hinduism. They provided me with documents and
facts hitherto unknown to me and probably to most Ismailis.
A History of the Agakhani Ismailis will serve as the most explicit
account of
This book of history is in particular addressed
to the mundane everyday readers the laity. I have therefore chosen
to furnish
THE ROOTS OF OUR PERSUASIONS A divine innocence A captivating smile radiating from the beaming
face of a newly born baby gazing at you from its crib is suffused
with divine innocence. However, that impeccability and candour
are so transient that as soon as the infant grows up, the heavenly
naivete takes its leave and is not seen again. The unblemished
purity with which a human mind was divinely conceived and created
within the womb of a mother has been tainted. A slate that
was once clean and spotless is now delineated with materialistic
characters and figures. The shadow of a human being has
From time immemorial, one of the major responsibilities
of arenthood has been to enlighten, or to be precise, to influenceoffspring
with certain dictates and precepts. In the process, parents confer
upon their
To extol that revered name and to staunchly defend
His glory becomes one of the sacred duties of that child as
he or she grows up. This childhood training is so well grounded
that even upon maturity, an
A sublime act During my high school days in Bombay, I often walked
home from my school. My home was in a Muslim quarter and the government
school was in a crowded residential-cum-business area that
was predominantly a Hindu neighbourhood. In this journey by foot,
I swam through the
As a young Muslim, I watched with a feeling
of awe and surprise as the civilized, urbane Hindu men and women
that were walking alongside me suddenly surged forward and placed
their cupped hands under the elevated tail, to catch a spoonful
or two of that fluid. These cultured, devout, high caste Hindus
would then routinely raise their hands and release that sacred liquid
into their wide open mouths. After chanting a few words and
rubbing their wet palms on the back of that holy cow, these sophisticatedindividuals
would resume their journey with joy at having caught that pious
liquid in time. A mind that has developed in a
Our affiliations For the great majority of us the choosing
of a religion has been a matter of family tradition and the
geographical location of our birthplace. Had a person been born
in South America, his chances of being a Brahmin (a high-caste
Hindu) rather than a Catholic would have been one in a million or
probably none at all. It can be said that in most
When a person migrates from the place of his
birth, he accepts new cultures, speaks new languages, and adopts
new social practices that ameliorate, or are better suited
to, his new environment. But when the
When someone points a finger at the enigmatic dogmas that are associated with his religion, he often tries to defend them for the sake of defending. And when he fails todo a good job of it, he estranges himself from that individual, rather than disassociate himself from the identified paradoxes. But when it is his turn to point a finger at their paradoxical dogmas, he expect instant submission from his opponents. He expectseveryone but himself to be rational and logical while discussing religion. The roots of our truth For all practical purposes, we assume thatthe
patriarchal affiliation that was enjoined, prescribed, or imposed
upon us by reason of birth or fate has to be the wholetruth and
the only truth worth defending. The
The roots of our inherited fanaticism could be centuries old. Most probably we do not even know the name or the historical background of that individual ancestor who discovered our religion or was converted to believing what we believe today. A sincere effort to trace the origin of our persuasions and the history of conversion could be a rewarding experience. "Angootha chhap" Ismaili historians have recorded that themajority
of the progenitors of Agakhani Ismailis were very poor and came
from the rural areas of Sind, Gujrat, Kathiawar, andKutchh. Before
their conversion, seven
Similarly, these submissive ancestors withno access
to any literature, would place their trust in any story that was
narrated to them by their elders or religious Gurus. Thebase of
their beliefs was a blind faith and reliance upon these individuals.
They had built their traditional, cultural, andreligious convictions
based upon Riwayah
Serve with an unsuspecting mind Ismaili literature, like much other religious literature,
is full of epic stories and folklore depicting the superhuman power
of the Pirs and Imams. Not long ago, all these legends of
miracles (e.g., lowering of the
Often an Ismaili would quote a popular verse
from a Ginan to prevail over a logically sound argument or win a
losing debate. The verse teaches: "Bhore
mane s'révo", meaning;
"Serve with a mind that is
Holy Qur'an:
An English translation of the Holy Qur'an and a detailed commentary thereof by Abdullah Yusuf Ali enjoys a unique place in Islamicsociety. I have taken the liberty of quoting his translation and the commentary at the end of each chapter of this book to convey the revealed message that stands as a criterion for all mankind.
(establish) Allah's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind: no change (let there be) in the work (wrought) by Allah: that is the standard religion: but most among mankind understand not. Holy Qur'an 30/30 As turned out from the creative hand of God, man is innocent,
pure, true, free, inclined to right and virtue, and endued with
true nderstanding about his own position in the Universe and about
God's
THE PIRS OF THE KHOJAHS The conversion of Hindus in India Within a century after the passing away ofthe
Prophet of Islam, Muslims expanded their realm as far as India.
Under the leadership
On the other hand, the Da`wah (literally, summon,
invitation) activities of Islam - the conversion of Hindus - was
carried out by the
The conversion of the Khojahs Six to nine centuries ago, a significant number
of Hindus from the subcontinent of India, especially those living
in Kashmir, Punjab, and Sind, and on the western coast of India,
embraced Islam. One such group was converted by a Muslim Da'i named
Shaykh Sadr ad-Din (leader of the faith). Ismailis call him
by the name of Pir Sadr-din. From Turkey to India, this Persian
title Pir is used in preference to the Arabic word Shaykh. PirSadr-din
gave these newly converted Gujrati,
Prior to the arrival of the Pirs of the Khojahs,
there had come to India many Ismaili Da'is from Persia, but they
were mostly Qirmatis (Qarmatians) who in those day were commonly
called Malahida
Pir Satgur Nur Based upon legends, some historians have,placed
the conversion of the Khojahs as early as the ninth century by a
Da`i named Nur-ud-Din (light of the faith). Ismaili missionary
Abualy A. Aziz records in A Brief
The name of this Da'i in Ismaili literature is
Pir Satgur Nur. Various
Professor W. Ivanow concludes in 'The Sect of Imam Shah in Gujrat' (p. 59): "It must befrankly admitted that we know absolutely nothing about the date at which the Pir [Satgur Nur] settled or died at Nawsari, whohe was, and what religion he really preached." Pir Shams of Multan Other traditions have tried to attribute theconversion of the Khojahs to a Muslim saint named Awliya Shah Shams-ud-Din of Multan, Punjab (d. 1276). But history records thatthis famous Muslim saint, to whom Ismailis refer as Pir Shams, had not visited Gujrat, Kutchh, or Kathiawar during his lifetime, andthe majority of the Khojah Ismailis have their roots in these districts. Today, the majority of historians agree that the development of the Khojah sect was greatly influenced by Pir Sadr-din and his son Pir Hasan Kabiruddin (Shaykh Kabir ad-Din). Pir Sadr-din was the one that gave the Khojah community its name. This Khojah ancestry is the root of almost all the Agakhani Ismailis of Indo-Pakistan origin, who have since spread all over the globe. One has also to bear in mind that it is also theroot of Khojah Shi`ah Ithna'ashries and Khojah Sunni Muslims of Indo-Pakistan origin. Khojah Agakhani Ismailis claim that Pir Sadr-din and his mentor Pir Shams of Multan were Imami Nizari Ismailis. Sunni Khojahs claim that the Pirs were Sunni Muslims and their converts were observing the traditions (Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace. Khojah Ithna'ashries claim that the forefathers of Agakhani Ismailis were following Ithna'ashri rites and rituals. Even the ancestors of Karim Aga Khan that came from Persia were strictly observing Ithna'ashri rites and rituals. These ritualswere gradually abrogated and systematically abolished during the Imamate of Aga Khan III. Today, there are thousands of descendantsof the
original converts and adherents of Shah Shams in Pakistan, India,
Tibet, and Kashmir who regularly visit the shrine oftheir Awliya.
These devotees of Shah Shams are known as Shamsi. A vast majority
of them follow the Sunni Tariqah of Islam, and therest are Ithna'ashries.
With the exception of
Khojah is a term used to describe a caste Recently, the centennial of a widely readGujrati monthly, Rahe Najat (path of salvation), was celebrated by the KhojahIthna'ashries. A special booklet paying homage to its first editor, Haji Gulam Ali Haji Ismail, popularly known as Haji Naji (the saved Haji), was published and printedby NASIMCO (Organization of North American Shi`ah Ithna-ashri Muslim Communities), Toronto, Canada. Professor Abdulaziz A. Sachedina of the University of Virginia writes in this booklet (p. 4):
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