Muslim Sects & Traditions

Dawoodi Bohras
The word ‘Bohra’ is derived from the Gujarati word vohorvu or vyavahar meaning “to trade”. The Muslim community of Daudi Bohras traces its ancestry to early conversions to Ismaili Shiism during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph Imam, al-Mustansir (1036-1094 AD). When schisms occurred in the Ismaili dawah (mission) in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Egypt, the Ismailis in India followed the Fatimid Tayyibi dawah of Yemen. Subsequently, this community split a number of times to form the Jafari Bohras, Daudi Bohras, Sulaymani Bohras, Aliyah Bohras and other lesser-known groups.

The religious hierarchy of the Daudi Bohras is essentially Fatimid and is headed by the dai mutlaq who is appointed by his predecessor in office. The dai appoints two others to the subsidiary ranks of madhun (licentiate) and mukasir (executor). These positions are followed by the rank of shaikh and mullah, both of which are held by hundreds of Bohras. An Aamil leads the local congregation in religious, social and communal affairs. Each town has a mosque and an adjoining jamaat-khanah (assembly hall) where socio-religious functions are held.

The Bohras recognize the seven pillars of Islam. Walayah (love and devotion) for Allah, the Prophets, the imam and the dai is the first and most important of the seven pillars. The others are tahrah (purity & cleanliness), salat (prayers), zakat (purifying religious dues), saum (fasting), haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and jihad (holy war).

The Bohras enjoy a great degree of social and religious cohesion. Every Bohra is required to take an oath of allegiance (Misaaq), which is a formal initiation into the faith. The oath, inter alia, commits a Bohra towards adherence to the Shariah and accepting the leadership of the Sayyidna and the dai.

The cult of Sayyidna, the high priest, and the Kothar, the clergy, is deeply ingrained in the Bohra psyche. Every Bohra follows a system of tax payment to the Syedna, who also exercises a great control over the marriage and death rites. Another distinctive feature is their use of a Fatimid lunar calendar which fixes the number of days in each month.
Progressive Dawoodi Bohra

It is a movement within the Dawoodi Bohra subsect of Mustaali Ismaili Shia Islam led by Asghar Ali Engineer. They separated from the mainstream Dawoodi Bohra community on social and economic issues. They called themselves as Progressives or Reformists and challenged the absolute authority and supremacy of the Dai, or spiritual leader of the community. They alleged that the 51st Dai Sayedna Taher Saifuddin claimed infallibility and issued new doctrines pronouncing that all properties owned by the Bohras belonged to the Syedna, and that they are mere munims or account keepers on his behalf. The Dai Syedna professed to be instituted a doctrine of Raza, which required that without first attaining his permission, his followers could do nothing (secular or religious). It was in the year 1902 when the policy of requiring a Raza began. Several Bohras challenged the authority of Taher Saifuddin through litigation and his claims were rejected by the court. The Progressive Dawoodi Bohra community also claims that the 52nd Da’i Sayedna Mohammad Burhanuddin asserted the same rights as Taher Saifuddin, but, the District Court of Udaipur upheld his
claims. However, the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur, held later that the Waqf Act of 1954 provided exclusive control of property such as mosques to the Waqf Board, and that the Syedna have no rights over them.

Wahhabism
Wahabism was the first great modern expression of the awakening of the Arab Islam in the 18th century. Its founder was Muhammad Ibn Abd-al-Wahab. He preached and propagated the “pure faith” based only on the Holy Quran and the Sunnah and criticised the loosening of moral standards under foreign influences. Wahabism led in 1932 to the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The only other Wahabi state is Qatar.

The Wahabis do not receive the decisions of the four orthodox sects, but say that any man who can read and understand the Quran and the Ahadith can judge for himself in the matters of doctrine. They do not offer prayers to any prophet, wali, pir or saint. They do not even perform any act of reverence at the Prophet’s mosque at Madina. They observe only four main festivals, namely, Idul-Fitr, Idul-Azha, Yaum Al-Ashura and the Lailat-al Qadr and do not observe Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (Milad-un-Nabi) as a festival.