Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un
“Surely we belong to God and to Him we return” — Holy Qur’an, 2:156.

“Life is a great and noble calling, not a mean and grovelling thing to be shuffled through as best as we can but a lofty and exalted destiny” — Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan III (1877-1957), 48th Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.

By MALIK MERCHANT

We are deeply sad to record the passing of (Vazirbanoo) Amina Anil Ishani in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 9, 2024, at the age of 77. Her funeral was held on February 13, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. Amina is survived by her husband (Vazir) Anil Ishani, her daughters Shaheen Ishani and Karina Govindji, son-in-law Rizwan Govindji and grandchildren Iman, Zahra, Ziyana, Khalil and Zaki.

Amina led a very rich and purposeful life of honorary service to the Ismaili Muslim community in the UK and Kenya. Professionally, she was a Classical Homeopath for 3 decades after completing her studies at the London School of Classical Homeopathy in 1990.

On a personal level, I initially knew of Amina Ishani mainly through her husband Anil, who assumed important leadership roles in the Ismaili Community including as a member of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, Chairman of Aga Khan Foundation (UK), Convenor of the Constitution Review Committee, President of the Aga Khan National Council for the UK and Chairman of the Leaders International Forum. All these appointments were made by Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan. For his decades of service to the Ismaili community, he was bestowed with the title of Vazir in 1973.

The magnificent work that Amina Ishani did for the Ismaili community began unfolding for me in 2011 when she connected with me by sending me the full script of a play on the Ismaili intellectual giant Nasir Khusraw, along with a full video of the play entitled “The Ruby Shines On” that had been shown to audiences in Kenya. For me, this was a singularly important contribution to Simerg; it was a moment of special pride to be able to host a finely produced play of an outstanding historical personality such as Nasir Khushaw. Amina generously provided the entire script of the play to be downloaded for others around the world to create their productions in their local areas, if they so chose.

Although her profile revealed the work she had done for Ismaili Institutions, the full extent of her contribution to the UK Ismaili community became known to me when I spent time with my parents in Vancouver. My late parents — Jehangir and Malek Merchant — described Vazirbanoo’s dedication and dynamism in all aspects of her services to the Jamat (community). They had worked hand in hand with Amina for the religious education development of Ismaili children in the UK. For example, before nursery provision in Bait-ul-Ilm’s existed, Amina led a pilot for Nursery Religious education in the UK and she participated in the ongoing teacher development program as well as mentored religious education teachers in the UK. She was also actively engaged in the UK in the formation of Misbah-al-Ilm. In addition to writing the script and producing Nasir Khushraw’s play, “The Ruby Shines On”, she wrote scripts — as well as produced and directed — many other plays including “And Then There Was Light — Light upon Light”, “The Conference of the Birds”, “Keeping a Promise”, “Kingdom of Animals” and “Bilal”. Through these plays, that linked her creativity with spirituality, she was able to touch the hearts of many hundreds of Jamati members who attended these productions. Her plays were performed in Kenya after she moved there in 1997. Also during her time in Nairobi, she provided invaluable support as Anil Ishani took up the role of Resident Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network for Kenya between 1998 – 2007.

Amina, born on January 13, 1947, was daughter of late Ebrahim and Ashraf Patel. She grew up in Mumbai and moved to Nairobi after her marriage to Anil Ishani in 1970. Later during the same year, she moved to the UK. She completed a BA Hons degree in French and Philosophy and her interest in Homeopathy led her to study Classical Homeopathy at the London School of Classical Homeopathy. Amina began practicing as a Classical Homeopathy in 1990 and continued doing so for the next 30 years. She and her husband moved back to Kenya in 1997 where she led homeopathy children’s clinics and became a lecturer of Homeopathic medicine. 

Amina’s interests were varied. She studied cooking, beauty therapy, counselling, Spanish, took singing and piano lessons and later learned Bridge (3 levels.) As an educator, she gave engaging talks on the philosophy of Du’a (the Ismaili prayer) in Kenya and Dubai, Indian Cooking and Women’s empowerment. She also created a recipe book during the Covid-19 lockdown that circulated globally. Amina loved to travel, had a deep thirst for learning and knowledge sharing and was an avid wildlife and nature lover.

Amina Ishani leaves behind a legacy of service to the Ismaili community as well as the communities where she resided. Her impact was enormous and we express our gratitude to her for the wonderful and inspirational work that she did during her lifetime.

We convey our deep condolences to Vazir Anil and his family on the passing of their beloved Vazirbanno Amina. We pray that her soul may rest in eternal peace, and that the family faces her loss with courage and fortitude.

Date posted: March 08, 2024.

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