13th December, 2012: Celebrating Mawlana Hazar Imam’s 76th Salgirah – Photo Essay, Readings and the Ginan “Eji Dhan Dhan Aajano” with Meaning

9 December 2012

	Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Salgirah and the Depth of His Love for the Jamat The term Salgirah is of Persian origin. Sal means anniversary and girah means knot and hence Salgirah literally means ‘an anniversary knot added on to a string kept for the purpose’. This article approaches the subject of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s birthday in terms of the Imam’s love for his murids and the love and devotion of the murids for their Imam.
	In Metaphoric Ginan “Eji Dhan Dhan Aajano” Pir Sadr al-Din Asks Mu’mins to Act Righteously and Gain Spiritual Recognition of Imam-e-Zaman The Ginan has attained a very special status because it is primarily recited during the festivities marking the Salgirah of the Imam. The appropriateness of reciting Eji Dhan Dhan Aajano during the Salgirah will become apparent as we try to understand the ginan and its underlying spiritual teachings.
	The Preamble Of “The Constitution of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims” The new Ismaili Constitution was ordained, signed and sealed by His Highness the Aga Khan on December 13th, 1986, his 50th birthday. His Highness did this with the belief that the Constitution would provide a strong institutional and organizational framework for his Ismaili community to contribute meaningfully to the societies among whom they live.
	His Highness the Aga Khan and the Ismailis . On the occasion of His Highness the Aga Khan’s 75th birthday on December 13, 2011, Simerg published a three-part photo essay tribute to the 49th Ismaili Imam. The series has been consolidated into a captivating one piece photo essay, which can be read at Simerg’s companion photo blog, Simergphotos, by clicking on the above link.

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Naser-e Khosraw’s Risky and Dangerous Homeward Journey, from Michael Wolfe’s “One Thousand Roads to Mecca”

8 November 2012

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In our concluding part of the series on Naser-e Khosraw’s travels, the Ismaili poet, philosopher and traveller provides a grim look at the merciless deserts of Arabia and the predatory ways of the Arab Bedouin. He encounters camel riding pirates, and the price of safe-passage costs him and his party their money and their clothes. But he also finds great consolation during a nine-month stay in the city of Lhasa. Read his fascinating account by clicking Naser-e Khosraw’s Dangerous Homeward Journey: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” by Michael Wolfe or on the following image:

A portrait of Naser-e Khosraw on a large rock in Badakhshan. Please click on image to read the concluding part of his journey. Photo: Ali M. Rajput., UK.

“I Wish I’d Been There” – Volunteeering at the Dawn of the Age of Imamat by Aziz R. Kurwa

1 November 2012

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In History in Quotations, which reflects five thousand years of World History, authors M. J. Cohen and John Major write as follows:

“Muhammad said:

‘He of whom I am the Mawla (patron), Ali is his Mawla. O God, be the friend of him who is his friend and be the enemy of his enemy.’

“This became the proof text for the Shia claim that Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, was the Prophet’s rightful successor after the Prophet’s death in 632. The meaning of Mawla here probably implies the role of patron, lord or protector.”

The authors then sum up by stating that through the use of the term Mawla, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) was giving Mawlana Ali (a.s.) the parity with himself in this function. Dr. Aziz Kurwa, a long serving member of the Ismaili community, takes us to the beginning of Islamic and Ismaili history and imaginatively constructs the role he played as a volunteer on that eventful and historic occasion, a day which was described by one of our readers as “an introduction to a new world order”. Aziz Kurwa was among the thirty-one who contributed to Simerg’s highly acclaimed series I Wish I’d Been There.

Please click on image below or: Volunteering at the Dawn of the Age of Imamat

London, 1979: His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismailis and direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) receiving Fatimid Gold dinars from Dr. Aziz Kurwa, a long serving leader of the Ismaili community who was at the time President of the Ismailia Association for the U.K.