By MALIK MERCHANT
(Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos)

I was in Ottawa when a set of two Farman books first went on sale recently. I was glad when the literature counter officer told me 300 sets had been received for sale in Ottawa. There was no reason to panic — everyone who was in the queue that began forming immediately upon the completion of Jamati announcements was able to obtain copies for themselves and their families. My daughter and I had a deep sense of joy as we acquired our copies, and we also saw everyone’s faces lighted up with joy — it was the fulfillment of a wish of many many years. For the first time in more than 40 years, the guidance given by Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, to his spiritual children had been authorized by him for publication in printed form.

The last such volume was published in 1976-77 when the Ismailia Association for the UK (now known as the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board or simply ITREB) and other Associations published Farmans that Mawlana Hazar Imam had made in Mumbai, India, and Kenya in 1973 and 1976 respectively. The writer of this piece was very much involved with his late father, Alwaez Jehangir Merchant, in that exquisite publication in London.

The new set of two books ($10.00 per set) contains Farmans made by Mawlana Hazar Imam from 2011 to 2018. The first book (116 pages) contains a total of 24 Farmans made by Mawlana Hazar Imam during his mulaqats with the Jamats in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Singapore, Bangladesh and India between July 5, 2011 and September 27, 2013. The second book (236 pages) consists of 45 Farmans starting with the Farman made on the inauguration of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee in Aiglemont France on July 11, 2017 — the 60th anniversary of his Imamat — and concludes with the Farman Mubarak made on July 11, 2018 at the Darbar in Lisbon, Portugal, which was attended by more than 40,000 murids from around the world (seated in 3 separate halls). During his Diamond Jubilee year, Mawlana Hazar Imam visited Uganda, Tanzania, Eastern Canada, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, India, USA, Kenya, Western Canada, France, the UK and Portugal.

The Farmans in both the books are published in chronological sequence and there is a table of contents at the beginning of the book. However, there is no index in the two books and we hope that it will be incorporated in future volumes that are expected to be published in the foreseeable future. We are here referring to Farmans made before 2011 that have been authorized and are read out in Jamatkhanas. Among those are Farmans made (1) during the Golden Jubilee in 2007-2008; (2) Farmans made in Pakistan in 2000; (3) Farmans made during Mawlana Hazar Imam’s first visits to Moscow and the Central Asian Jamats in 1995 and later; and (4) Farmans made during his Silver Jubilee in 1982-83 as well as other selected Farmans during the course of the Imamat from 1957 onwards.

The latest Farman books have been published by Islamic Publications Limited which is based at the new Aga Khan Centre in London. A note has been made that the Farmans are published under exclusive licence from Mawlana Hazar Imam.

Many of us will recall our childhood years during the 1960’s, when our parents would advise us to read a Farman every night before going to bed. At that time we had the benefit of short excerpted Farmans by subject category in tiny books such as Precious Pearls and Precious Gems. In the absence of such books, parents can utilize the newly released Farman books by reading out short excerpts to their babies and young children on a regular basis. The Australian website raising children mentions that reading to babies and children help them to get to know sounds, words and language, and they develop early literacy skills. The website reading rockets states that when the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk. It has been recommended that reading should take place at least once everyday at a scheduled time and if this cannot be done, then read to your child as often as you possibly can.

In our particular case of reading out Farmans to children, we are also building the young murids’ attachment, affection and love for Mawlana Hazar Imam. The typeset in the Farman books is large enough for grown up children to comfortably read the Farmans by themselves. Parents and older siblings must encourage and motivate them to do so.

In addition, we urge every member of the Jamat and especially the youth and professionals to devote a few moments on a regular basis to the reading of Farmans, reflecting on them, applying Mawlana Hazar Imam’s guidance in our lives as well as seeking out the blessings that the Imam is conveying. Encouraging friends and family members to do likewise is a very important step in fulfilling our role as a dai, that is, a communicator of matters of faith.

The obedience to the Imam-of-the-Time is a time honoured Ismaili tradition, and Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah had once observed that heaps of pearls are scattered when Imams give Farmans. When a murid of the Imam consciously listens to Farmans in Jamatkhana or reads them in the books such as the ones that have just been published, the listener or reader should treat the blessings conveyed by Mawlana Hazar Imam for all times, and not treat the blessings as if they were for the occasion when the Farman was delivered. Indeed, as we read through the two Farman books, we will come across references to the enduring nature of the Imam’s blessings in his own words.

In her wonderful piece published in Ilm in 1979 and reproduced on this website, Nadya Kassam contextualized the importance of Farmans through a verse of the following ginan by Pir Shams:

Satagur kahere amara vachan je manshe,
Te chhe amare galeka har.
Tene galeka har kari rakhasu,
Tis momanke sukhaka anta na par-re.

The Pir in the verse says that a murid who obeys the Imam’s Farmans is like a garland (around the neck of the Imam). Hazar Imam keeps such a person very near to him, and that the mu’min will be very happy in this world and the next.

Mawlana Hazar Imam has always spoken to his spiritual children in plain language, always maintaining a joyful and warm demeanor. As we read through Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Farmans, his inspiring and perfect guidance as well as munificent blessings will touch our hearts, and raise and renew our hopes and spirits every single day.

It is thus with immense joy and unbounded happiness that we welcome the publication of the Farman set, and express our profound and humble shukhrana to Mawlana Hazar Imam for his constant guidance and blessings for our spiritual and material well-being and advancement.

Finally, in the context of the relationship of the Imam with his murids and the guidance that the Imam gives to his spiritual children, it is appropriate to quote a clause from the preamble of the Ismaili constitution which was ordained on December 13, 1986 by Mawlana Hazar Imam on the occasion of his 50th Salgirah (birthday). It states: “Historically and in accordance with Ismaili tradition, the Imam-of-the-Time is concerned with spiritual advancement as well as improvement of the quality of life of his murids. The Imam’s ta‘lim lights the murid’s path to spiritual enlightenment and vision. In temporal matters, the Imam guides the murids, and motivates them to develop their potential.”

Date posted: February 6, 2020.

Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.

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