Forty Sadaq Allah Majālis

The 53^rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, al-Dai al-Ajal al-Fatimi Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS presided over a daily gathering for 40 consecutive days following the passing of his respected father, the 52^nd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, al-Dai al-Ajal al-Fatimi Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA in which the congregation recited from the Holy Quran in honour and in memory of Syedna Burhanuddin ^RA. This daily gathering, referred to as a Khatm al-Quran Majlis, included the recital of an Arabic composition which offers prayers for the deceased. The composition is typically prayed aloud at death anniversaries and funerals after the recitation of the Holy Quran and is known as the duʿāʿ of “Sadaq Allah”.

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The prayer includes a brief section dedicated specifically to the deceased which recalls his or her virtues and legacy. For each of the 40 majālis (pl. of majlis), Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS composed a unique description of his esteemed father, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA, which he incorporated into the general “Sadaq Allah” prayer, and read aloud to the audience of thousands of community members who had gathered to offer him their condolences. Syedna Saifuddin’s ^TUS eloquent and emotional descriptive compositions were the highlight of each Khatm al-Quran Majlis, and vividly captured Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’s ^RA enduring legacy and his magnanimous and historic leadership of the Dawoodi Bohra community of 50 years. The next year, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS graciously reproduced all 40 compositions he had recited into a treatise he composed in memory of his revered father, a composition which is traditionally seen as the successor’s official announcement of his predecessor’s departure for the spiritual realm. In honour and memory of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’s ^RA historic leadership, and in service and praise of his successor Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin’s ^TUS contributions to Fatimi Literature, Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah has the distinct honour of expressing these magnificent compositions into the English language so that their barakat may further spread amidst Mumineen.

Al-Dai al-Ajal al-Fatimi Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS introduced these commemorative compositions in his treatise with the following exordium:

We shall reproduce here compositions which list the divine virtues and honours of my father, who was indeed a father to all, al-Dai al-Ajal al-Fatimi Syedna Mohamed Burhanuddin, and which capture the harrowing grief afflicted upon us at the time of his departure for his heavenly abode. I read aloud these compositions during the ‘Sadaq Allah’ prayer in the Quranic recitation gatherings held in his honour — how exalted were those gatherings and how esteemed were those recitations. [The gatherings were held] following his sad demise for a period of 40 consecutive days during which many spectacular glories of the Fatimi Tayyibi Imam were revealed. These gatherings and the glories therein showered the fortunate (Mumineen) with the good fortune of a reinvigorated faith which protected them from the damned and wretched.

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