18 Facts About Taher Saifuddin

Taher Saifuddin, known as Tahir Sayf al-Din, was the 51st and longest serving Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras.

Taher Saifuddin laid substantial groundwork in terms of philanthropy, education, entrepreneurship, social outreach, political outreach, and community upliftment upon which his successors continued to build, resulting in an unprecedented era of prosperity among the Dawoodi Bohras.

Taher Saifuddin was born to Mohammed Burhanuddin I and Amatullah Aaisaheba on 4 August 1888 in Surat, British India.

Taher Saifuddin was instrumental in setting up over 350 co-ed institutes, some of which bear his name, including but not limited to: Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah in Surat, Saifee Hall in Calcutta, Saifiyah Girls School in Karachi, Saifi High in Mumbai, Saifee Nursery at Saifee Mahal in Mumbai, Saifee Eide Zahabi College in Karachi, Saifee Golden Jubilee Quaderia College in Burhanpur, Saifee Jubilee Arts and Commerce College in Sidhpur.

Taher Saifuddin was appointed the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University for four consecutive terms, starting in 1953.

Taher Saifuddin brought about a structural and functional change at Aljamea: He personally oversaw the standardization of the syllabus of each class and wrote numerous memoranda and treatises which were instilled into the curriculum.

Taher Saifuddin contributed vast sums of money towards the refurbishment of mosques and shrines.

Taher Saifuddin made and donated the kiswah for the Masjid al-Haram.

In 1921, Taher Saifuddin won the case on basis of the belief that Imam, as representative of the Prophet and through him the representative of God, having withdrawn from public life, must entrust someone to represent them the Dai al-Mutlaq, in accordance with Tayyibi religious belief.

Taher Saifuddin married Husaina Aaisaheba, who was from the family of the Du'at Mutlaqeen.

Taher Saifuddin had 12 sons and 8 daughters: His sons were Mohammed Burhanuddin, Husain Husamuddin, Abdut Taiyeb Zakiyuddin, Yusuf Najmuddin, Ismail Shehabuddin, Hatim Hamiduddin, Qasim Hakimuddin, Aliasgar Kalimuddin, Shabbir Nooruddin, Abbas Fakhruddin, Mohammed al-Baqir Jamaluddin, and Khuzaima Qutbuddin.

Taher Saifuddin's daughters were Asma, Maryam, Khadijah, Zahra, Shireen, Banu, Fatema, and Zainab.

Taher Saifuddin descends from the family of the early leaders of the Fatimid mission in India, Fakhr al-Din and Abd al-Qadir Hakim al-Din.

Taher Saifuddin was voted among 100 Greatest Indian Muslims of the Twentieth Century in an opinion poll run by Milli Gazette.

Taher Saifuddin died on 12 November 1965 at Matheran, a hill-station in Maharashtra, India.

Taher Saifuddin is buried at Raudat Tahera, a mausoleum opposite Ghurrat-ul Masajid in South Bombay, constructed by his successor, Mohammed Burhanuddin.

Taher Saifuddin donated his home Saifee Villa in Dandi, Navsari where Gandhi stayed for ten days during his historic march from Sabarmati Ashram against the English Salt Laws, to Nehru in 1961.

Taher Saifuddin was the longest serving chancellor at AMU at 12 years, and was a patron of the Ali Society at AMU.