Raudat Tahera
In the denseness of Mumbai, amidst the hustle and bustle of
narrow crowded streets of Bhindi Bazaar stands a magnificent mausoleum
silently paying tribute to one of greatest men of the 20th century. A
solitary grave lies humbly at its centre, surrounded on all sides by the
sacred words of revelation. The Qur'an, scribed in its entirety on the
walls of the mausoleum looks down caringly at one who spent an entire
life living only by its truth. Over three decades after his departure
into the world of immortality, Syedna Taher Saifuddin (AQ) continues to
draw thousands of solace-seeking pilgrims from all over the world to his
mausoleum, Raudat Tahera.
Rarely does history witness such men and rarely does the earth spawn
such a son. Those who met him and those who heard him remember him with
affection and awe of having shared the same era as him. He was a
scholar, a writer, a poet, born leader of men, educationist, a wise
guide, an ocean of courage, an accomplished administrator, a tireless
worker, an indefatigable traveller, a soul exuding peace of mind, a man
of profound religiosity and serenity, a true succour for his followers.
Seldom do such many qualities combine in one person.
Syedna Taher Saifuddin, the 51st incumbent to the office of al-Dai
al-Mutlaq, was the head of the Dawoodi Bohra community from 1915 to
1965, and shouldered the responsibility of guiding his followers through
one of the most difficult periods of its history. With him at its helm,
a community with religious values weathered a period of colonisation of
minds and lands, a era of emerging nations, the aggressive rise of
science and technology and of scientific materialism, in short, the most
potent upheavals in the history of humankind and came out more committed
to its intrinsic values.
Born on 27th Zilqada 1305 (4th August 1888) to a noble
family, Syedna Taher Saifuddin imbued within himself the timeless
religious traditions of his gracious family and learnt from his
sagacious peers, Syedi Abdeali Mohiyuddin and Syedna Abdullah Badruddin
(AQ), the latter of whom was his predecessor in office.
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