Back بهرة داودية Arabic بهره داوديه ARZ দাউদী বোহরা Bengali/Bangla Dawudi Bohras German Bohra Da'udí Spanish Dawudi Bohra Basque بوهره داوودی Persian Dawoodi Bohras French દાઉદી બોહરા Gujarati दाऊदी बोहरा Hindi

Dawoodi Bohra

  • Dawoodi Bohra
  • داؤوْدِي بُهرة
Dawoodi Bohra family in their religious attire.
Total population
1,000,000[1]–2,000,000[2]
2021
Regions with significant populations
 India
500,000–1,000,000[3][4]
Religions
Shi'a Islam
Scriptures
Quran
Languages
  • Predominantly spoken:
  • Historical:
  • Sacred:
Related ethnic groups
Website
thedawoodibohras.com

The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community resides in India, with sizable congregations in Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East. They also have a growing presence in Europe, North America, and Australia. The present leader is the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, Mufaddal Saifuddin who assumed office in January 2014.[5]

The Dawoodi Bohras are a close-knit Muslim community. Their faith is founded on the conviction that there is only one deity, Allah that the Islamic prophet Mohammed is the last of the Prophets and, that the Holy Quran is the message of Allah. They follow the sharia-mandated tenets of Islam, such as reciting the Quran, performing the five daily prayers (Salah), and fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the mandatory Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah and the Prophet's shrine in Medina.[6] At the core of their faith is the belief that the Ahl al-Bayt, members of the Prophet Mohammed's family, are the rightful imams and successors of mankind. Like all Shia Muslims, they hold that Ali bin Abi Talib, the Prophet Mohammed's legatee, succeeded him and provided an interpretation and explanation of the Holy Quran. A fundamental tenet of the Dawoodi Bohra faith is that there will always be an imam on earth, descended from the Prophet through his grandson Imam Husain, to carry on the task of leading the faithful. When the imam chooses to withdraw from public view, he is represented by the Al-Da'i al-Mutlaq (unrestricted missionary) who, like the imam, preserves and protects the faith until the imam's return. After the 21st Imam chose seclusion in 1132, the Al-dai al-mutlaq operated from Yemen and subsequently from India, for over the last 450 years. The Dais are considered to have played an important role in shaping the lives of Dawoodi Bohras and contributing to the community's progress over the last nine centuries.[5]

Mostly self-reliant, the Bohras are typically well-educated traders, businesspersons, and entrepreneurs. The word "Bohra" comes from the Gujarati word vohrvu or vyavahar, meaning "to trade".[7] Their heritage is derived from the traditions of the Fatimid imams; direct descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, who ruled over North Africa between the 10th and 11th century CE.[8] Whilst adherence to traditional values is important for the community, they are also known for their mercantilism and forward outlook.[9]

Lisaan ud-Da'wat is the language of the Bohras. The language is based on a Neo-Indo-Aryan language, Gujarati, but incorporates a heavy amount of Arabic, Urdu, and Persian vocabulary and is written in the Arabic script naskh style. The Bohras' cultural attire is known as Libas al-Anwar and men usually grow a full beard. Prominent religious festivals include Eid-e-Milad an-Nabi, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Muharram. The majlis is an age-old practise of the community in which they congregate on major dates in the Islamic calendar. The Bohra community during their gatherings, eat in groups of eight or nine people, seated around a big metal plate called a thaal.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference lentin1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference TheMuslim5002021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Bohra in India". Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Who are Dawoodi Bohras: 5 points to understand this Muslim community in India". dnaindia.com. Diligent Media Corporation. 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Blank, Jonah (2001). Mullahs on the mainframe: Islam and modernity among the Daudi Bohras. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 156. ISBN 0226056767. OCLC 923455839.
  6. ^ Mamujee, Yusuf (2017). The Dawoodi Bohras of Sri Lanka (PDF). Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue and Official Languages, Government of Sri Lanka. p. 291. ISBN 978-955-7537-03-0.
  7. ^ Suk-Wai, Cheong (15 October 2015). "Roots, culture and customs". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  8. ^ Madraswala, Aliasger (2020). "The Iḥyāʾ of al-Jāmiʿ al-Anwar: Religious Values in the Restoration of Sacred Islamic Monuments". School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University: 1 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Horan, Deborah. "Same faith, with a difference". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020.
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