Saturday Series

GOOGLE.COM -- A lost opportunity never recurs until too late. ~~ One's opportunity is gone like a cloud: take advantage, then, of every good one. ~~ A promise is a debt paid in fulfilling it. ~~ Make no promise you will be unable to keep. ~~ The generous man performs what he promises, and when he is powerful, he spares his enemy. ~~ One reaps as one sows, and one is rewarded according to what one has done. ~~ Day and night are ever at work upon you ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Heigh-ho! Wealth is a blessing, but health is a greater: better still is a virtuous heart. ~~ These two are not appreciated until lost -- youth and health. ~~ Confidence comes of a tranquil heart and a healthy body. ~~ If one is healthy, it is a pleasure to be alive. ~~ To give up desiring things is the most efficacious remedy. ~~ Shun the full stomach that sicknesses follow and evil dreams. ~~ Whoever will not suffer the deprivation of forbidden meats, sees his disease drag on. ~~ To conceal one's sickness from the doctor is ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- The avaricious man is treasurer to his heirs. ~~ The avaricious man is poor, even if the whole world is his. ~~ A miser always feels humiliated, and a jealous man is for ever diseased. ~~ Greed and covetousness dulls the faculties of Judgement and wisdom. ~~ Greed is permanent slavery. ~~ When the avaricious man succeeds beyond his limit, his ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Let not poverty and misfortune distress you; for as gold is tried in the fire, the believer is exposed to trials. ~~ The man content with little need not much. ~~ Whosoever is contented with the lot that God has appointed him, will not be grieved because of what he lacks. ~~ If you cannot get things as much as you desire then be content with what you have. ~~ Look often with attention on you inferior: it is one of the ways of expressing gratitude to heaven. ~~ One who practices moderation and temperance will never ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Great qualities confer nobility, and not the decayed boned of ancestors. ~~ A bad son destroys all one's honour, and disgraces his ancestors. ~~ One wins a fortune by taking risks. ~~ Money is not lost when it is spent for your good name. ~~ Do not count the man as rich who does not spend. ~~ Seek help from God against the drunkenness of wealth, of which one cures oneself only with such difficulty. ~~ Too many debts make a sincere man a liar, and ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- 'Manly bravery' is a general term embracing all other qualities. ~~ The coward has no enjoyment of life. ~~ If you are able to discriminate, it will be a certainty for you that bravery Hand truth are always found together, and falsehood and cowardice. ~~ Bravery is a resplendent honour, and cowardice a visible degradation. ~~ One who guards his secrets has complete control over his affairs. ~~ The wise man bath a wonderful box in which to keep his secrets. ~~ Whoever confides his secret to another, agrees to his on debasement. ~~ Whoever divulges your secret ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Be generous to your kinsman; honour him, if he is wise: suffer him, if he is a fool ; help him, if he is poor; for he may prove the greatest support to you both in your weal and in your woe. ~~ Have confidence in men, and you will enjoy their friendship. ~~ A man is no friend of yours, if you need one to arbitrate between him and you. ~~ Better be alone than with a bad companion. ~~ A man unable to distinguish good and evil is an enemy. ~~ Whoever deserts his own side, helps his enemies. ~~ If there should a reconciliation come about between your enemy and yourself, and you ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- The worst country is that in which the inhabitants are not in safety. ~~ It is right that the king should govern himself before governing his subjects. ~~ It is the duty of a ruler to select for the people what he selects for himself. ~~ The decline of a kingdom shows itself: in loss of principle; in attachment to trifles; in bad men getting the upper hand; in the meritorious being kept down. ~~ Do justly, and your power will last. ~~ Three classes of men are cut off from the benediction of heaven -- the oppressors, those who aid and abet oppression, those who tolerate oppression. ~~ Whoever rides the horse of ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Most noble actions are bearing the debts of others, and entertaining one's guests. ~~ Do not be ashamed to give a little; for to deceive is to give still less. ~~ Give to a poor man before he asks; for if you place him under the necessity of stretching out his hand, you take from his self-respect more than the value of your alms. ~~ Return not evil for good; for that is to obstruct benevolence. ~~ The last generosity is to forget the claim that you have against another, and to remember the right that someone has over you. ~~ Whosoever confers a benefit on an undeserving man wastes it. ~~ Hide the good you do, and ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Be on your guard against listening to exaggerated praise of yourself: an odour spreads therefrom that corrupts and debases the heart. ~~ Do not flatter: it is no sign of faith. ~~ The ugliest verity is that used to praise oneself. ~~ Beware of praising anyone for qualities that he lacks: his acts betray him, and give you the lie. ~~ One who praises you for qualities you lack, will next be found ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- The word light on the lips and easy to understand is eloquent. ~~ The best speaking is that which does not offend the ear, and the understanding of which does not fatigue the intelligence. ~~ Speech is as a medicine, a small dose of which is beneficial, but a large one mortal. ~~ Silence increases dignity. ~~ The most eloquent answer to a fool is silence. ~~ To keep silent when you can say something wise and useful is as bad as keep on propagating foolish and unwise thoughts. ~~ Fear your tongue: it is an arrow that misses the mark. ~~ Beware of commenting on a fact that you do ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- One who reflects on God's gifts, succeeds. ~~ Belief and wisdom are twin brother; God accepts not the one without the other. ~~ The wise man relies upon his labour; the ignorant trusts in illusions. ~~ The sage seeks perfection; the ignoramus, wealth. ~~ The supposition of a wise man is nearer being right than an ignoramus's knowledge. ~~ A man's reflection is the mirror that shows him his good and bad deeds. ~~ Whoever has the power of reflection, draws a lesson from everything. ~~ A wise man needs each day an hour set apart in which to examine his conscience, and ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Whoever in his mind reflects a good opinion, learns to distinguish points of error. ~~ Who never corrects himself, will never correct another. ~~ The man of least capacity is the one who shows himself incapable of self-correction. ~~ The truly learned man is he who understands that what he knows is but little in comparison with what he does not know. ~~ The man the most secure in his knowledge is he whose convictions are not weakened by doubt. ~~ Do not hate what you do not know; for the greater part of knowledge consists of what you do not know. ~~ One learns by asking questions. ~~ To devote oneself to the religious life without ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- One of the finest of a liberal man's gestures is not to take advantage of what he knows of others. ~~ The worst of men is one who is all agog to see the defects of another, but is blind to his own vices. ~~ The man the most worthy of pity is the scholar at the orders of an ignoramus, the man of a generous nature directed by an avaricious man, and one of piety dictated to by a debauchee. ~~ A good man revolts against violence, but shows himself mild and reasonable, if well treated. The rascal is hard and gross in the presence of kindness, humbling himself only to harshness. ~~ The wicked man thinks no good of any one; for how ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Do not rejoice at another's fall; for you know not what life has in store for you. ~~ Do not let your heart know regret for the past; for so you will not have time to occupy yourself in the future. ~~ Do not say what you fear will be disproved. ~~ The provident never puts off until tomorrow what he could do today. ~~ Whoever mounts the horse of obstinacy, asks for trouble. ~~ Shun the society of those whose talk of another is of one vicious: for every companion of theirs there is a share. ~~ Who hurries, trips. ~~ It is a great virtue never to make in secret a plan that you would blush to disclose. ~~ Be on your guard against ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Worldwide glory can be undone by an hour's degradation. ~~ Life is an enemy that you did not provoke; that which you did not oppress, oppresses you; that which you never attacked, attacks you. ~~ Three defects make life disagreeable -- vindictiveness, jealousy, a bad character. ~~ The past seems never to have been, and the future already to have been. ~~ It is astonishing that any one, and even while seeing his like die, should forget death. ~~ One expecting death gives himself up to good deeds. ~~ The rudest trials are these three ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Perfection is not of this world. ~~ The world is like a serpent: its touch soft, but its bite mortal. ~~ Look upon the world with the eye of the cloistered ascetic: not as one loving it blindly. ~~ The inhabitants of the earth are only dogs barking, and annoying beasts. The one howls against the other. The strong devour the weak; the great subdue the little. They are beasts of burden; some harnessed, the others at large. ~~ Every day an angel of heaven cries: ... ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Mawlana Shah Karim al-Husayni was born in Geneva on December 13, 1936. During the Second World War (1939-1945), when his father Prince Aly Salomone Khan offered his services to the Allies, the Imam with his brother Prince Amyn Muhammad, accompanied by their mother, Princess Tajudawla, went to Nairobi on May 27, 1941, where they lived for four years. By the time the Imam was seven years old, he had been well versed in religious education under the tutorship of Missionary Kaderali B. Patel. In 1943, he led the Eid al-Fitr prayer for the Ismailis in the Nairobi Jamatkhana. Afterwards he shook hands and greeted every Ismaili and, when asked if he was tired, he lovingly replied, "I am not at all tired. I am indeed very glad to meet and greet the whole jamat and young children ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- His name was Muhammad Sultan and was born at Honeymoon Lodge in Karachi on Friday, November 2, 1877. When Imam Hasan Ali Shah learned of his birth, he said: "Name him Muhammad Sultan. He will be a Sultan (emperor) in the world. His period will witness wonderful events, and will earn distinguished position in the world." His father, Imam Aga Ali Shah had declared him as his successor for the first time in the village of Kamod in Ahmadabad on December 12, 1884. On January 14, 1885, the Imam took his son and successor into the Bombay Jamatkhana, seated him on the throne and asked the jamat to perform his dastbosi. Thousand participated in the ceremony. Later that year, on August 17, he ascended to the throne of Imamate at the age of 7 years, 9 months and 16 days. Until the age of 18 years, ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- On succeeding to the Imamate in 1881, Imam Aga Ali Shah maintained friendly relations with British cemented by his father and was granted the title of His Highness. Concerned about the welfare of the Ismailis in India, he spared no pains in raising their social status. Destitute Ismailis received generous help from him and, in 1882, he opened The Khoja Ismaili School in Bombay and elsewhere. Together, with Rahimtullah Muhammad Sayani , he also promoted educational and philanthropic institutions for Indian Muslims. The Imam established close contacts with Ismaili communities in Upper Oxus districts, Badakhshan, Samarkand, Burma and East Africa. The growing prosperity of the Ismailis and ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Imam Hasan Ali Shah led a peaceful life in Mahallat, and enjoyed honour at the Qajarid court until the death of Shah Fateh Ali. The new king Muhammad Shah appointed the Imam as the governor of Kirman. The province of Kirman was then in the hands of the rebellious sons of Shuja al-Saltana, a pretender to the throne, and was also regularly raided by the Afghans and Baluchis. The Imam diplomatically restored order in Kirman with his own resources. When the Imam sent report of his victories to Tehran, but he obtained no appreciative words due to rumours that he was extending his influence in southern Iran. The Imam had paid half the expenses incurred in the campaign ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Imam Khalilullah Ali resided in Mahallat but moved to Kahek after assuming the Imamate in 1792. His upbringing in Mahallat began under the care of his uncle, Mirza Muhammad Bakir at the age of two. L.J. Rousseau was the first of many European travellers who drew attention to contemporary Ismaili community and their living Imam: "There were still many Ismailis in the country who owed allegiance to an Imam of the line of Ismail." Silvestre de Sacy, quotes an excerpt of a letter Rousseau's son wrote to him: "The Ismailis even today have their Imam, or pontiff, descending, as they claim, from Jafar Sadiq, the chief of their sect." ... In 1233/1817, a dispute took place between the Ismailis and ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- All that is known about a few Ismaili da'is of this time are their names: Pir Mihrab Beg, Pir Ali Asghar Beg and Pir Ali Akbar Beg. From the Turkish word "beg," it seems they preached in Iranian regions inhabited by Turkomans. At this time, two major theological schools emerged in Iran. The majority, known as the Usuli, stressed first principles and all sources (usul) of law: the Koran, the Prophet and the Imams. The opposing movement, known as the Akhbari, doubted the validity of reason as an independent basis of law. It stressed the massive use of reports (akhbar) from Prophet and the Imams. However, since both the Usuli and Akhbari targted Sufis, the Ismailis had to change their Sufic appearance to a more Shi'ite one. It seems Imam Hasan Ali ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Imam Syed Ali was also known as Shah Ataullah II among the Nimatullahi Sufi order. On the death of Shah Abbas in 1629, Iran's liberal policy towards the Sufism declined and Sufis began to be persecuted and killed. Their khanaqahs (places of worship) were demolished. The Nimatullahi Sufi order was also not spared and, before the massacre of the Ismailis, known as Ataullahis in Khorasan and Kirman, Imam Syed Ali ordered them to join the royal army at once, which avoided the danger of massacre. A small regiment of Ataullahis in the Safavid army was also created in Khorasan and Kirman. Khaki Khorasani, a famous Ismaili poet ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Born in 1574, in Anjudan, Imam Nizar assumed the Imamat at 11. He is reported to have gone to Khorasan in 1606, with a few da'is, where he concealed his identity and assumed the Sufi sounding name, Shah Ataullah, among the Nimatullahis. It seems many Nimatullahis secretly adhered to Ismailism and, when Imam Nizar left for Kirman, some of them joined him. In Syria, the bigoted Nusairis raided Ismaili villages in 1591, pillaging their properties. This time, however, the Ismailis repelled them with their own resources. When Syed Abdul Nabi, an Indian vakil, visited Kahek -- the new headquarters in Kirman -- he was rejoiced to behold Imam Nizar in the garden, facing the palace, and relates in his ginan that "The everlasting Lord resides in Kahek in ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Imam Khalilullah Ali examined the economical conditions of the poor Ismailis residing in Iran, India, Syria, Badakhshan and Central Asia, and sent necessary aid through his family members. He also held a conference of da'is from different regions to review the mission activities and made vital changes in Syria and India. Iranian Ismailis were mostly engaged in agriculture and Laters some ventured into local trade, becoming leading merchants in Kirman and dominated trade in Hormuz around 1580. Mostly they traded with the Portuguese and, later, with the English East India Company. There are also indications that Khoja Ismaili traders launched their commercial activities between Hormuz and Kutchh. The Ismaili ruler of Gilgit, Raja Trakhan ...

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GOOGLE.COM -- Ali Shah, surnamed Shah Murad or Murad Mirza lived in Anjudan where his style of living, dress and food, were characterized by a rare simplicity. It is said that the Muharram was the ideal month for the Ismaili pilgrims visiting Anjudan. They carried usually a small dummy taziya (a replica of Imam Hussain's tomb), in the front of the caravan, which allowed them to pass through the bitterest and most aggressive places dressed in Shi'ite garbs. They placed the taziya at the entrance of Anjudan, and took it again while leaving the town. Imam Murad Mirza appointed Bawa Yasir, known as Bawa Sir as a vakil for India. He came in Sind and ...

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