BY NADIM PABANI 1. INTRODUCTION "We ought not to be ashamed of appreciating the truth and of acquiring it wherever it comes from, even if it comes from races distant and nations different from us..." -- Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (c. 800-866) 1.1. The Spirit of Free Inquiry in Islam These words, uttered by one of the greatest Islamic ...
As part of one of our previous annual anniversary series, we had asked our readers to tell us how a particular Jamatkahana has impacted their lives. Links to some of the reflections that we published are provided below. Ismailis and Toronto residents alike eagerly await and are excited about the opening of the new Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre in Toronto, along ...
Editor's note:Among the photos we recently published of His Highness the Aga Khan's visit to the Aga Khan Primary School, Nairobi (see link at bottom of this page), was a unique, previously unpublished portrait of the Aga Khan. We are pleased to inform readers that the photographer of that portrait, Sarfraz Sadaruddin of Vancouver, Canada, has approached us and generously provided ...
Simerg rejoices with its readers all over the world on the auspicious occasion of Eid al-Fitr and invites you to send a festive card to your family members and friends through the official website of the Ismaili community by clicking on or the image below. The Ismaili website contains varying themes for its eCards including a wonderful selection of images ...
"....when it comes to being the first Pakistani woman and the first Ismaili woman to put the nation's flag and the Ismaili Imamat red and green flag on top of the world, one cannot adequately express the feeling. It is indeed a BLESSING of a life time! We did bring the flag back, and with all love and respect, sent it ...
1. THE OTTAWA JAMATKHANA Hundreds of Ismailis come by the busloads and personal automobiles to visit Ottawa during the summer months - for many the primary destinations are the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building and the beautiful new Ottawa Jamatkhana which opened exactly a year ago, on July 19, 2013. The visitors marvel at the Ottawa Jamatkhana's spacious facilities for ...
BY KARIMA MAGHRABY (Additional material compiled by Simerg) In his Khamsa, Shab-i Qadr (the Night of Power), the renowned Persian poet Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d. 1325 CE) tells the story of a saint who made a failed attempt to stay awake until the Laylat al-Qadr. This image is taken from a folio in the Aga Khan Museum collection; the Toronto museum ...
ESSENCE OF IMAM by Imam 'Abd al-Salam, 15th Century There is an ode of the 33rd Ismaili Imam 'Abd al-Salam in which he says that the talisman (anything that has magical powers) that can open the treasure trove of spiritual meaning of the Holy Qur'an is the Imam. This ode is lucidly explained by Dr. Shafique Virani in his path breaking ...
A special NEW series about objects that are linked to Ismaili history over the past 1400 years, from the dawn of Islam to the Imamat of the present forty-ninth Imam, Mawlana Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness the Aga Khan. INTRODUCED BY ABDULMALIK J. MERCHANT Publisher-Editor, Simerg and Simergphotos In his widely acclaimed and engagingly written "A History of the World ...
ESOTERIC TRADITION OF ISLAM By Life Science Fellowship "The initiatic journey to Islamic soil has been a repeated theme of European esotericism, ever since the Templars settled in Jerusalem and the mythical Christian Rosenkreuz learnt his trade in "Damcar" (Damascus). We find it in the lives of Paracelsus and Cagliostro, then, as travel became easier, in a whole host that includes ...
EVERY LINK ON THIS PAGE IS WORTH A CLICK His Highness the Aga Khan's First Historic Visit to Badakhshan "Shukr Mawlo, Shukr Mawlo" - When Hope is All You Have Left, a Story for Mawlana Hazar Imam's Salgirah by Gulnor Saratbekova (Uruguay/Tajikistan) Literary Reading: The Mystery of the Missing Mount Nasir Khushraw Olivier Galibert: Ismaili Portraits from Tajikistan by Olivier Galibert ...
"Say Nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life. If it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be bad." -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Credit: Istockphoto.com. Ancient voices are talking to us. Their message is clear: You are ...
The following are thematic excerpts from remarks made by His Highness the Aga Khan at the North-South Prize Ceremony, Senate Hall, Parliament, Lisbon, on June 12, 2014. Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim THE CEREMONY'S SIGNIFICANCE His Excellency Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the President of the Republic of Portugal presents His Highness the Aga Khan with the 2013 North-South Prize. - Photo: AKDN/ José Manuel Boavida Caria ...
I. WHAT IS NEOPLATONISM? Plato Plotinus If you live in the Western world today or have been influenced by it, you may be more of a Neoplatonist than you realize. As the mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead stated, the general characterization of the Western philosophical tradition "consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." [1] Neoplatonism is a relatively modern ...
By Kamaluddin A. Mohammed Folio from the "Blue Qur'an," (sura 30:28-32), Fatimid period (909-1171), second half of 9th-mid-10th century Tunisia, probably Qairawan. Gold and silver on indigo-dyed parchment 11 15/16 x 15 13/16 in. (30.4 x 40.2 cm) Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 2004. Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to the teaching of Islam, Allah, the Merciful, sent Prophets ...
Compiled and presented by Abdulmalik Merchant (Editor-Publisher, and ) Prime Minister Stephen Harper receiving an explanation about an exhibit displayed at the summit Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm's Reach. Photo Credit: The website of the Prime Minister of Canada. Editor's note: In 2000 world leaders joined together in an unprecedented UN summit to develop a blueprint to meet ...
BACKGROUND AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE POEM By Ikhwan Allani I wrote the poem as an example for the Al-Azhar group of senior students that I facilitate in Toronto, Canada. I wanted to illustrate a technique to embed an esoteric aspect of the Ismaili tariqah (path) through a universal medium such as poetry. This was one of the methods used by ...
PLEASE CLICK:An Esoteric Interpretation of the Mi'raj and the Prophetic Tradition 'I Have a Time with God' (li ma'a Allah waqt)By Jehangir A. Merchant This painted page from a manuscript shows the Archangel Gabriel with the Prophets Moses (left) and Muhammad (right). Surrounded by angels they discuss the question of daily prayers. This happened during Prophet Muhammad's ascent to heaven. Because ...
BY KERSI RUSTOMJI Special to Simerg INTRODUCTION: This ode is a tribute to the Indian merchants and traders, who played an important part in the economic development of the three East African nations of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. My work fills a gap in the histories of these nations in that, to my knowledge, no work has been written aimed at ...
Post compiled by Malik Merchant, Publisher-Editor, Simergphotos.com and Simerg,com Introduction: Victoria Day is a Federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819. Following the death of three uncles and her father, she became Queen of the United Kingdom on June 20, 1837 and ...
Editor's note:Erudite Ismaili missionary, Kamaluddin Ali Muhammad, has co-authored with his wife, Zarina, a series of Gujarati, Urdu and English texts on the Ismaili tariqah in recent years. A complete list of his works can be found on his website (see link below). In this piece below for Simerg, he introduces the subject of his most recent book published in English ...
One of the most popular history articles ever published on this bog has been expanded, revised and published as a 40 page dual-language booklet by its author, Toral Pradhan. The article which was first published in October 2013 (please click A Brief History of the Khoja Ismaili Community in Daman, India, from the Portuguese Period to the Present), was highly acclaimed ...
BY ALLISON WALLACE Perth, Australia Introduction My mother, Jean Kirk, was born in London in 1928 and died in Tasmania in early January 2014. She lived in London until 1956 when she married my father who had been born in Kenya to English parents, who had settled there in the early 1920's. Mum trained as a teacher in London and was ...
Samina Baig with her hero brother Mirza Ali (left) standing beside the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. Also in the photo, Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Mr.Syed Mehdi Shah, and his advisor, Ms. Sadia Danish. Photo: Samina Baig Facebook page. Copyright. Editor's Introductory Remarks: On May 19, 2013, at precisely 7:40 am, Samina Baig became the first Pakistani woman to reach ...
BY SADRU MEGHJI Portraits of the three Shaheeds, Karmali Dahya, Lalji Ladha and Missionary Khudabaksh Talib (right), who all died when their lorry slid into a ditch near Kilosa in 1925. The photo was displayed in the lobbies of jamatkhanas around East Africa at the instruction of the 48th Ismaili Imam, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan (1877-1957). ...
BY HASAN ESSA Rai Hussein Khanmohammed (1932 - 2013) It is with deep sadness that I wish to record the death of a personal friend and mentor, Rai Hussein Khanmohammed, who passed away peacefully on September 23, 2013, at the age of 80 at his residence in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Rangoon, Burma, on September 20, 1932. He ...
BY SHIRAZ A. PRADHAN "If paradise is the state of ultimate and perfect symmetry, the history of the 'BIG BANG' resembles that of "paradise lost". For the briefest instant at the origin of time when all laws of Physics were on an equal footing, all nature's elementary particles, heavy and light alike, interacted freely and democratically.... "The universe was once so ...
I. JOY AND BLESSINGS OF GINANS By Jalal Jaffer When the heart is yearning For peace, quiet, solace When the mind is questioning The whys, the whats, and the hows of life When the soul is feeling trapped Wanting to escape and soar out and beyond It is the lilting melodies, heart-wrenching and soothing It is the words and phrases, simple ...
SPRING HITHER By Navyn Naran do i hear the trickle of spring? do i see this first dawn welcoming the first warmth? the peering of the shoot, and tenacity of the hidden root, a glimpse of the sniffing, soft nose of the cotton-tailed rabbit.. delightful! Nature is all-knowing how did the world turn one day from winter to spring? how did ...
Compiled and prepared by Abdulmalik J. Merchant Publisher-Editor, Simerg.com As Canada pays its respect to the volunteers by marking the week of April 6, 2014, as Volunteer Week, we bring you some very rare historical quotations on service and voluntary work which appeared in a special Ismaili Volunteers, Scouts and Guides Souvenir published in 1954 to jointly commemorate the 48th Ismaili ...
We wish you a lifetime of "enlightened self-fulfillment" Malik Talib The President of His Highness the Aga Khan Ismaili Council for Canada, Malik Talib, issued the following message through the community's weekly newsletter "Al-Akhbar" as the country marks the National Volunteer Week from April 6-12: "On behalf of the Canadian institutions and the entire Jamat, I wish to express our deepest ...
ACTING IN THE PATH OF GOD Roshan Thomas was among those who were killed by terrorists in an incident in Kabul while she was celebrating the commencement of the Persian New Year, Navruz. She was buried earlier this week in Vancouver, where almost 2000 people from all walks of life attended her funeral at the North Vancouver Ismaili Jamatkhana. By Jalal ...
The Energy of Roshan and Zeenab The deaths of Roshan and Zeenab in Kabul at the hand of terrorists on the eve of Navroz have touched the hearts of thousands in Afghanistan, Canada and all around the world. By Navyn Naran how were you born? who is your mother? whose child are you? who bears a child? a woman. we, are ...
Simerg's new downloadable publication is filled with informative readings and inspiring poems including an explanation of the ginan "Eji Navroz na din sohamna". Please click on A Rich Collection of Readings and Poetry on Navroz or one of the following two NASA images showing a cylindrical projection of the earth and the earth as seen from the sun at noon on ...
Compiled and presented by Abdulmalik J. Merchant Publisher-Editor, www.simerg.com I. Excerpts from President Christina Paxson's Introduction to His Highness the Aga Khan A collection of thumbnails from His Highness the Aga Khan's visit to Brown University where delivered the Ogden lecture on the occasion of the University's 250th anniversary. Photo: The Ismaili Today we welcome His Highness the Aga Khan to ...
A QUANTUM LEAP Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) and 49th hereditary Imam at the Canadian Parliament on Thursday, February 27, 2014. Simerg Exclusive Photo: Copyright Jean-Marc Carisse. Please click on photo for enlargement. By Farouk B.K.S. Verjee Parliament Hill 27th February, 2014 will be etched as a momentous day in ...
The following English translation of selected parts of His Highness the Aga Khan's speech on February 27, 2014 to the Canadian Parliament which were in French was obtained from the live translation that was provided during the broadcast. HONOUR AND THE WORLDWIDE RECOGNITION OF IMAMAT His Highness the Aga Khan humbly accepts a standing ovation and honour at the Canadian Parliament ...
"As we all know, Canada is home to a well-established and fast-growing Ismaili community. His Highness has therefore become an increasingly frequent visitor, and always a welcome one." -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper His Highness the Aga Khan and Prime Minister Stephen Harper walk the Hall of Honour at the Parliament of Canada. where His Highness delivered an address to both ...
Simerg Welcomes Eye Witness Accounts of His Highness the Aga Khan's Parliament Address and His Presence at the Iconic Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in the Garden District of downtown Toronto. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats nearly 2800. Photo via blogto.com. Many dozens of ...
Compiled and presented by Abdulmalik J. Merchant Publisher-Editor, www.simerg.com An early portrait of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, with a framed photo of his grandfather, the 48th Ismaili Imam, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah (1877-1957) in the background. Photo by Philippe Le Tellier/Paris Match via Getty Images. Copyright. His Highness the Aga Khan is the direct descendant of ...
