Simerg

Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, waves goodbye at Montreal airport at the end of his recent visit to Canada. Photo: The Ismaili/Moez Visram. By SHIRAZ PRADHAN It is natural that as we reflect and interiorize the joys of sights and sensations of mulaqats with Mawlana Hazar Imam including the most recent ones in Toronto and Montreal, the post-mulaqat ...

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Mubaraki to the Ontario jamat, mubaraki to the volunteers and mubaraki to the leadership; and Mawlana Hazar Imam "Amen" for your immense love, care and blessings, as well as for assuring us that you are always with us! By ABDULMALIK J. MERCHANT Qur'anic ayat inside front page of Mulaqat Canada 2017 information booklet. PLEASE ALSO CLICK:Update #6: After a memorable 4-day ...

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(Two poems and a beautifully composed new song for mulaqat with Mawlana Shah Karim Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan) Tears of Joy: The Mulaqat at Montreal A Tribute to the Imagery of Ibn Farid By KARIM H. KARIM As I turned to gaze These orbs turned translucent; Although sight betrayed me In concealing your form, Every atom spoke of ...

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Salawat written in Nast'aliq calligraphy. Credit: Wikishia. Allahumm-a Sall-i 'Ala Muhammad-in Wa Al-i Muhammad By SHIRAZ PRADHAN (The author would like readers to note that this short piece was prepared from Khayal Aly's excellent and elaborate essay on the Salawat titled "Realities of the Salawat." We are also pleased to include with this piece a musical rendering of the Salawat composed ...

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"The esoteric (batini) vision, realized through pious works and the constant remembrance of God during the nightly vigil, as well as the exoteric (zaheri) vision, and beholding the gateway of God's mercy, becomes the ultimate purpose of human life....Piety should be for the purpose of recognizing and beholding God, which is achieved through the recognition and vision of the Imam of ...

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Here are links to 2 amazing stories about the discovery off the coast of Israel of 2580 dinars minted during the reigns of Fatimid Ismaili Imams Al-Hakim and Al-Zahir. The BBC story has just been posted on the BBC travel website. A link to an earlier story appears after the BBC link. 1. From the BBC: The city with a hoard ...

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This is the second article in a special series that we hope will contribute to making the forthcoming mulaqat with Mawlana Shah Karim al-Hussaini Hazar Imam more meaningful and purposeful. If you missed any of the previous post(s), here are the links:Ismailis of Eastern Canada and their upcoming holy encounter with their beloved 49th Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan: #1 ...

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LETTER FROM PUBLISHER Eastern Canada shown in green on map on left consists of the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. The total population is 23,946,177 (2016), and approximately 40-45,000 Ismailis live in these provinces. Map (left) Connormah - Wikipedia, CC BY 1.0, , and (right) Natural Resources, Canada. Lets us make ...

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Please click on photos or Barakah Aga Khan receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Asia Society. ~~~~~ 140 years: From birth of Aga Khan III to Diamond Jubilee of Aga Khan IV. ~~~~~ Aga Khan 1979 Asia Society Speech: "Building City of God and Man" ~~~~~~ AGA KHAN'S FORTHCOMING VISIT TO EASTERN CANADA GOD'S KINGDOM: AGA KHAN ON PATRIOTISM AGA KHAN'S VIEW ...

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His Highness the Aga Khan, Mawlana Hazar Imam, at the Dar es Salaam Darbar in October 2017. He will grace the Eastern Canadian Ismailis with his didar in November 2017. Ismailis gasp in delight and shed tears of joy at announcement of Mawlana Hazar Imam's visit to Canada in November 2017 By Malik Merchant, Editor (Note: We will have regular updates ...

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Anaar Naran (1936-2017) passed away peacefully on September 14, 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. Many readers responded to the post and on the social media with messages of condolences to her family as well as prayers for the eternal peace of her soul. We publish below an edited version of a eulogy presented by her son Amyn. -- Ed. By AMYN NARAN ...

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By ALNOOR JEHANGIR MERCHANT Simerg's recent post titled Awesome and Rare Collection of Ismaili Ginans with Music at the British Library and a number of related online contributions, especially Aly Sunderji's sharing of the equally rare and exceptional audio recordings of devotional songs produced in Tanganyika in 1946 commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III (link ...

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"With hope I stand at thy door, O Ali! And sincerely beg of thee, bless me with thy holy didar, O great lord and benefactor! At thy feet I fall to prostrate"....MORE PLEASE CLICK: Simerg's Imamat and Didar Series (pdf) The Jamat of Hunza accept the gracious didar (glimpse) of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, as he visits ...

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1935-1955: Truly Inspiring Recordings of Ab Teri Mohabat, Marna Hai re Jarur, Ho Jire mara Hansa, Satgur miliya mune aaj and Bhajan (Material compiled from the British Library, Endangered Archives Project) A Young India gramaphone record. Photo: The British Library, Simerg has come across an extremely rare collection of ginans that were recorded on 78-rpm shellac gramophone records in Mumbai, India ...

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THE NAAD-E-ALI INTRODUCED BY HUSSEIN RASHID Who is the Ali, the universal hero of Islam? The last of those who are known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the greatness of Imam Ali (a.s) is best represented by story of Khaybar. The story begins that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) laid siege to the fort of Khaybar, but the walls were so well-fortified that ...

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The following article is reproduced from , a website with the theme "His Highness the Aga Khan: A Visual and Textual Celebration, 1957-2017." Karim Aga Khan: Modern Personification of Historical Islamic Rationalism, Charity and Peace Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists by Michael Hamilton Morgan with a Foreword by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. ...

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BY MALIK MERCHANT Anaar Naran (1936 - 2017) pictured at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now known as the Canadian Museum of History) during her visit to Ottawa, Canada, in 2011. Photo: Simerg/Malik Merchant. It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of a beloved family friend, educator and teacher par excellence, Anaar Naran, at the age of 81. ...

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On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature's most awe inspiring sights - a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere - the corona - can be seen, will ...

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Simerg's sister website is dedicated to the textual and visual celebration of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan. Here are links to the latest pieces on Barakah. "We have all heard of twin cities, why not twin newspaper companies and news organizations between the industrial world and the developing world? These could provide mutually beneficial exchanges of managerial, ...

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Bruno Freschi, one of North America's most honored architects, built the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre in Burnaby, BC, for His Highness the Aga Khan. PLEASE CLICK: His Highness the Aga Khan, an inspired vision of architecture In Barakah's unique visual and textual portrayal of His Highness the Aga Khan, Freschi provides remarkable insights into the thought processes that were used to ...

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DELIGHTFUL ESSAYS, TRIBUTES, STORIES, PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS... The lapel pin distributed during the Diamond Jubilee celebration serves as a powerful reminder for an Ismaili of his/her loyalty and allegiance to the Imam of the Time, and enables Ismailis to act as ambassadors of the faith of Islam.MORE BY MALIK MERCHANT ~~~~~~~~ A rare and insightful 1960 interview of the Aga Khan ...

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BY MALIK MERCHANT (reporting from Winnipeg) Ismaila Alfa of Radio 1 CBC Winnipeg asks thousands of people who have formed a "Living Maple Leaf" at Winnipeg's iconic street intersection at Portage and Main to look up and smile for a cameraman stationed at the top of a high rise office building. Photo: Simerg/Malik Merchant. Copyright. 2,500 red T-shirts were handed out ...

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Great pieces at ! Te Aga Khan presses a button to launch Nation Media's new printing press. Reader: I thoroughly enjoy reading the Daily Nation regularly. The writers know how to make the stories interesting. The format is excellent. The writers know how to attract the readers, as the story flows smoothly. It is fun reading these stories and one gets ...

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INTRODUCED BY ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Malek Merchant, 85, with her former student and Dar es Salaam neighbour Nazim Rawjee pictured outside the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simerg. My mum is an avid reader. She is 85 but doesn't look her age when you see her glowing face; she is often interrupted with "he is your brother" before she gets a ...

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We have a series of delightful images in the following slide show presented by , Simerg's sister website with the theme "His Highness the Aga Khan, A Visual and Textual Celebration, 1957 - 2017." Please watch the slide show and also click on Great photos of a "GREAT DAY" at 330 Sussex, a post that offers more details of the opening ...

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Izzat Muneyb (d. May 20, 2017) By Abdulmalik Merchant (NOTE: You may submit a condolence by clicking the COMMENTS box shown above left, beside the title -- thank you, ed.). It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Izzat Muneyb on May 20th, 2017 in London, England, at the age of 75. Izzat was buried at the Ismaili ...

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The Prophet Muhammad taught: "The doors of goodness are many: enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf, leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one's legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the feeble with the strength of one's arms." And ...

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"THE ISMAILI IMAMAT REPRESENTS THE SUCCESSION OF IMAMS SINCE THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD" -- HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN, 2014 INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES Mawlana Hazar Imam Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness the Aga Khan (pictured above), in direct lineal descent from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) through Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and Hazrat Bibi Fatima (a.s), is the 49th Imam of ...

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The following is an announcement posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Simerg will update this post as and when other details, photos and videos become available. The link to the Ministry's website is provided below. With regard to the Minister's mention of Mawlana Hazar Imam's forthcoming Diamond Jubilee, we invite all our readers ...

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"The colossal work which you achieve day after day towards a better living standard in the most deprived countries is not unknown to us. The spirit on which this action is based is amongst the purest expressions of human fraternity." --READ RENE LEVESQUE'S TRIBUTE TO THE AGA KHAN "To a non-Muslim the arguments were difficult to follow, but it was clear ...

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A photo taken at a UN concert celebrating Nowruz (also Novruz, Navruz, Nooroz, Nevruz, Nauryz). In 2010 the UN General Assembly proclaimed International Nowruz Day at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday -- Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Inscribed in 2009 -- and ...

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His Highness the Aga Khan pictured during his Golden Jubilee visit to Vancouver, Canada, on November 25, 2008. Photo: The Ismaili Canada, Golden Jubilee 1957 - 2007, Canada Visit. Please click on photo for essay. Simerg launches its latest new blog, barakah, with Nizar Motani's piece in which he portrays the Aga Khan as one of the principal actors on the ...

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BY ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Publisher/Editor, Simerg Thousands of readers have been clicking in recent weeks to read earlier pieces published on this website, which was was founded some 8 years ago. The interest in older articles has encouraged us to continue with this second part in an on-going series that is designed to draw our readers' attention to previously published articles that ...

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Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at King's College London, highlights in his latest book Philosophy in the Islamic World just how influential certain theologians and mystics from this milieu have been. Asked to single out one thinker, he names the Persian polymath Avicenna (980-1037) who invented "probably the most influential and interesting medieval ...

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Report compiled by Abdulmalik Merchant Poem by Shariffa Keshavjee In a special talika (written message) read out in Ismaili jamatkhanas on Friday, January 13, 2017, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, informed his world-wide community that Princess Salwa gave birth to a baby boy named Sinan in London, England, on January 2, 2017. The Princess is married to Prince ...

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"In this region no guest is a foreigner and every visitor is warmly welcomed and enjoys amazing hospitality. Food prepared from the heart is a labour of love...As I read and re-read the book, I feel that the earth itself compressed to make a safe haven for these very special people who truly live in harmony with mother earth. Similar to ...

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It is said that Avicenna, the famed Muslim philosopher, medical expert and scientist, whom Ismailis like to claim as their own, created the first ever recipe for the Pilaf (Pilau, Plov, Palov, Oshi Palav etc.). He was born in Bukhara in modern day Uzbekistan. Now more than a 1000 years later, the much beloved Central Asian dish has been recognized by ...

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BY ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Publisher/Editor, Simerg On an occasional basis, Simerg will be drawing its readers' attention to popular pieces published on this website over the past almost eight years. Likewise, in the course of this series I shall be informing readers about many extraordinary pieces that have not received the readership they deserve. For now, here are links to 7 pieces ...

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