BackDawoodi Bohra community’s spiritual leader Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin dies
He will be laid to rest at Raudat Tahera, the mausoleum which has the Syedna's father's Syedna Taher Saifuddin's tomb, on Saturday morning
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Mumbai: Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd spiritual leader of the one million-strong Dawoodi Bohra community, died in Mumbai on Friday after a heart attack. He was 102.
He will be laid to rest at Raudat Tahera, the mausoleum which has the Syedna’s father’s Syedna Taher Saifuddin’s tomb, on Saturday morning.
“He passed away at Saifee Mahal (his house in Mumbai) at about 11am from a heart attack. Even in his last days, he continued to give advice for the betterment of the community," said the late Syedna’s grandson Abdulqadir Bhaisaheb. “This was his 50th year as the Syedna, and we were planning celebrations for his birthday next month," he said. There was shock and grief in the community, as hundreds of Bohras from the city gathered at Saifee Masjid in Bhendi Bazaar. The Dawoodi Bohras are a sect of the Ismaili Shia community. “We saw him only a few days ago, at a celebration for Eid. We are shocked," said an emotional Asma Khediwalla, a Bhendi Bazaar resident, who rushed to the masjid when she got the message.
The Syedna’s successor, 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Muffadil Saifuddin, was in Colombo when his father passed away, and returned to India late on Friday.
The late Syedna had named his second son as the heir apparent after he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in London in 2011. Syedna Saifuddin will lead the Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) at Saifee Masjid on Saturday.
Members from across 40 countries are expected to attend the funeral.
“Bohras everywhere in the country and around the world have been alerted by the community’s internal communication system and will be visiting masjids to pray," said Saifee Rangwala, a community journalist who visited the Saifee Masjid.
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