Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin

Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (born March 6, 1915) is the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of a minority group of Shia Muslims, the Dawoodi Bohras.

Burhanuddin was born in Surat, Gujarat, India. He was appointed to be the future Da'i al-Mutlaq at the age of 19 by his father, the previous Da'i al-Mutlaq, Syedna Taher Saifuddin. Burhanuddin succeeded his father, upon the latter's death, when he was 53 years of age. Burhanuddin has seven sons and three daughters. All members of his family reside at Saifee Mahal, Bombay.

Burhanuddin's era has been marked by a fusion of traditional values and modern advances for Dawoodi Bohras.

He supervises the curriculum of the Arabic academy Aljamea-tus-saifiyah and has emphasized education and modernization for both men and women of the community. The quest for knowledge includes religious education as well as secular study in universities throughout the world. His era has also been marked by a widespread programme of construction of mosques, mausoleums and community buildings in Bohra centres around the world. There is, for example, the Raudat Tahera, the mausoleum of his father Syedna Taher Saifuddin in Mumbai, India. The mausoleum has the entire Qur'an engraved on its four walls. This has been done in gold leaf on marble with precious gems encrusted in all the 'Bismillahs' (the opening verses of each individual chapter of the Qur'an). He has also made a contribution to the holy shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam.

Bohra communities across the world have sought to build their own mosques in their hometowns and Bohra mosques have been constructed as far afield as North America, Europe, Africa and Australia. These community centres and places of worship have fostered both a local and worldwide sense of togetherness and brotherhood which is seen most vividly in the annual gathering to commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Hussain bin Ali at Karbala in the seventh century. He has also contributed towards the re-establishment of the Saifee Hospital in Mumbai in June 2005.

He delivers nine days of sermons every year, the event taking place in a different city each time. Elsewhere, the commemoration also takes place in every Bohra centre across the world, with sermons given by appointed priests to local communities. He also gives scholarships to students in India. He is driving a Trust in Mumbai for this purpose and many Dawoodi Bohra students are assisted by this Trust.

He has been involved with several notable projects including:

1. The Raudat Tahera in Bombay.
2. The repair and renovation of the Masjid Al Jame ul Anwar.
3. The repair and renovation of the Masjid Al Aqmar in Egypt.
4. The gold plating of Maulana Ali's Zaree in Najaf.
5. The gold plating of Maulana Abbas e Alamdaar's Zaree in Karbala.
6. The Mukalafat-al-Rasool next to Rasul Hussain, where some of the Imams are buried.
7. The construction of Maulatena Zainab's Zaree in Egypt.

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) received his religious and administrative training during the leadership of his renowned father and predecessor, Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) (1915-1965) and succeeded him in 1965. 

He has led his community into an era of fresh vibrancy and renewed zeal by devoting his efforts to the preservation of the Fatemi heritage in a number of ways: He has ushered in a spiritual reawakening by requiring his followers to adhere closely to Qur'anic injunctions in their everyday lives. 

He has emphasized adherence to Islamic business ethics that include the prohibition of interest and institutionalized interest-free loan schemes to cater for the community's borrowing needs. 

He has strengthened the age-old practice of lamenting the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussein (AS); the annual gatherings to mourn the martyrdom during the first ten day of Muharram (Ashura) has become the major spiritual expression of the community, with thousands of Mumineen attending the sermons of the dai’s, which are relayed live to centers all over the world. 

Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, who is known as Mansur-ul-Yemen, has turned his particular attention to his followers in Yemen. Under his reign, his followers in Yemen constructed the mausoleum of Syedna Hatim Saheb and the Masjid in Hutaib Mubarak. He also undertook projects for providing water and electricity to the faiz and town.

He was elected as the Chancellor of the Muslim University of Aligarh by the Court of the University in its meeting on October 3, 1999. On April 26, 2000 he visited Australia and became the first Da'i al-Mutlaq to have traveled to five continents.

On October 17, 1966, Aligarh Muslim University conferred upon him a Doctorate of Theology at a special convocation.

In June 2004 he was conferred a Doctorate of Literature (Honoris Causa) by the Governor of Karachi at a ceremony held at the Karachi University. He has also been honored by the highest civilian ranks of Jordan and Egypt.

The cities of San Jose, Houston, Dallas, Irving and Richmond Hill have accorded Him an Honorary Citizenship and Keys to their cities.

In August 2005, He inaugurated a mosque in the United States in Fremont, California. President George W. Bush congratulated him for this in a letter from the White House.