Aga Khan introduces “Ali is truly Allah” as the Confession of Faith
Aga Khan III enjoyed a long life. During his 72 years of Imamat (leadership), from 1885 to 1957, he changed the course of history for the Khojah community. Socially and economically, Khojah community made great progress, and so did the Aga Khan. He became one of the richest men on earth, and a leading breeder and owner ofthoroughbred horses. Between 1930 and 1936, his horses made history in the racing world by winning several prestigious racing events in Europe. His grandson - Karim Aga Khan, has carried on the family tradition on the turf of horse racing.
Aga Khan was also successful in changing course of the religious path of the community. The Ithna’ashriyyah rites and rituals that his mother and grandfather had introduced in thecommunity were systematically thrown out by him. The jobs of the Shiah Maulvis were taken over by his close relatives and paid missionaries. Aga Khan introduced new theological concepts and sacred practices. Many of which attributed explicit divinity to Hazrat Ali, such as; reciting of “Ali is truly Allah” as an integral part of the Shahadah (Declaration of Faith), in their daily ritual prayers called Du’a. This was the beginning of the third and final proselytization in the history of the Khojah community. Today, Ismailis recite “Aliyyullah” in their ritual Du’a which translates; “Ali, the Allah”.
Below are the faithful reproductions of the Arabic transliteration, the English translation and the Gujrati translation (transliterated) of the phrase “Aliyyullah”, as they appears in the book of Ismaili Du’a, officially published by `The Shia Imami Ismailia Association for Africa, Kenya’, 1963:-
The Arabic transliteration:
“La ilaha illallaha, Mohammedur-Rasoolullahi, Aliyyun Amirul-mu’mineen Aliyyullah:”
The English translation:
“There is no deity except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Ali, the master of the believers, is from Allah.”
The Gujrati translation (transliterated) of the phrase “Aliyyullah”:
Please note the words within the parantheses are NOT mine, they do appear in the book of Dua: “Allah mahthi chhe (ane te ejh chhe)”
which means; “Is from Allah (and is the same)”.
Here is a further clarification of the enigmatic phrase and its paradoxical translations:
The phrase “Aliyyullah” is a combination of two words. “Aliyyun” and “Allah”. When these two words are joined together, the letter “n” becomes silent and the phrase is read as "Aliyyullah. The word “Aliyyun” translates “The Ali”, and the word “Allah” translates “The God”. Hence, the phrase “Aliyyullah” means “The Ali, The God”. In the Ismaili terminology it signifies “The Aga Khan (The 49th Ali), The God”.
The introduction of the innovated `Shahadah’ in the Gujarati Du’a which declared “Ali, truly Allah”, became the basis of a major division among the followers of Aga Khan. In 1901, a small group of reprimanded followers, who had been admonished by the Ithna’ashriyya Mullahs during their visitation of Karbala, approached the Aga Khan with a special request. These followers were advised by the Iraqi Mullahs that the worship of Ali or Aga Khan as an Incarnation, Manifestation and/or Associate of Allah (SWT) nullifies their prayers, voids their fasting, pilgrimages, zakah, etc., and the eternal hell would be their place of abode in the hereafter. The special request was to replace the enigmatic “Declaration of Faith” from the newly introduced Gujarati Du’a, with the one that declared Ali to be “the beloved of Allah” (“Ali-un-Wally-Allah”). Such a Declaration was professed by the rest of the Shiahs. The young Aga Khan was adamant and refused to amend or discard the “heretic” Declaration. He insisted, if the phrase that attributed “Divinity” to Ali (there by to himself, the 48th Ali) was to be discarded, then the entire Du’a should be throw out by his followers. The enlightened followers, having failed in their mission, decided to revert back to the original Ithna’ashriyya persuasion of their ancestors. A persuasion which was practised and professed by Aga Khan the first. The splinter group renounced the leadership of Aga Khan and established the Khojah Ithna’ashriyya Jama’at in Bombay. From there it spread to the rest of India and Africa. Due to this split many Khojah families in India and Africa were divided. They continue to remain so, until now. Today, Khojah Ismailis say; “Ithna’ashri Khojahs are the Dissidents.” The Khojah Ithna’ashris say; “Ismaili Khojahs are the one who have abandoned the faith of their forefathers.”
RITUALS:
Karim Aga khan resolves: "Imaam is the mazhar (image/copy) of God"The concepts of Nabuwah and Imamah:
"These concepts to be explained and understood in the general perspective of God’s communication to man. The Imaam to be explained as the mazhar' of God, related to varying levels of inspiration and communication from God to man."Note: The Arabic word mazar’ means image; copy. Karim Aga Khan thus became an image/copy of God by the above resolution.
The sprinkling of holy water upon the face of a dead Ismaili and forgiving of his/her sins is an important ritual called “Chhantas”. The ceremony is usually carried out before the burial, by a religious leader (Mukhi) of the local Jamatkhana to which the individual belongs. When the deceased Aga Khan was alive he used to collect a small donation, sprinkle the holy water and forgive the sins of his spiritual followers.
At the age of seven, Prince Karim who feared darkness, lead the Eid Salat (ritual prayer) of the Jama’at in Nairobi, Kenya. It was a significant event for the followers. The vast majority of whom do not know how to recite the Islamic Salat. Agakhani Ismailis recite “Du’a” instead of the Islamic Salat, facing any direction, in their Jamatkhanas.
