Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah — The Academy of the Dawat

Origins

Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah (الجامعة السيفية — the Saifi Academy) is the central institution of religious learning (ilm) of the Dawoodi Bohra community. Its name honors Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA), the 51st Dai al-Mutlaq, under whose stewardship the institution was significantly developed and formalized in the twentieth century.

The institution’s roots trace to the educational tradition of the dawat itself — the Fatimid Imams established a hierarchical system of religious education from the earliest days of the dawat, with designated majalis al-hikma (sessions of wisdom) for different levels of initiates. After the seclusion of Imam al-Tayyib and the transfer of the dawat to Yemen, then India, the Duat Mutlaqeen maintained this tradition of structured learning.

The first formal institution operating under the name that would become Aljamea was established in Surat — the city that served as the Bohra heartland in India after the transfer of the dawat from Yemen.

The Main Campus — Surat

The flagship campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah is located in Surat, Gujarat, India — one of the oldest and most prosperous Bohra commercial centers. The campus is a sprawling institution that functions as both a madrasa and a university, combining the classical Islamic educational tradition with the specific knowledge system of the Fatimid-Tayyibi dawat.

Architecture: The Surat campus is notable for its architectural grandeur — a blend of Fatimid, Mughal, and contemporary Islamic design. The main complex includes:

• The central mosque (masjid)
• Lecture halls and classrooms
• A remarkable library of manuscripts — one of the most significant collections of Ismaili and Fatimid literature in the world
• Dormitories for students from across the Bohra diaspora
• Printing and publication facilities

The Karachi Campus

A major second campus operates in Karachi, Pakistan — established to serve the large Bohra community in Pakistan and ensure that students in the subcontinent’s western wing had access to the same quality of education as those in Surat.

The Karachi campus maintains the same curriculum and standards as Surat, with classes conducted in the same tradition of Lisan ud-Dawat as the medium of instruction.

Curriculum

The curriculum of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah is extraordinary in its breadth — combining sacred sciences with classical languages, literature, and the living tradition of Fatimid tawil:

Sacred Sciences

• Arabic grammar and literature (nahw, sarf, balagha)
• Quran — memorization, recitation (tajwid), and tafsir
• Hadith — the transmitted sayings of the Prophet and the Imams
• Fiqh — Bohra religious law (Shafi’i madhab with Fatimid tawil)
• Tawil — the esoteric interpretation of Quran and religious practice
• Dua and Zikr — the rich devotional literature of the dawat

Language and Literature

• Lisan ud-Dawat — the community’s sacred Gujarati-Arabic literary language
• Classical Arabic — the language of the Quran, the Imams’ writings, and Fatimid literature
• Urdu and Gujarati — regional languages of the Bohra diaspora
• English — increasingly integrated in the modern curriculum
• Classical Persian — for historical Ismaili texts

History and Heritage

• History of the Prophets (Qasas al-Anbiya)
• History of the Imams (Sirat al-Aimmah)
• History of the Duat Mutlaqeen (Sirat al-Duat)
• Fatimid civilization — history, philosophy, art, and architecture

Arts and Sciences

• Khatt (calligraphy) — the Arabic calligraphic tradition
• Marsiya — the art of composing and reciting elegiac poetry in Lisan ud-Dawat
• Traditional crafts and the material culture of the community

The Manuscript Library

Among the most precious assets of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah is its collection of manuscripts — texts from the Fatimid period and the era of the Duat that have been preserved through centuries of careful custodianship. Many of these texts exist nowhere else in the world.

The collection includes:

• Fatimid-era treatises on tawil, philosophy, and religious law
• The works of the great Dai scholars — Syedna al-Mu’ayyad al-Shirazi, Syedna Idris Imad al-Din, Syedna Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, and others
• Manuscripts in Arabic, Lisan ud-Dawat, and Persian
• Quran manuscripts of extraordinary antiquity and beauty

Under Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (RA) and Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS), significant effort has been invested in cataloguing, digitizing, and publishing these manuscripts.

The Role of Aljamea Graduates

Students who complete Aljamea’s program are qualified to serve as:

• Amil Saheb — the religious representative of the Dai al-Mutlaq in a local community, responsible for leading prayers, administering the Misaq, performing marriages and funerals, teaching, and serving as the community’s spiritual guide
• Ma’dhun — one who has received permission to initiate others into the dawat
• Muallim — teacher in the community’s network of Fatemi schools
• Scholar — engaged in the ongoing intellectual tradition of Fatimid studies

The Amil Saheb system — whereby a graduate of Aljamea is appointed to each significant Bohra community worldwide — is the backbone of the community’s religious organization. Each jamaat (congregation) in Mumbai, Surat, Nairobi, New York, or Sydney maintains its Amil Saheb, who acts as the direct representative of the Dai.

Fatemi Schools

Alongside Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, the community operates a network of Fatemi schools — primary and secondary schools that provide Bohra children with an integrated religious-secular education. These schools teach the national curriculum alongside Arabic, Lisan ud-Dawat, Islamic studies, and Bohra history and practice.

The Fatemi school network exists across India, Pakistan, East Africa, and other major Bohra diaspora centers.

The Broader Vision

Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) described the goal of Aljamea in terms that reflect the classical Fatimid concept of ilm as the path to salvation: education at Aljamea is not merely the acquisition of information but the formation of character, the shaping of the soul, and the transmission of a living chain of knowledge (silsila al-ilm) that traces back through the Duat, the Imams, and ultimately to the Prophet and to the divine source itself.

In this understanding, every Alim (scholar) who graduates from Aljamea carries a piece of the dawat’s living transmission — and every Amil Saheb who leads a local community is, in effect, a custodian of that chain.

Related: The Fatimid Caliphate; The Duat Mutlaqeen; Misaq — The Covenant of Walayah; Understanding Walayah