Saifee Masjid — Heart of the Mumbai Dawat
المَسجِدُ السَّيفِي — مَركَزُ الدَّعوَة فِي مُمبَاي
Saifee Masjid in Bhendi Bazaar, South Mumbai, is the primary mosque of the Dawoodi Bohra community in their modern spiritual and administrative center. The area around it — including the dawat's offices, musafirkhana (community rest houses), and the adjacent neighborhood — constitutes the beating heart of the contemporary Bohra world. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS), the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq, resides at Saifee Mahal in Mumbai and leads Friday waaz and special majalis at Saifee Masjid. During Ashara Mubaraka (the first ten days of Muharram), tens of thousands of Bohras gather in Mumbai for the Dai's waaz — a gathering that is for many the single most important religious experience of the year. The Bhendi Bazaar Redevelopment Project, one of Asia's largest urban renewal initiatives, is transforming the surrounding neighborhood while preserving the community fabric.
Why it Matters
For the contemporary Bohra mumin, Mumbai is what Cairo was to the Fatimid Imams and what Surat was to the Dais for several centuries: the living center of the dawat. Visiting Saifee Masjid, attending waaz in the Dai's presence, and being in the physical community of the dawat in Mumbai is for many Bohras a transformative experience. The mulaqat (meeting) of the Dai at Saifee Mahal — receiving his blessing and renewed walayat in person — is among the most cherished experiences of a Bohra mumin's life.
Also in this region
4- Cairo — Fatimid Heritage Sites Cairo (al-Qahira) Duat Mutlaqeen القَاهِرَة
- Surat — Dargah of Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) Surat (Raudat Tahera, Bhendi Bazaar) Duat Mutlaqeen سُورَت
- Surat — Dargah of Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin (RA) Surat (Raudat Tahera, Bhendi Bazaar) Duat Mutlaqeen سُورَت
- Navsari — Dargahs of the Duat Mutlaqeen Navsari Duat Mutlaqeen نَوسَارِي