Syedna Mohammad Ezzuddin () (died 1539 / 27th Safar, AH 946AH in

Zabid Zabid ( ar, زَبِيد) (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since ...

-Yemen) was the 23rd Dai of the

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, South ...

, a sub-sect of Isma'ili Shi'i Islam. The Dawoodi Bohra trace their belief system back to

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, where it evolved from the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...

and where they were persecuted due to their differences from mainstream

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

and Zaydi Islam. Around 1567 CE, the

Dawat ''Dawat'' is a 1974 Bollywood drama film directed by B. R. Ishara. Cast * Dilip Dutt *Jayshree Gadkar *Satish Kaul *Manmohan Krishna *Sanjeev Kumar *Raza Murad Raza Murad (born 23 November 1950) is an Indian actor who ap ...

(the sect's religious organisation) was relocated to Gujarat, India.

Life

He succeeded the 22nd Dai, Ali Shamshuddin, and conferred succession on Yusuf Najmuddin. Muhammad Izzuddin was the 17th Dai from Ale Waleed and the last of Duat Kiram from Yemen. Syedna Mohammed Izzuddin resided in Masaar but had to leave due to the immense atrocities of the Zaidi

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (25 February 1473 – 27 March 1555) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen. His period as imam covered the period from 1506 to 1555, though his political power ended in about 1547. Construction of a new Zaidi re ...

. He had to submit the fortress of Masaar to the Zaidi Imam after the ''wafat'' or demise of Syedi Hasan bin Nuh.

Death

Syedna Muhammad Izzuddin arrived in

with the intention of going to

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

but the Zaidi followers had poisoned the drinking water in the ship and it had affected Syedna Muhammad Izzuddin. On knowing this he returned to Zabid immediately and died after a few days.

Succession

Syedna Muhammad Izzuddin conferred ''nass'' or succession on Yusuf Najmuddin. He prepared three letters, one of which was kept in Yemen and the other two sent to Al Hind in different ships. When Izzuddin sent the nass letters to Al Hind, he was told that he might not be aware of the situation in Al Hind as well as that of Yusuf Najmuddin due to the long distance. Syedna Mohammed Izzuddin replied that “The letter will reach Yusuf Najmuddin and he shall become

Da'i al-Mutlaq The term Da'i al-Mutlaq ( ar, الداعي المطلق, al-Dā'ī al-Mutlaq; pl. , ) literally meaning 'the absolute, or unrestricted, missionary', is the most senior spiritual rank and office in Tayyibi Isma'ilism. The Da'i al-Mutlaq has heade ...

”, and it did happen.
syedna-mohammed-izzuddin-ra-23rd-dai

Life

Death

Succession

References

Further reading