BY NIMIRA DEWJI POSTED ON JUNE 10, 2025
After the fall of the Nizari Ismaili state of Alamut to the Mongols in 1256, Ismailis scattered all over Persia, Syria, Central Asia ( (Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Northern Areas of Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang province of China, and northeastern Iran). Imams lived discreetly for almost two centuries in order to avoid persecution and to safeguard the community. The scattered communities developed independently under the leadership of mirs and khalifas, based on the teachings of Nasir-i Khusraw, and without direct contact with the Imam of the time; only a handful of trusted da’is were in direct contact with the Imams.
These communities were further isolated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by political powers, continuing to be deprived of contact with the Imam of the time and his representatives.
Subsequently deputations were sent from some of these communities to Imam Hasan Aly Shah Aga Khan I when he was residing in Qandahar in 1842. The opportunity to travel to see the Imam was greatly prized by the Ismailis. As Mubarak-i Wakhani (d. 1903), an Ismaili poet of Badakhsahn wrote:
For the seeker, in both worlds, you are what is sought
For in the realms of time and place, besides you all is naught
(Shafique Virani, published in The Ismailis An Illustrated History p 218)
Nasir Ali Khan, Mukhi of Sarikol in 1918-1919. Saikol is an area in the northeastern part of the Pamir mountain range close to the borders of China. Image: The Ismailis An Illustrated History p218
Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III’s last contact with communities of Central Asia was in 1923 through a dignitary named Sabz Ali (Sabzali) (d. 1938).
Pir Sabzali’s Mission Certificate, dated 1931. Image: Mohamed Jaffer Collection at The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Ramzanali Sabzali was born in 1884 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. His father passed away when he was a teenager. Worried about his rebellious behaviour, his mother sent him to apprentice with his uncle, a businessman in Gwadar, Baluchistan. Sabzali began to acquire an interest in learning about the Ismaili tariqah, subsequently becoming a gifted orator in the community. Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah sent him to the newly settled communities of Africa to promote the development of jamatkhanas and other institutions.
View of Hunza valley from the 700-year-old Baltit Fort,the seat of the Mirs. Image: The Ismailis An Illustrated History
In 1923, Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah sent Sabzali on a difficult mission to the mountainous regions of Badakshan, Hunza, and Sinkiang (Xinjiang) region of western China in order to establish contact with the isolated Ismaili communities. In some regions, the Ismailis “referred to themselves as Mawla’is because they were followers of the Ismaili Imam addressed by them as Mawla” (Daftary, A Short History of the Ismailis p 205).
Pir Sabzali kept a diary of his challenging journey, in Gujarati, titled Madhya Eshiya ni rasik Vigato, first published in a series in The Ismaili (by the Ismaili Society founded by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah) from 1924 to 1926. He “relates his thoughts about the mission ahead and his complete trust in and reliance on the [Imam]. In Episode 23, Sabzali encounters large numbers of Mawla’is, Central Asian Ismailis, in the mountains of Badakhshan. He marvels at their dedication in the harshest of circumstances, revels in their all-night spiritual assembly and fervent recitation of the poetry of Nasir-i Khusraw, comments on their eagerness to hear the farmans… of their imam, and expresses his admiration at the devotion of even their youngest children” (An Anthology of Ismaili Literature p 77).
The mountains of Afghan Badakhshan. Image: The Ismailis An Illustrated History
Pir Sabzali narrates:
“At around 7:00 in the evening, we arrived at a place called Reshun. Mawlais had gathered here in large numbers. After a full day of travel, we were completely exhausted, but our fatigue dissipated as soon as we saw the joyous faces of the Mawlais. Elaborate arrangements for our accommodation had been made at the residence of Bahadur Fidaī Jamadar Shermuhammad. At each station, the affection and hospitality displayed by the Mawlais was ever more praiseworthy. Their hearts were overflowing with the purest love. We spent the entire night in a majlis, a spiritual assembly. Enraptured, those devotees sweetly sang odes to the illustrious missionary, Naṣir-i Khusraw, and recited his poetry. They were ever-ready to sacrifice their lives and possessions for Mawlana Hazar Imam’s [Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah] farman.
In those regions, they are severely persecuted for their devotion to Mawlana Hazar Imam, and for honouring the missionary, Nasir-i Khusraw. If they praise him openly, they have to endure all manner of oppression. However, they care not a whit for this and live their lives openly as true devotees. Words fail me in praising how the night was imbued with splendour by the majlis.
At the break of dawn, hundreds of women and children had gathered and were sitting with great anticipation so that they could hear the farman of Mawlana Hazar Imam. As soon as the reading commenced, all listened attentively with immense respect and decorum. Hearing the farman, their eyes brimmed over with tears of joy. How fortunate they were today! Among them were those who were saying, ‘Our ancestors yearned longingly their entire lives to hear these very words of blessing, but never had that chance. Today, our Mawla has sent those blessings right to our threshold. Can there be any day more joyous than this?’ (An Anthology of Ismaili Literature p 144).
Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah endowed Sabzali posthumously with the title of pir.
In 1995, Mawlana Shah Karim granted a historic first mulaqat to jamat of Central Asia.
Mawlana Shah Karim, Rushan, Badakhshan, 27 May 1995. Image: The Ismaili 1995
Mawlana Hazar Imam Aga Khan V will grant first mulaqat with jamat of France jurisdiction in July 2025. Image: The.Ismaili
Contributed by Nimira Dewji, who also has her own blog – Nimirasblog – where she writes short articles on Ismaili history and Muslim civilisations.
Sources:
“Pir Sabzali,” Translated by Nizarali J. Virani and Shafique N. Virani, An Anthology of Ismaili Literature Edited by Hermann Landolt, Samira Sheikh and Kutub Kassam, I.B. Tauris, London, 2008
“Pir Sabzali,” Muslim Devotional Literature, Secondary Curriculum, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Farhad Daftary, A Modern History of the Isma’ilis, I.B. Tauris, London, 2011
https://ismailimail.blog/2025/06/10/pir ... rs-of-joy/