Timeline of Key Events in the History of the Educational Movement Embodied in Aljamea

Timeline

365/970

0970

Al-Azhar University is founded by al-Imam al-Muʿizz li Deen Allah ^AS.

395/1005

1005

Al-Imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah ^AS establishes the Hall of Sciences in Cairo.

526/1132

1132

The seat of daʿwa moves to Yemen with the seclusion of the 21st imam and subsequently, the office of al-dāʿī al-mutlaq is established.

946/1539

1539

The seat of daʿwa shifts to India along with its centres of learning.

1209/1795

1795

Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin ^RA chooses Surat as the seat of his mission and centre of daʿwa.

1225/1810

1810

Darse Saifee is founded in Surat by the 43rd Dāʿī Syedna Abdeʿali Saifuddin ^RA.

1380/1960

1960

On 22nd June 1960, the first prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visits Aljamea in Surat.

1381/1961

1961

Inauguration of the new campus at Surat, India by Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^RA

1385/1965

1965

His Holiness Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^RA gives his blessings to begin Aljamea classes for years one to four in Karachi,
Pakistan.

1385/1965

1965

With the wafāt (sad demise) of Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^RA, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA inherits the legacy of educating and nurturing the souls of the students of Aljamea and members of the Dawoodi Bohra community.

1389/1969

1969

His Holiness Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin^RA institutionalises Aljamea in Karachi and lays the foundation for the academy’s dedicated campus.

1395/1975

1975

Non-student members of the Dawoodi Bohra community partake for the first time in Aljamea’s annual examination.
His Holiness names this group as mustafīdīn or Beneficiaries of Aljamea’s Examinations. The practice continues to this very day.

1396/1976

1976

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA establishes Mahad al-Zahra, institute dedicated to Quranic studies.

1399/1979

1979

Al-Multaqa al-ʿIlmi al-Fatimi, the Fatimi Educational Gathering is conducted in Aljamea, Surat and serves as an impetus for the spiritual and temporal efflorescence of the community.

1401/1980

1980

Syedna Burhanuddin ^RA lays the foundation for the reconstruction of the īwān and also the library, auditorium and mawāʾid (dining hall) of the Surat Jamea.

1401/1980

1980

Students and graduates participate in the renovation and reconstruction of the Fatemi Jāmiʿ masjid, al-Jāmiʿ al-
Anwar in Cairo, the most defining event of the Burhani era.

1402-07/1982-87

1982

His Holiness^RA conducts Aljamea’s annual examination from Mumbai for a period of five years.

1404/1983

1983

Inauguration of the Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, Karachi campus.

1404/1983

1983

Inauguration of the new dormitory for male students in Surat named Masākin Mohammediya.

1407/1987

1987

The rector of Aljamea Syedi Yusuf Bhaisaheb Najmuddin ^QR passes away in Cairo.

1407/1987

1987

His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA appoints Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin^TUS, Shahzāda Qasim Bhaisaheb Hakimuddin ^DM, Shahzāda Abbas Bhaisaheb Fakhruddin ^DM and Shahzāda Qaidjohar Bhaisaheb Ezzuddin ^DM as the new rectors of Aljamea.

1408/1988

1988

Annual examinations are conducted in Surat once more after a hiatus of five years. Syedna Burhanuddin ^RA inaugurates the new īwān and adjoining structures along with a new dormitory for female students in Surat named Rabwat Jiblah.

1419/1999

1999

A new dedicated building for Mahad al-Zahra is constructed in Surat.

1420/2000

2000

A number of Aljamea graduates are assigned to a long-term socio-economic development project in rural Yemen.

1424/2003

2003

The Honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi visits Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, Surat and meets with His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA.

1425/2005

2005

Mahad al-Zahra initiates e-Learning for memorising the Quran.

1426/2006

2006

Mahad al-Zahra’s four year Quran Memorisation program in Surat accepts its first batch of students.

1427/2007

2007

Mahad al-Zahra’s satellite campus established in Houston, TX.

1429/2008

2008

A second Mahad al-Zahra building is inaugurated at the Karachi campus.

1432/2011

2011

His Holiness Syedna Burhanuddin ^RA announces the establishment of a third campus of Aljamea in Nairobi, Kenya during his sermon on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Classes begin twenty days after the announcement.

1432/2011

2011

Aljamea’s annual exams are for the very first time conducted in Saifee Mahal, the residence of the al-dāʿī al-mutlaq in Malabar Hill, Mumbai.

1434/2013

2013

His Holiness Syedna Burhanuddin ^RA announces the fourth campus of Aljamea in Mumbai, India in the suburb of Marol.

1435/2014

2014

With the wafāt of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA, the sole benefactor of Aljamea for nearly fifty years, his successor and Shahzāda Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS takes up the mantle of leading the Dawoodi Bohra community and the institution of Aljamea. Aljamea’s annual exams are conducted by Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS in Saifee Masjid, the masjid neighbouring Rawḍat Tāhirah, the mausoleum of Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^RA and Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA.

1435/2014

2014

Aljamea’s annual exams are conducted by Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS in Saifee Masjid, the masjid neighbouring Rawḍat Tāhirah, the mausoleum of Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^RA and Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^RA.

1438/2017

2017

The Nairobi campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah is inaugurated by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya Mr Uhuru Kenyatta.