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

Zabid Zabid () (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people, located on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Ho ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

) was the 23rd

Da'i A da'i (, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, 'the absolute (unrestricted) missionary' * Hujja * List of converts to Islam The following is a list of notabl ...

of the

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community re ...

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

, where it evolved from the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

and where they were persecuted due to their differences from mainstream

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

and Zaydi Islam. Around 1567 CE, the Da'wat (the sect's religious organisation) was relocated to Gujarat, India.

Life

He succeeded the 22nd Dai, Syedna Ali Shamshuddin, and conferred succession on Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin. Syedna Mohammed was the 17th Da'i from Ale Waleed and the last of '' Du'āt Mutlaqūn'' from Yemen. He resided in Masar but had to leave due to the immense atrocities of the Zaidi

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

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 Masar to the Zaidi Imam after the '' wafāt'' or demise of Syedi Hasan bin Nuh.

Death

Syedna Ezzuddin arrived in

with the intention of going to

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

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

Succession

Syedna Muhammad Ezzuddin conferred ''nass'' or succession upon Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin. He prepared three letters, one of which was kept in Yemen and the other two sent to

Hind A hind is a female deer, especially a red deer. Places * Hind (Sasanian province) (262-484) * Al-Hind, a Persian and Arabic name for the Indian subcontinent * Islamic State – Hind Province, claimed province of the IS in India * Hind (cra ...

in different ships. When Ezzuddin sent the nass letters to Hind, he was told that he might not be aware of the situation in Hind as well as that of Syedna Najmuddin due to the long distance. Syedna Mohammed Ezzuddin replied that “The letter will reach Yusuf Najmuddin and he shall become

Da'i al-Mutlaq (; pl. , ) is the most senior spiritual rank and office in Tayyibi Isma'ilism. The Da'i al-Mutlaq has headed the Tayyibi community since the occultation (Islam), seclusion of the 21st Tayyibi Imamate in Ismaili doctrine, Imam, at-Tayyib Abu'l-Q ...

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

Life

Death

Succession

References

Further reading