The Moral Stories

The Khoja Who Discoverd the Truth

Over five hundred years ago, some people in India and Iran held a strange belief about God. They believed that God entered into everything in the Universe and that everything has the essence of God. The believers of this originally were Hindus as well as a sect of Muslims.

Among the leaders of this belief were Peer Sadruddeen, an ancestor of the Aga Khans in Iran as well as one Hindu known as Sahadeva Joshi.

With this belief, they made up a religion which they labelled as Sat Panth meaning Right Path. The followers of this new path came to be known as Khojas which is said to be a Sindhi word derived from the word "KHOJ" meaning to search.

Perhaps it meant that the Khojas are those people who originally made deep search to find a religious path. It is also said that the word KHOJ A is derived from the word Khwaja meaning a man of distinction a title awarded by the Peer to the newly converts to the Sat Panth.

The creed of this new religion is based on incarnation of God i.e. God entered into some human beings, as believed by Hindus. To nine incarnations of Hindu God Vishnu, they added Hazrat Ali (A.S.) as the tenth incarnation.

They believed in him as God as did Alawites - the Nusairies in Syria. They proclaimed themselves Shias as well, meaning the followers of Hazrat Ali (A.S.) and his family.

It is mentioned that a Persian mystic by name Ali Itahi had come to Kutch in India. He took with him some eager Khojas to Iran and introduced them to the ancestors of the Agha Khans.

It is thought that these firm believers in the new religion and the close followers of Peer Sadruddeen came to be known as Bawas. After the death of the Peer, they became the guardians of the religions of the Khojas. It is these Bawas who preached that the Agha Khans were incarnation of God and included this belief in the GINANS - the prayer book read usually in Jamat Khanas.

The Bawas had considerable influence over the Khojas as they also controlled the various ceremonies concerning marriage and death, etc. The Khoja faithful who took their lessons from the Bawas came to be known as Bhagats.

The Khojas were mainly a trading community resident in Bombay, Karachi as well as lesser numbers in towns and villages of Kutch and Kathiawar in India. Some of them migrated to Zanzibar and other East African towns during the years 1850 - 1900 to expand their business. The Khojas in those days were rather ignorant and simple people.

They became influenced by social traditions of the Hindus, some of these traditions are still to be seen in marriage ceremonies although many have disappeared with the times.

Despite being involved and surrounded by peculiar and unlslamic beliefs and traditions,, historical records show us that the Khojas were deeply devoted towards Imam Husain (A.S.).

They would spend large sums to commemorate the martyrdom of the Imam. Those who could afford would regularly travel to Karbala and other Holy places to pay their homage at the shrines of the Imams.

Sometime during 1860 - 70 A.D., a Shiite Muslim from Madras, India, by name of Mulla Qader Husain is said to have gone to Karbala on pilgrimage as well as to stay there for the purpose of acquiring more knowledge in Shiism.

While there by chance he came into contact with some prominent Khoja Zuwwars - pilgrims from Zanzibar as well as Bombay. Among them were Nurmohamedbhai, Mukhi Hashambhai Dossa and Dewji Jamal. On their visit to him, Mulla Qader would teach them the recitation of Holy Qura'n as well as Islamic rules about cleanliness, prayers, etc.

Mulla Qader once described to them the merits of Hazrat Ali (A.S.). Suddenly Nurmohamedbhai said "We Khojas believe that Ali (A.S.) is God" On hearing this, the Mulla was greatly astonished. On further discussion, he learnt that "Khojas also believed that Ali was the tenth incarnation of God and the Aga Khan the forty-sixth incarnation of Aly or God."

Obviously this belief is in absolute contradiction to the basic principles of Islamic belief in Tawheed - the Oneness of God. Belief in any form of human relationship with God such as entering of God into human body is considered as SHIRK - polytheism. The pure belief in the absolute Unity of Allah is the foundation of Islam and one who contradicts it cannot be called a Muslim.

"Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he indeed strays off into a remote error." (14:116)

Thus Mulla Qader became deeply concerned about the ignorance of the Khojas and did his best to correct their beliefs. He took them to the Mujtahid Sheikh Zainul Abedeen and reported their plight.

The Mulla was invited by Dewji Jamal to accompany him to Bombay and Zanzibar so as to impart the knowledge of true Islam to the Khojas but he was not willing to leave Kerbala. Finally at the insistence of the Mujtahid Sheikh Zainul Abedeen he agreed and left for Bombay where he first stayed with Dewjibhai.

In Bombay, Mulla Qader started a Madrassa in which he taught the rules and tenets of true Islam according to Shia Ithnasheri beliefs. Gradually he also led a congregational prayer which was first attended by 15/20 people later expanding to 50 and more persons.

This had to be done secretly inside a house in order to safeguard the lives of the faithful who had separated from the main stream of Agha Khani sect of Ismaili Khojas.

On separation thus of the Khoja community into two different sects of the Ismailis as followers of Agha Khan and Ithnasheris as followers of Twelve Imams, there were repeated incidents of trouble between the two sects. The Ithnasheris were boycotted in matters of business, social contacts, burial, etc.

So harsh was the friction between the two that at times criminals were hired to stab the converts and murders took place.

But so firm and staunch were those handful in their faith that they could not be drawn away from the path of truth they had discovered. Their courage is indeed worth appreciating and taking lesson from.

Today the Khoja Shia Ithnasheries numbering more than 100,000 are prosperously scattered throughout the world in India, Pakistan, East Africa, Madagascar as well as Europe, USA, Canada. They not only maintain their Islamic traditions but also contribute their time, energy and money for the propagation of truth.