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On the Birthday of our Previous Imam, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah presenting His
History & Work for our Jamat . ================================================================================
His name was Muhammad Sultan, also known as Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, the Aga Khan III, born at Honeymoon Lodge in Karachi on Friday, the 25th Shawal, 1294/November 2, 1877 at 5:30 pm. When the news of his birth was routed to Imam Hasan Ali Shah in Bombay, he said: "Name him Muhammad Sultan. He will be a Sultan (emperor) in the world. His period will witness wonderful events and will earn a distinguished position in the world.
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah since the Beginning of His Life Worked for the Muslim Ummah. He started visiting the Ismaili communities outside Bombay in 1312/1894. He made his debut as an educational reformer and visited the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh (high fort), about 79 miles south-east of Delhi, on November 22, 1896, and had a productive meeting with Sir Ahmad Khan (1817-1898). Sir Syed Ahmad Khan had founded the Aligarh College on November 1, 1875, and was the vice-President of the College Fund Committee as well as its Honorary Secretary. Willi Frischauer also writes in The Aga Khans (London, 1970, pp. 56-7) that, "How wonderful if Aligarh could become a full university to bring up a generation of young leaders and advance the cause of Islam. Here was a chance to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor who had founded al-Azhar, the first Muslim university, which greatly appealed to the young Aga Khan. He decided to put up money for the cause and persuaded wealthy friends to contribute. It was a long struggle but he missed no opportunity to plead for this cause and when Aligarh finally became a university two dozen years later, it was more to Muslims than a seat of learning. In retrospect, it was recognized as the intellectual cradle of independent Pakistan and the Aga Khan's enthusiasm and support which made it possible earned him a place among Pakistan's founding fathers."
In 1315/1897, a terrible famine had badly shaken the Bombay Presidency. The Imam supplied food and seed, cattle and agricultural tools to the needy people, and in order to provide job opportunities, he started the construction of his Yeravada Palace at Poona. In Bombay, a large camp was pitched at Hasanabad, where thousands of people were daily fed at his expense; and to those who were ashamed openly to participate in this hospitality, the grain was provided to them privately for about six months. The famine was followed by the epidemic of bubonic plague and the superstitious people of India refused to be vaccinated against the disease. The Imam obtained the service of an eminent bacteriologist, Dr Waldemar Mordecai Wolff Haffkine, the Director-in-Chief of the Government Plague Research Laboratory, Bombay. He was a crusader against meaningless superstitions and traditions when soon after famine came a plague, the people were in a panic and there was a hue and cry against inoculation with anti-plague serum. The Imam collected the people at his Khusaro Lodge, where the doctor was staying and addressed meetings explaining the benefits of inoculation. In front of this gathering, he got himself inoculated, so as to dispel their superstitious fears, and strengthen their confidence in scientific methods of cure. This prompted others to follow and many lives were saved as a result. In the meantime, it had been proposed to give a public dinner to the Imam in view of his outstanding services. When he had been informed of it, he wrote to the Secretary of the Reception Committee a letter, which showed his innermost feeling evoked by the distress of the poor people. He wrote: "I cannot accept any entertainment when thousands of people are dying of starvation. It is almost wicked to waste money on rich food when thousands of people are starving. I would urge that every rupe
To meet the needs of the community Imam established networks of schools, health clinics, hospitals, housing societies, insurance companies, and Jamat-Khanas in East Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Under his leadership, the community entered a period of remarkable progress in health, education, housing, industry, and commerce.
Imam’s commitment to the Islamic ideals of the brotherhood of humanity, peace among nations, and respect for human dignity inspired him to be involved as a statesman on the world scene, receiving numerous honours by several countries in recognition of his service
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