Aga Khan II
Encyclopedia
Aga Khan
II , was the title of Aqa Ali Shah ' onMouseout='HidePop("54889")' href="/topics/Mahallat">Mahallat
, Iran; d. August 1885 in Pune
, India), the 47th Imam
of the Nizari
Ismaili
Muslims. A member of the Iranian royal family, he became the Imam in 1881. During his lifetime, he helped to better not only his own community, but also the larger Muslim community of India. He was an avid sportsman and hunter.
in Iran. He was the eldest son of Aga Khan I
and the only surviving male issue of his father with Sarv-i Jahan Khanum . Aqa Ali Shah was a member of the Iranian royal family, as his mother was the daughter of Fat′h Ali Shah, the second ruler of the Qajar dynasty. His rank as a prince of the royal family was also recognized by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar when Aqa Ali Shah's father died. Nasser al-Din himself carried out a ceremony performed among Persian princes to mark the end of mourning of deceased relations. In addition, Nasser al-Din sent a robe of honour and the emblem of the Persian Crown studded with diamonds to Aga Ali Shah as a sign of the Shah's relationship with the Aga Khan's family.
On his father's side, Aga Ali Shah traced his ancestry to the Prophet Muhammad
, through his daughter Fatima
and his son-in-law Ali b. Abi Talib
. He also descended from the Fatimid
caliphs of Egypt
. He spent his early years in Mahallat; however, his father’s attempts to regain his former position as governor of Kirman made residence there difficult, and so Aqa Ali Shah was taken to Iraq
with his mother in 1840. There he studied Arabic, Persian
, and Nizari
Ismaili
doctrine, and soon gained a reputation as an authority on Persian and Arabic literature, as a student of metaphysics, and as an exponent of religious philosophy. In the late 1840s, changed political circumstances allowed Aqa Ali Shah to return to Persia
where he took over some of his father's responsibilities. In 1853, Sarv-i Jahan Khanum and Aqa Ali Shah joined Aga Khan I in Bombay. As his father's heir apparent to the Ismaili Imamat, Aqa Ali Shah frequently visited various Ismaili communities in South Asia, particularly those in Sind
and Kathiawar
.
Aqa Ali Shah became Imam of the Ismailis upon the death of his father in 1881, also inheriting his father's title of Aga Khan
. Aga Khan II maintained the cordial ties that his father had developed with the British
and was appointed to the Bombay Legislative Council when Sir James Fergusson was the governor of Bombay. This was a noteworthy achievement, given that "nomination to the Council in those days was a rare distinction bestowed only on men of outstanding ability and high social position."
Imam Aqa Ali Shah also inherited his father's concern for his followers and was well-acquainted with their needs, having been assigned by his father to the duty of visiting the various communities in South Asia. For example, when confusion had arisen due to the fact that some of this followers in India were governed partly by Muslim law and partly by Hindu law
, he was appointed a member of a commission in 1874 which was constituted to submit proposals for amendment of the law relating to his community.
Being concerned about the welfare of his followers, he also opened a number of schools for them in Bombay and elsewhere, and provided financial assistance to families in need. Although his imamate lasted only some four years, he was able to increase contacts with his followers living outside of the Asian subcontinent, particularly those who resided in the regions of the upper Oxus, Burma, and East Africa. He received much recognition for his work as he "discharged his responsible and onerous duties in a manner which drew the admiration and approbation of the community."
Like his father before him, Imam Aqa Ali Shah maintained close ties with the Nimatullahi
Sufi
order. This relationship was no doubt facilitated by the common Alid heritage that Aqa Ali Shah and the Nimatullahis shared: both Shah Nimatullah Wali (d. 1430-1), the eponymous founder of the order, and Aqa Ali Shah traced their ancestry to the Shia Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq
and, hence, to Ali. It appears that the affiliation between the Nimatullahis and the Nizari Imams can be traced at least as far back as the 18th century to the 40th Nizari Imam, Shah Nizar, who had close connections with the order. Prior to going to India, Aqa Ali Shah had developed close relations with the leader of one of the Nimatullahi branches, Rahmat Ali Shah, who had been a guest of Aga Khan I in Mahallat in 1833. After Rahmat Ali Shah's death in 1861, Aqa Ali Shah often sent money from India for the recitation of the Qur'an
at his grave in Shiraz
. Aqa Ali Shah also had close ties with Rahmat Ali Shah's uncle as well as one of Rahmat Ali Shah's successors, Munawwar ‘Alī Shāh (d. 1884). Aqa Ali Shah received a number of important visitors belonging to the Nimatullahi order, including Rahmat Ali Shah's son Muḥammad Ma‘Ṣūm Shīrāzī, who visited India in 1881 and stayed with Aqa Ali Shah for a year. Another prominent figure of the Nimatullahi order received by Aqa Ali Shah was Safi Ali Shah, who first went to India in 1863 at Aqa Ali Shah's invitation.
. The second son, Nur al-Din Shah, who was the full-brother of Shihab al-Din Shah, died around 1884-5 in a riding accident at Pune while still in his youth. It was said that, having lost two of his sons, Aqa Ali Shah died of a broken heart. After the death of his first wife, Aqa Ali Shah married a second time, but lost his second wife as well.
In 1867, Aqa Ali Shah took as his third wife Shams al-Muluk, the daughter of Khurshid Kulah Khanum (one of the daughters of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar by Taj al-Dawla) and Mirza Ali Muhammad Nizam al-Dawla (a nobleman of great influence in the Persian court), the grandson of Muhammad Hussain Khan Ispahani, the Prime Minister of Shah Fateh Ali Qajar (d.1834) of Iran. Shams al-Muluk was also the niece of Muhammad Ali Shah
of the Qajar dynasty. She has been described as "a well-rounded woman with soft good looks and luminous dark eyes hidden behind her yashmak [a traditional head covering]" and a woman who "proved herself to be a most remarkable lady of rare attainments and great organizing power, and was well-known throughout the Muslim world". From his marriage with Shams al-Muluk, who came to be known as Lady Ali Shah (d. 1938), Aga Khan II had three sons, two of whom died in their infancy. His only surviving son and successor was Sultan Muhammad Shah
.
Aqa Ali Shah was not only a skilful rider, but also an avid sportsman and hunter, and was particularly famous for his hunting of tigers in India. He was known to have pursued tigers on foot and to have had such a deadly shot that he bagged at least forty tigers in this manner.
. Describing the incident, his son Sultan Muhammad Shah later wrote, "There were several hours' heavy rain, the going underfoot was heavy and wet, and my father was soaked to the skin. He caught a severe chill which turned swiftly and fatally to pneumonia." He died eight days later, after an imamate of four years, and was buried in the family mausoleum in Najaf
on the west bank of the Euphrates
, near Kufa
and the tomb of Imam Ali, one of the holiest places in the world for Shia Muslims. The mausoleum is also the resting place of Aqa Ali Shah's grandfather, Shah Khalil Allah, who was the forty-fifth Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, and for whom the mausoleum was first constructed.
The untimely loss of his father, Aqa Ali Shah, so soon after the loss of his brother, Shihab al-Din Shah, must have been heartbreaking for the young Sultan Muhammad Shah, who was only seven and a half years old at the time. The sad event also evoked much grief within the Muslim community. Aqa Ali Shah was remembered fondly for the work he did towards the betterment of the community, and also as an intrepid horseman and hunter and a legend in his own lifetime. He was succeeded by his son Sultan Muhammad Shah, who became Aga Khan III
.
Aga Khan
Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismā'īlī followers of the Shī‘a faith. They affirm the Imamat of the descendants of Ismail ibn Jafar, eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, while the larger Twelver branch of Shi`ism follows Ismail's younger brother Musa...
II , was the title of Aqa Ali Shah ' onMouseout='HidePop("54889")' href="/topics/Mahallat">Mahallat
Mahallat
Mahallat is a city in and the capital of Mahallat County, Markazi Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 35,319, in 10,285 families....
, Iran; d. August 1885 in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, India), the 47th Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of the Nizari
Nizari
'The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as the Ismā‘īlī or Nizārī , is a path of Shī‘a Islām, emphasizing social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam and form the majority...
Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Muslims. A member of the Iranian royal family, he became the Imam in 1881. During his lifetime, he helped to better not only his own community, but also the larger Muslim community of India. He was an avid sportsman and hunter.
Early life and family
Aqa Ali Shah was born in 1830 at MahallatMahallat
Mahallat is a city in and the capital of Mahallat County, Markazi Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 35,319, in 10,285 families....
in Iran. He was the eldest son of Aga Khan I
Aga Khan I
Aga Khan I The Imam Hasan Ali Shah was born in 1804 in Kahak, Iran to Shah Khalil Allah, the 45th Ismaili Imam, and Bibi Sarkara, the daughter of Muhammad Sadiq Mahallati , a poet and a Ni‘mat Allahi Sufi...
and the only surviving male issue of his father with Sarv-i Jahan Khanum . Aqa Ali Shah was a member of the Iranian royal family, as his mother was the daughter of Fat′h Ali Shah, the second ruler of the Qajar dynasty. His rank as a prince of the royal family was also recognized by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar when Aqa Ali Shah's father died. Nasser al-Din himself carried out a ceremony performed among Persian princes to mark the end of mourning of deceased relations. In addition, Nasser al-Din sent a robe of honour and the emblem of the Persian Crown studded with diamonds to Aga Ali Shah as a sign of the Shah's relationship with the Aga Khan's family.
On his father's side, Aga Ali Shah traced his ancestry to the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, through his daughter Fatima
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
and his son-in-law Ali b. Abi Talib
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
. He also descended from the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
caliphs of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He spent his early years in Mahallat; however, his father’s attempts to regain his former position as governor of Kirman made residence there difficult, and so Aqa Ali Shah was taken to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
with his mother in 1840. There he studied Arabic, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, and Nizari
Nizari
'The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as the Ismā‘īlī or Nizārī , is a path of Shī‘a Islām, emphasizing social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam and form the majority...
Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
doctrine, and soon gained a reputation as an authority on Persian and Arabic literature, as a student of metaphysics, and as an exponent of religious philosophy. In the late 1840s, changed political circumstances allowed Aqa Ali Shah to return to Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
where he took over some of his father's responsibilities. In 1853, Sarv-i Jahan Khanum and Aqa Ali Shah joined Aga Khan I in Bombay. As his father's heir apparent to the Ismaili Imamat, Aqa Ali Shah frequently visited various Ismaili communities in South Asia, particularly those in Sind
Sind Division
The Sind Division was the name of Sindh after being annexed by the Bombay Presidency province of British India in 1843 , following a British Indian conquest led by then Major-General Charles Napier. The region separated from the Bombay Presidency to become the Sind Province on 1936-04-01....
and Kathiawar
Kathiawar
Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...
.
The Ismaili Imamat
Aga Khan
Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismā'īlī followers of the Shī‘a faith. They affirm the Imamat of the descendants of Ismail ibn Jafar, eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, while the larger Twelver branch of Shi`ism follows Ismail's younger brother Musa...
. Aga Khan II maintained the cordial ties that his father had developed with the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and was appointed to the Bombay Legislative Council when Sir James Fergusson was the governor of Bombay. This was a noteworthy achievement, given that "nomination to the Council in those days was a rare distinction bestowed only on men of outstanding ability and high social position."
Imam Aqa Ali Shah also inherited his father's concern for his followers and was well-acquainted with their needs, having been assigned by his father to the duty of visiting the various communities in South Asia. For example, when confusion had arisen due to the fact that some of this followers in India were governed partly by Muslim law and partly by Hindu law
Hindu law
Hindu law in its current usage refers to the system of personal laws applied to Hindus, especially in India...
, he was appointed a member of a commission in 1874 which was constituted to submit proposals for amendment of the law relating to his community.
Being concerned about the welfare of his followers, he also opened a number of schools for them in Bombay and elsewhere, and provided financial assistance to families in need. Although his imamate lasted only some four years, he was able to increase contacts with his followers living outside of the Asian subcontinent, particularly those who resided in the regions of the upper Oxus, Burma, and East Africa. He received much recognition for his work as he "discharged his responsible and onerous duties in a manner which drew the admiration and approbation of the community."
Close relations with other Muslim communities
Imam Aqa Ali Shah was held in high esteem by the Indian Muslim population, a result of the improvement in the conditions of his own community, his policies, and his social activism. He was elected president of the Muhammadan National Association, a position that he held until his death. In his capacity as president, he was also involved in the promotion and organisation of educational and philanthropic institutions which served to improve the lives of members of the greater community of Muslims in India.Like his father before him, Imam Aqa Ali Shah maintained close ties with the Nimatullahi
Nimatullahi
The Ni'matullāhī or Ne'matollāhī is a Sufi order originating in Iran. According to Moojan Momen, the number of Ni'matullāhī in Iran in 1980 was estimated to be between 50,000 and 350,000. Following the emigration of Dr...
Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
order. This relationship was no doubt facilitated by the common Alid heritage that Aqa Ali Shah and the Nimatullahis shared: both Shah Nimatullah Wali (d. 1430-1), the eponymous founder of the order, and Aqa Ali Shah traced their ancestry to the Shia Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq was a descendant of Muhammad and a prominent Muslim jurist. He is revered as an Imam by the adherents of Shi'a Islam and as a renowned Islamic scholar and personality by Sunni Muslims. The Shi'a Muslims consider him to be the sixth Imam or leader and spiritual...
and, hence, to Ali. It appears that the affiliation between the Nimatullahis and the Nizari Imams can be traced at least as far back as the 18th century to the 40th Nizari Imam, Shah Nizar, who had close connections with the order. Prior to going to India, Aqa Ali Shah had developed close relations with the leader of one of the Nimatullahi branches, Rahmat Ali Shah, who had been a guest of Aga Khan I in Mahallat in 1833. After Rahmat Ali Shah's death in 1861, Aqa Ali Shah often sent money from India for the recitation of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
at his grave in Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
. Aqa Ali Shah also had close ties with Rahmat Ali Shah's uncle as well as one of Rahmat Ali Shah's successors, Munawwar ‘Alī Shāh (d. 1884). Aqa Ali Shah received a number of important visitors belonging to the Nimatullahi order, including Rahmat Ali Shah's son Muḥammad Ma‘Ṣūm Shīrāzī, who visited India in 1881 and stayed with Aqa Ali Shah for a year. Another prominent figure of the Nimatullahi order received by Aqa Ali Shah was Safi Ali Shah, who first went to India in 1863 at Aqa Ali Shah's invitation.
Marriages and children
Not much is known about Aqa Ali Shah's first two wives, both of whom died in Bombay. His first marriage with Maryam Sultana produced two sons. The eldest, Shihab al-Din Shah (also known as Aqa Khalil Allah) was born around 1851-2 and wrote some treatises in Persian on Muslim ethics and Ismaili spirituality. He died in December 1884 of a chest complaint while still in his early thirties, and was buried in NajafNajaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
. The second son, Nur al-Din Shah, who was the full-brother of Shihab al-Din Shah, died around 1884-5 in a riding accident at Pune while still in his youth. It was said that, having lost two of his sons, Aqa Ali Shah died of a broken heart. After the death of his first wife, Aqa Ali Shah married a second time, but lost his second wife as well.
In 1867, Aqa Ali Shah took as his third wife Shams al-Muluk, the daughter of Khurshid Kulah Khanum (one of the daughters of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar by Taj al-Dawla) and Mirza Ali Muhammad Nizam al-Dawla (a nobleman of great influence in the Persian court), the grandson of Muhammad Hussain Khan Ispahani, the Prime Minister of Shah Fateh Ali Qajar (d.1834) of Iran. Shams al-Muluk was also the niece of Muhammad Ali Shah
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar was the Shah of Persia from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909.-Biography:He was against the constitution that was ratified during the reign of his father, Mozzafar-al-Din Shah...
of the Qajar dynasty. She has been described as "a well-rounded woman with soft good looks and luminous dark eyes hidden behind her yashmak [a traditional head covering]" and a woman who "proved herself to be a most remarkable lady of rare attainments and great organizing power, and was well-known throughout the Muslim world". From his marriage with Shams al-Muluk, who came to be known as Lady Ali Shah (d. 1938), Aga Khan II had three sons, two of whom died in their infancy. His only surviving son and successor was Sultan Muhammad Shah
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
.
Sports and hobbies
Aqa Ali Shah's father began the family tradition of racing and breeding horses in Bombay. The first Aga Khan owned some of the world's finest Arabian horses, which were inherited by Aqa Ali Shah. Sultan Muhammad Shah later noted that when his father died, "he left a large and imposing sporting establishment in being — hawks, hounds, and between eighty and ninety racehorses".Aqa Ali Shah was not only a skilful rider, but also an avid sportsman and hunter, and was particularly famous for his hunting of tigers in India. He was known to have pursued tigers on foot and to have had such a deadly shot that he bagged at least forty tigers in this manner.
Death and legacy
On one particular day of water-fowling near Pune in 1885, Aqa Ali Shah contracted pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Describing the incident, his son Sultan Muhammad Shah later wrote, "There were several hours' heavy rain, the going underfoot was heavy and wet, and my father was soaked to the skin. He caught a severe chill which turned swiftly and fatally to pneumonia." He died eight days later, after an imamate of four years, and was buried in the family mausoleum in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
on the west bank of the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, near Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
and the tomb of Imam Ali, one of the holiest places in the world for Shia Muslims. The mausoleum is also the resting place of Aqa Ali Shah's grandfather, Shah Khalil Allah, who was the forty-fifth Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, and for whom the mausoleum was first constructed.
The untimely loss of his father, Aqa Ali Shah, so soon after the loss of his brother, Shihab al-Din Shah, must have been heartbreaking for the young Sultan Muhammad Shah, who was only seven and a half years old at the time. The sad event also evoked much grief within the Muslim community. Aqa Ali Shah was remembered fondly for the work he did towards the betterment of the community, and also as an intrepid horseman and hunter and a legend in his own lifetime. He was succeeded by his son Sultan Muhammad Shah, who became Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
.