“Whoever tends to an individual’s education and upbringing in the correct manner, gains the honour of assisting Allah Ta’ala.”
“We had recognized the constructive and positive part that the Dawoodi Bohras would be called upon to play in the field of trade, commerce and industry, in the context of changing national and international conditions. We had concerned ourselves with the right requirements of progress. The means, of which Burhani College was one, were provided for the attainment of this objective.”
“Education is one of the most important obligations upon mankind and no matter the effort expended in its pursuit; it can never be considered sufficient.”
Though founded in 1970, Burhani College traces its intellectual pedigree to antiquity.
In Islam, the importance of knowledge, learning and education is encapsulated in the very first lines that were revealed by Allah to Prophet MohammedSAW :
Read! In the name of your Lord. Who has created (all that exists).
He has created man from a clot.
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.
Who has taught (writing) by the pen.
He has taught man that which he knew not. (96.1-5).
Following the Lord’s command, the Prophet MohammedSAW said:
Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim man and woman.
The Messenger of AllahSAW revealed the source and path to attain the pure knowledge in the following words in praise of his successor, Maulana Ali ibn Abi TalibSA :
I am the city of knowledge and Ali [ibn Abi Talib] is its gate.
Whoever seeks the knowledge has to enter through its gate.
RasulullahSAW has said:
The best vizier to faith is knowledge
RasulullahSAW also stated:
Four things are incumbent upon every person from my ummah: listening to knowledge, remembering it, acting upon it, and spreading it
This venerated tradition of knowledge and learning was continued, expanded, and formalised by successive Fatemi Imams, and reached its pinnacle in Al-Qahira (Cairo) during the public reign of the Fatemi Caliph-Imams, who then transmitted these traditions to the Duat Mutlaqeen in Yemen, from where it arrived on India’s western shores approximately 500 years ago.
In this venerated chain of Duat Mutlaqeen, the beginning of the 20th century saw the arrival of a towering intellectual personality, the 51st Dai al-Mutlaq His Holiness Dr. Syedna Taher Saifuddin , who illuminated humanity with these words:
Whoever tends to an individual’s education and upbringing in the correct manner, gains the honour of assisting Allah Ta’ala.
The 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq, followed in the exact footsteps of his illustrious father, the 51st Dai al-Mutlaq, and continued to nurture and grow the educational edifice of the Dawoodi Bohra Community across the world, in countless ways.
Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, reaffirmed the educational philosophy of the Dawoodi Bohra Community in these words:
“Acting upon this educational philosophy, in the year 1969 (1388 H), to mark the silver jubilee of the Taheri Scholarship Society and his return from a historic Haj pilgrimage and visit to the lands associated with the Fatemi Caliphate, the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq established the Burhani Education Society for providing higher education in the fields of Commerce and Arts at graduate and post-graduate levels.”
Thus, in 1970, a College of Commerce and Arts was founded, which the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq named as Burhani College of Commerce and Arts. On his inaugural visit to the newly founded College, the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq said:
“We had recognized the constructive and positive part that the Dawoodi Bohras would be called upon to play in the field of trade, commerce and industry, in the context of changing national and international conditions. We had concerned ourselves with the right requirements of progress. The means, of which Burhani College was one, were provided for the attainment of this objective.”
For 44 years, Burhani College benefitted from the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq’s , benefaction and vision. Today, that same benefaction and vision is being transmitted to Burhani College by the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq’s noble successor, the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, who guides us in these immutable words:
Education is one of the most important obligations upon mankind and no matter the effort expended in its pursuit; it can never be considered sufficient.
His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, further says:
The essence of all knowledge and understanding is to be of benefit to your fellow men.
For fifty years, Burhani College has upheld these intellectual and educational philosophies as it has endeavored to groom leaders in commerce and industry.
We are now at the beginning of our second half century, and as we look ahead to our centenary, the plan is already underway to remain relevant in the 21st century by preparing our students to meet the modern challenges brought about by the rapid digitalization of the world.