Mohammed Burhanuddin (6 March 1915 – 17 January 2014) was the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras from 1965 to 2014. He led the community for 49 years in a period of social, economic, and educational prosperity; strengthened and re-institutionalized the fundamental core of the community's faith; revived its culture, tradition, and heritage. In successfully achieving coexistence of traditional Islamic values and modern Western practices within the community, Burhanuddin completed the work his predecessor Taher Saifuddin had started.
Burhanuddin was presented the highest national civilian honors of the states of Egypt and Jordan recognising his revivalism and restoration efforts. He was known in Arab countries as Azamat us-Sultan (lit. 'the Great Sovereign'). Owing to extensive travels for community reach-out, he was the first Dā'ī al-Mutlaq to visit Europe, Australia, and America.
Burhanuddin was born to Taher Saifuddin and Husaina Aaisaheba in Surat in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Burhanuddin, taught by his father, completed his religious education at the age of 13. Following Burhanuddin's mīthāq (oath) in Surat, aged 15, he was appointed Amir al-Hajj (Arabic: أمِير الحَجّ, lit. 'chief of hajj pilgrims'), was conferred the title of Shaykh (Arabic: الشيخ, lit. 'leader'), and bestowed the laqab of Burhan al-Din (Arabic: بُرهان الدّيْن, lit. 'proof of faith') by his father, Taher Saifuddin.
On his 17th birthday, Burhanuddin was promoted to the rank of Haddiyah (lit. 'a high rank') and made in charge of Alvazaratus Saifiyah, the central administrative body of the community. At age 19, Taher Saifuddin designated him as his successor to the office of the Dai al-Mutlaq (Arabic: داعي المطلق, lit. 'absolute missionary'), and subsequently elevated him to the station of Mazoon al-Da'wat (Arabic: مأذون الدعوة, lit. 'authorized missionary'), making him his second-in-command. By age 20, Burhanuddin had committed the entire Quran to memory.
Burhanuddin married Amatullah Aaisaheba in 1937 in Surat. She was the daughter of Abdul Husain, a descendant of the 46th Da'i al-Mutlaq Abdul Qadir Najmuddin. The city and the Iwan (lit. 'hall') of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, the main venue of the celebrations, were decorated heavily. Taher Saifuddin extended an open invitation to all community members to attend the ceremonies, and had also invited distinguished dignitaries and government officials.
Burhanuddin and Amatullah had 10 children, seven sons and three daughters.
After the demise of his father, Taher Saifuddin on 12 November 1965, Mohammed Burhanuddin presided over a 40-day mourning period and assumed the office of his predecessor. He chose the burial place of his father to be Qasre Husaini (Raudat Tahera), the site where the shrines of Imam Ali and Imam Husain were fabricated.
In 2011, Burhanuddin, celebrated his centenary in accordance with the Islamic calendar. A mega procession was organised in Mumbai that started from MG Road to Azam Campus Grounds (the route is popularly known as Marine Drive) involving 8000 participants. Followers were dressed in golden robes traversing on horses or upon chariots. Various floats were a part of the parade displaying a variety of accomplishments during Burhanuddin's tenure. Similar processions took place at community centers across the world. During the ceremonies held over the period of a week, Burhanuddin laid the foundation stone for the SBUT project in Bhendi Bazar and announced the opening of a branch of the Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah university in Nairobi, Kenya.
Burhanuddin spent a few days every year in London, where he had a home. During one such visit in 2011, he suffered a stroke and was admitted to Cromwell Hospital. Some days after being admitted to the hospital, he appointed his 2nd son, Mufaddal Saifuddin, as his successor holding a few members of his immediate family to bear witness, as per the religious traditions. He asked for the news to be communicated to all community members.
Upon his return to Mumbai, Burhanuddin visited the mausoleum of his father. There, he reiterated his proclamation upon Mufaddal Saifuddin as his successor-designate amongst thousands of onlookers, the event also being broadcast to a number of other locations in Mumbai.
Burhanuddin issued a dress code, calling for male Bohras to grow a beard and wear a white topi and kurta, and for women to wear a colorful two piece abaya, known formally as a Rida. This Islamization countered a trend toward assimilation into the larger culture of their ancestors that was also prevalent under his predecessor, Taher Saifuddin and the previous Du'at before them. The history of this culture can be traced back to the medieval Fatimid dynasty in Egypt.
In 1980 CE/1401 AH, the Al-Hakim mosque was extensively refurbished in white marble and gold trim by Mohammed Burhanuddin. Remnants of the original decorations, including stucco carvings, timber tie-beams, and Quranic inscriptions were restored as part of the renovations. His intent to restore the ancient Al-Hakim Mosque as a place of worship in contemporary times necessitated a lighting solution that provided this important functionality to the mosque and did so in a manner that paid tribute to the Fatimid tradition of illumination and its aesthetics. The miraculous emergence of the mishkat or small lantern from the niche of the richly decorated façade of Al Jami al Aqmar provided that solution. The niche in which the lantern motif was found has also been compared to the mihrab niche of Al Azhar mosque, the same also now found in Al-Hakim mosque, which has a central motif that resembles a large lamp or lantern.
In October 1999, Burhanuddin was elected Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, a position that his father also held. He is credited with expanding the two century old Arabic university Al Jamea tus Saifiyah. In 1983, a new campus of "Al Jamea tus Saifiyah" was built by him in Karachi. He built the "Burhaniyah Business Counseling Center" in Mumbai to provide modern business solutions. He also built the Raudat Tahera, a mausoleum of his father Taher Saifuddin in Mumbai, India. It is one of a kind, having the entire Quran inscribed on its inner white walls in letters decorated with of gold leaves and with precious stones. It was inaugurated in 1975 by the erstwhile President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
In 1976, he established a facility exclusively dedicated to the study of arts and sciences of the Quran.
MSB (also known as Al Madrasa Tus Saifiya Tul Burhaniyah) was founded by Burhanuddin in 1984, with its first two branches in Mumbai, India and Nairobi, Kenya. It is accredited with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education and is operated under the purview of the office of the Dai al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras. The institute has branches in 25 cities across India, Pakistan, East Africa, and the Middle East.
On the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary, Mohammed Burhanuddin established a third campus of the institute of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah in Nairobi, Kenya.
Two years later, his son Mufaddal Saifuddin, announced the dedication of yet another campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah in Marol (Mumbai) on his behalf.