THOUGH he was the spiritual leader of one of the numerically smallest Muslim communities of the globe, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’s influence on the Islamic world was significant.

The 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq — ‘summoner with comprehensive authority’ — of the Shia Fatimi Ismaili Tayyibi Muslims, more commonly known as Dawoodi Bohras, Syedna played a dynamic role in bringing his flock into the 21st century while maintaining their spiritual traditions.

Born in the Indian town of Surat in 1915, Syedna Burhanuddin celebrated his 102nd milad, or birthday (according to the Fatimi Hijri calendar) in 2013.

As leader of the estimated one million Dawoodi Bohras worldwide, he wielded immense influence over his followers, considered as he was the representative on Earth of the secluded Fatimi Imam.

Syedna Burhanuddin became Dai in 1965 at age 53, upon the death of his father, Syedna Taher Saifuddin, the 51st Dai. Just as his father had played a major role in reorganising the Fatimi Dawat, Burhanuddin continued and expanded this role.

Among his achievements was the restoration of classical Fatimid monuments, the promotion of education amongst his community as well as the economic uplift of the Dawoodi Bohras. Syedna was heir to the storied Fatimid tradition (the Aga Khan, leader of the Nizari Ismailis, can also be considered a claimant).

His restoration of Fatimid buildings will be one of his lasting legacies. “We have tried to express our beliefs and ideologies through these buildings till they speak out in the tongue of brick, stone and mortar and find expression in their arches, mihrabs and minarets”, he was quoted in Al-Dai Al-Fatimi, his illustrated biography.

Syedna’s impact on the Islamic world’s architectural heritage can perhaps be felt in Cairo — the city the Fatimids founded — the most. And perhaps the jewel in this crown is the 10th century Jami al-Anwar, or mosque of Al-Hakim, which was painstakingly restored in 1980. The iconic 12th century Al-Aqmar mosque, also in Cairo, was renovated in 1996.

Syedna also restored and renovated Fatimid mosques, mausolea and monuments in Syria, Yemen and India, while he also undertook the renovation of non-Fatimid structures, such as adding ornamentation to Hazrat Ali’s sepulchre in Najaf al-Ashraf as well as restoring the Grand Mosque of Kufa (both in Iraq).

Along with restoring monuments of the past, the 52nd Dai commissioned the construction of new mosques around the world, particularly for Bohra faithful in the West.

Erudition and learning were also close to Mohammed Burhanuddin’s heart. He oversaw the administration of Jamea-tus-Saifiyah, the 19th century Bohra academy in Surat where students studied the religious sciences, as well as worldly subjects, to the highest level. A branch of the Jamea was opened in Karachi in 1983.

Himself a hafiz, Syedna encouraged his community to commit the Quran to heart, while he personally supervised students during the Jamea’s annual exams. The Dai also looked after a network of schools and madressahs in different parts of the world.

The late Bohra leader encouraged the women of his flock to pursue education while he was conferred doctorates by Al-Azhar (again founded by the Fatimids) as well as Aligarh Muslim University. Like his father, Burhanuddin also served as chancellor of AMU.

Syedna was fluent in several languages, including lisan al-da’wah, the mixture of Gujarati, Arabic and Urdu spoken by Bohras while he was an accomplished poet, composing munajat, or prayers in verse, in Arabic.

As head of the community Syedna had considerable funds at his disposal. He administered several charitable trusts and promoted qarz-al-hasana or interest-free loans within the community while stressing the Islamic prohibition of interest.

A widely travelled man, Mohammed Burhanuddin mingled with kings, princes and presidents as he travelled to different parts of the world, especially wherever his followers were found in significant numbers. He was a regular visitor to Pakistan and spent long periods in Karachi.

Though Syedna was adored by the majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community, he did have his critics.

Though there was dissent within the community against the way the Dais conducted the community’s affairs — particular worldly affairs — as far back as the early 20th century, the major breakaway faction of Bohras emerged in the early 1970s, with the formation of the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra Jamaat in Udaipur, India.

Though the Progressive Bohras were vocal in their criticism of Syedna Burhanuddin, it can safely be said that most Bohras have remained faithful to the Dai.

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin lived a long and eventful life leading the followers of this esoteric Muslim school of thought. Indeed Mufaddal Saifuddin, the 53rd Dai (appointed in 2011), has a tough act to follow.