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Aga Khan III Imams of Ismaili Shi'a Islam
Rank	48th Nizari Imām
Name	Sultan Mahommed Shah
Birth	November 2, 1877
Death	July 11, 1957 (age 79)
Birthplace	Karachi, Pakistan (British India)
Buried	Aswan, Egypt
Life Duration	Before Imamate: 8 years (1877 - 1885) Imamate: 72 years (1885 - 1957)
Titles	Aga Khan III
Spouse(s)	Shahzadi Begum, Cleope Teresa Magliano, Andrée Joséphine Carron, Yvonne Blanche Labrousse
Father	Aqa Ali Shah
Mother	Shams al-Muluk
Children	Karīm al-Hussaynī (grandchild, successor), Giuseppe Mahdi Khan, Ali Solomone Khan, Sadruddin Aga Khan
Ali · Ḥassan · Ḥusain as-Sajjad · al-Baqir · aṣ-Ṣādiq Ismā‘īl · Muḥammad Aḥmad · at-Taqī · az-Zakī al-Mahdī · al-Qā'im · al-Manṣūr al-Mu‘izz · al-‘Azīz · al-Ḥākim az-Zāhir · al-Mustansir · Nizār al-Musta′lī · al-Amīr · al-Qāṣim Aga Khan I · Aga Khan II Aga Khan III · Aga Khan IV

Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC (November 2, 1877 – July 11, 1957) 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.

Early life

He was born in Karachi (then under British colonial rule), to Aga Khan II and his third wife,^[1] Nawab A'lia Shamsul-Muluk, who was a granddaughter of Fath Ali Shah of Persia (Qajar dynasty).

Under the care of his mother, he was given not only that religious and Oriental education which his position as the religious leader of the Ismailis made indispensable, but a sound European training, a boon denied to his father and paternal grandfather. He also attended Eton and Cambridge University.^[2]

Career

In 1885, at the age of seven, he succeeded his father as Imam of the Shi'a Isma'ili Muslims.

The Aga Khan traveled in distant parts of the world to receive the homage of his followers, and with the object either of settling differences or of advancing their welfare by pecuniary help and personal advice and guidance. The distinction of a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire was conferred upon him by Queen Victoria in 1897 (and later Knight Grand Commander in 1902 by Edward VII) and he received like recognition for his public services from the German emperor, the sultan of Turkey, the shah of Persia and other potentates.

In 1906, the Aga Khan was a founding member and first president of the All India Muslim League, a political party which pushed for the creation of an independent Muslim nation in the north west regions of South Asia, then under British colonial rule, and later established the country of Pakistan in 1947.

In 1934, he was made a member of the Privy Council and served as a member of the League of Nations (1934–37), becoming the President of the League of Nations in 1937.

He was made a "Knight of the Indian Empire" by Queen Victoria, a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire by Edward VII (1902), and a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India by George V (1912). He was appointed a GCMG in 1923.

Imamate

Under the leadership of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, the first half of the twentieth century was a period of significant development for the Ismā'īlī community. Numerous institutions for social and economic development were established in South Asia and in East Africa.^[3] Ismailis have marked the Jubilees of their Imāms with public celebrations, which are symbolic affirmations of the ties that link the Ismāʿīlī Imām and his followers. Although the Jubilees have no religious significance, they serve to reaffirm the Imamat's worldwide commitment to the improvement of the quality of human life, especially in the developing countries.^[3]

The Jubilees of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, are well remembered. During his 72 years of Imamat (1885–1957), the community celebrated his Golden (1937), Diamond (1946) and Platinum (1954) Jubilees. To show their appreciation and affection, the Ismā'īliyya weighed their Imam in gold, diamonds and, symbolically, in platinum, respectively, the proceeds of which were used to further develop major social welfare and development institutions in Asia and Africa.

In India and later Pakistan, social development institutions were established, in the words of Aga Khan, "for the relief of humanity". They included institutions such as the Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Platinum Jubilee Investments Limited which in turn assisted the growth of various types of cooperative societies. Diamond Jubilee Schools for girls were established throughout the remote Northern Areas of what is now Pakistan. In addition, scholarship programs, established at the time of the Golden Jubilee to give assistance to needy students, were progressively expanded. In East Africa, major social welfare and economic development institutions were established. Those involved in social welfare included the accelerated development of schools and community centres, and a modern, fully-equipped hospital in Nairobi. Among the economic development institutions established in East Africa were companies such as the Diamond Jubilee Investment Trust (now Diamond Trust of Kenya) and the Jubilee Insurance Company, which are quoted on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and have become major players in national development.

Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah also introduced organizational forms that gave Ismāʿīlī communities the means to structure and regulate their own affairs.^[3] These were built on the Muslim tradition of a communitarian ethic on the one hand, and responsible individual conscience with freedom to negotiate one's own moral commitment and destiny on the other. In 1905 he ordained the first Ismā'īlī Constitution for the social governance of the community in East Africa. The new administration for the Community's affairs was organized into a hierarchy of councils at the local, national, and regional levels. The constitution also set out rules in such matters as marriage, divorce and inheritance, guidelines for mutual cooperation and support among Ismā'īlīs, and their interface with other communities. Similar constitutions were promulgated in the South Asia, and all were periodically revised to address emerging needs and circumstances in diverse settings.^[3]

Following the Second World War, far-reaching social, economic and political changes profoundly affected a number of areas where Ismāʿīlīs resided. In 1947, British rule in the South Asia was replaced by the sovereign, independent nations of India, Pakistan and later Bangladesh, resulting in the migration of millions people and significant loss of life and property. In the Middle East, the Suez crisis of 1956 as well as the preceding crisis in Iran, demonstrated the sharp upsurge of nationalism, which was as assertive of the region's social and economic aspirations as of its political independence. Africa was also set on its course to decolonization, swept by what Harold Macmillan, the then British Prime Minister, aptly termed the "wind of change". By the early 1960s, most of East and Central Africa, where the majority of the Ismāʿīlī population on the continent resided including Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda, Malagasy, Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire, had attained their political independence.

Race horse owner

He was an owner of thoroughbred racing horses, including a record equalling five winners of the Epsom Derby, and a total of sixteen winners of British Classic Races. He was British flat racing Champion Owner thirteen times. According to Ben Pimlott, biographer of Queen Elizabeth II, the Aga Khan presented Her Majesty with a filly called Astrakhan, who won at Hurst Park Racecourse in 1950.

Equestrianism

In 1926, the Aga Khan gave a cup (the Aga Khan Trophy) to be awarded to the winners of an international team show jumping competition held at the annual horse show of the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin, Ireland every first week in August.^[4] It attracts competitors from all of the main show jumping nations and is carried live on Irish national television.

Marriages and children

• He married, on November 2, 1896, in Poona, India, Shahzadi Begum, his first cousin and a granddaughter of Aga Khan I.

• He married, in 1908 (Mutah form of marriage) and 1923 (legally), Cleope Teresa Magliano (1888–1926), a dancer with the Ballet Opera of Monte Carlo. They had two sons: Giuseppe Mahdi Khan (d. February 1911) and Ali Solomone Khan (1911–1960)^[5]

• He married, on December 7, 1929 (civil), in Aix-les-Bains, France, and December 13, 1929 (religious), in Bombay, India, Andrée Joséphine Carron (1898–1976). A co-owner of a dressmaking shop in Paris, she became known as Princess Andrée Aga Khan. She did not convert to Islam.^[6] By this marriage, he had one son, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, in 1933-2003.^[7] The couple were divorced in 1943.^[8]

• He married, on October 9, 1944, in Geneva, Switzerland, Yvonne Blanche Labrousse (February 1906 - July 1, 2000). According to an interview she gave to an Egyptian journalist, her first name was Yvonne, though she is referred to as Yvette in most published references. The daughter of a tram conductor and a dressmaker, she was working as the Aga Khan's social secretary at the time of their marriage. She had been "Miss Lyon 1929" and "Miss France 1930".^[9] She converted to Islam and became known as Umm Habiba (Little Mother of the Beloved). In 1954, her husband named her "Mata Salamat" ^[10]

Publications

He wrote a number of books and papers two of which are of immense importance namely (1).India in Transition, about the prepartition politics of India and (2).World Enough & Time - The Memoirs of Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah, Aga Khan III, his autobiography.

Death and succession

The Aga Khan was succeeded by his grandson Karim Aga Khan, as 'Aga Khan' and is the present Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. At the time of his death on July 11, 1957, his family members were in Versoix. A solicitor brought the will of the Aga Khan III from London to Geneva and read it before the family:

"Ever since the time of my ancestor Ali, the first Imam, that is to say over a period of thirteen hundred years, it has always been the tradition of our family that each Imam chooses his successor at his absolute and unfettered discretion from amongst any of his descendants, whether they be sons or remote male issue and in these circumstances and in view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the world in very recent years due to the great changes which have taken place including the discoveries of atomic science, I am convinced that it is in the best interest of the Shia Muslim Ismailia Community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age and who brings a new outlook on life to his office as Imam. For these reasons, I appoint my grandson Karim, the son of my own son, Aly Salomone Khan to succeed to the title of Aga Khan and to the Imam and Pir of all Shia Ismailian followers."

He is buried in Aswan, Egypt at the Mausoleum of Aga Khan.

Styles

• 1877-1885: Sultan Muhammad Shah
• 1885-1898; His Highness Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III
• 1898-1902: His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, KCIE
• 1902-1911: His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, GCIE
• 1911-1923: His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCIE
• 1923-1934: His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO
• 1934-1955: His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, PC, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO
• 1955-1957: His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, PC, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO

See also

• Fatimids
• Nizari
• Aga Khan
• Aga Khan Palace

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Additional reading

• Daftary, F., "The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines" Cambridge University Press, 1990.
• Naoroji M. Dumasia, A Brief History of the Aga Khan (1903).
• Aga Khan III, "Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and Time", London: Cassel & Company, 1954; published same year in the United States by Simon & Schuster.
• Edwards, Anne (1996). "Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans", NY: William Morrow, 1996
• Naoroji M. Dumasia, "The Aga Khan and his ancestors", New Delhi: Readworthy Publications (P) Ltd., 2008

External links

• Video Clip from the History Channel website
• Institute of Ismaili Studies: Selected speeches of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III
• [1] The Official Ismaili Website
• [2] Official Website of Aga Khan Development Network

Aga Khan III of the Ahl al-Bayt Banu Hashim Clan of the Banu Quraish Born: 1877 C.E Died: 1957 C.E.
Shī‘a Islam titles
Preceded by Aqa Ali Shah	48th Imam of Nizari Ismailism 1885 - 1957	Succeeded by Karim al-Hussayni

From Wikiquote

Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC, (November 2, 1877 – July 11, 1957) was the 48th Imam of the Nizari 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.

Sourced

• Islam is fundamentally in its very nature a natural religion. Throughout the Quran God's signs (Ayats) are referred to as the natural phenomenon, the law and order of the universe, the exactitudes and consequences of the relations between natural phenomenon in cause and effect. Over and over, the stars, sun, moon, earthquakes, fruits of the earth and trees are mentioned as the signs of divine power, divine law and divine order. Even in the Ayeh of Noor, divine is referred to as the natural phenomenon of light and even references are made to the fruit of the earth. During the great period of Islam, Muslims did not forget these principles of their religion.
  • In a letter dated 4th April, 1952 to Dr. Zahid Husain, President of Arabiyyah Jamiyyat, Karachi.

• Even a little knowledge of Islam will show that its religion is not only tolerant of other Faiths, but most respectful, and indeed, fully accepts the divine inspiration of all theistic Faiths that came before Islam. It does not only teach tolerance to its followers, but goes a step further and enjoins on them all to create the godly quality of "Hilm" that is, tolerance, forbearance, patience, calmness, and forgiveness. It is due to the spirit of tolerance of Islam that even the smallest Christian and Jewish minorities survived and kept all their doctrines during the thousand years of Muslim rule. Nothing like what happened to Muslims in Spain after the Christian conquest has ever happened to a non-Muslim Faith in any Islamic dominion. How, can Europeans be so ignorant as to have forgotten that in the first century of Islam the Khalifs ordered that all that was best in Greek and Roman cultures should be assimilated; that not only the philosophy, medicine and science of Greece, but its poetry and drama, were carefully translated into Arabic and were generally sought not only by the learned but also by the pious! The Muslim attitude towards the absorption of ideas was based on the principle of Islam which enjoins to acquire knowledge wherever available, and there is a well-known and authentic saying of the Prophet that "his followers should seek learning even if they have to go to China."
  • In response to an article in the TIMES, London, which had labelled Islam as an "intolerant" religion, and held it responsible for some of the problems of the Middle East.

Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough & Time (1954)

• It is said that we live, move and have our being in God. We find this concept expressed often in the Koran, not in those words of course, but just as beautifully and more tersely... when we realize the meaning of this saying, we are already preparing ourselves for the gift of the power of direct [spiritual] experience.

• I firmly believe that the higher [spiritual] experience can to a certain extent be prepared for by absolute devotion in the material world to another human being. Thus from the most worldly point of view and with no comprehension of the higher life of the spirit, the lower, more terrestrial spirit makes us aware that all the treasures of this life, all that fame, wealth and health can bring are nothing beside the happiness which is created and sustained by the love of one human being for another... but as the joys of human love surpass all that riches and power may bring a man, so does that greater spiritual love and enlightenment, the fruit of that sublime experience of the direct vision of reality which is God's gift and grace, surpass all that the finest, truest human love can offer.

• Consider, for example, the opening declaration of every Islamic prayer: "Allah-o-Akbar". What does that mean? There can be no doubt that the second word of the declaration likens the character of Allah to a matrix which contains all and gives existence to the infinite, to space, to time, to the Universe, to all active and passive forces imaginable, to life and to the soul.

• Imam Hassan has explained the Islamic doctrine of God and the Universe by analogy with the sun and its reflection in the pool of a fountain; there is certainly a reflection or image of the sun, but with what poverty and with what little reality; how small and pale is the likeness between this impalpable image and the immense, blazing, white-hot glory of the celestial sphere itself. Allah is the sun; and the Universe, as we know it in all its magnitude, and time, with its power, is nothing more than the reflection of the Absolute in the mirror of the fountain.

• There is a fundamental difference between the Jewish idea of creation and that of Islam. The creation according to Islam is not a unique act in a given time but a perpetual and constant event; and God supports and sustains all existence at every moment by His will and His thought. Outside His will, outside His thought, all is nothing, even the things which seem to us absolutely self-evident such as space and time. Allah alone wishes: the Universe exists; and all manifestations are as a witness of the Divine will.

• All men, rich and poor, must aid one another materially and personally. The rules vary in detail, but they all maintain the principle of universal mutual aid in the Muslim fraternity. This fraternity is absolute, and it comprises men of all colours and all races... all are the sons of Adam in the flesh and all carry in them spark of the Divine Light. Everyone should strive his best to see that this spark be not extinguished but rather developed to that full "Companionship-on-High" which was the vision expressed in the last words of the Prophet [Muhammad] on his deathbed, the vision of that blessed state which he saw clearly awaiting him.

• Islamic doctrine goes further than the other great religions, for it proclaims the presence of the soul, perhaps minute but nevertheless existing in an embryonic state, in all existence - in matter, in animals, trees, and space itself. Every individual, every molecule, every atom has its own spiritual relationship with the All-Powerful Soul of God. But men and women, being more highly developed, are immensely more advanced than the infinite number of other beings known to us.

• Life in the ultimate analysis has taught me one enduring lesson. The subject should always disappear in the object. In our ordinary affections one for another, in our daily work with hand or brain, we most of us discover soon enough that any lasting satisfaction, any contentment that we can achieve, is the result of forgetting self, or merging subject with object in a harmony that is of body, mind and spirit. And in the highest realms of consciousness all who believe in a Higher Being are liberated from all the clogging and hampering bonds of the subjective self in prayer, in rapt meditation upon and in the face of the glorious radiance of Eternity, in which all temporal and earthly consciousness is swallowed up and itself becomes the eternal.

Quotes about him

• My grandfather was a most gifted person, and amongst his many qualities, one of them had always particularly impressed me. While the past was a book he had read and re-read may times, the future was just one more literary work of art into which he used to pour himself with deep thought and concentration. Innumerable people since his death have told me how he used to read in the future, and this certainly was one of his very great strengths.
  • His grandson, Karim al-Hussaini, who later succeeded him as Aga Khan IV and Imam of the Nizari Muslims.

• My father insisted that I learnt the Koran and encouraged me to understand the basic traditions and beliefs of Islam but without imposing any particular views. He was an overwhelming personality but open-minded and liberal.
  • His son, Sadruddin Aga Khan, in an interview to the The Telegraph (UK) that appeared on January 24, 1998.

See also

• Aga Khan IV

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

Aga Khan III

• Aga Khan III: A Study in Humanism, an article by Professor K. K. Aziz, who compiled a 2-volume book on the life, works and speeches of the Aga Khan III.
• [1]

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