Personal audience at YAKIMOUR in SEPTEMBER, 1954

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On the occasion of the
133 BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 48th IMAM


Personal audience at YAKIMOUR in SEPTEMBER, 1954

I would like to share with my readers, my personal feelings towards my Imam. Fortunately I was provided several opportunities to have audience with my 48th as well the present Imam, which have left unforgettable memories in my mind and have guided me through out my life. Here I describe a 1.20 hrs audience, a murid in the presence of his Imam. It is, however useful to make my readers familiar with my background.
Very briefly I would like to remind the readers that , I belong to the PANJAB ISMAILIA JAMAT converted to ISLAM personally by the Imam himself and my father Rai , Missionary Inayat Ali was amongst the first badge of 12 pioneers in this mass conversion.
In his Memoirs, the IMAM remarks,
“As I look back, there is one memory, one piece of self–knowledge, which gives me the utmost satisfaction. I was myself personally responsible for the conversion to Islam of some 30,000 to 40,000 cast Hindus, many of them of the upper and professional classes. They have been people without faith and they found a faith. Neither my father nor my grand father had attempted a religious task of this magnitude. Its fulfilment has had one important and interesting effect: the great majority of these converts lived in what is now Pakistan; had they remained Hindu they would in all probability have been involved in, and have suffered by, the mass displacement and all the other terrible and horrible happenings that accompanied Partition in 1947.”

I am happy to say that through out my life, I had several opportunities, both public and private to meet the Imam of the age; I have always seen our Imam in a roll of our parent or a grand parent, always giving right and a sound advice to his spiritual children. He sometimes remembers your names and minute details of your problems and offers you a sound counselling to solve them. He takes interest in all the problems both material and spiritual of his murids.

He visited Panjab Jamat at Lahore in 1948 and found out that Ali Mohammad S/O Missionary Inayat Ali has topped the list of Punjab University in his M.A. Degree at an age of 22. He summand me into his presence and ordered Aitimadi Hussain Ali Javeri, his private secretary that Ali Mohammad must proceed to UK for his doctoral education at the expense of the IMAMAT.

It took me 6 years of corresponding with his secretaries to secure my scholarship but of no avail. Ultimately at the time of Platinum Jubilee in 1954 at KARACHI, the Imam recognised me in the crowd and accepted me in a personal audience and furnished me the funds for my doctoral program to UK.

The first leg of my journey was by boat from Karachi to Egypt and my last leg was by train from Italian port of Genoa to Liverpool in UK, in SEPTEMBER, 1954.

The train journey was along the French Riviera. When the train came to the city of CANNS, I thought that my Imam resides in this city. May be I could be blessed by his holy deedar. So, I got off from the train and telephoned YAKIMOUR with my request. I suppose that a secretary was on the other side of the line, who said that it is totally impossible as His Highness is in bed with a touch of temperature. I insisted with my request but of no avail, although he agreed for me to talk with the princess, the Begum. I felt very happy to hear the voice of Mata Slamat but the reply from her was no different. When I insisted with my request, she agreed that she would see His Highness in his bed room and convey to me on phone, whatever he made firman for me, while I should hang on for a while. I was thrilled with the outcome and waited for a couple of minutes, and I heard the voice of Mata Salamt again saying, how fortunate you are as His highness has asked you to come straight away to YAKIMUR for a holy audience.


The Audience with Noor Maula na
Sultan Mohammad Shah, the 48th IMAM
“Yak zamane suhbate ba auliya, Behtar az sad sala ta’at be-riya – Rumi
(A short time in the company of a ‘Friend of Allah’ is several time more fruitfl than a thousand years of sincere devotional prayers to God)”


The Photo of Dr Rajput with Hazar Imam and Mata Salamat
With a bouquet of flowers as a token of a symbol of my utmost humble love and devotion I hopped into a taxi and the next I remember is that I was at the front door of YAKIMOUR and Mata Salamat herself opening the door. She took me into the lounge and said, “You may have to wait here in this lounge for a while before the Prince see you, I will come back when he is ready”.

After half an hour, she came back into the lounge again and said, “I will bring him in a couple of minutes, be ready”. I stood up and lo! She brought the IMAM in a wheelchair and I fell down on his feet in prostration and then she left us alone and I heard a voice, “stand up, bring that chair and sit beside me”

I stood up, the lounge lit up with the noor of IMAMATE
I picked up a chair and sat beside the IMAM of the AGE, lost in my deep thoughts.

To calm me down, the Imam acted as a fatherly figure and spoke,

“How was your journey from Karachi to Yakimour?”
“Khudawand, it was very good, being my first trip to Europe; it has been very exciting for me”.

“How are my Jamats in Punjab and Frontier”?
“Khudawand, they are doing well, although our Jamats are far behind in material strength including Education and need MAULA’s material assistance as well as IMAM’s spiritual blessings”.

“How is the political situation in Pakistan these days”?
“Khudawand, I am not a politician, but the country was quite normal when I left”.

“I give dozens of scholarships for higher education to Pakistan Government. Why, our Ismaili students do not take advantage of it”?
“Khudawand, there is no fair play in Pakistan, only those students who have some approach to the Government authorities receive the benefit”.

“My child, you are going to UK, very different to your country of origin, always remember my words of advice and never forget as it is for your own good. Pick up their good principles and make them your own and leave their vices and bad habits to them alone. The good habits, you should adopt are, their truthfulness, punctuality , sense of duty and the bad habits you must reject are, drinking, smoking, gambling and other vices. Your foremost duty is to attend to your educational activities and never forget your religious obligation”.
“Khudawand, Hazar Imam is very kind”.

There was raz-O-niaz between the Imam and his humble murid, for some time and my lips are sealed to divulge the secrets between the Hujjat-i-Khudawandi and His sinful humble slave. I was myself in a Trans and had totally lost the sense of time. I looked at my watch and realised that I was in that EXALTED Company for over one full hour, His humble servant who could not secure 5 minutes of Maula’s time a little while ago, has really exceeded his limits. I felt guilty of over staying. With this thought in mind I stood up from my seat.

“Would you not like to have a photograph with your Imam before you leave”? I was stuck with awe and humbly replied.
“Khudawand, I dare not ask your Highness, but I would very much like to have such a remembrance for the rest of my life if MAULA pleases”.

“Call my chauffeur who is waiting outside”

I went outside and called the chauffeur in and Hazar Imam instructed him to fetch the camera and ask the Begum to come for a photo session. I vividly remember that the chauffeur went inside and came out with a Rolliflex Camera and photo was taken and Hazar Imam said to me, “I will post these pictures to you at your London address” . Mata Salamat, then wheeled the Imam back to his bedroom. The photos did arrive through the post within a week, three prints along with negatives , Maula is so very kind. I keep the packet with its contents as a precious souvenir.

The audience of Maula na Hazar Imam indeed changed my whole life. I was in the presence of HAZAR IMAM all alone for an hour and twenty minutes. I saw my MAULA in a full glory as Hujjat-i-KHUDAWANDI on this EARTH. Although his station had been an EXALTED one, he never let me feel nervous, in His Person engulfed within a hollow of noor all around. He let me feel as if I was in the company of my loving grand father, all full of love and affection and nothing else accept the words of wisdom engraved on my heart and always a shining light on the TAREQA namely SIRART-UL-MUSTAQEEM



Dr Ali Mohammad Rajput
Professor Emeritus University of KHORG




Dr Ali Mohammad Rajput, B.A(Hons), M.A., M.Phil., PH.D., F.S.S.
Professor Emeritus university of Khorog, Tajikistan.
Retired Professor of Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
Residences;1. Darulhikmat, UPD, city of Khorog, Gorno Badakhshan, Tajikistan
Phone. (+99)23522 2 65 45
2. 55, Portland Road, Birmingham, B16, 9HS, UK.
Phone: (+44) 121 454 0671
E.mail: [email protected]
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[kmaherali]

There is a photo at:


Yakimour 1954: A Golden Moment for an Aspiring Student – An Audience with the 48th Ismaili Imam, Aga Khan III


https://simerg.com/about/yakimour-1954- ... -khan-iii/