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Sulaymanis are a Musta‘lī Ismaili community that predominantly reside in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan and India.

History

This Ṭayyibī Isma'ilī community is named after their 27^th Dā‘ī, Sulayman ibn Hassan, who succeeded to this position after the death of the 26^th Bohra Dā‘ī Mutlaq, Dawūd ibn Ajabshah.

Sulayman ibn Hasan was Dawūd ibn Ajabshah's deputy in Yemen at the time of the latter's death and a heated dispute broke out because in India, Dawūd Burhanud-Dīn Qutb Shāh claimed the position of dā‘ī mutlaq for himself and managed to win the support of the majority of the Indian Ṭayyibis. Sulayman returned to India to claim the succession on the basis of the nass (explicit designation of succession by his predecessor) of Dawūd ibn Ajabshah. The heated succession dispute was brought before the Emperor Akbar at Lahore, but before his claim and the dispute came to any conclusion, Sulayman died under mysterious circumstances, in Lahore.

The great majority of the Ṭayyibi Ismailis in Yemen and a small group of Indian Ṭayyibi Ismailis upheld the succession rights of Sulayman ibn Hasan. Henceforth the Sulaymanis and the Dawūdis followed different du‘āt (dā‘īs).

Sulayman ibn Hasan was succeeded by his elder son, Ja‘far ibn Sulayman, as 28^th Dā‘ī Mutlaq. During his youth, Safī ud-Dīn Muhammad ibn al-Fahad, belonging to the influential Makrami family of the Yemeni Isma'ili tribe of Yam, ran the affairs of the Sulaymani da‘wah as mustawda "acting dā‘ī". He was later designated as 29^th Dā‘ī Mutlaq after Ja‘far ibn Sulayman.

The Sulaymani da‘wah headquarters was transferred to Najran in northeastern Yemen when the 31^st Dā‘ī, Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad ibn Fahad was appointed by Sulayman ibn Hasan's younger son, ‘Alī ibn Sulayman, who had succeeded by then as the 30^th Dā‘ī Mutlaq.

Yemen & Najran

In Yemen, the Sulaymanis were supported by the powerful tribe of Banū Yam who, like the bulk of the Yemeni Isma'ilis, had sided with Sulayman ibn Hasan and the Sulaymani cause. Sulaymani du‘āt ruled Najran independently, usually from Badar.

The Sulaymani du‘āt fought battles with local Zaydi Imāms who ruled Yemen after expelling the Ottomans in 1045 AH (1635 CE). During the dā‘īship of Hibatullah ibn Ibrahim al-Makrami, the Zaydis formed a pact with the Sulaymanis which allowed the latter to control Haraz.

In the mid 12th century AH (18th century CE), the Sulaymanis, led by their du‘āt, were able to take control of the Mikhlafus-Sulaymani, which adjoins the Red Sea. Later, they went on to conquer Hadramawt in 1170 AH (1756 CE) and attained political power in that area. It was at this time that they were faced by the rising power of the Sa‘ūdī family of Central Arabia. In the mid 12th century (18th century CE), it lay under the banner of the powerful Muhammad ibn Sa‘ūd; this marked the beginning of the Wahhabi State in Central Arabia.

By 1202 AH (1788 CE), all of Najd had been conquered by ibn Sa‘ūd's son and successor, ‘Abdul-‘Azīz, who was successful in repelling three expeditions sent against him by the Sulaymanis. However, in 1288 AH (1871 CE) the Ottomans reoccupied Yemen and curtailed the power of the Zaydi Imāms and expelled the Sulaymanis from Haraz. The 42^nd Dā‘ī, al-Hasan ibn Ismail ash-Shibam, was killed at this time and their fortress at Attara was destroyed. It was this event that marked the end of the political power of the Sulaymanis and the Makrami dynasty in Yemen.

Sulaymani du‘āt and their community in Yemen withstood much hostility from the Zaydis; after accepting a peace settlement with the Sa‘ūdīs, their du‘āt moved permanently to Najran.

In the 20^th century CE, ‘Abdul-‘Azīz II became king of Sa‘ūdī Arabia and war broke out with Yemen over a boundary dispute. After defeating the Zaydi Imam Yahyá, the demarcation of the boundary was drawn up and Najran, seat of the Sulaymani du‘āt, was apportioned to Sa‘ūdī Arabia. Though times were turbulent, the 46^th Dā‘ī, ‘Alī ibn Muhsin, used all of his diplomatic skill and foresight to handle this dispute carefully, conferring with King ibn Sa‘ūd and the Zaydi Imām Yahyá.

The 47^th Sulaymani Dā‘ī was an Indian, Ghulam Husayn, who visited Yemen and Najran twice but died unexpectedly. The 48^th Dā‘ī was Sharīfud-Dīn al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Makrami, who eventually died in Ta'if.

In recent years, after a long illness, the 51^st Dā‘ī, ash-Sharfī Husayn ibn Isma'il died on 2 ^nd June 2005. He was succeeded by al-Fakhrī ‘Abdullāh ibn Muhammad al-Makrami.

The total number of Sulaymanis currently are around 300,000, mainly living in Najran, Saudi Arabia. Beside the Banu Yam of Najran, the Sulaymanis are in the eastern district of Haraz in the northwest of Yemen, among the inhabitants of the Jabal Maghriba and in Hawzan, Lahab and Attara, as well as in the district of Hamdan and in the vicinity of Yarim.

Indian Subcontinent

After the death of ‘Ali ibn Sayyidna Sulayman in 1088 AH, the da‘wah's headquarters moved to Najran and the Subcontinent's mission remained in the hands of Hassan Khan ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, who was appointed by Dā‘ī Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Fahad.

The first mansūb "representative", or Dā‘ī Hind wa Sind "missionary to India and Sindh" was Dawūd ibn Ahmad. He was appointed by the 32^nd Dā‘ī Mutlaq. The second mansūb was Dawūd ibn Fīr. Later, the responsibilities were taken away from him and Dawūd ibn Babu was appointed mansūb. Mansūbs were appointed separately for Sind during the time of Sulayman and thereafter by Ja‘far ibn Sukayman and ‘Ali ibn Sulayman. The last mansūb in Sind was Shīr Muhammad.

In recent times, during the dā‘īship of Ghulam Husayn, his brother Fathullāh become 16^th Mansūb Hind wa Sind (1341-1355 AH). He died in Baroda, India and the 19^th Mansūb, Muhammad Husayn ibn Shams ud-Dīn was appointed (1355-1360 AH). The 20^th Mansūb was Muhammad Ishaq ibn Muhammad Ibrahim (1356-1376 AH). He was appointed by Husayn ibn Ahmad and his time in office was quite eventful. The da‘wah began to expand, with many new buildings being constructed under his watch; the old mosque was rebuilt in Hyderabad, cooperative banks were established and many young Sulaymanis began to migrate heading to the Arabian Gulf States, Saudi Arabia and to Western Countries.

After the death of Muhammad Ishaq, Muhammad Shakir Zi‘a ibn Walī Muhammad and Nasrullāh ibn Hibatullāh became the 21^st & 22^nd Mansūbs, appointed simultaneously by ‘Alī ibn Husayn. Muhammad Shakir Zi‘a ibn Walī Muhammad was a renowned poet and scholar in Arabic, Persian & Urdu and was sent to Lucknow to study at Nadvat ul-Ulema under the guidance of Mawlana Shibli Naumani. He stayed there for four years and was later sent to Najran with Fathullāh. After returning to India, he decided to travel to Bangkok in Thailand; he was the Amil of Bangkok for many years. He later moved to Japan to help his father in business and lived in Kobe for some time. There, he helped to establish the first mosque and was twice elected the president of the Japanese India Club. When he returned to Baroda, he was made Amil of Baroda by Muhammad Ishaq.

The 23^rd Mansub was Syed Zia Ali ibn Mohammed Ishaq.

In India there are between three to four thousand Sulaymanis living mainly in, Baroda, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Surat. In Pakistan there is a well established Sulaymani community in Sind, some five to six thousand Sulaymanis live in rural areas of Sind. These Ismaili Sulaymani communities have been in Sind from the time of the Fatimid Imām Mu‘izz li Dīn Allāh when he sent his du‘āt to Sind. The rest reside in Karachi.

There are also some one thousand or so Sulaymanis scattered around the world; mainly from the Indian Subcontinent, they are found in greatest numbers in the Arabian Gulf States, USA, Canada, Thailand, Australia, Japan and UK.

In 1973 CE, after the visit of 49^th Dā‘ī Mutlaq, ‘Alī ibn Husayn, to India, Mumbai became the new center of the da‘wah for all regions aside from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, replacing Baroda.

Sulaymanis residing in India are a progressive community, they have surpassed other Indian Muslims in fame & status. Their official day to day language was gradually changed from Gujarati to Urdu and all their religious discourses, lectures and correspondence are conducted in this language, apart from namaz and religious gatherings. Sulaymanis follow no special dress code, blending with and adapting to the local norms of dress. There is no compulsion or coercion to make any payments to the religious authorities. All donations and other religious obligations are voluntary.

Most of these changes occurred during the dā‘īship of Ghulam Husayn who was an eminent scholar, author of many books and an able administrator. His younger brother Syed Fathullah was himself a well known scholar as well as his Mansub in India. During the time of these two able brothers, the Sulaymani community transformed into a modern and progressive society.

Today Sulaymanis have their own mosques, community halls, cemeteries, religious schools, Cooperative Banks, medical centres and other welfare and social organizations.

The two Mansubs currently residing in India are Mansub al-Fakhri Syed Abdullah ibn Hibatullah and Mansub as-Sarim ud-Din Mohammed Ibrahim Ziaee ibn Mansub al-Hajj Muhammad Ishaq.