Sulaymanis
A branch of Da’udi Tayyibi Musta‘li Ismailis.
From the 27th da‘i onwards, the Sulaymani Bohras follow a different line of succession to that of the Da’udi Bohras. They believe that the rightful 27th da‘i was a nephew of the 21st da‘i named Suleyman b. Hasan (d. 1005 AH / 1597 CE), after whom they are named Sulaymani.
Suleyman was Indian but had been the local representative, ‘amil, in Yemen for the 26th da‘i (who lived in India). He travelled to India to challenge Da’ud b. Qutbshah, but died there without garnering much support from the Indian Tayyibis. He was succeeded by his son, Ja‘far (d. 1050 AH / 1640 CE), who returned to Yemen. From then on, the seat of the Sulaymani da‘wa remained in Narjan, the mountainous north east district of Yemen. Currently, the seat of the Sulaymani da‘wa is in Narjan, a city in southern Saudi Arabia. The Arab Sulaymanis call themselves ‘Makarima’, from the family name of their da‘is, while the Indian Sulaymanis continue to use the name ‘Sulaymani Bohra’.