Da’udi Bohras

A subdivision of Tayyibi Musta‘li Ismailis.

The 26^th Da‘i al-mutlaq of the Tayyibi Ismailis (d. 997 or 999 H/ 1589 or 1591 CE) was succeeded by his deputy in India, Da’ud Burhan al-Din b. Qutubshah. But, four years later, the deputy of the deceased da‘i in Yemen, Sulayman b. Hasan al-Hindi, claimed the succession to the leadership of the Tayyibi da‘wa. This heated succession dispute was brought before the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1005 AH / 1597 CE. A special tribunal decided in favour of Da’ud b. Qutubshah, but the dispute, with its Indian-Yemeni dimensions, was not resolved and led to a permanent schism in the Tayyibi da‘wa and community.

The majority of the Tayyibi Bohras acknowledged Da’ud b. Qutubshah as their 27^th Da‘i al-mutlaq and henceforth became known as Da‘udis. On the other hand, a majority of Tayyibis of Yemen and a small group of Bohras in India supported the succession of Sulayman b. Hasan and became designated as Sulaymanis. Thereafter, the Da’udis and Sulaymanis followed different lines of da‘is. The Da’udi da‘is have continued to remain in India, while the da‘is of the Sulaymanis have resided in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.