Syedna Zoeb bin Moosa first Dai-al-mutlaq of dawoodi bohra

Zoeb (al-Dhu’ayb) bin Musa al-Wadei (died-546 AH/1151 AD) is the first Dai al-Mutlaq, a position of spiritual authority in Musta‘lī Ismaili Bohra Islam. He was appointed to the position by Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi of Yemen in 532 AH.

Arwa al-Sulayhi had been named "Hujja" by Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah, the Fatimid Imam. Dai was the intermediary between the Imam (whose headquarters were at Cairo and Yemen), and called Dai al-balagh (not having absolute authority). Dai Lamak ibn Malik and his son Dai Yahya ibn Lamak (d. 1126 AD) were the dai of that era. After the death of the twentieth Ismaili imam Al-Amir, his child At-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim, only a few months old, became the twenty-first Imam. As Tayyib was not in a position to run the Ismaili dawah ("mission"), Al-Amir authorised Arwa al-Sulayhi to run it. She empowered Zoeb bin Moosa to manage the dawah in Yemen and extend its influence in India. The Dai had become the Dai al-Mutlaq ("dai with absolute authority") and was made independent from political activity. Because of the independence of the dai, the Fatimid dawat could survive even after Arwa al-Sulayhi's Sulayhid dynasty had lost power in Yemen.

Zoeb lived in Haus, Yemen, and that was where he died, after being Dai al-Mutlaq for 14 years. His ma'dhūn, or assistant, was Syedna Khattab bin Hasan.

Zoeb appointed Maulai Yaqoob as the wali ("representative" or "caretaker") of the Fatimid Dawat in India. Moulai Yaqoob was the first person of Indian origin to receive this honour. He was the son of Moulai Bharmal, minister of King Siddhraja Jaya Singha, who ruled in Anhalwara, Patan, and Gujrat from 1094 to 1133 AD. They all, along with minister Moulai Tarmal, had honoured the Fatimid dawat along with their fellow citizens on the call of Moulai Abadullah. Moulai Fakhruddin Shaheed, son of Moulai Tarmal was sent to western Rajasthan, India.[clarification needed]
The lineage of Zoeb's successors as Dai continues to the present day, as leaders of the Dawoodi Bohra in India.


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