The Dai is the Maula of mumineen, whose kingdom is established on their hearts. He doesn’t need any physical or outer means to prove his leadership. Mumineen always flock towards him. This kingdom on the hearts and minds can never be claimed by force or coercion. It is a spontaneous and natural attraction and attachment between the Maula and his mumineen, because this relationship is based on love and love cannot be bought, or forced upon, or soughs with any physical means. That is the reason why Muawyah, in spite of getting the caliphate from Imaam Hasan SA, poisoned him as he could not bear to see throngs of people gravitating towards Imaam Hasan RA out of love and obedience. This spiritual kingdom on the hearts and souls of mumineen is eternal and can never be usurped by the enemy.
And nobody can replace Maula on the throne of this kingdom but the true worthy, whom the preceding Maula selects and prepares. Nass is the declaration by the predecessor about his successor which is done implicitly and explicitly. In the beginning RasulAllah SAW performed nass on Maulana Ali SA only among a select few of his family members. At the end of his life he proclaimed nass openly among 70000 people who had gathered at Gadeer-e-Khum.
Nass is not claimed or desired for or contested for. One doesn’t claim eligibility to the position of Dai. It is a bestowment of the predecessor on the one whom he finds the truly eligible amongst the people of his Dawat to take his place as the representative of the Imaam. The mansoos always receives this bestowment with profound gratitude and humility, never ever claiming himself to be eligible or deserving. This humility is the hallmark of a true successor.
When Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA performed nass on Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS in London, and the witnesses went to Syedna Saifuddin’s TUS house to inform him about the nass, his immediate reaction was to get down from the sofa onto the ground and pled that may Maula live forever and may I be fida on him. When Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA performed nass on Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS in Raudat Tahera, in the presence of thousands of Mumineen, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS, in gratitude and humility, said that he was deficient in his ilm, and amal, and prayed for the longevity of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA.
Infallibility (ismat) is bestowed only upon the Dai-al-Mutlaq; no other position below him is infallible. Therefore, it is possible that even the Mazoon or the Mukasir may commit errors that can lead to action, or even worse, renounce the faith altogether and turn dissident, as happened in the time of the 29th Dai, Syedna Abduttaiyeb Zakiyuddin RA. Syedna Abduttaiyeb Zakiuddin RA appointed Ali bin Ibrahim, the grandson of his predecessor, Syedna Shaikh Adam Saifuddin RA, second to him in position. However, two years later, Ali bin Ibrahim betrayed his faith and made false claims of being the successor of Syedna Shaikh Adam Saifuddin RA.
Syedi Najam Khan, the son of the 33rd Dai, Syedna Feerkhan Shujauddin RA, was the Mazoon of Syedna Ismail Badruddin RA. Syedna Ismail Badruddin RA took away his position as Mazoon when Syedi Najam Khan disclosed secret affairs of Dawat not intended to be revealed. Not only did Syedi Najam Khan accept Syedna Ismail Badruddin’s RA verdict, he even offered gratitude to Syedna for having retained him as a mumin.
No one can appoint a Dai but the Dai preceding him. The appointment of a successor is an indication of the truthfulness of the preceding Dai: as a Dai cannot die without appointing his successor. Thus the presence of Dai-al-zaman, the current Dai validates the nass of all the Doat before him right up to the first Dai, Syedna Zoeb bin Musa RA. Syedna Zoeb RA was the first Dai who was appointed by Maulatena Hurrat al Maleka RA by the instructions of Imam Taiyyeb AS, the 21st Imam, who went into seclusion.
Once, the 47th Dai, Syedna AbdulQadir Najmuddin RA, was travelling in a ship towards Mandvi when a storm threatened to capsize the ship. People aboard feared death, when one of the hudood accompanying Syedna RA calmed them saying that it was impossible for the ship to sink as Syedna RA had not yet appointed his successor, and he could not die without doing so.
A Dai can never pass away without appointing his mansoos. Our Aqa and Maula, the 52nd Dai al Mutlaq Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA, with the ilhaam of the Imam appointed his son Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS as his successor by performing nass on him in the precincts of Raudat Tahera in 2011. Thousands of mumineen were witness to the historic event and hundreds of thousands more saw the recording of the event in their hometowns. A fortnight before this public declaration, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA had already performed nass on him in the presence of three Shehzadas, one Shehzadi and Dr. Moizbhai sahib and his son AbdulQadir bhaisaheb in a hospital in London. Shehzada Ammarbhai sahib, one of the witness of that nass revealed that Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA spoke clearly and loudly and named Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS three times and then, after confirming from each witness that he had heard properly, instructed them to inform mumineen the world over about this nass.
Around six years before that, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA, had confided to two of his Shehzadas; Shehzada Al Qaid Johar Bhaisaheb and Shehzada Malikul Ashtar Bhaisaheb that Syedna Aali Qadar Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS was his successor and had pledged them to secrecy.
Years before that in 1967, within three years of his ascension to the throne of Dawat, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA confided to three trustworthy mumineen : Miyasaheb Ibrahim Moinuddin Al Yamani, Shk. Abdulhusain Tambawala and Shk. Abdulhusain Ibrahim Shipchandler (Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA himself added “AbdulQadir” to the name of Shk. Abdulhusain name. Abdulqadir is the name of the latter’s grandfather) that Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS was his successor. This invaluable document of nass bearing the names of these three witnesses and the signature of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA is present as an irrefutable proof of nass.
May Allah grace Syedna Aali Qadar Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS with long life and may we mumineen continue seeing the noor of the Doat Mutlaqeen in his radiant countenance.