‘Faith is nought but love.’ This statement defines a Bohra’s faith – that it is love. Love for Allah and his representative on earth. Love for family, neighbours and friends.

In keeping with all Muslims the Bohras regard the Quran as the word of Allah as revealed to His Last Messenger, Prophet Mohammed al-Mustafa SA . It was revealed to him when he had turned forty40 years old in the cave of Hira on Jabal ul Noor, a mountain in Makkah Mukarramah, the city of the Kaaba in Arabia. The revelation began with the command to read– iqra – which was then repeated but by adding, Read in the name of your Lord, your Lord who created.

The first month of the Islamic calendar, Moharram al-Haraam, is now upon us – due to begin on 2^nd October. Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar one it is generally 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar which in turn leads to the start of the Islamic year varying by that many days each year. The Dawoodi Bohras follow the Misri calendar, which is tabular and therefore does not depend on visual moon sightings allowing dates to be set in advance.