His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the 53rd leader of the worldwide Dawoodi Bohra community, delivered a sermon today at Saifee Masjid in Mumbai to mark Chehlum, the fortieth day after the martyrdom of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, at Karbala, Iraq.
Syedna centred his sermon on the themes of hard work and discipline. He spoke of discipline as a value that must guide every sphere of life, calling on community members to bring it to the pursuit of education, to the upbringing of children, and to the earning of an honest livelihood. He described these as the foundations on which individuals and families build lasting purpose.
Approximately 70,000 Dawoodi Bohra community members gathered in Mumbai and its suburban areas for this occasion. Among them 40,000 were residents of the city and 30,000 guests who travelled from across the world to take part.
"Syedna's words on discipline made me think about how I approach my studies every single day," said Batul Abbas, a 15 year old student who attended the sermon at Saifee Masjid. "He reminded us that hard work is not just about achieving results, it is about building character. I am leaving today with a clearer sense of how I want to discipline my own routine, whether it is my studies or how I spend my time outside school.”
Among the attendees was 40-year-old Husain Dhoondia, a manufacturer of Fumigation & Scientific Devices in Mumbai, who said, "There is no shortcut to success, only hard work. Syedna's words today reminded me to keep hard work at the center of everything I do in my business, and I am leaving with a renewed focus on that."
Syedna ended his sermon with an emotive remembrance of the tragedy that befell Imam Husain and his family, and their valorous stand for the universal values of justice, truth, and humanity.
