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Dr. D.S. Merchant's Articles in Science

  • Syed Dadu
    Syed Dadu, or Pir Dadu was a gifted vakil in Sind. He was born in 879/1474. He was an efficient scholar of Arabic and Persian and acquired high command in Indian languages. His lineage runs as Syed Daud bin Yasir bin Khair al-Din bin Mahr al-Din bin Gul Muhammad bin Hashim bin Moinuddin bin Aminuddin bin Buraqanuddin bin Shamsul wa Shak bin Quwwamuddin bin Syed Ali bin Muhammad bin Hussain bin Daud bin Zaid bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hamza bin Yousuf bin Hasan bin Sakhaudullah bin Abul Hasan bin Abdullah bin Ali Jawad bin Imam Zayn al-Abidin.
  • Chand Bibi
    Lack of material does not enable to give a detailed account of the Ismaili influence after the death of Shah Tahir Hussain Dakkani on 956/1549 in Ahmadnagar, India. We do not have explicit details, whether his descendants continued the Ismaili mission in the cloak of Shi'ism or not. There are however certain strong indications that a lady ruler, named Chand Bibi was secretly an Ismaili, but her faith is shrouded in her political activities.
  • Alkab
    "The term lakab (pl. alkab) was also termed nabaz (pl. anbaz), and by form labaz, and later on it became lakab. The ancient Arabs excelled in inventing nasty alkab for their enemies, but the Koran (49:11) forbade them not to use pejorative sobriquets: "Do not scoff at each other or give each other derisory nicknames" (wala talmizu anfusakum wala tanabazu bi 'l-alkab).
  • Aga Khan Museum
    Museums in the contemporary world have expanded their missions to become viable educational institutions, actively seeking to broaden their constituencies. Collections and exhibitions have become dynamic tools for instruction, debate and reflection, and for attracting large numbers to the cultural life of societies. They also act as catalysts for cultural exchange and communication, contributing to the development of civil society. It is with this perception of the new role of museums that The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has moved forward to include their establishment in its Education and Culture Programme. To this end, two museum projects were launched in 2003 with a mandate to oversee and co-ordinate the conceptualization, design, building and operation of the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto and the Indian Ocean Maritime Museum in Zanzibar.
  • The Meaning of Aga Khan
    As is universally acknowledged, the conferment of a title is a mark of distinction recognizing performance, achievement, eminence and excellence. A title, be it civil or military, temporal or ecclesiastical, denotes a designation of class, stature and dignity. By the same token, all titles do have basic meanings and background in their conferment.

    We, the Ismailis associate ourselves deeply with the name or rather the title "Aga Khan" and we are so much used to being addressed by our beloved Imam as ‘Yours affectionately’ - ‘Aapke Pyare’ - ‘Shafqat ke Saath’ - ‘Tamaro Mamtarru’ Aga Khan that we seldom pause to think of how the title of ‘Aga Khan’ to our last four Imams came to be, or what it really means.
  • Abu Ali Sina
    "Abu Ali ibn Sina, Ibn Sina or Avicenna, known in the West as Prince of Physicians, was born in 370/980 in the village of Afshana near Bukhara. He was an encyclopeadist, philosopher, physiologist, physician, mathematician, astronomer, logician and poet. He gained the titles of Shaikh al-Ra'is (leader among the wise men) and Hujjat al-Haq (proof of God), displayed a remarkable aptitude for learning from an early age. His father Abdullah hailed from Balkh and was in the service of the Samanid court. During the rule of Nuh bin Mansur (366-387/976-997), Abdullah was posted to Bukhara as a revenue collector. Ibn Sina can be described a very gifted child prodigy and learnt the Koran at the age of 10 years, and also mastered the logic and mathematics. Next he embarked upon the fields of physics, metaphysics and medicine, and at the age of 16 years he was well steeped in all the sciences of his days.

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