Da'i al-Mutlaq
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The term Dāˤī al-Mutlaq (Arabic: الداعي المطلق) literally means "the absolute or unrestricted missionary". In Ismā'īlī Islām, the term dāˤī has been used to refer to important religious leaders other than the hereditary Imāms and the Daˤwa or "Mission" is a clerical-style organisation. "The Daˤwa" was a term for the Ismā'īlī faith itself from early on.
According to Tayyabī Mustaˤlī Ismā'īlī tradition, before the last Mustaali Imam, Taiyab abi al-Qasim went into seclusion, his father, the 20th Imām al-Amīr had instructed Queen Al-Hurra Al-Malika in Yemen to anoint a vicegerent after the seclusion - the Dāˤī al-Mutlaq, who as the Imām's vicegerent, has full authority to govern the community in all matters both spiritual and temporal.
Among the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Mustaˤlī Ismā'īlī, Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin is considered the 52nd Dāˤī al-Mutlaq and vicegerent of the secluded Fatimid 21st Imam. During the Imam's seclusion, the Dāˤī al-Mutlaq is appointed by his predecessor in office. The Madhun and Mukasir are in turn appointed by the Dāˤī al-Mutlaq.
The Dāˤī al-Mutlaq is recognised in English law as a corporation sole, by a private act of Parliament passed in 1993. [1]
This title is also used in the Alavi Mustaˤlī community to refer to their leader (in the Persian form "Da'i-ye Motlæq") for similar reasons.
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