History
As Shi'as, Bohras believe that their Imāms are descendants of the prophet Muhammad by way of his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali. They believe that Muhammad chose Ali as his successor while he was returning from his first and last Haj in 632 CE. Dawoodi Bohra as Shi'a believe that after Muhammad, Ali had been the rightful wasi, Imam and caliph, but the actual zahiri ("literalist") caliphate was usurped by other successors, whom the Sunnis accept. However, during 656 to 661 CE, Ali did serve as the Caliph; the Imamate and Caliphate were united in this period. After Ali, his son Hasan ibn Ali, the first Imam, struggled for the Caliphate, which resulted in a pact with the Umayyad caliph, Muawiyah I to recognise Muawiyah as Caliph in order to avoid bloodshed, while Hasan retained the Imamate. After Hasan, Husayn and his family and companion were killed at the Battle of Karbala and Husayn's body was buried near the site of his death. Dawoodi Bohra believe that Husain's head was buried first, in the courtyard of Yazid (the Umayyad Mosque), then transferred from Damascus to Ashkelon, and then to Cairo.
Read more about this topic: Dawoodi Bohra
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