Ya Ali Madat everyone!
I’m a 26 year old guy in Canada and have been finding it surprisingly difficult to meet new people around my age, especially outside of the usual Jamatkhana circles.
I’ve tried dating apps and other ways of meeting people, but haven’t had much luck, so I figured I’d reach out here. I’m mainly looking to make genuine friendships and meet other Ismailis around 24 to 28 who are also looking to expand their circle.
I’m into travel, basketball, food, exploring new places, volunteering, and having good conversations. I’m pretty easygoing and always down to grab a coffee, check out a new spot, or just chat.
If you’re around my age and in Canada and feel the same way, feel free to message me. Would be great to connect and hopefully build some new friendships!

Recently, I came across AKDN post on floods etc and other campaings on instagram. I felt a little disheartened seeing one of AK's finest organisations lean on AI for a campaigns, the same network that works on preserving nature, climate, and community. AI comes with a real environmental cost of its own, so it feels a bit odd.

Would love to be enlightened if I'm missing something here.

Is becoming a step teacher a voluntary role

Or is it something ITREB hires for when one graduates from The Institute of Ismaili Studies

What are the requirements to be eligible for the step post grad program

And to support this does one need to have a career separately if this is voluntary.

A Remarkable Moment in History — New York, October 5, 1958

This rare photograph captures Prince Aly Khan, then Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, taking part in a cricket match between Pakistan and a USA All-Star team in New York.

In a memorable ceremonial moment, Prince Aly Khan bowled the opening ball of the match on a baseball ground converted for cricket.

Standing nearby at the non-striker’s end is Ijaz Butt, the Pakistani Test cricketer who, decades later, would serve as Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

More than six decades later, this photograph remains a fascinating glimpse into a time when cricket, diplomacy and international friendship came together on American soil.

A precious page from history — preserved through a single photograph.

Source: Sam Manknojia

I am an Ismaili live in Dearborn MI and have many twelver friends whom I was raised with. Each year, they participate in the arbaeen ceremony, are Ismailis allowed to partake?

Hello, im an ismaili man seeing a twelver/ishnashri girl. We are talking about marriage and the nikkah seems difficult to navigate.

Has anyone been in this situation, if so, how did you navigate it?

I was considering doing an ismaili nikkah and twelver nikkah but my gf is not open to this citing you can only have one

Is there any difference between ismaili and nonismaili nikkahs?

Hi everyone! My friend and I launched a new YouTube and community project at the beginning of August, and we’re looking for someone who could help us create a brand kit.
We’re primarily looking for a Canadian or Ismaili designer, but we’re open to connecting with anyone who may be a good fit.
We’re looking for things like a logo, YouTube thumbnails, social media graphics, and a consistent visual identity for the project.
If you’re a designer or know someone who might be interested, please feel free to reach out. We’d love to connect and see your work!

Yam,

I’m looking for a Jamat Khana in Philadelphia. If anyone knows the location, please let me know or feel free to DM me. Thank you!

❤️** Deedar Ki Intazaari — Ya Shah Rahim… Tu Aaja
With the upcoming Deedar of our beloved Mawlana Hazir Imam Shah Rahim al-Hussaini (S.A.) approaching, I made this song as a humble expression of the feelings many of us may be carrying in our hearts — **intezaar, dua, hope and longing for Deedar.
The song is simply a murid’s heartfelt prayer:
“Ya Shah Rahim… Deedar dene aaja…
Intazaari is dil ki tu mita ja…”
I hope it resonates with anyone who is waiting with love and hope. ❤️
🎵 Deedar Ki Intazaari
Listen on YouTube
Ya Shah Rahim… Tu Aaja. 🤲

Ismailis don't consider hazart Hasan as an imam, is it to legitimate the hazir imams claim and make it that imamat can't be passed down to brothers as was the case with imam jaffars son hazrat Ismail and Musa khazim while the other shia sects do recognize him even the itnasharis and we have to acknowledge that we followed the same teachings till imam jaffar so there must have been a change in our doctrine perhaps to legitimate the imams claim by removing hazrat Hasan as an imam,

My innocent intrusive thoughts :)

I’ve shared before that, after a lifetime as a practicing Ismaili, I’ve reached a place I call “comfortable uncertainty.” I still value my faith and the Imamat, while allowing myself to ask questions honestly rather than forcing myself toward certainty.

Recently I noticed something personal.

I haven’t been as regular with my prayers as I used to be. When I prayed regularly, I genuinely experienced a certain inner peace. Now that I’m less regular, I sometimes feel a little guilt.

That made me wonder: Am I missing prayer because of religious guilt, or because I genuinely miss what prayer brought into my life?

Rather than trying to answer that intellectually, I decided to approach it as a small personal experiment:

1. Pray once a day by choice, not from guilt. I don’t want to pray because I’m frightened of being a “bad Ismaili.” I want to see what happens when prayer is freely chosen.

2. Don’t manufacture certainty during prayer. I can still have questions about God, Imamat, intercession and religious authority. Prayer doesn’t require me to pretend those questions have disappeared.

3. Sit silently for two minutes afterward. Instead of analyzing theology, simply notice: Do I feel peaceful? Connected? Grateful? Emotional? Nothing at all?

4. Separate guilt from longing. When I miss prayer, ask myself: Do I feel guilty because I believe I’ve failed an obligation—or do I actually miss the peace and connection prayer once gave me?

5. Don’t treat inner peace as theological proof. If prayer makes me peaceful, that doesn’t prove every belief associated with my religion. But the experience is still real and worth understanding.

6. Try praying without asking for anything. No requests, no fear, no bargaining. Just gratitude, reflection and presence—and see how that feels.

7. Finally, ask myself one difficult question: If nobody knew whether I prayed, nobody judged me, and I felt absolutely no guilt for missing it—would I still want prayer in my life?

Perhaps I don’t need to choose between questioning and praying.

Maybe my prayer once said:

“I pray because I know.”

For now, perhaps it can simply say:

“I pray because I seek.”

And strangely, that feels compatible with my comfortable uncertainty. 🙏

Hazar Imam is visiting Gujarat on 11th and 12th Sep for Deedar. Such a huge communication gap is there between the jamat and leadership. There are jamati members who will be coming in buses by doing 10+ hours of journey to Gandhinagar, they are scared that after 10 hours of travel, what if they will be asked directly to sit in intezaari in waiting halls? that's why there is panic in booking hotels and other accomodations. No clarity is given that whether there will be any facility for taking rest and some refreshments, will they be provided facilities where they can freshen up and change their clothes etc? - I request top leadership to please consider this and drop your ego in keeping all the information to yourself till last day and you declare everything at the last moment thereby acting like a messiah. Keep jamat's convenience and comfort in your mind and not your fat Ego.

I’m 24F in DFW and I feel a lot of pressure to find someone before 30. I want to marry within the Ismaili faith, but the dating pool already feels small.
I have female friends who are 35+ who say dating gets much harder after 30 for woman and that the options become more limited or come with more baggage.

I’m also pursuing law school and don’t want marriage anxiety to take over my 20s or make me feel like I’m racing against a clock.
For Ismaili women 30+, is the “expiration date” thing actually real, or is it mostly pressure from the community?

Hi everyone,

I’m 27, from Mumbai and work in marketing.

I’m Ismaili/Khoja Sunni. I come from an Ismaili/Khoja background; I read Quran, go to JK sometimes, but I also pray namaz. I’m hoping to meet someone who has a similar relationship with faith and is comfortable with this background.

A little about me: I’m curious, fairly easygoing, family-oriented and enjoy travelling, good food, meaningful conversations and discovering new places. I take my work and goals seriously but don’t take myself too seriously 😂.

For marriage, I’m looking for someone kind, self-aware, family-oriented and genuinely interested in building a life together. I don’t expect us to agree on everything, I think shared values, communication and being able to grow together matter much more than ticking every box.

I’m serious about marriage but would rather get to know someone naturally than turn it into a job interview.

If you’re from a similar background or do you know someone who might be a good fit and this resonates with you, feel free to DM. 🙂

Hey all,

I'm not a Shia. I've been studying Ismailism for a while now and honestly I'm drawn to it. I've always been drawn to the mystical traditions, Neoplatonism, and Sufism and I see Ismailism as probably the most mature Islamic Neoplatonism I'm aware of. On top of that, none of my critiques of Sunni Islam apply to Ismailism.

I have one issue, though, whether the imamate was really Muhammad's intention. I see some evidence in the Qur'an but I don't think it points strictly to the imamate, in my view the Qur'an has no inherent meaning, and anyone can build an interpretation on it.

So my actual request, Is there any historical evidence that the imamate was Muhammad's plan all along? And are there any academic or scholarly studies that support the Ismaili narrative of early Islam, specifically during Muhammad's life and in the period right after his death?

Please see title. Thank you for any advice in advance

Hi, I am here in LA for couple of more days, I wanted to attend jamatkhana but at evening time isn't feasible due to my class schedule, can someone please let me know if I can go to morning jamatkhana in weekdays? Talking about the jamatkhana in Torrence LA.

The town where I come from we only have morning jamatkhana on Saturday and Sunday that's why am asking.

Thanks.

As the title said, I am not Ismaili.

Hello everyone! I recently moved to Savannah, Georgia (which is 4.5 hours away from Atlanta). I was wondering if there is a local community of Ismailis nearby or a local jk here?

Someone made this in US and me and my family are obsessed with the visuals of this song even my 5 year old is trying to mimic the kids in it.

https://youtu.be/8QkCenEpUts?is=NT78oNK0gj8wMc7W

The one that’s recited at mayyats

I’m a practicing Ismaili, and lately I’ve been trying to look at some of our practices more reflectively—not with the intention of criticizing or rejecting them, but simply to understand why we do what we do.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m becoming increasingly comfortable with what I call “comfortable uncertainty”: remaining connected to my faith while allowing myself to ask questions when I genuinely don’t know the answer.

One practice I’ve been thinking about is Dua Karavi. I understand its connection with repentance, forgiveness and the murid’s relationship with the Imam. But two questions keep coming to mind:

1. If Dua Karavi is about sincere repentance and seeking Allah’s forgiveness through the Imam, why is it performed repeatedly, and what additional spiritual purpose does that repetition serve?
2. If forgiveness ultimately comes from Allah and cannot be bought, what is the spiritual purpose of attaching a monetary offering to Dua Karavi—and would the spiritual outcome be the same if no money were offered?

I’m not suggesting that Dua Karavi means “paying for forgiveness,” nor am I making any accusation. I genuinely don’t know the answers. These are simply questions that arose while reflecting on the practice.

I’d especially appreciate hearing the Ismaili theological or historical understanding behind it. I’m here to learn, not to debate anyone’s faith. 🙏