Hasan Ali Shah I (1804 - 1881)

Born 1804 in Kahak, Delijan County, Markazi Province, Iran

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 12 Apr 1881 at about age 77 in Bombay Presidency, India

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Biography

Hasan Ali Shah I is Notable.

Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I, was 46th Imam of the Ismailis, a branch or sect of Shia Islam. The Nizari Ismaili recognized Hasan Ali Shah as the living, hereditary Imam, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He was the first Nizari Imam to hold the title Aga Khan.

Birth
Hasan Ali Shah (Persian: حسن علی شاه), also known as Muhammad Hasan al-Husayni, was born in 1804 in Kahak, a village in the Central District of Delijan County in Markazi Province, Iran. He was the son of Shah Khalil Allah III, the 45th Ismaili Imam, and Bibi Sarkara, the daughter of Muhammad Sadiq Mahallati (d. 1815), a poet. ^{[1] [2]}

Death of father
Hasan's father moved to Yazd in 1815, probably out of concern for his Indian followers, who used to travel to Persia to see their Imam and for whom Yazd was a much closer and safer destination than Kahak. Meanwhile, his wife and children (Including Hasan Ali) continued to live in Kahak. Two years later, in 1817, Shah Khalil Allah III was killed in Yazd during a brawl between some of his followers and local shopkeepers. ^{[1] [2]}

Hasan Ali Shah, also known as Muhammad Hasan, succeeded his father to become the 46th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islam community . ^[3] He was 13 years old at the time. ^[4]

Aga Khan
Hasan Ali's mother decided to go to the Qajar court in Tehran to obtain justice for her husband's death and was eventually successful. Those who had been involved in the Shah Khalil Allah's murder were punished. Not only that, but the Persian king Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar gave his own daughter, princess Sarv-i-Jahan Khanum, in marriage to the young Imam Hasan Ali Shah and provided a princely dowry in land holdings in the Mahallat region. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

The Persian king also appointed Hasan Ali Shah as governor of Qom and bestowed upon him the honorific of "Aga Khan." Thus did the title of "Aga Khan" enter the family. Hasan Ali Shah become known as Aga Khan Mahallati, and the title of Aga Khan was inherited by his successors. ^{[5] [2]} His mother later moved to India where she died in 1832 (see her profile for details). Until King Fath Ali Shah's death in 1834, the Imam Hasan Ali Shah enjoyed a quiet life and was held in high esteem at the Qajar court. ^[1]

Governorship of Kerman
In 1835, soon after the accession of the new king Muhammad Shah Qajar to the throne of his grandfather, Hasan Ali Shah was appointed governor of Kerman. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

At the time, Kerman was held by a pretender to the Qajar throne. The area was also frequently raided by the Afghans. Hasan Ali Shah managed to restore order in Kerman, as well as in Bam and Narmashir, which were also held by rebellious groups. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

Despite the service he rendered to the Qajar government, Hasan Ali Shah was dismissed from the governorship of Kerman in 1837, less than two years after his arrival there, and was replaced by Firuz Mirza Nusrat al-Dawla, a younger brother of the king. ^{[1] [2]}

Hasan Ali Shah refused to accept his dismissal and thus entered into years of armed conflict between himself, his supporters and the government forces of Muhammad Shah. He was eventually forced to flee to Afghanistan, accompanied by his brothers and many soldiers and servants. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

Afghanistan
Fleeing Iran, Hasan Ali Shah arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 1841 – a town that had been occupied by an Anglo-Indian army in 1839 in the First Anglo-Afghan War. A close relationship developed between Hasan Ali Shah and the British, which coincided with the final years of the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–1842). ^{[1] [2] [4]}

Sindh
Hasan Ali Shah then proceeded to Sindh, where he rendered further services to the British. ^{[2] [4]} The British were able to annex Sindh and for his services, Hasan Ali Shah received an annual pension of £2,000 from General Charles James Napier, the British conqueror of Sindh with whom he had a good relationship. ^[1]

Bombay
In October 1844, Hasan Ali Shah left Sindh for the city of Bombay in the Bombay Presidency in British India. After arriving in Bombay, the Persian government demanded his extradition from India. The British refused and only agreed to transfer Hasan Ali Shah's residence to Calcutta, where it would be harder for him to launch new attacks against the Persian government. ^[1]

Hasan Ali Shah arrived in Calcutta in April 1847, where he remained until he received news of the death of Muhammad Shah Qajar in September 1848. Hasan Ali Shah left for Bombay and the British attempted to obtain permission for his return to Persia. Although some of his lands were restored to the control of his relatives, his safe return could not be arranged, and Hasan Ali Shah was forced to remain a permanent resident of India. While in India, Hasan Ali Shah continued his close relationship with the British, and was even visited by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) when he was on a state visit to India. The British came to address Hasan Ali Shah as His Highness. Hasan Ali Shah received protection from the British government in British India as the spiritual head of an important Muslim community. ^[1]

Khoja dispute
For centuries, the Nizari Ismaili Shia community of western India, known as Khojas, had been a self governing community with nominal allegiance to their distant Nizari imam in Persia. The vast majority of Hasan Ali Shah's Khoja Ismaili followers in India welcomed him warmly, but some dissident members wished to maintain control over communal properties. Because of this, Hasan Ali Shah decided to secure a pledge of loyalty from the members of the community to himself and to the Ismaili form of Islam. Although most of the members of the community signed a document issued by Hasan Ali Shah summarizing the practices of the Ismailis, a group of dissenting Khojas surprisingly asserted that the community had always been Sunni. This group was outcast by the unanimous vote of all the Khojas assembled in Bombay. ^{[1] [2]}

In 1866, these dissenters filed a suit in the Bombay High Court against Hasan Ali Shah, claiming that the Khojas had been Sunni Muslims from the very beginning. The case was commonly referred to as the "Aga Khan Case". The hearing lasted several weeks, and included testimony from Hasan Ali Shah himself. After reviewing the history of the community, the judge gave a definitive and detailed judgement against the plaintiffs and in favour of Hasan Ali Shah. The judgement was significant in that it legally established the status of the Khojas as a community referred to as Shia Nizari Ismailis, and of Hasan Ali Shah as the spiritual head of that community. Hasan Ali Shah's authority thereafter was not seriously challenged again. ^{[1] [5] [2] [6]}

Final years
Hasan Ali Shah spent his final years in Bombay with occasional visits to Poona (known as Pune nowadays). Maintaining the traditions of the Iranian nobility to which he belonged, he kept excellent stables and became a well-known figure at the Bombay racecourse. Hasan Ali Shah died after an imamate (leadership) of sixty-four years in April 1881. He was buried in a specially built shrine at Hasanabad in the Mazagaon area of Bombay. ^{[2] [7]} He was succeeded as Imam by his eldest son Aqa Ali Shah, who became Aga Khan II. ^[1]

Shah Hasan Ali Shah's Maqbara (burial shrine) in Hasanabad, Mazagaon

Wives and children

According to his Wikipedia entry, he was survived by three sons and five daughters and was succeeded as Imam by his eldest son Aqa Ali Shah, who became Aga Khan II. ^[1]

Encyclopaedia Iranica states that “he was succeeded by the eldest of his four sons.” ^[2] (One son had in fact predeceased his father in 1871.)

Another sources states the following :

Apart from his three wives, four sons and six daughters, the Aga Khan I also looked after a thousand or more relatives and retainers who had come with him from Iran. His elder son was Aqa Ali Shah, who succeeded him. The second son was Aga Jhangi Shah (d. 1314/1896), whose sons were Zayn al-Abidin Shah, Shamsuddin Shah and Shah Abbas; and Haji Bibi and Shahzadi Begum were his daughters. The third son of the Aga Khan I was Aga Jalal Shah (d. 1288/1871), who had two sons, viz. Muchul Shah and Kuchuk Shah, and two daughters, Shah Bibi and Malek Taj Begum. Akbar Shah (d. 1322/1905) was the fourth son, whose two sons were Shah Rukh Shah and Furukh Shah. ^[8]

Another source confirms the above with slightly different spellings (names joined together):

Imam Hassanali Shah had 10 children - 4 sons named Imam Aqa Alyshah, Jangishah, Jalalshah and Akbarshah. His 6 daughters were named Bibi Saheba, Bibi Homa, Bibi Gawhar, Bibi Tajmah, Bibi Maleka and Bibi Shujaa. ^[9]

Paragraph 17 of a court case involving Aga Khan III and other descendants of Aga Khan I, listed the surviving wives and children of Aga Khan I at the time of his death:

17. That the said 1st Aga Khan died in 1881 at Bombay leaving the following heirs and heiresses to wit - three widows, the said Serve Khan Begum, the said Meriam Khanum, and the said Haji Baig; three sons, the said AH Shah, the said Aga Jangi Shah and the said Akbar Sbah, and three daughters the said Bibi Saheb, the said Bibi Gowhar and the said Bibi Tajmah. ^[10]

In his book The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines, the Ismaili historian Farhad Daftary writes:

Agha Khan I married seven times and was survived by three sons, Aqa Ali Shah, Aqa Jangi Shah and Aqa Akbar Shah, and five daughters. ^[11]

Of the ten known children, sources have identified the mothers of four of them. See the wives profiles to see their children.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15} Wikipedia contributors, "Aga Khan I," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed March 21, 2024).
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} Encyclopaedia Iranica: online edition, (https://www.iranicaonline.org/), “Āqā Khan I Maḥallātī”, H. Algar, Originally Published in print as Vol. II, Fasc. 2, pp. 170-175: 15 December 1986, Last Updated: 5 August 2011, (https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aqa-khan-title#pt1), accessed 22 March 2024.
3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "List of Isma'ili imams," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed 21 March 2024).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6} Biographical content by Ismaili Gnosis: “46. Imam Shah Hasan ‘Ali Shah Aga Khan I (1817-1881)” under “The Aga Khan’s direct descent from Prophet Muhammad: Historical Proof”, posted on 9 July 2016 by Ismaili Gnosis, (accessed 21 March 2024).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Wikipedia contributors, "Aga Khan," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed March 21, 2024).
6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Aga Khan case," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed 25 March 2024).
7. ↑ Memorial: "Find a Grave", database with images
   Find A Grave: Memorial #237932021 (accessed 28 March 2024)
   Memorial page for Aga Khan I (1804-1881), citing Aga Khan's Maqbara, Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India; Maintained by CMWJR (contributor 50059520).
8. ↑ Wives and children: First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database (https://www.ismaili.net/), "Ismaili History 814 - The Aga Khan Case - 1866", in Encyclopedia Topic (http://heritage.ismaili.net/node/18060), accessed 1 April 2024.
9. ↑ Family of Aga Khan I: First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database (https://www.ismaili.net/), "Family of Aqa Hassanali Shah Aga Khan 1", in Encyclopedia Topic (http://heritage.ismaili.net/node/35201), accessed 1 April 2024.
10. ↑ Trial transcripts of Haji Bibi Case against Aga Khan III: First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database (https://www.ismaili.net/), "Haji Bibi Case Part 1", in Encyclopedia Topic (http://heritage.ismaili.net/node/29460), accessed 2 April 2024. Also available here.
11. ↑ Daftary, Farhad (1990). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42974-9 paperback, page 516.

See also:

• Daftary, Farhad (1990). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42974-9 paperback edition, pages 503-516.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Aga Khan I". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aga-Khan-I. Accessed 25 March 2024.
• Memoirs: “The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam: A Persian Edition and English Translation of Hasan 'Ali Shah's Tarkha-i 'ibrat-afza” by Daryoush Mohammad Poor (Author), Daniel Beben (Editor), 2018.
• Wikidata: Item Q2717210