Aga Khan II

Member of the Iranian royal family.

Aga Khan II (Persian: آغا خان دوّم; Āghā Khān-i Duwwum) the formal name for Aqa Ali Shah (Persian: آقا علی شاه. He was born in 1830 in Mahallat, Iran and died in August 1885 in Pune, India). He was a Muslim leader. He was the 47th Imam of a religious group called Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He became the Imam in 1881. He was a member of the Iranian royal family. He worked to improve his own community and the Muslim community in India. He really enjoyed sports and hunting.

Aga Khan II Imam of Ismaili Shi'a Islam

Early life

change

Aqa Ali Shah was the oldest son of Aga Khan I. He was an Iranian Prince. He was also a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's daughter Fatima and son-in-law Ali b. Abi Talib were Aqa Ali Shah's ancestors. He lived in Iraq, Persia, and India during his childhood.

The Ismaili Imamat

change

Aqa Ali Shah became Imam of the Ismailis when his father died in 1881,.[1] He also got his father's title of Aga Khan. Aga Khan II continued a good relationship with the British.

He opened several schools for his followers in Bombay and other places.

When he died in 1885, his 7-year-old son became Imam, Aga Khan III.

Sports and hobbies

change

The first Aga Khan owned some of the best Arabian horses in the world. Aqa Ali Shah kept these horses too. He was good at riding them. He liked other sports and hunting very much.[2] He was famous for hunting tigers in India. Sometimes he chased tigers on foot. He was so good at shooting guns that he killed at least forty tigers that way.[3]

References

change
  1. Daftary, Farhad (1990). The Ismā'īlīs: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 439, 463, 498, 504, 516–18. ISBN 0-521-42974-9.
  2. Malick, Qayyum A. (1954). His Royal Highness Prince Aga Khan: Guide, Philosopher and Friend of the World of Islam. Karachi: The Ismailia Association. pp. 41–42.
  3. Frischauer, Willi (1970). The Aga Khans. London: The Bodley Head. pp. 50–54. ISBN 0-370-01304-2.