"The word jinn is derived from janna, meaning he covered or concealed. It is also said to have derived from idjtinan, meaning to be hidden or concealed. The origin of jinn is said to be fire, and their function is described as that of exciting evil passions or low desires. The Koran is explicit on both these points. As regards the creation of jinn, it says: "And the jinn We created before of intensely fire" (15:27), and again: "And He created the jinn of a flame of fire" (55:15).

Jubilee is a celebration of a period of time, anniversary or other special occasions. The word jubilee is derived from the Hebrew yobel, meaning ram's horn. In the ancient time, the jubilee was announced by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet of ram's horn, and as a result, the occasion came to be known as yobel, or jubilee. The Arabic word for jubilee is also yobel, and Turkish ellinci.

"In August, 1935, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah completed 50 years of his spiritual leadership and the Ismailis decided to pay a memorable tribute to their Imam by weighing him against gold and making a present of it, as a mark of their love and gratitude. For this grand program, an All-India Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee had been formed, which was inaugurated by Lady Aly Shah on October 16, 1935 at Bombay.

Sixty years of his benevolent rule gave his followers a chance to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee by weighing him in diamonds. The weighing ceremony was performed in Bombay at the Brabourne Stadium on the after-noon of Sunday, 10th March, 1946. Over 100,000 Ismailis from various parts of the world had come to see this magnificent spectacle unusual event.

Platinum is a soft, ductile and silver-white metallic element. The Spanish scientist Antonio de Ulloa discovered it in gold-bearing deposits in Columbia in 1735. The English chemist William Wollaston first obtained pure platinum in 1803; and was also the first to devise a way to produce platinum in a workable form suitable for commercial purposes. South Africa, Russia and Canada produce almost all of the world's output of platinum.

In 1982, the Ismailis celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the Present Imam. Jubilees are momentous occasions. The three jubilees celebrated by the 48th Imam resulted in the establishment of major new institutions for the material benefit and progress of the Ismailis. The Ismaili communities throughout the world looked forward to the Present Imam's first jubilee with much enthusiasm. Unlike his grandfather, the Present Imam did not wish to be weighed in silver.

"It is one of several veins, taking blood from the head indirectly to the heart. The major ones are the right and left internal jugular veins, which arise from the base of the brain and pass down the sides of the neck, where they join the right and left brachiocephalic veins.

In Arabic, the word jura or jurrah means a gulp or as much as is swallowed, as it is said jura al-ma'a (he swallowed the water), juratan minadewa (dose of medicine), or jara ar-ma'a (made drunk little water). The Arabic word jarw or jurw also means whelp, cub, small fruit or anything little. In Persian, the word jura means equal in size or weight, draught, gulp or remains at the bottom of vessel.

The word kaba means it swelled or became prominent or it became high and exalted (ala wa-rtafa'a). The Kaba is a rectangular building in Mecca, almost in the center of the Masjid al-Haram, whereof the front and back walls (north-east and south-west) are each 40 feet in length, and the two side-walls 35 feet each, the height being 50 feet, the four walls running north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east.

When the soul departs from the body at the moment of death, and that which is left behind is nothing but an empty shell. The mortal remains are treated with dignity, love and respect. In Islam, the disposal of the dead body and funerary rites normally include: washing the body, shrouding and prompt burial.

It was another stronghold of the Syrian Ismailis. The Ismaili da'i Abu al-Fath purchased it in Jabal Bahra from Saiful Mulk bin Amrun in 527/1132. The acquisition of Kadmus and another Masiyaf provided the Syrian Ismailis with a territorial nucleus for the Amirate, which they established and lasted for more than a century. Later, the Mamluk Sultan al-Zahir Baybars occupied Kadmus in 671/1273.

The word kafir (pl. kuffar) is derived from kfr means cover, hide or conceal. In religious context it means to cover benefits received. The verb kafara denotes the characteristics attitude of those who, having received God's gifts of benevolence, try to conceal and ignore them, who are ungrateful to the Gracious God, who even take the offensive against Him.

"Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ali, surnamed al-Kahir bi-Quwatullah, or al-Kahir bi-Ahkami'l was born in 520/1126. His official name with Alamut's records was Hasan bin Muhammad, also known as Hasan I.

It is the collection of the different farmans of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah in Gujrati published by the Ismailia Association for India. It is divided into two volumes, the first was published in 1953, entitled Kalam-i Imam-i Moobin (388 pages), containing the farmans of September 1, 1885 to February 20, 1910. It covered almost 160 visits of the Imam in India and East African countries.

Kalam-i Mawla, i.e., the sayings of Imam Ali bin Abu Talib, is a poetical work of 328 verses, composed in Hindi. It is a manual of ethics for believer, stating the virtues to be cultivated and the vices to be shunned. It is recited in the Jamatkhana.

The term kalma (pl. al-kalma, kalmat) means word matter, sentence or verse. The word kalma is used 26 times, al-kalma 4 times and kalmat 8 times in the Koran. In Islamic terminology it refers to the confession of faith. This testimony in the terminology of the jurists is called iman mujmal (a brief expression of faith). It is simply by bearing witness to the truth that a man enters the fold of Islam.

KARAMAH [ see MUJIZAH ]

The Koranic word karim means nobility of lineage, a man of noble birth, going back to an illustrious ancestry and unblemished pedigree, occurring 270 times in the Koran. Since in the old Arab conception of human virtue, extravagant and unlimited generosity was the most conspicuous manifestation of man's nobility, karim had acquired also the meaning of a man characterized by an extravagant generosity.

"He was born in Geneva on 28th Ramzan, 1355/December 13, 1936. Lady Aly Shah (d. 1938) had given his name, Karim. He was born in the wake of cataclysm in the world. From the age of four years, he acquired the rudiments of formal education from Miss Doris Lyon, the governess and a friend of his family.

July 26, 1957 : Given title of His Highness by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

August 12, 1957 : Awarded the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar by the Sultan of Zanzibar.

October 24, 1959 : Conferred His Royal Highness by the King of Iran.

October 27, 1960 : Conferred the honour of Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry by the Portuguese Government.

"March 17, 1962 : The Mayor and Town Council of Arzachena (Sardinia) made an Honorary Citizen of the Town.

August 4, 1965 : The Mayor of Abidjan conferred the honour of Freeman of Abidjan and presented with the "Golden Key" to the city.

November 15, 1966 : Presented the Golden Key to the Town of Majunga (in Malagasy Republic) by the Mayor.

April 4, 1980 : Mayor of Lahore presented the Freedom of the City of Lahore.

November 30, 1967 : Given honorary Doctorate of Law (Honoris Causa) by Peshawar University.

February 6, 1970 : Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred by Sind University, Jamshoro

November 1, 1983 : Honorary Degree of the Doctorate of Laws McGill University.

May 15, 1987 : Conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) by McMaster University at Hamilton

"July, 1981 : Awarded "Honorary Membership" of Pakistan Medical Association.

February 1970 : Pakistan army paid an honour of making Honorary Colonel of the 6th Lancers.

February 15, 1981 : Honorary Membership awarded by Pakistan Medical Association, Sind.

1985 : The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan conferred the honorary fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

"January 13, 1962 : Won the Roberts of Kandhar challenge cup at Davos, Switzerland, the oldest challenge cup in the world for downhill ski racing.

1987 : King Juan Carlos presented the Medalla del Oro del Consojo Superior de Colegios de Arquitectos, at a ceremony at the Royal Palace in the presence of members of the Spanish Architectural Association.

"Imam Kassim Ali was born most probably in 1086/1675. He was also known as Syed Aga Jafar, or Syed Jafar. His mother related to a Safavid amir of Kirman. According to the later sources, Imam had married to one of the daughters of Shah Tahmasp II (d. 1145/1732).

Abul Kassim Muhammad Kuhpayai, known as Amiri Shirazi, or Kassim Amiri was a famous Ismaili scholar and poet. He was born possibly in 953/1545 in Kuhpayai, a village in the vicinity of Ispahan. He served Shah Tahmasp in the Safavid court for 30 years, then fell into disfavour. The tradition has it that a court theologian, Hilli Hasan bin Yousuf aroused the king against him. Shah Tahmasp arrested him for alleged impeachment being an infidel, and blinded him in 973/1565.

Imam Kassim Shah, known as Syed Kassim Muhammad was most probably born in Daylam. He is said to have lived shortly in Armenia and Anatolia in the circle of the Bekhtashahis, a growing Sufi order in the Kurds and Turkomans. The tradition most possibly of later period indicates that Imam Kassim Shah had flourished a small village in Azerbaijan, called Kassimabad, which seems almost doubtful.

The word kawthar means abundance. It is related that the Prophet's son Tahir, born of Khadija, died and there was no male issue of the Prophet. His opponents, such as Umar bin A'as and Hakam bin A'as taunted the Prophet, calling him abtar. The word abtar is derived from batr meaning the cutting off, as applied to a beast, means one whose tail is cut off, denoting the one whose succession in his seed has ceased.

"In 7/629, about six weeks after the Prophet's party returned from Hudaibia, they learnt that the Jews in Khaibar were planning to make an inroad on Medina. To forestall these moves, the Muslims marched on Khaibar, about 92 miles from Medina, with 1600 men, and covered the distance in three forced marches and reached the enemy territory before dawn on the fourth morning. The two armies met at first at Natat and fought each other strongly.

The Persian word khak-i shafa means healing clay. The burial of the dead bodies in Karbala or Najaf, and the use of Karbala clay in holy water once held a firm dominance in the Ismaili community in Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.

The term occurs in the Koran twice in the singular and seven times in the plural as khala'if or khulafa. By far its most prevalent meaning in the Koran is successor, substitute, replacement or deputy, which is clear in the verbal and nominal plural occurrences. The rare meaning of the term is inhabitant or settler on earth. The meaning is most evident in 2:30 where God says to the angels: "I am making on earth a khalifa" clearly meaning Adam.

"Mirza Khalil, mostly known as Khalilullah Ali I was born in Anjudan. It is related that Imam Nuruddin Ali nominated him as his successor in presence of the Indian and Syrian Ismaili pilgrims at Anjudan.

"Imam Khalilullah Ali II was born in 1153/1740 in the city of Kirman. His upbringing in Mahallat began under the care of his uncle, Mirza Muhammad Bakir at the age of two years, and got rudiments of his formal education at home.

Khamr is the drink prohibited in the Koran. The word khamr is derived from the verb khamara means it veiled or covered or concealed a thing, and wine is called khamr because it veils and shrouds the intellect of man. The word khamr occurs six times in the Koran, once in subjective case (5:90), twice in objective case (12:36, 41) and thrice in genitive case (2:219, 5:91, 47:15).

The word khanava'dan is derived from the Persian, khana-a'badan, means may the house be flourished. As it is also said, a'badan shudan (to be inhabited), a'badan kardan (cultivate or build) or khanaysh abad (may this house be full and prosperous). The word a'badan is nearly synonymous with abad.

It was a land tax collected from non-Muslims. It was also prevalent among the Iranians, known as kharaj. The Romans called it tributum soli. When Khaibar was conquered, the Muslims had neither enough slaves to cultivate the newly conquered lands nor they have time to do it themselves. The Jews offered to cultivate the lands as tenants of the state and pay it a part of the produce. The Prophet granted their request and fixed the kharaj at half of the produce.

""This day I preferred your religion for you, and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion" (5:3)

"When the first World War ended in November, 1918 the fate of the defeated Ottoman Empire in Turkey was no longer in doubt. The other fallen empires, Austria-Hungary had been dismembered, and the Ottoman Turks could not hope to escape the consequences of allying themselves with Germany. For Indian Muslims this raised grave issues of the political power of Islam. They had provided a large number of recruits in the war and had contributed materially towards the defeat of Turkey.

It appears that the word panjibhai was coined most probably in the tradition of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent during 17th century. This word was also used in the 14th part of the old prayer. The word panjibhai means the hand shaking brother. It was generally used for those who served inside the prayer-hall. It became more common for those who served inside and outside the community during the Aga Khan Case of 1866.

"The new converts during the operation of the Ismaili mission in India became known as the khoja - a title firstly came to be originated during the time of Pir Satgur. Syed Imam Shah (d. 926/1520) describes in his Moman Chetamani (no. 198-199) that, "Pir Satgur Nur had converted them, and consigned a path to be protected. He made them Khojas after conversion, and gave the essence of the path.

Khojki, Khwaja Sindhi, Chali Akhari or Khwajki Sindhi Surat Khat is a traditional script of the Ismailis of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. It was originated most probably in Sind, then it spread in other parts of India. It is also said that it was an earliest script for writing Sindhi. The Indian tradition has it that it was invented by Pir Sadruddin (1300-1416), who mostly converted the Hindu Lohana caste.

"It means knowing oneself. Man seeks evidence for everything. He is always seeking knowledge, and seeks to know the cause, effect and proof of things. Nothing is haphazard, everything leaves its trace. Man is the trace of the Creator; he is His evidence. Everything in His existence is an ayatullah (sign of God). If man knows himself, then he has known his God. The Prophet said: "He who knows himself has known his Lord" (man araf nafsahu faqad araf rabbahu).

It is a Persian word for God. It is a combination of two terms, khwud (self) and ay (coming), means Self-Created.

"Khums literally means one-fifth or 20%. In Islamic legal terminology, it means one-fifth of the items which a person acquires as wealth.

The Ismailis of Malaysia emigrated from India in 1920 under the guidance of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah and were settled in Federation of Malaya and State of Singapore, the country now is known as Malaysia. The Ismailis in Malaysia have good and cordial relations with other communities like the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians and the Europeans. There are about 500 Ismailis spread over in cities and towns like Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Seramban, Kotra Bahru and Kuala Trenganu.

The extant records reveal that a handful Ismailis of Bombay slowly moved towards Colombo, in which Wazir Saboor Chatoor (1899-1967) was a prominent figure. He came in Colombo in 1915, and started his labour work in a shop. Later, he ventured into the business field and helped the Indian Ismailis in their settlement in Colombo. He parted a big portion of his residence for the Jamatkhana in 1933.

The Ismailis slowly came to settle in Geneva, where they built the first Jamatkhana on March 21, 1966. The Imam sent following message to Mukhiani Mrs. Gulshan F. Hajee for the jamat:

2nd March, 1966

My dear Mukhiani,

I have received your letter of 28th February, and I send you and all beloved spiritual children of Swiss jamat my best paternal maternal loving blessings.

The small group of the Ismaili students started a small Jamatkhana in London in 1935. The number of the Jamatkhana also increased rapidly after 1972. In 1984, there were over 70 Jamatkhana in United Kingdom. Thus, the first Darkhana Jamatkhana opened in London on April 10, 1984. In 1951, a religious, cultural and social center was established by the Ismaili jamat at Kensington Court, and in 1957 was moved to Palace Gate in the Borough of Kensington.

"The first Jamatkhana in United States was opened on December 13, 1967 at Chicago. The Imam had sent the following message on February 8, 1967:-

"I have received your letter of 20th January, and I give my best paternal maternal loving blessings to all beloved spiritual children mentioned in your letter for their devoted services on the occasion of the Majlas held on my birthday.