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"The Holy Prophet's life gives us every fundamental guideline that we require to resolve the problem as successfully as our human minds and intellects can visualise. His example of integrity, loyalty, honesty, generosity both of means and of time, his solicitude for the poor, the weak and the sick, his steadfastness in friendship, his humility in success, his magnanimity in victory, his simplicity, his wisdom in conceiving new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam, surely all these are foundations which, correctly understood and sincerely interpreted, must enable us to conceive what should be a truly modern and dynamic Islamic Society in the years ahead."
Mawlana Hazar Imam, International Seerat Conference, Karachi, Pakistan, March 1976
"Mawlana Ali came across an old, blind beggar, and inquired about him. He was told that the beggar was a Christian. He told those around him: "You have employed him to the point where he is old and infirm, and now you refuse to help him. Give him maintenance from the public funds"."
Imam Ali (a.s.), cited in "The Sacred Foundations of Justice in Islam: The Teachings of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib" (World Wisdom, 2006)
"Philanthropy and charitable giving hold a very central place in the teachings of the Holy Quran, the writings of Islamic thinkers, and the history of Muslims in all parts and cultures of the Islamic World, including here on the sub-continent. Islam's clear and explicit injunction is to share resources beyond one's reasonable commitments, and to care for those in need."
"The tribulations of one people are the tribulations of all. That which weakens one weakens all. That which is a gain to one is surely a gain to all. This is no empty ideal. It is a veritable compass to guide aright the efforts of statesmen in every country and of all men of good will who, desiring the good of their own people, desire the good of the whole world."
Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah, Geneva, Switzerland, October 1937
"I am fortunate to lead an international community with a strong social conscience. Bridging North and South, East and West, the Ismailis have a long tradition of philanthropy, self-reliance and voluntary service. Wherever they live, they faithfully abide by the Quranic ethic of a common humanity and the dignity of man. They willingly pool knowledge and resources with all those who share our social ethic to help improve the quality of life of less fortunate men, women and children."
"One may well affirm belief in God with one’s mind, and even worship this God with one’s body; but the belief may well be merely notional, and the worship may well be mere lip-service — while the heart is placed at the service of the desire of the ego. In Islam, as in all revealed religions, true worship of God always goes hand in hand with generosity to the neighbour. This relationship between worship of God and charity to one’s neighbour is a core value of the Islamic faith."
Reza Shah-Kazemi, Muslim Values (Institute for Ismaili Studies, 2014)
"There’s a joke, which I may repeat to you, of a Canadian who goes into an Ismaili home. He sees a big picture of Idi Amin on the wall. What’s that? Why is he there? And the answer from the Ismaili family is that every day we thank him for throwing us into Canada."
Mawlana Hazar Imam, Inauguration of the Aga Khan Park, Toronto, May 2015
"Remember! That extremes of right and left will lead you astray, moderation is the best course for you to adopt … along it is the correct route to liberation."
"We have much to build with. A common Abrahamic, monotheistic tradition. Common ethical principles, founded on shared human values. Common problems of yesterday, resolved together. Common challenges of tomorrow that we can best face together. These, and all that much more that I cannot enumerate, but are fact, are the materials with which to build a bridge. Enlightened by sound intellect, I see its structure strongly built from the realities of our world."
Mawlana Hazar Imam, Commencement Ceremony at Brown University, May 1996
If you are bent by a thousand misfortunes,
Take hold of the Hand of God and rise,
Up from this deep, dark well.
A wise man knows with his reason
That throughout the land the saving Hand of God of heaven and earth
Is one who descends from Fatima.
