Stories of Our Wise: Amirally Rahimtulla Jiwa | The Ismaili Canada

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Stories of Our Wise: Amirally Rahimtulla Jiwa

July 3, 2020 | Canada

Written By: Sophia Karmali, Age 9

Interviewing my Nana was fun - he told me many stories that I did not know.

Throughout our conversation, my Nana spoke of his seva. Doing seva is very important to him, and has been a big part of his life. When he was only eight years old, he would serve water to the Jamat.

For starters, he was born in 1934, but I had thought he was born in 1936! He was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and was only six years old when his mother passed away. He had one sister at the time, who was eight years old. However, after his mother passed away, his father got remarried, and he now has four brothers and seven sisters. He told me about the fun times he remembers having with his family in Nairobi, and spoke especially highly of a friend named Sherali whom he also has lots of good memories with. My Nana shared many, many more stories with me, including stories about his four dogs, one of which loved eating “roti,” as well as stories about Khushyali celebrations in Nairobi and Lisbon. Through his stories, I learnt a lot about my Nana, his life, and the importance of doing seva.

In Nairobi, my Nana went to school and worked. He wanted to travel, and his mom gave him permission to do so, as long as he visited her brother in Mozambique. He agreed, and travelled to Mozambique. This is where he met my Nani. The two of them got married in Mozambique when he was 22 years old. My Nani and Nana came back to Nairobi and they had five children. Shamim, the eldest daughter, passed away at the age of three months. While this was difficult, he was very happy to share that today, two of his daughters live in Toronto, and two live in Vancouver. Nana is also extremely proud of the fact that he has eight grandchildren and is going to be a great-grandfather in September. He hopes that the baby will be born on September 1st – which is my Nana’s birthday. He is also happy in knowing that seven out of eight of his grandchildren have graduated and now have very good jobs. I am the eighth grandchild!

In 1976 he moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where he had to learn a new language. Despite all the challenges, he ran a successful business - but made sure to never let go of his seva. He told me about a time that he introduced himself to the Mukhisaheb in Lisbon, asking for a Varo. He was asked to recite Firman, and that was the beginning of his seva in Lisbon. He went on to become a member of the Ismaili Tariqa and Religious Education Board, where he organized Du’a and Ginan competitions, which were well received by the Jamat. He also became a member of the Grants and Review Board, and later became the President of the Council. He fondly recalled a time when Hazar Imam came to Portugal. My Nani and my Nana were both heavily involved in seva at this time. My Nani was the Ismaili Volunteer Corps Major, and my Nana was President for the Grants and Review Board as well as a member of the Supreme Council for Europe, USA and Canada. My Nana had the opportunity to present a gift to Hazar Imam on behalf of the Jamat. Tears rolled down his cheeks when he told me about a time that he had a one-on-one meeting with Hazar Imam that lasted 55 minutes. Although he was very nervous in the beginning, he said that Hazar Imam made him feel very comfortable.

My Nana said that he has had a good life and is blessed to be married to a “wonderful” woman, my Nani. The advice that he would like to give is that “no matter what you do in life, no matter your age, young or old, make sure you do seva. Seva should be part of your life.” To this day, at the age of 85, he still does his seva at Burnaby Lake Jamatkhana and says that the past and present Mukhisahebs and Kamadiasahebs show him a lot of respect. It fills him with joy to know that his children, his sons-in-law, and his grandchildren have made seva a part of their lives. “Seva will give you so much happiness” says my Nana.

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Stories of Our Wise aims to capture the incredible stories and life journeys of our Canadian Ismaili elders from diverse backgrounds. Each week, we will be highlighting a new story of a senior from across the country. We encourage all individuals, particularly youth, to have these meaningful conversations with their loved ones, and contribute their stories to this collection. Seniors are our lenses into our past and heritage, and exploring stories from some of our own may help us to understand who we are and where we have come from. We hope that you are able to enjoy some of the wisdom that they have shared with us, and let these stories serve as a connection to our recent past. To submit a story, please visit this page. Read the previous story here.

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