Mohammed Burhanuddin () born 18 November 1840 in Surat, India – died 21 February 1906, was 49th Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra sect. He was the son of the 47th Da'i al-Mutlaq Abdul Qadir Najmuddin, who belongs to the family lineage of Fakhruddin Shaheed. After the death of the 48th Da'i al-Mutlaq Abdul Husain Husamuddin the helm of the Dawoodi Bohra sect came into his hands. He led the community out of a period of indebtedness, disorganization and lack of development within the sect.
Being the son of the 47th Da'i al-Mutlaq he had always been closely associated with the members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect. For the whole part of his childhood and adolescence until age 40, he served his father. He was educated by his father in all aspects of religion and the world.
He married Aaisaheba Amatulla Aaisaheba and settled in Surat.
After the death of his father, he served Abdul Husain Husamuddin with the same respect and dedication that he had for his father.
After he became the 49th Da'i al-Mutlaq he devised a time bound plan to bring about a total turnaround in the prospects of the members of the Dawoodi Bohra community. In the first five years he concentrated on paying off the debts of the community. In this effort Abdullah Badruddin lent complete support which resulted in all the debts getting paid off in five years. The next five years he devoted to restructuring the organisational setup and rearranging the work procedures of the community. The following five years after that, he worked towards development and growth of the members of the community in particular and the sect as a whole.
He remained as the Da'i al-Mutlaq until 1906. He appointed, or did nass, upon his nephew Abdullah Badruddin as his successor and died chanting "Ya Ali, Ya Ali" continuously in his last moments.
Early life
Mohammed Burhanuddin was born to Abdul Qadir Najmuddin in Surat, a city in the state of Gujarat, India, where his father stayed. He spend his childhood being raised in the family of Da'i al-Mutlaq and educated by his father. His father was a very brave and intelligent leader who steered the community through testing times, when the enemies of the Dawoodi Bohra community hatched a conspiracy among the members of the community stating that nas (the process of appointing a successor) has not been done over his father by the 46th Da'i al-Mutlaq Mohammed Badruddin. This created great chaos and confusion within the community. His father remained quiet and did not answer his enemies but concentrated on imparting education to the members of the Dawoodi Bohra such that they remain unaffected by those rumors. When asked the reason of not answering the enemies his father said that the fifth Da'i al-Mutlaq from him will answer his enemies.
He married Aaisaheba Amatulla Aaisaheba and settled in Surat. His son Taher Saifuddin, was said by Abdul Qadir Najmuddin to be the one who would answer his enemies.
He had nearly 30 children, most of them passed away during infancy. Following this, Taher Saifuddin and his brother, Tayyib bhaisaheb Zainuddin, were born.
He spend most of his time being with his father and helping his father in performing the religious duties. This was also a time for learning the intricacies of the beliefs, customs and traditions of the Dawoodi Bohra sect from his father.
While he was with his father, Aaisaheba Amatulla Aaisaheba always took great care of his children. But just eight years after the birth of Taher Saifuddin, Aaisaheba Amatulla Aaisaheba died, which was a great loss for him.
Life Before Da'i al-Mutlaq
Mohammed Burhanuddin was born in the same year his father became 47th Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community. He served his father and also served his uncle the 48th Da'i al-Mutlaq Abdul Husain Husamuddin. So Mohammed Burhanuddin had the honor of serving two Da'i al-Mutlaq.
At the age of 15 Mohammed Burhanuddin was conferred Hadiyat (a title for learned) and the laqab (name to be used after the first name) of Burhanuddin by his father. His father also prepared Mohammed Burhanuddin to take up the responsibilities of a Da'i al-Mutlaq and appointed him as the raas ul hudood (a position of esteem in Dawoodi Bohra sect).
After the demise of his father he served his uncle the 48th Da'i al-Mutlaq Abdul Husain Husamuddin with the same zeal and dedication as he served his father. His uncle appointed him as Mukasir e Dawat (The third highest position in Dawoodi Bohra sect). He was also the Wali of Mumbai.