Students and researchers at the IIS, particularly those studying Satpanth Ismaili traditions will remember with great admiration and affection an esteemed scholar, Zawahir (Noorally) Moir, who passed away in London on 9th油February 2024 at 91.
Zawahir was born in Karachi in 1933. She obtained a BA in Arabic and Islamic Culture from油油in 1956, where she went on to study for her masters in Islamic History in 1958. After completing her studies, she received a scholarship from His Highness the油Aga Khan油to pursue her MA from the油油(SOAS) in London. After completing her MA, she returned to Karachi and joined the then Ismailia Association for Pakistan for almost 15 years before returning to London in 1979. Once back in London, she worked at IIS, cataloguing油Khojki油manuscripts in its collection. Even after leaving the IIS, she continued to teach油Khojki油to interested IIS students. She participated in multiple international conferences in France, Iran, India, Pakistan, and the UK.
Zawahirs contributions to research on Satpanth Ismaili history and literature have left a lasting impact on the study of the Indian Ismaili tradition. Professor油Ali Asani, a scholar of Ginanic studies and a member of the IIS Board of Governors, acknowledged,油We are all indebted to Zawahir Moir for her pioneering studies on the Satpanth Ismaili tradition. On hearing the news about Zawahirs passing away,油Zayn Kassam, the Director of IIS, exclaimed,油
I find myself filled with gratitude for Zawahirs presencefor the person she was, and the many, many contributions she made in training students in reading油KhojkiA script historically developed among the Khojas of the Indian subcontinent to record their literature., the study of油乙庄稼偵稼壊,油and for her fine scholarship on the subject.
There is hardly any contemporary scholar of Ginanic studies who has not benefited from her academic advice and support. She often mentioned how Gulshan Khaki requested her assistance in reading and deciphering some油Khojki油Ginan油manuscripts preserved at the then Ismailia Association for Pakistan (now ITREB Pakistan). In her diary, she mentions how Professor Azim Nanji benefitted from the first cataloguing work of 110油Khojki油manuscripts that she carried out in Karachi. She often fondly spoke about Professor Ali Asanis visit to Karachi as a graduate student studying at Harvard and their continued association for decades. While remembering her contribution,油油writes, Zawahir Moir, a much beloved scholar, laid the foundation for work on油Khojki油manuscripts with her painstaking work on the first catalogue of油Khojki油manuscripts.
The list of researchers who benefited from her expertise, academic advice and generosity in sharing manuscript copies and materials is too long to be recounted here.油Dr Wafi Momin油highlighted: She was a great person and always selflessly supported students and younger scholars in their research and scholarship. He added the importance of acknowledging her important contributions, and especially the support and learnings, both formal and informal, she provided to IIS students in a number of areas,油Khojki油[script], South Asian Ismaili tradition, and Ginans. On hearing the news,油Dr Laila Halani油wrote: she has spent a considerable amount of her time helping IIS students study油Khojki油so that we had enough scholars to read and analyse the油Khojki油manuscripts in our collection.
Zawahirs published works continue to guide students of Ginanic studies.油She has published widely in this area, making significant contributions, especially on the history of the lives of the Satpanth油pirLit. elder. (like the Arabic shaykh). Spiritual director (=murshid), who may be the founder of a Sufi 畊ar朝qa. The earliest Qasim Shahi Imams were referred to as pirs. In the…s (saint-teachers), and on the period of the arrival of the first油Aga Khan油to India. Further, the book she co-authored with her friend and colleague油,油(1992), was a major intervention in the study of Satpanth literature. Not only did it provide a translation and analysis of several poems from the corpus of油乙庄稼偵稼A Sanskrit word meaning knowledge. In particular, a poetic composition in an Indian language More油literature into English for the first time, its critical introduction also assessed the history, philology, and prosody of the Ismail油乙庄稼偵稼油literature in pathbreaking ways.
The scholarly accomplishments of Zawahir Moir and the care she and her husband had for their students and colleagues are noted by many who would visit her to learn more about油乙庄稼偵稼s. As Christopher Shackle writes in the book that was produced in her honour,油油(2010), Martin and Zawahirs wonderfully embracing and hospitable attic flat in Hampstead must, over the years, have been the scene of more油乙庄稼偵稼ic油interchanges than any other home in London. Another close friend of Zawahir, the late Dominique Sila-Khan, similarly notes in her油油(1997), The growth of the field of油乙庄稼偵稼油studies owes so much to Zawahir Moirs ability to succor others, to her encouragement of their efforts, and her consistent willingness to share knowledge without looking for personal returns or even due acknowledgement.
Her contribution to the field is not limited to two major Catalogues of the油Khojki油work (unpublished) but numerous articles that she contributed to academic journals, edited volumes and community publications.
Zawahir was working closely with scholars of Ismaili studies in the 1960s and 70s.油Wladimir Ivanow, a Russian orientalist and leading pioneer in modern Ismaili studies, regularly communicated with her and relied on her support during his stay in Karachi. In September 1968, when approached by油Dr Farhad Daftary油to help him with his research on the history of Ismaili Imams, Ivanow requested Zawahir to put Dr Daftary in touch with Bernard Lewis. She participated in the historic conference that was held in Paris in 1975. The conference deliberations led to the establishment of 今叔利 in 1977.
Her enriching life stories and deep commitment to the poetic traditions of South Asia, and especially the Ismaili油乙庄稼偵稼s, will continue to inspire the researchers. The maxim those who love us never leave us will remain ever true for us in our memories of Zawahir. Although she now rests, the legacy of her scholarly work, and her enthusiastic spirit, will continue to shape the field of Ismaili Studies in the years to come.The South Asian Studies Unit at the IIS will dedicate a panel in her honour at its upcoming conference,油Listening in Many Tongues: Multilingual Interpretive Communities油that will be held at the AKC, London (21-22 October 2024).
May her soul rest in Eternal Peace.
Note: Those interested in knowing more on her life and works can refer to a bio-bibliography of Zawahir Moir put together by油Wafi Momin, her student and now the Head of the Ismaili Special Collections Unit at the IIS, in油油(2010).
