The Dai-el-Mutlaqs have for centuries played a significant role in moulding the lives of the Dawoodi Bohras and in shaping and guiding their destiny. They have filled the role of religious savants, of guides, friends and provided the inspiration and pattern for the Fatimi way of life. The person of each successive Dai, reflecting the brilliance of a hallowed tradition of religious heritage and culture has been, in itself, in every age and clime, a venerated institution, the source of authority and leadership. An uninterrupted chain of successive dais, by their great piety and disciplined life, by their erudition and scholarship, by their untiring zeal and abiding perseverance, by their mature guidance and sustained leadership, gave to the office of Dai a sanctity, an eminence and status that drew the attention and respect of governments and institutions everywhere. 
No sacrifice was too great; no burden was too onerous for the protection of the faith or the well being of the followers. The martyrdom of Syedna Qutbuddin at Ahmedabad, courting death at the hands of prosecutors, and the magnanimity of Syedna Abdeali Saifuddin who for months together looked after twelve thousand sufferers stricken by famine, are instances of the devotion and spirit of dedication of the Dais. 
In each age the community was faced with vital questions affecting its very existence. At all times the Dai-el-Mutlaqs stood in the vanguard, shouldered full responsibility and took decisions. In this way from century to century the community was provided with assuring leadership and has moved on, marching from milestone to milestone of progress, unity and well-being. With each age the problems became intensified and complex, especially with the advent of the industrial phase in human civilisation and changes following in its train. But no matter how involved or intricate the situation to be faced, the followers remained unruffled and were guided by the advice of their Dai, acting with faith in his judgment and leadership. 
The functions of the Dai-el-Mutlaq, so institutionalized, the vast apparatus and the intricate mechanism that the Dai employed for his all-embracing activity came to be known as the Dawat-e-Hadiyah or the central organisation of the mission.

52^nd Dai al- Mutlaq Dr. Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin (TUS)

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