This is an update to our original piece published in 2018, shortly after Prince Rahim and Princess Salwa had released their official family photographs following the birth of Prince Sinan.

Prince Sinan, second child of Prince Rahim and Princess Salwa Aga Khan, celebrated his 5th birthday on January 2, 2022. His older brother Prince Irfan will turn seven on April 11, 2022. The two princes stole the hearts of the Jamat during Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee in Lisbon in July 2018.

Prince Rahim and Princes Salwa were married in a nikkah ceremony in September 2013. Their first son, Prince Irfan, was born in Geneva on April 11, 2015. Irfan is an indirect Qur’anic name for boys and means “wisdom”. It refers to all that is good and true of thoughts and deeds. It is derived from the Ain-R-F root (to know, to recognize), which is used in many places in the Holy Qur’an.

Prince Sinan was born in London, England, on January 2, 2017. Sinan is an Arabic name for boys meaning spearhead and is derived from the root word S-N-N which is used in the Qur’an. Sinan is pronounced [(SI)mple] + [(NA)p + (N)ew] with emphasis on the second syllable.

In Ismaili history, the name Sinan is associated with the revered personality of Rashid al-din Sinan, one of the greatest and most valiant of the Syrian Isma’ili da’is of the thirteenth century A.C.

Prince Sinan in the arms of his father Prince Rahim, and Princess Salwa carrying his big brother, Prince Irfan. Photo: The Ismaili.

The birth of Prince Sinan was celebrated with great joy throughout the Ismaili world. One of our regular contributor’s Shariffa Keshavjee of Nairobi, penned a special poem on the occasion of Prince Sinan’s birth. It first appeared on Barakah’s sister website Simerg, before we published it on this page along with the beautiful photographs of Prince Sinan that were officially released by Prince Rahim and Princess Salwa.

We convey our warmest birthday wishes to Prince Sinan on the auspicious occasion of his 5th birthday, and we offer our heartiest congratulation to his parents Prince Rahim and Princess Salwa as well as his older brother Prince Irfan on the happy occasion.

A Child

BY SHARIFFA KESHAVJEE

A miracle, a gift today a child that comes to us
Our bending is of gladness in the archers hand to us
He loves the arrow that flies, the bow so stable for us
The archer sees the mark upon the path for us
Bends it with his might, the arrow goes far for us

The name of Sinan brings the memory of
Aleppo and Masyaf to us
His philosophy as dai forever imprinted on us
The balance of the zahir and batin as it come to us
A reciprocal social relationship of balance within us
Weaving a tapestry of din-dunia

In this our Diamond Jubilee year, your birth bring to us
Great tidings of gladness and joy within us
Our many faceted diamond is aglow for us.

Date posted: March 4, 2017.
Last updated: January 2, 2022 (Click here for link to meaning of Irfan).

This website has an excellent array of thoughtful articles and beautiful photos of Mawlana Hazar Imam. Do not leave this website before checking out Barakah’s Table of Contents.

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Photo credits: http://www.theismaili.org, the official website of the Ismaili community.

About the writer: Shariffa Keshavjee is a philanthropist and an entrepreneur with an objective to help women empower themselves. Raised in Kisumu, she considers herself a “pakaa” Kenyan. She is now based in the nation’s capital, Nairobi. Her other interest is in visual arts where she delights in painting on wood, silk  and porcelain using water colours, oils and acrylics. She also likes writing, especially for children, and bird watching.

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