The Alavi Bohras are a Taiyabi Mustaali Ismaili Shi'i Muslim community from Gujarat, India. In India, during the time of the 18th Fatimid Imam Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah around 1093 AD, the designated learned people (wulaat) who were sent from Yemen by the celebrated missionaries under the guidance of the Imam established a Dawah in Khambhat.

After the division of the Mustaalid community, the Yemenite Dawah followed at-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim as their Imam, and the Bohras are the modern descendants of Taiyabi converts and immigrants.

Subsequently, splits occurred at various instances in the mainstream Bohra community regarding the spiritual appointment in the succession of the representative of the Imam or Da’i in Ahmedabad between 1422-1640 AD. Two major splits during this period resulted in the formation of three major groups of Bohras: Alavis, Dawoodis and Sulaymanis. Alavis are the smallest in number of the Bohras.

One Dai succeeded another until the 23rd Dai in Yemen. In India also Wali-ul-Hind were appointed by them one after another until Wali-ul-Hind Moulai Jafer, Moulai Abdul Wahab and Moulai Qasim Khan bin Hasan (11th and last Wali-ul-Hind, d.950AH, Ahmedabad). The last three wali were of great help in the era of the 21st to 24th Dai. It was during this time when the Dawat was transferred to India from Yemen, that the 23rd Dai-al-Mutlaq Mohammed Ezzuddin performed nass (transfer of authority) on Yusuf Najmuddin ibn Sulaiman in Sidhpur, Gujrat, India.