Extract from Willi Frischauer’s ‘The Aga Khans’ on the Will of H. H. The Aga Khan III

Excerpt:
Under Shia Moslem Law his only heirs were his two sons, Aly and Sadruddin, and his wife Yve – and no others. Paragraph 8 of the Will, at long last, unveiled the mystery of the succession: ‘Ever since the time of my ancestor Ali, the first Imam,’ the solicitor read on, ‘that is to say over a period of thirteen hundred years, it has always been the tradition of our family that each Imam chooses his successor at his absolute and unfettered discretion from amongst any of his descendants whether they be sons or remoter male issue.’ The preamble made it clear beyond doubt that the succession on this occasion was not passing from father to son.