khalid bengali, fazlullah bengali, ময়েজউদ্দীন, sher ali Bengali, 330. sheikh Muhammad ali Bengali arif 60. Mawlana Taqi ad-Din Pandvi p. 143 78. Mawlana Hatim Sambhali p. 158
Dhanbari nawabs
editEarlier dynasties
editDuring the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1542–1605), the village of Dhanbari was feudally under a Hindu landlord named Dhananjay Sawdagar, also known as Dhanapati or simply Dhanapada. Dhanbari was named after him. Dhanapada was described to have been a usurious tyrant, and his usury resulted in the homelessness of hundreds of Dhanbari's tenants. Bayazid Khan of Santosh, a member of the Baro-Bhuiyan confederacy, was killed by the forces of Akbar's general Man Singh I whilst defending his territory. It was as a result of an appeal to Akbar formulated by his son, Sayyid Khan, that a force of two hundred soldiers of the Mughal Army was dispatched to confront Dhanapada. The force was led by two brothers, Munawwar Khan and Isfindiyar Khan. Not wanting to go into battle, Dhanapada fled to Sarail for safety. The two brothers thus bloodlessly gained power over Dhanbari, and subsequently expressed their wishes of settling there to Akbar. The emperor permitted them to do so, and so they became the next Zamindar dynasty of Dhanbari after settling there permanently. The two brothers also established a weaving business in Dhanbari. Munawwar Khan's descendant, Akbar Ali Khan Chowdhury, was recognised as the Zamindar of Dhanbari by the British East India Company in 1793. His son and successor, Raza Ali Khan Chowdhury, married Sayyidah Talibunnesa Khatun Chowdhurani, daughter of Shah Khoda Bakhsh. Chowdhury died without any heirs, and so his wife inherited the zamindari of Dhanbari and initiated the start of the later dynasty.[1]
Later dynasty
editThe early history of this later dynasty was documented in a waqfnama (deed of endowment) written by Nawab Ali Chowdhury. This family claim descent from Shah Atiqullah, a Muslim preacher from Baghdad, who had migrated to Delhi in the Mughal period. The document claims that Atiqullah was descended from both Abdul Qadir Gilani (a direct descendant of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam) as well as the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa.[1] It is argued by British-Bangladeshi historian Muhammad Mojlum Khan that "there is no conclusive evidence" of the family's descent from Shah Atiqullah.[2] Nevertheless, from among Atiqullah's descendants was Shah Sultan who was awarded jagirs from the Mughal emperor, settling down in the village of Nakalia in Pabna. As a result of the Jamuna river erosion, Sultan's offspring moved to the village of Hasmelan in Harirampur, Manikganj.[3]
Shah Khoda Bakhsh of this family married a woman belonging to the Syeds of Muqimpur in Baniara, Tangail. Prior to this, exogamous marriage was not accustomed for the Syeds of Hasmelan. As a result, Bakhsh was expelled from Hasmelan and lived with his wife in Baniara. He had a son and a daughter.[1] His daughter, Sayyidah Talibunnesa Khatun, was married to Raza Ali Khan Chowdhury, the Zamindar of Dhanbari. Chowdhury died leaving no heirs, and so the zamindari was inherited by Khatun. After Khatun's death, her father inherited the zamindari and migrated from Baniara to Dhanbari, where he was granted the title of Nawab. Bakhsh is described as a pir who was unattached to wealth and property.[4] The waqfnama claims that because of this spiritual nature, the family did not bother to preserve the sanads (land grants) received from the emperor. As hereditary pirs, the maintenance and preservation of the zamindari was entrusted to their murids (disciples). The extent of the zamindari was very large when Bakhsh became its zamindar. However, as a result of his lack of knowledge in worldly affairs, a lot of land was lost during his tenure.[1]
After Bakhsh's death, his son and successor Syed Muhammad Shah became the Gaddi nasheen of Dhanbari Estate. He married Karimunnesa Bibi, the eldest daughter of Ghulam Yahya Siddiqi of Rajkhara in Harirampur, Manikganj. Like his father, Shah was described as a high-level ascetic who was not fond of worldly activities. He was a senior student of Shah Lakitullah Fazl-e-Haq (1790–1836), the pir of Azimpur Dayera Sharif. Syed Muhammad Shah was attached to his teacher to such an extent that he gifted the Dhanbari zamindari to him. However, his teacher did not accept this, and requested that he take it back. However, Muhammad Shah was not willing to take it back, and so Lakitullah gifted the zamindari to Muhammad Shah's wife, Karimunnesa. Karimunnesa managed the zamindari and was succeeded by their son, Janab Ali Chowdhury. Chowdhury married Rabeya Khatun, the daughter of Khan Bahadur Chowdhury Muhammad Ali Khan, a zamindar based in Natore. His mother Karimunnesa gifted a quarter of the zamindari to Rabeya Khatun. He died aged 28 years, leaving a son named Nawab Ali Chowdhury and a daughter named Sayera Khatun. His children spent their childhood being raised by their grandmother, Karimunnesa. Sayera Khatun married in Natore, where Karimunnesa died. The two siblings inherited the quarter of the estate from their mother, and the remaining three quarters from their grandmothers, thus making the entire zamindari go to them. Their maternal uncle Khan Bahadur Moulvi Muhammad Rashid Khan Chowdhury was appointed their guardian as they were minors, and from then they were raised in Natore. Later, he married off his son Nur Muhammad Khan Chowdhury with Sayera Khatun.[1]
yunus
edit
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Muhammad Yunus Choudhury (Bengali: মুহম্মদ ইউনুস চৌধুরী; 1906 — 14 February 1992), popularly known as Haji Muhammad Yunus (Bengali: হাজী মুহম্মদ ইউনুস), was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and educationist.[5] He was the second rector of Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya, former president of Idarat al-Maʿarif and an active member of the Muslim World League. As the founding president of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh, Yunus contributed to the establishment and renovation of roughly 1500 madrasas in Bangladesh. He was awarded the title of Shaykh al-ʿArab wa al-ʿAjam by the Imam of Masjid al-Haram.[6]
Early life and family
editMuhammad Yunus Choudhury was born in 1906 to a Bengali Muslim family of Choudhuries in the village of Rahimpur in Hathazari, Chittagong District, Bengal Presidency. His father, Abdul Jabbar Choudhury, was a zamindar and his mother, Begum Riazunnesa, was a housewife. The family were descended from Abu Bakr, the 1st Caliph of Islam. His father died when he was aged four years.[7]
Education
edit
Yunus's education began at the age of c. 5 years old at the local primary school. His Quranic studies began a year later which he completed in two years. His mother, Begum Riazunnesa, then entrusted Choudhury to Qari Maqbul Ahmad Barisali of Darul Uloom Hathazari to perfect his Quranic studies. After completing the Qur'an for a second time under Barisali at the age of 9 and three quarters, Yunus then studied Bahishti Zewar and other books under Qari Ibrahim, the imam of Darul Uloom Hathazari Central Mosque. Yunus became very much influenced by the teachings of Ashraf Ali Thanwi, the author of Bahishti Zewar. In the following year, Yunus began his studies of the Persian language. During Ramadan, he began studying the Gulistan under Habibullah Qurayshi. After that, Yunus officially enrolled into the Jamat-e-Hashtum (secondary) and studied up until Jamat-e-Ula (bachelors) level. Among his teachers were Habibullah Qurayshi, Saeed Ahmad Sandwipi, Shah Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad Faizullah, Siddiq Ahmad and Zamiruddin Ahmad.[7]
After completing his studies at Darul Uloom Hathazari, Yunus set off for the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary in Saharanpur, India on the advice of his murshid Zamiruddin Ahmad in 1932. He spent five years in Deoband, completing his studies from Dawra-e-Hadith (Masters), philosophy and tafsir. He then completed his hifz under Atiqur Rahman. Among his teachers in Deoband were Izaz Ali Amrohi, Asghar Hussain Deobandi, Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi, Hussain Ahmed Madani, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi, Zakariyya Kandhlawi and Shafi Usmani.[7]
Sufism
editYunus' journey into tasawwuf began at the age of eleven under his teacher Zamiruddin Ahmad in Hathazari. Before setting off for Deoband, Ahmad granted him khilafat (spiritual succession). During his studies in India, Yunus would enter upon Ashraf Ali Thanwi and would spend the last ten nights of Ramadan participating in iʿtikāf with Thanwi. Yunus eventually received khilafat from Thanwi's disciple Muhammad Musa Muhajir-e-Makki.[7]
Career
editAfter returning to Bengal, Yunus set off for Hajj with Zamiruddin Ahmad and Azizul Haq. During this pilgrimage, the decision to establish Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya was made. Azizul Haq returned to Bengal after completing Hajj and established it whilst Yunus remained in Mecca. Yunus eventually returned to Bengal in 1945, and became a teacher at the Azizia Primary School.[a] After that, he joined the staff at Patiya, where he served various roles such as Secretary of Education and Vice-Principal, eventually becoming the Principal or Director-General in 1959. Yunus served this role until his death.[12]
Yunus became a member of the Mecca-based Muslim World League in 1974. Yunus delivered a notable speech during a four-day Muslim World League conference held in Mecca between 20 September and 23 September 1975. He represented the People's Republic of Bangladesh at the Asia Conference for the Mosque Committee held in Karachi in 1987. In 1979, Yunus also nominated to represent the country at the 3rd International Seerah Conference in Doha, Qatar.[13] Yunus invited the Imam of Masjid al-Haram without any formality to Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya's annual conference in 1979. Yunus played an important role in transforming to Patiya into an international Islamic university. His first action was to reform the education system at Patiya. He divided it into several divisions:[7]
- Kindergarten
- Primary
- Secondary
- Higher
- Bachelors/Degree
After the bachelors level, he also introduced different faculties such as the Tajweed and Tafsir division, Higher Islamic Law and Research division, Higher Bengali Literature and Research division and Higher Arabic Literature and Research division. The Higher Islamic Law and Research division and Higher Bengali Literature and Research division were the first of any kind in Bangladesh.[7] Yunus composed a constitution for Jamia Patiya in 1960.[14]
The Imam of Masjid al-Haram conferred upon Yunus the title of Shaykh al-Arab wal-Ajam (Shaykh of Arabs and non-Arabs). Yunus completed the Hajj pilgrimage 57 times in his lifetime. For this reason, Azizul Haq would call him Haji Saheb and he became famous as Haji Yunus across the country.[15] আবুল হাসান আলী নদভী তাকে আলেমদের অভিভাবক হিসেবে আখ্যায়িত করেন।[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Abdullah, Muhammad (1987). নওয়াব আলী চৌধুরী: জীবন ও কর্ম (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. pp. 1–6.
- ^ Muhammad Mojlum Khan. The Muslim Heritage of Bengal. Kube. p. 256. ISBN 978-1-84774-059-5.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
tangwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Aurangzeb, R. M. (9 February 2013). "রাজনীতি ও সমাজসেবায় ধনবাড়ীর নবাব পরিবারের অবদান" (in Bengali).
- ^ al-Kumillai, Muhammad Hifzur Rahman (2018). "الشيخ الفاضل العلامة يونس بن عبد الجبار الجاتجامي" [The honourable Shaykh, the Allamah, Yunus, son of Abd al-Jabbar al-Jatjami]. كتاب البدور المضية في تراجم الحنفية (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt: Dar al-Salih.
- ^ Choudhury, Ahmadul Islam (15 August 2021). "দ্বিন প্রচারে হাজি ইউনুস (রহ.) - এর অবদান" [Haji Yunus (rah.)'s contribution to the propagation of the religion]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali).
- ^ a b c d e f Ullah, Ahmad; Qadir, Ridwanul (February 2018). "কুতুবে জামান শায়খুল আরব ওয়াল আজম আল্লামা শাহ মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস আব্দুল জাব্বার রহ. (১৯০৬—১৯৯২) এর সংক্ষিপ্ত জীবনী". মাশায়েখে চাটগাম. Vol. 2 (1 ed.). 11/1, Islami Tower, Bangla Bazar, Dhaka-1100: Ahmad Prakashan. pp. 84–127. ISBN 978-984-92106-4-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Babunagari, Junaid (2003). "মাওলানা শাহ আব্দুল ওহাব রহ.". দারুল উলুম হাটহাজারীর কতিপয় উজ্জ্বল নক্ষত্র (1 ed.). Hathazari, Chittagong District: Bukhari Academy. p. 20.
- ^ Kabir, Humayun (December 2009). "Replicating the Deobandi model of Islamic schooling: the case of a Quomi madrasa in a district town of Bangladesh". Contemporary South Asia. 17 (4): 415–428. doi:10.1080/09584930903275884. S2CID 145197781.
- ^ Singh, Nagendra Kr., ed. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh (1st ed.). New Delhi, India: Anmol Publications. p. 259. ISBN 8126113901.
- ^ "NBR Reports" (PDF).
With its impeccable Deobandi credentials, Hathazari madrasa ranks among the top ten madrasas in the subcontinent in terms of its academic standards and reputation.
- ^ Qadir, Masudul (2009). "বিশ্ববরেণ্য আলেমেদ্বীন শায়খুল আরব ওয়াল আজম আল্লামা শাহ মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস আব্দুল জাব্বার রহ.". পটিয়ার দশ মনীষী (in Bengali) (2 ed.). Anderkilla, Chittagong: Al Manar Library. pp. 30–61.
- ^ Nizampuri, Ashraf Ali (2013). "শায়খুল আরব ওয়াল আজম আল্লামা শাহ মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস আব্দুল জাব্বার রহ.". দ্যা হান্ড্রেড (বাংলা মায়ের একশ কৃতিসন্তান) (in Bengali) (1 ed.). Hathazari: Salman Prakashani. pp. 186–195. ISBN 112009250-7.
- ^ "জামিয়ার সংবিধান". Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ Jasimuddin, Muhammad (2016). "মুফতি ফয়জুল্লাহ'র উল্লেখযোগ্য ছাত্রগণ". ফিক্হশাস্ত্রে মুফতী মুহাম্মদ ফয়যুল্লাহ-এর অবদান : একটি পর্যালোচনা (PhD) (in Bengali). University of Dhaka. p. 58.
- ^ আবুল হাসান আলী নদভী কর্তৃক প্রদত্ত প্রত্যায়ন পত্র
[[Category:Deobandis]
[[Category:1906 births]
[[Category:1992 deaths]
[[Category:Hanafis
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]
[[Category:Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam]
[[Category:People from Hathazari Upazila]
[[Category:Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]
[[Category:Darul Uloom Deoband alumni]
[[Category:Darul Uloom Hathazari Alumni]
[[Category:Director general of Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Arab descent]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]
[[Category:Bengali writers]
[[Category:Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi]
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