Abdul Wahid Bengali

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Shaykh al-Kul

Abdul Wahid Bengali
TitleMunazer-e-Islam, Mujahid-e-Azam, Olikul Shiromoni
Personal
Born1850
Kharandwip, Boalkhali, Chittagong District
Died1905 (aged 54–55)
Resting placeMunshipara, Kharandwip, Boalkhali
ReligionIslam
Parents
  • Jinnat Ali (father)
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanafi
MovementDeobandi
Main interest(s)Hadith, fiqh, tasawwuf
Notable work(s)Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam
Alma materDarul Uloom Deoband
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced
Part of a series on
Deobandism
Darul Uloom Deoband.jpg
Ideology and influences
Founders and key figures
Notable institutions
Darul ulooms and madrasas
Centres (markaz) of Tablighi Jamaat
Associated organizations
  • v
  • t

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Bengālī (Bengali: আব্দুল ওয়াহেদ বাঙ্গালী; 1850—1905) was a 19th-century Muslim theologian, teacher and social reformer. He was one of the initiators of the Deobandi movement into Bengal, and co-founded Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam in 1896.

Early life and family[]

Abdul Wahid was born in 1850, to a Bengali Muslim family in the village of Kharandwip in Boalkhali, Chittagong District, Bengal Presidency. His father, Jinnat Ali, was a munsef (local judge) at a court in Kaukhali, Rangunia.[1][2][3]

Education[]

Abdul Wahid initially studied with his father, Jinnat Ali, before joining the Sarwatali High School. In addition to Bengali, he became proficient in Urdu too. He stayed in this school until class 8, when he realised the importance of studying the Quran, Hadith and the Arabic language after reading a book in Urdu. Instead of proceeding with the colonial education system that taught English, Abdul Wahid turned towards Arabic. In response, people close to him began to mock him. However, he was certain in his goals and left his village for Calcutta, where his father's friend lived. He expressed his desire of learning Arabic to his father's friend. The man then wrote a letter to Jinnat Ali of his son's situation and desire and Abdul Wahid was subsequently enrolled at the Muhsinia Madrasa in Chittagong.[1]

In Deoband[]

His neighbours continued to criticise the fact that the son of a judge was studying Arabic. Eventually, Abdul Wahid set off for North India without telling anyone and joined the Darul Uloom Deoband. In Deoband, he dedicated his time to religious studies to such a level that he would often not reply to letters that he received from home.

He had enrolled at the prestigious seminary only 5-6 years after its establishment. He was one of the only two students of Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi that were from eastern Bengal at the time. The other student was Ubaydul Hakim, who also belonged to the village of Kharandwip. After 14 years at Deoband, Abdul Wahid graduated from the Faculty of Hadith (Masters).[4][5]

After both of them completed their formal education at Deoband, they expressed their desire to study tasawwuf under Qasim Nanautavi. Nanautavi instead directed them towards Fazlur Rahman Ganj-e-Muradabadi. They spent an additional two years under him, eventually gaining khilafah (spiritual succession). At that time Abdul Wahid received a letter from his mother mentioning that his father had died. His mother urged him to return home, thus Abdul Wahid returned to Bengal after 16 years.[6]

Personal life[]

His mother arranged for a marriage fearing that Abdul Wahid might move abroad again. He was engaged to a noblewoman from Kadalpur in Raozan. In this marriage, Abdul Wahid had one daughter, Shakirah Khatun, and two sons, Sulayman and Ayyub. However, Abdul Wahid felt that his wife was not religiously devoted. After he failed in repeatedly trying to persuade her to become more practicing, he returned her to her parents' home. From there, he did not return to his home but rather set off to the home of his close friend Sufi Azizur Rahman in Babunagar, Fatikchhari.[7]

Abdul Wahid's second marriage occurred through the assistance of Sufi Azizur Rahman. He married a woman from Nazirhat and temporary leased some land from a man to the west of the Dhurang canal in Babunagar. He had a daughter with this wife.[6]

Career[]

Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam is the largest and oldest Deobandi seminary in Bangladesh,[8][9] and ranks among the top ten madrasas of the subcontinent.[10]

Abdul Wahid began teaching Islamic studies in Babunagar along with Sufi Azizur Rahman. In 1896, the two co-founded Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam in Hathazari alongside Habibullah Qurayshi and Abdul Hamid. Abdul Wahid became a teacher of tajwid at the madrasa.[6]

Death and legacy[]

He died in 1905, at the age of 55. His janaza was performed by Habibullah Qurayshi and he was buried in his paternal graveyard in Munshipara, Kharandwip.

To the east of his grave, a madrasa was established in his name as Wahidia Madrasa. Among his biographers, Mawlana Jafar Sadiq is notable.[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Hafiz, Ahmadullah; Hasan, Ahmad (May 2016). মাশায়েখে চাটগাম — ১ম খণ্ড [Great sheikhs of Chittagong Volume 1] (in Bengali) (3 ed.). Ahmad Prakashan. pp. 29–68. ISBN 978-984-92106-4-1.
  2. ^ Islam, Amirul (2012). সোনার বাংলা হীরার খনি ৪৫ আউলিয়ার জীবনী [Golden Bengal's mines of diamonds 45 biographies of holy men] (in Bengali). Kohinur Library. pp. 205–213.
  3. ^ Ubaydul Haq, Muhammad (2017). বাংলাদেশের পীর আওলিয়াগণ [Saints and holy men of Bangladesh] (in Bengali). Madina Publications. p. 39.
  4. ^ Nizampuri, Ashraf Ali (2013). The Hundred (বাংলা মায়ের একশ কৃতিসন্তান) [The Hundred (100 glorious children of Mother Bengal)] (1 ed.). Salman Prakashani. pp. 19–23. ISBN 978-112009250-2.
  5. ^ Babunagari, Junaid (2003). দারুল উলুম হাটহাজারীর কতিপয় উজ্জ্বল নক্ষত্র (in Bengali) (1 ed.). Bukhari Academy. p. 10.
  6. ^ a b c Bijnuri, Azizur Rahman (1967). তাজকিরায়ে মাশায়েখে দেওবন্দ [Remembrance of the scholars of Deoband] (in Bengali). Idara-e-Madani Darut Talif; Maktaba-e-Taha. pp. 111–127. OCLC 19927541.
  7. ^ Jafar, Abu (2017). ভারতীয় উপমহাদেশের সুফি-সাধক ও ওলামা মাশায়েখ [Sufi saints and scholars of the Indian subcontinent] (in Bengali). Mina Book House. p. 68. ISBN 9789849115465.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Singh, Nagendra Kr., ed. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh (1st ed.). New Delhi, India: Anmol Publications. p. 259. ISBN 8126113901.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ Attar, Fariduddin (2013). তাযকিরাতুল আউলিয়া [Remembrance of the holy men] (in Bengali). Siddiqia Publications. pp. 478–481. ISBN 978-9848910559.
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