SUFISM IN BANGLADESH

Bismillah ar Rehman ir RahimSUFISM IN BANGLADESHThe Sufi principles and practices of Bangladesh are completelytraced to the Quran and the Hadith. The mystical expressions of theQuranic verses of the Prophet are the direct sources of Sufism. Theconcepts of nafs (self), zikr (remembrance), ebadat (prayer),morakaba (meditation), miraj (ascension), tajalli (divineillumination), faqr (spiritual poverty), tawhid (Unity of God), fana(annihilation) and baqa (subsistence) are all the basic sources ofSufism, as practied in Bangladesh.The regular Sufi practice in many of the Khaneghahs in Bangladesh iszikr and sama (qawwali). Surrounding the Pirs, the zakers startperforming zikr, La ilaha illa LLah, or repeating the word. Sufismin Bangladesh is a silent and spontaneous movement. The Sufis andthe Sheikhs in India and Bangladesh are believed to have shown manymiracles and divine activities. The Bangladeshi people are tenderminded in terms of religious principle, they can be easily convincedif they are given the right direction and shown the right pathtowards truth.SUFI DARGAHDargah Sharif a Persian word referring to the grave of a wali auliaor sufi. In the subcontinent, buildings have been erected upon thegraves of Sufis and dervishes.There are many dargahs in Bangladesh :SHAH JALAL AT SYLHET,SHAH AMANAT IN CHITTAGONG,SHARFUDDIN ABU TAWWAMAH AT SONARGOAN,SHAH ALI AT MIRPUR,KHAN JAHAN ALI AT BAGERHAT,SHAH ALI BAGHDADI AT DHAKA.SHAH ALI AT SYLHETShah Jalal was a sufi saint of Bengal and is the most celebratedpersonality of the region of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Shah Jalal commandsgreat respect of Muslims of the Indian subcontinent and is regardedas a national hero by Bangladeshis. Shah Jalal's name is associatedwith the Muslim conquest of Sylhet, of which he is considered to bethe main figure. He lies buried at Sylhet.Early Life & EducationBorn Shaikh Makhdum Jalal ad-Deen bin Mohammed, he was lateraffectionately renamed Shaikh-ul-Mashaikh Hazrat Shah Jalal al-Mujarrad (the last name meaning "the bachelor", on account of hiscelibacy). Shah Jalal's date and place of birth is unclear. Varioustraditions, folklore and hostorical documents suggest differentideas. A number of scholars claim that he was born in 1271 in Konya,Turkey, and later moved to Yemen, either as a child or adult, whileothers contest he was born in Yemen. He was the son of a TurkishMuslim cleric, who was a contemporary of the famous Persian poet andSufi saint, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. He was educated and raisedby his maternal uncle, Syed Ahmed Kabir, in Mecca. He excelled inhis studies and became a Hafiz (one who has committed the Quran tomemory and was proficient in Islamic theology. He achieved Kamaliyat(spiritual perfection) after 30 years of study and meditation.Travel to IndiaAccording to legend, his uncle, Sheikh Kabir, one day gave ShahJalal a handful of earth and asked him to travel to Hindustan withthe instruction that he should settle down at whichever place inHindustan whose earth matched completely in smell and color theearth he was given, and he should devote his life for thepropagation and establishment of Islam there.Shah Jalal journeyed eastward and reached India in c. 1300, where hemet with many great scholars and mystics. He arrived at Ajmer, wherehe met the great Sufi mystic and scholar, Pir Khawaja GharibnawazMuinuddin Hasan Chisty, who is credited with the spread of Islam inIndia. In Delhi, he met with Nizam Uddin Aulia, another major Sufimystic and scholar.Conquest of SylhetTradition goes that a Hindu king named Gaur Govinda ruled the Sylhetarea, then predominantly Hindu. Sheikh Burhanuddin, a Muslim wholived in the territory under his control once sacrificed a cow tocelebrate the birth of his son. A kite snatched a piece of flesh ofthe slaughtered cow and it fell from its beak on the house of aBrahmin Hindu, for whom cows were sacred. According to anothertradition, the piece of flesh fell on the temple of the kinghimself, which he took as a great offence. At the order of the king,Burhanuddin's hands were said to have been cut off and his sonkilled. Burhanuddin went to the Sultan of Gaur, Shamsuddin FiruzShah, to whom he submitted a prayer for justice. The Sultanaccordingly sent an army under the command of his nephew SikandarKhan Ghazi. He was, however, defeated twice by Gaur Govinda. TheSultan then ordered his Sipahsalar (armed forces chief) Nasiruddinto lead the war.At this time, Shah Jalal (R) was requested by Nizam Uddin at thebehest of sultan firoz shah to travel to Sylhet along with sikanderkhan gazi to rescue Sheikh Burhan Uddin. With his 360 followers,some of whom were from Yemen ,tukistan ,alrum,turfan,bukhara,tirmiz,arabia,herat and others from Delhiincluding his nephew Hazrat Shah Paran, he reached Bengal and joinedthe Muslim army in the Sylhet campaign.Knowing that Shah Jalal was advancing towards Sylhet, Raja GaurGovinda, the king, removed all ferry boats from the river Surma,thereby cutting off any means of crossing into Sylhet. Legend has itthat Shah Jalal crossed the river Surma by sitting on a Jainamaz(prayer rug). Upon reaching the opposite bank, he ordered the azan(call to prayer) to be sounded, at which the magnificent palace ofGaur Govinda shattered. With Shah Jalal's help, the king wasdefeated by the Muslim armies after a fierce battle, and the Kingsubsequently fled.During the later stages of his life, Shah Jalal devoted himself topropagating Islam to the masses. Under his guidance, many thousandsof Hindus and Buddhists converted to Islam. Shah Jalal become sorenowned that even the world famous Ibn Batuta whilst in Chittagongwas asked to change his plans and go to Sylhet to meet this specialman. On his way to Sylhet, Ibn Batuta was greeted by several of ShahJalal's disciples who had come to assist him on his journey manydays before he had arrived. Once in the presence of Shah Jalal, IbnBatuta noted that Shah Jalal was tall and lean, fair in complexionand lived by the masjed in a cave, where his only item of value wasa goat from which he extracted milk, butter, and yogurt. He observedthat the companions of the sheikh were foreign and known for theirstrength and bravery. He also mentions that many people would visitthe sheikh and seek guidance. Shah Jalal is therefore instrumentalin the spread of Islam throughout north east India including Assam.Later lifeAccording to legend, Shah Jalal found a match to the earth his uncleonce gave him, and according to his uncle's wishes, he settled downin Sylhet, near Choukidhiki. It is from here that he preached Islamand became a celebrated Muslim figure in Bengal. He and hisdisciples travelled and settled as far as Mymensingh and Dhaka tospread the teachings of Islam, such as Shah Paran in Sylhet, ShahMalek Yemeni in Dhaka, Syed Ahmad Kolla Shahid in Comilla, SyedNasiruddin in the region of Pargana Taraf, Haji Daria and Shaikh AliYemeni.Shah Jalal's fame extended across the Muslim world. The Persianexplorer, Ibn Battuta, came to Sylhet and met with Shah Jalal. Thegreat Mughal poet, Hazrat Amir Khusrau gives an account of ShahJalal's conquest of Sylhet in his book "Afdalul Hawaade". Even todayin Hadramaut, Yemen, Sheikh Makhdum Jalaluddin's name is establishedin folklore.The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is reported by IbnBattuta to have died in 746 AH (1347 A.D). He left behind nodescendants, as he remained a bachelor his entire life, hence thename "al-Mujarrad" ("the unmarried"). He is buried in Sylhet in hisDargah (tomb), which is located in a neighbourhood now known as DargLater lifeAccording to legend, Shah Jalal found a match to the earth his uncleonce gave him, and according to his uncle's wishes, he settled downin Sylhet, near Choukidhiki. It is from here that he preached Islamand became a celebrated Muslim figure in Bengal. He and hisdisciples travelled and settled as far as Mymensingh and Dhaka tospread the teachings of Islam, such as Shah Paran in Sylhet, ShahMalek Yemeni in Dhaka, Syed Ahmad Kolla Shahid in Comilla, SyedNasiruddin in the region of Pargana Taraf, Haji Daria and Shaikh AliYemeni.Shah Jalal's fame extended across the Muslim world. The Persianexplorer, Ibn Battuta, came to Sylhet and met with Shah Jalal. Thegreat Mughal poet, Hazrat Amir Khusrau gives an account of ShahJalal's conquest of Sylhet in his book "Afdalul Hawaade". Even todayin Hadramaut, Yemen, Sheikh Makhdum Jalaluddin's name is establishedin folklore.The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is reported by IbnBattuta to have died in 746 AH (1347 A.D). He left behind nodescendants, as he remained a bachelor his entire life, hence thename "al-Mujarrad" ("the unmarried"). He is buried in Sylhet in hisDargah (tomb), which is located in a neighbourhood now known asDargah Mohalla, named for his Dargah. His shrine is a significantplace of interest in Sylhet, with hundreds of devotees visitingdaily. At the Dargah is also located the largest mosque in Sylhetand one of the largest in Bangladesh.ah Mohalla, named for hisDargah. His shrine is a significant place of interest in Sylhet,with hundreds of devotees visiting daily. At the Dargah is alsolocated the largest mosque in Sylhet and one of the largest inBangladesh.ChittagongThe Dargah of Sah Amanat is a holy shrine located in the heart ofthe town.The 17th-century Shahi Jama-e-Masjid and the other Qadam MubarekMosque. The Chilla of Bada Shah stands to the west of Bakshirhat inthe old city.Sharfuddin Abu Tawwamah (R) at SonargaonSharfuddin Abu Tawwamah was a medieval scholar, sufi saint and anIslamic philosopher. Born in Bukhara and educated in Khurasan, heattained great reputation as a Hanafi jurist and traditionalist(muhaddis) and was well versed in Chemistry, natural sciences andmagic. He came and settled in Sonargaon towards the end of thethirteenth century AD. The exact date of his coming to Sonargaon isnot known. During the reign of Sultan Giyasuddin Balban (1266-1287)he came to Delhi, from where he proceeded to Bengal. It is assumedthat he might have come to Sonargaon sometime between 1282 and 1287AD. Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri, who later became a famous saint inBihar, accompanied Abu Tawwamah to Sonargaon as his disciple.At Sonargaon Abu Tawwamah established his khanqah where in allbranches of Islamic learning as well as secular sciences weretaught. Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri studied under him at Sonargaon for22 years.There are references to the compilation of valuable works atSonargaon, such as the Maqamat, a unique work on Islamic mysticism(tasawwuf) by Sharfuddin Abu Tawwamah; a Persian book on fiqhentitled Nam-i-Haq, either written by Abu Tawwamah or compiled(1304)) by one of his disciples on the basis of his teachings; anearly fourteenth century work on fiqh entitled Majmu-i-Khani fi Ain-al-Ma'ani by one Kamal-i-Karim; the Tafsir-i-Tatarkhani and Fatwa-i-Tatarkhani compiled at the instance of Bahram Khan alias tatar khan,the Tughlaq governor of Sonargaon, and a Sanskrit dictionary Shabda-ratnavali compiled by Mathures, a court poet of Musa Khan. In hisManakkibul Asfia, Shah Shaib, a contemporary of Abu Tawwamah, hasprofusely praised him. The fame of Abu Tawwamah spread in the Muslimworld including the Indian subcontinent, Arabia and Iran.He died at Sonargaon in 1300 AD and lies buried in the graveyard atthe Dargahbari premises in Mograpara, near the site of his khanqah.Shah Langar's Dargah is situated at village Muazzampur (Mahjampur)in sonargaon thana of Narayanganj district, within the enclosure ofthe Muazzampur Shahi Mosque, which lies to its north. There is anold well within the compound. Numerous people visit the tomb(dargah) every year. Nothing is known about the saint who liesburied there. Local people also call him Shah Alam ShahKhan Jahan at KhulnaKhan Jahan local ruler and celebrated sufi saint. Khan Jahan(popularly known as Khan Jahan Ali) was entitled Ulugh Khan and Khan-i-Azam and flourished at Khalifatabad (modern Bagerhat) in the firsthalf of the fifteenth century AD when the Later Iliyas Shahi Sultannasiruddin mahmud shah was ruling at gaur.Khan Jahan, a noble under the Tughlaqs, seems to have come to Bengaljust after the sack of Delhi (1398) by Timur. He acquired the forestarea of the Sundarbans as jagir (fief) from the sultan of Delhi andsubsequently from the sultan of Bengal. He cleared up the denseforest in the Sundarban area to set up human settlements, and soongot the Masjidkur and adjacent areas on the eastern bank of theKobadak suitable for habitation through the untiring efforts of hisdeputies Burhan Khan and Fateh Khan. Local tradition ascribes toKhan Jahan the first Muslim colonisation of a part of greaterJessore and Khulna districts. The titles Ulugh Khan and Khan-i-Azamof Khan Jahan, as inscribed on his tomb, suggest that he was not anindependent freelancer but that he owed fealty most probably to thesultan of Gaur. He ruled over the pargana of khalifatabad stretchingup to Naldi to the north of Narail.Khan Jahan was a great builder. He founded some townships, builtmosques, madrasahs and sarais, roads, highways and bridges,excavated a large number of dighis in the districts of greaterJessore and Khulna. Besides his fortified metropolis of Khalifatabad(modern Bagerhat) he built three townships, such as Maruli Kasba,Paigram Kasba and Bara Bazar. He is said to have built a highwayfrom Bagerhat to Chittagong, a twenty-mile long road fromSamantasena to Badhkhali, and a road running from Shuvabara toDaulatpur in Khulna. The most notable of his architectural monumentsare shatgumbad mosque (c 1450) at Bagerhat, masjidkur mosque (c1450) at village Masjidkur, his own tomb (1459) near Bagerhat and asingle-domed mosque attached to his tomb. Of the large number ofdighis and ponds excavated by him the most notable are the KhanjaliDighi (1450) near his tomb and Ghoradighi to the west of ShatgumbadMosque. Khan Jahan introduced a new architectural style in hisbuildings, which is named after him. The Khan Jahan style is seen ina group of buildings in the greater districts of Khulna, Jessore andBarisal. Khan Jahan who might have been an officer of the Gaursultan betrays in his buildings an affection for the Tughlaqarchitecture of Delhi. This amply suggests his acquaintance with theTughlaq style of architecture and perhaps his earlier involvement inTughlaq administration.Khan Jahan died on 25 October 1459 (27 Zilhajj 863 AH) and wasburied in the tomb built by himself. He is revered by people andnumerous people visit his tomb. An annual fair is held on the dargahpremises in the bright half of the lunar month in the Bengali monthof Chaitra.Hazrat Shah Ali Bagdadi at MirpurThe tomb of Hazrat Shah Ali Bagdadi (R), a sacred place andhistorical relic, is located at Mirpur.Hazrat Shah Ali Bagdadi (R) came to Bengal to preach Islam andfinally settled at Mirpur. He died in 1480 and was buried here.During the War of Liberation in 1971 the Pak army in collaborationwith the Razakars killed many people including the intellectuals. Inmemory of the martyrs a memorial has been established here.Engr. Shuvo