Abdul Hamid Madarshahi

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Fakhr al-Islām[1]
Abdul Hamid
Madarshahi
Personal
Born1869
Died31 March 1920(1920-03-31) (aged 50–51)
ReligionIslam
Parents
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanafi
MovementDeobandi
Notable work(s)Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam
Alma materMohsinia Madrasa
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)ʿAbd Al-Ḥamīd
عبد الحميد
Patronymic (Nasab)ibn Rustam ʿAlī
بن رستم علي
Epithet (Laqab)Fakhr al-Islām
فخر الإسلام
Toponymic (Nisba)Al-Shaykh
الشيخ
Al-Madarshahi
المدرشحي

Fakhr al-Islām ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Rustam ʿAlī al-Madārshāhī (Arabic: فخر الإسلام عبد الحميد بن رستم علي المدارشاهي; 1869–31 March 1920), commonly known as Abdul Hamid Madarshahi (Bengali: আব্দুল হামিদ মাদার্শাহী) or simply Abdul Hamid,[2] was a Bengali Islamic scholar, author and educationist.[3] He was one of the pioneers of introducing the Deobandi movement in Bengal and is noted for being one of the founding fathers of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam in Hathazari.[4][5]

Early life and education[edit]

Sheikh Abdul Hamid was born in 1869 to the Bengali Muslim aristocratic Sheikh family of the village of North Madarsha in Hathazari, Chittagong District, Bengal Presidency, they are a landed clan. His parents were Sheikh Rustam Ali Munshi and Begum Suajan. He traces his lineage to Sheikh Muhammad bin Hafeez, an Arab Muslim missionary that had arrived at the Port of Chittagong centuries prior, initially settling in the Jahanabad mahalla of Sitakunda where he established himself as a local zamindar (landowner). As the result of a local epidemic, Hafeez's descendant Sheikh Murad migrated to the village of Baroauliya, and Murad's descendant Sheikh Shamsher Ali Taluqdar settled in his maternal home in Madarsha, Hathazari.[6]

Madarshahi's early education began at his home and later at the local maktab, where he gained religious education and learnt the Qur'an. He then joined the local primary school until class five, later enrolling at the Mohsinia Madrasa in Chittagong city. It is said that he topped the class exams every year at the Mohsinia Madrasa.[7] He completed books such as the Mishkat al-Masabih in this madrasa.[1]

Career[edit]

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]

During his time at the Mohsinia Madrasa, Madarshahi was familiarised with Abdul Wahid Bengali and became greatly influenced by him, eventually co-operating in his reformation movement. He participated in various religious seminars and debate conferences, and started to become known as a debater. Thereafter, he was bestowed the title of Fakhr al-Islām (Glory of Islam) and Munāẓir-e-Islām (Debater of Islam).[1] From very early on, he founded a small maktab in Khandaqia where he provided religious education to children, as well as the elderly. Madarshahi also played an important role in establishing maktabs in other areas.[11]

In 1896, he co-founded Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam along with Abdul Wahid Bengali, Sufi Azizur Rahman and Habibullah Qurayshi, after realising the importance of having a madrasa in colonial Bengal.[12] The madrasa was founded along with the assistance of locals too.[13] Madarshahi also established another large madrasa in nearby Fatehpur, known as al-Jāmiʿah al-Ḥamīdiyyah Nāṣir al-Islām.[7]

Works[edit]

Madarshahi has written several works pertaining to Islam. These include:[2]

  1. Tuḥfah al-Mu'minīn (A Gift to the Believers)
  2. Masā'il-i-Ramaḍān (Issues pertaining to Ramadan)
  3. Faḍā'il-i-ʿĪdgāh (Virtues of the Eidgah)
  4. Faḍā'il-i-Iʿtikāf (Virtues of the Iʿtikāf)

Death and legacy[edit]

Madarshahi died on 31 March 1920.[2] He had two sons; Allama Sheikh Muhammad Ismail and Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf.[1]

See more[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d al-Kumillai, Muhammad Hifzur Rahman (2018). "الشيخ الفاضل العلامة الكبير مجاهد الملّة مولانا عبد الحميد بن الشيخ رستم علي المدَارْشَاهي الجاتجامي" [The honourable Shaykh, the great Allama, striver of the nation, Mawlānā ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd, son of the Shaykh Rustam ʿAlī al-Madārshāhī al-Jātjāmī]. كتاب البدور المضية في تراجم الحنفية (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt: Dar al-Salih.
  2. ^ a b c Rasel, Khalid. "আল্লামা আবদুল হামিদ (রহ.) অনুপ্রেরণার উৎস সাধক" [Allama Abdul Hamid (Rh.), the saintly source of inspiration]. Monthly Al-Tawheed (in Bengali). Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya.
  3. ^ Aminul Islam, S. M.; Islam, Samar (January 2014). বাংলার শত আলেমের জীবনকথা [Biographies of hundreds of Bengal's scholars]. Bangla Bazar, Dhaka: Baighar. pp. 47–52. ISBN 9847016800481.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  4. ^ Qasimi, Mazharul Islam Uthman (2015). বিখ্যাত ১০০ ওলামা-মশায়েখের ছাত্রজীবন [The student life of 100 renowned scholars and theologians] (in Bengali) (3rd ed.). BAD Comprint and Publications. pp. 66–67.
  5. ^ Jahangir, Salahuddin (2017). বাংলার বরেণ্য আলেম [Elite scholars of Bengal] (in Bengali). Vol. 1 (1 ed.). Middle Badda, Adarsha Nagar, Dhaka: Maktabatul Azhar. pp. 87–94.
  6. ^ Abdullah, Muhammad (1986). "আবদুল হামীদ মাদারশাহী". বাংলাদেশের খ্যাতনামা আরবীবিদ, ১৮০১-১৯৭১ [Abdul Hamid Madarshahi] (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. p. 139.
  7. ^ a b Nizampuri, Ashraf Ali (2013). The Hundred (Bangla Mayer Eksho Kritishontan) (1st ed.). Salman Publishers. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-112009250-2.
  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. ^ Babunagari, Junaid (2003). দারুল উলুম হাটহাজারীর কতিপয় উজ্জ্বল নক্ষত্র [A few bright stars of Darul Uloom Hathazari] (1 ed.). Hathazari, Chittagong District: Bukhari Academy. pp. 12–13.
  12. ^ Junaid Babunagari (2003). Darul Ulum Hathazarir Kotipoy Ujjol Nokkhotro (1st ed.). Bukhari Academy. pp. 9–10.
  13. ^ Ahmadullah, Mufti (2016). Mashayekh-e-Chatgam. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Dhaka: Ahmad Publishers. pp. 68–101. ISBN 978-984-92106-4-1.