Bangladeshi Islamic scholar
Nesaruddin Ahmad
(
Bengali
:
??????????? ????
; 1873 ? 31 January 1952) was a
Bengali
Islamic scholar
, spiritual reformer, educationist and writer. He was the main
disciple
of
Furfura Sharif
's
Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique
in
eastern Bengal
.
[4]
Ahmad was the inaugural
Pir
of Sarsina
(
Bengali
:
???????? ???
), having founded the Sarsina Darbar Sharif and
Darussunnat Kamil Madrasa
in 1915,
[5]
one of the largest Islamic institutions in
South Bengal
and the first major
alia madrasah
after
Calcutta
.
[6]
Ahmad was among the leading Islamic leaders in colonial Barisal,
[7]
[8]
and his influence extended across
Bengal
.
[9]
The
Nesarabad Upazila
of
Bangladesh
has been named after him.
[10]
Early life and family
[
edit
]
Ahmad was born in 1873 to a
Bengali Muslim
family of
Akhunds
in the village of
Magura
,
Firozpur
, then located under the
Backergunge District
of the
Bengal Presidency
. When he was twelve years old, his father, Sadruddin Akhund, decided to set off for the
Hajj
pilgrimage to
Arabia
. Akhund was a
murid
of Haji Saizuddin Miah of Bahadurpur. Before leaving, he married Ahmad to Sahera Khatun, the daughter of his neighbour Daliluddin Shiqdar. Ahmad's father died in
Mecca
, being buried in
Jannat al-Mu'alla
, and so Ahmad was raised by his mother, Zohra Begum, and paternal grandfather.
[11]
His paternal grandfather, Zahiruddin Akhund, was a
munshi
and disciple of
Haji Shariatullah
of the
Faraizi movement
based in
Mathbaria
where he had a sizeable following.
[12]
In 1905, Ahmad married the daughter of Abdul Wafi Chowdhury from
Kushla
,
Gopalganj
.
[13]
Education
[
edit
]
Ahmad started his primary education at the local school in his village. His mother then sent him to
Madaripur
as there were no notable
madrasas
in the
greater Barisal
region. Ahmad completed his
dakhil
qualification from Madaripur Primary Islamia Madrasa, and then completed his
alim
from Madrasah-i-Hammadiyyah in
Armanitola
,
Dhaka
. After that, he enrolled at the
Calcutta Alia Madrasa
and subsequently at
Hooghly Madrasa
where he completed his further religious studies. Whilst at Hooghly, Ahmad pledged
bay'ah
to
Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique
of
Furfura Sharif
in 1895.
[14]
Career
[
edit
]
After receiving
khilafat
(spiritual succession) from his
murshid
Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique, Ahmad returned to his village.
[15]
He planned to leave for
Hajj
but was affected by pox. As soon as he recovered in 1901, Ahmad boarded the ship to
Arabia
along with his family and nephew Abdur Rashid. His wife, Sahera Khatun, and son, Shah Muhammad Muzahar, died in
Mecca
. After returning to Bengal, Ahmad dedicated himself to propagating Islamic teachings. In 1905, he built a small library in his village which became the Qiratiyyah Madrasah in 1913. In 1918, he decided to transform the library into a madrasa modelled from Calcutta Alia Madrasa. Ahmad named the madrasa "
Sarsina Darussunnat Kamil Alia Madrasa
".
[16]
From then on, the village of Magura got the name of Sarsina. He appointed Moulvi Mirza Ali of Idilpur as its head. Ahmad donated all of his property to act as the madrasa's
waqf
in 1934. With the assistance of Prime Minister
A. K. Fazlul Huq
, the madrasa became the second title madrasa of Bengal after Calcutta in 1938.
[17]
Ahmad gave his support to
Maniruzzaman Islamabadi
's plans in establishing a dedicated
Islamic university
in
Chittagong
.
[18]
Political involvement
[
edit
]
Ahmad was a supporter of the
Pakistan Movement
. He maintained good relations with
Shamsul Haque Faridpuri
, who belonged to the
Deobandi movement
.
[19]
He favoured Faridpuri over
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
in the Muslim League local elections.
[20]
Ahmad sent a
telegram
to
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
requesting that he admits
A. K. Fazlul Huq
back into the
All-India Muslim League
to ensure the League's victory in Barisal.
[9]
In 1946, Ahmad organised the All-India Ulama Conference held at Mohammad Ali Park,
Calcutta
. At the conference, Ahmad co-signed a petition with
Abdul Hai Siddique
in pamphlet form addressing Bengali Muslim voters in favour of Pakistan.
[21]
During the
1947 Sylhet referendum
, he sent an eight-member team (including Azizur Rahman Qaid Nesarabadi) to
Sylhet
under the leadership of his son
Abu Zafar Mohammad Saleh
.
[22]
[23]
After the independence of Pakistan, Ahmad focused on Islamic values within the government. An outline of 22 points was formulated at the All-Parties Ulama Conference in Sarsina.
[11]
Ahmad presided the East Bengal Horooful Quran Conference in
Dacca
in August 1951, which supported
Urdu
as the national language of Pakistan and
Bengali in Arabic script
as the provincial language.
[24]
[25]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
Ahmad was written many books relating to
Islam
.
[26]
He wrote articles for the fortnightly
Tabligh
magazine. Among them are:
- ?????? ???????
(
Moslem Ratnahar
)
- ??????? ??? ??????? ??????????
(
Furfura Pir Saheber Asiyatnama
)
- ?????? ??????
(
Talim-e-Marefat
)
- ??????? ?????
(
Tahqiq-e-Barzakh
)
- ?????? ??????? ??????
(
Khelafat Andolan Paddhati
)
- ???? ??????
(
Samaj Unnati
)
- ???????? ?????
(
Mawlanar Ukti
)
- ??????????
(
Subh-e-Sadeq
)
- ????? ???????
(
Radd-e-Badguman
)
- ???? ? ?????
(
Mazhab O Taqlid
)
- ????? ???? ?????? ? ?? ???
(
Dari Gof Samasya O Haq Katha
)
- ????? ???????? ? ????? ?????? ???? ?????
(
Nurun Hedayet O Bedat Faqirer Dhoka Bhanjan
)
- ????????? ????????
(
Fatwa-e-Siddiqi
)
- ?????? ?????
(
Tariqul Islam
)
- ???? ? ????
(
Nari O Parda
)
- ????? ?????? ???? ???????
(
Jumar Akatya Dalil Prabhriti
)
- ????? ? ??????
(
Dari O Dhumpan
)
- ???? ???????? ????????
(
Hazrat Bayazid Bostami
)
- ??????? ??????? ????????
(
Al-Haqiqah al-Marifah al-Rabbaniyyah
)
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
Ahmad died on 31 January 1952 and was buried at the Sarsina Darbar Sharif.
[11]
He was succeeded by his son,
Abu Zafar Mohammad Saleh
, as the Pir of Sarsina. His other son, Azizur Rahman Qaid, founded the Nesarabad Darbar Sharif.
[6]
In 1985, the
Swarupkati Upazila
was renamed to Nesarabad Upazila in honour of Ahmad.
[10]
The annual gathering at Sarsina Darbar Sharif, which was started in 1891, continues to take place.
[27]
See also
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Siddiq, Shah Mohammad (1961).
??????? ?????
(in Bengali). Sarshina Library.
- ^
Al-Hanafi, Saifullah (November 2013).
????????????? ????? ???????
(in Bengali).
Sylhet
,
Bangladesh
: Shah Waliullah Foundation. pp. 177?193.
- ^
Ruhul Amin, Mohammad (2014).
??? ????? ????-????????
(in Bengali) (4 ed.).
Basirhat
,
North 24 Parganas
,
West Bengal
: Nabanur Press. pp. 48?51.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location (
link
)
- ^
Ray, Aniruddha
(2004). "?????? ????" [Modern India].
?????? ?????????
(in Bengali). pp. 408?409.
- ^
The Muslim World League Journal
.
24
.
Muslim World League
: 43. June 1996.
- ^
a
b
Islam, Muhammad Nazrul; Islam, Muhammad Saidul (2020).
Islam and Democracy in South Asia: The Case of Bangladesh
.
Springer International Publishing
. p. 202.
ISBN
9783030429096
.
- ^
Sharif, Ahmed
. "????? ???? ??????-?????? ??????-?????".
??????? ? ???????? ??????
(in Bengali). p. 269.
- ^
?????? ????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?????
. Barisal Division Welfare Association. 1 January 1993. pp. 59, 81.
- ^
a
b
Zaidi, Z. H. (1993).
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Papers: The verdict for Pakistan, 1 August 1945-31 March 1946
.
National Archives of Pakistan
. p. 582.
- ^
a
b
Parvez, Masud (2012).
"Nesarabad (Swarupkati) Upazila"
. In
Sirajul Islam
; Miah, Sajahan;
Khanam, Mahfuza
; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.).
Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
(Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust,
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
.
ISBN
984-32-0576-6
.
OCLC
52727562
.
OL
30677644M
. Retrieved
24 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
Ahmed, Siraj Uddin
(2010). "??????????? ???? (??.), ??? ????, (???????? ??? ?????)".
?????? ??????? ??????
[
History of Barisal Division
] (in Bengali). Vol. 2.
Dhaka
: Bhaskar Prakashani.
- ^
??? ???? ??????????? ???? (???) ???? ????, ???? ?????
(PDF)
(in Bengali). Sarsina Darbar Sharif.
- ^
Ahmed, Siraj Uddin
, ed. (1993).
?????? ????? ???????
.
Dhaka
: Greater Bakerganj-Patuakhali Society. pp. 36?37.
- ^
"??????? ????? ?????? ??????????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??????????? ???? (?:) ?? ?????"
.
Teachers.gov.bd
(in Bengali).
- ^
Ruhul Amin, Muhammad (2005).
??????? ?????? ?????? ? ???? ?????? ???????? (???) ?? ????????? ?????
(in Bengali) (5 ed.).
Basirhat
,
North 24 Parganas
,
West Bengal
: Nabanur Press. p. 52.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location (
link
)
- ^
"??????? ??????????? ???????????? ??????? ???? ? ????"
.
Jago News 24
(in Bengali)
. Retrieved
2021-06-04
.
- ^
"?????? ????? ???????? ???????? ????? ??? ???????????? ????? ???????????-???????? ??? ?????"
.
Daily Inqilab
(in Bengali)
. Retrieved
2021-06-04
.
- ^
Hossain, Imran (1993).
?????? ?????? ??????????: ?????? ? ????, ????-????
(in Bengali).
Bangla Academy
. p. 244.
ISBN
9789840728886
.
- ^
Abdur Razzaq, Muhammad (24 October 2021).
???????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? (??? ????? ???)-?? ?????
(in Bengali).
Bangla Bazar
,
Dhaka
: Al-Ashraf Prakashani. pp. 96, 118.
- ^
Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh
.
The Unfinished Memoirs
. p. 256.
- ^
Mahmud, Abdul Ghani (1993).
?????? ????: ?????? ???
(in Bengali). Mahmud Prakashani. p. 15.
- ^
al-Kumillai, Muhammad Hifzur Rahman (2018).
???? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????
(in Arabic).
Cairo
,
Egypt
: Dar al-Salih.
- ^
Chaudhury, Rathindrakanta Ghataka (1988).
???????
(in Bengali). Barna Bichitra. p. 82.
- ^
Umar, Badruddin
, ed. (1985).
???? ??????? ???????: ?????? ????
. Vol. 2.
Bangla Academy
. p. 101.
- ^
Bhowmik, Satya N. (1993).
Die Sprachenpolitik der Muslim-League-Regierung und die Entstehung der Bengali-Sprachbewegung in Ostbengalen, 1947-1956
(in German). F. Steiner. p. 134.
ISBN
9783515063838
.
- ^
Ishaq, Muhammad, ed. (1981).
Bangladesh District Gazetteers
.
Bangladesh Government Press
. p. 247.
- ^
Abdur Rahman, Muhammad (30 November 2020). "Peace and prosperity of the Muslim nation is not possible without Sahih Amal and Aqeedah: Pir Sahib of Sarsina".
The Muslim Times
.
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