Shah Jalal
| Shah Jalal | |
|---|---|
| Religion | Islam |
| Personal | |
| Born | 669 AH (1271 CE) Hadramaut |
| Died | 746 AH (1347 CE) Sylhet |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Sylhet (initially Hadramaut) |
| Title | (المجرد) (شيخ المشايخ) Shaykh-ul-Mashāykh, Al-Mujarrad Khalifa |
| Period in office | Late 13th century and early 14th century |
| Predecessor | Syed Ahmed Kabir |
| Successor | Shah Paran |
| Religious career | |
| Post | Sufi scholar and mystic |
 |
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Shah Jalal (Persian: شاه جلال; Bengali: শাহ জালাল full name:Yamanī Shāh Jalāl ad-Dīn al-Mujarrad) is a celebrated Sufi Muslim figure in Bengal. Jalal's name is associated with the Muslim conquest of north-eastern Bengal and the spread of Islam in Bangladesh through the Sufi Movement. He was buried in Sylhet, Bangladesh,[1]formerly known as Jalalabad, while the country's main airport is named in his honour.
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[edit] Early life and education
Born Makhdum Jalāl ad-Dīn bin Muhammad, he was named al-Mujarrad (probably for his lifelong celibacy or performing of prayers in solitary milieu) and entitled Shaykh-ul-Mashāykh ("Great Scholar"). Shah Jalal's date and place of birth is not certain. Various traditions and historical documents differ. A number of scholars have claimed that he was born in 1271 CE in Konya in modern day Turkey and later moved to Yemen either as a child or adult while the majority believe he was born in a place called Quni in Hadramaut. He was the son of a Muslim cleric, who was a contemporary of the Persian poet and Sufi mystic, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi but was educated and raised by his maternal uncle Syed Ahmed Kabir in Mecca. He excelled in his studies and became a Hafiz there, increasing proficiency in Islamic theology (aqidah). He achieved spiritual perfection (kamaliyyah) after 30 years of study, practice and meditation.[2]
[edit] Travel to India
According to legend, one day his uncle, Sheikh Kabir gave Shah Jalal a handful of soil and asked him to travel to India. He instructed him to choose to settle and propagate Islam in any place in India where the soil exactly matched that which he gave him in smell and color.[1] Shah Jalal journeyed eastward and reached India in c. 1300, where he met many great scholars and Sufi mystics.[1] According to Sheikh Fariduddin Attar's Tajkirat-ul-Auliya, Shah Jajal was born in Yemen in 1322 and died in 1384 which appears to be incorrect since Shah Jalal met Khaja Moinuddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi in the year c.1300 which is historically proven and the author Fariduddin Attar was born in the year c.1092 and died in hands of the Tatars within 100 year.
[edit] Conquest of Sylhet
During the conquest of Sylhet a king named Gaur Govinda ruled the Sylhet area, then the kingdom of Gauda which was predominantly inhabited by Mongoloid Tepra tribe of Tripura. According to a tradition, a Muslim named Sheikh Burhanuddin living in his reign once sacrificed a cow to celebrate the birth of his son. A crow snatched a piece of the dead meat and dropped it onto the house of a Brahmin Hindu, for whom cows were sacred. According to another tradition, the piece of flesh fell on the temple of the king himself, which he took as a great offense. On the orders of the king, Burhanuddin's hands were said to have been cut off and his son killed. Burhanuddin went to the Sultan of Gauda Shamsuddin Firuz Shah and made plea to him for justice. The Sultan accordingly sent an army under the command of his nephew Sikandar Khan Ghazi who, however, stopped due to heavy downpour and flooding that year. The Sultan then ordered his Sipah Salar (Military commander) Nasiruddin to lead the war.
Shah Jalal, who was at the time residing in Delhi, was requested by Nizam Uddin Auliya at the behest of the Sultan to travel to Bengal along with Sikander to rescue Burhanuddin. With 360 followers, including his nephew Shah Paran, he reached Bengal and joined the Muslim army in the what is to be the conquest of Sylhet.
Knowing that Shah Jalal was advancing towards his kingdom, Raja Govinda removed all ferry boats from the river Surma, thereby cutting off any means of crossing into Gauda. Legend has it that Shah Jalal crossed the river Surma by sitting on a prayer rug.[3] Upon reaching the bank, he ordered the Adhan to be sounded, at which the magnificent palace of the king shattered. With aid of Shah Jalal's help, the Muslim army crushed the Hindu Gauda army and the region of Sylhet was conquered.
However, an inscription from Sylhet (dated 1512-13) says that it was Sikandar Khan Ghazi who had actually conquered the town in the year 1303-4.
The tradition went on to say how Shah Jalal found a match for the soil that his uncle once gave him and therefore settled in Sylhet near Choukidhiki. It is from here that he preached Islam and became a celebrated Muslim figure in Bengal. He and his disciples such as Shah Paran, Shah Malek Yamani, Syed Ahmad Kolla Shahid, Syed Nasiruddin, Haji Darya and Sheikh Ali Yamani traveled as far as Mymensingh to spread Islam in Dhaka, Comilla and the region of Pargana Taraf. Expeditions to Chittagong and Sunamganj were also led respectively by Khwaja Burhanuddin Qattan and Shah Badruddin and by Shah Kamal Qattani, whose shrine is located in Shaharpara, Sunamganj.[4]
[edit] Later life
During the later stages of his life, Shah Jalal devoted himself to propagating Islam. Under his guidance, thousands of Hindus and Buddhists converted to Islam. Shah Jalal became so renowned that even the world famous Ibn Battuta, then in Chittagong, was asked to change his plans and go to Sylhet to meet this great saint. On his way to Sylhet, Ibn Batuta was greeted by several of Shah Jalal (R.A)'s disciples who had come to assist him on his journey many days before he had arrived. Once in the presence of Shah Jalal (R.A), Ibn Batuta noted that Shah Jalal (R.A) was tall and lean, fair in complexion and lived by the mosque in a cave, where his only item of value was a goat from which he extracted milk, butter, and yogurt. He observed that the companions of the sheikh were foreign and known for their strength and bravery. He also mentions that many people would visit the sheikh to seek guidance. Shah Jalal (R.A) was therefore instrumental in the spread of Islam throughout north east India, including Assam.[5]
The meeting between Ibn Batuta and Shah Jalal is described in his travelogue in Arabic, Riḥlah Ibn Baṭūṭa (the Journey of Ibn Batuta). Amir Khusrau also gives an account of Shah Jalal's conquest of Sylhet in his book "Afdalul Hawaade". Even today in Hadramaut, Yemen, Sheikh Makhdum Jalaluddin's name is established in folklore.[6]
The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is reported by Ibn Battuta to have died in 746 AH (1347 A.D). He left behind two descendants with many still living in Sylhet today. He is buried in Sylhet in his Dargah (tomb), which is located in a neighbourhood now known as Dargah Mohalla. His shrine is famous in Sylhet and throughout Bangladesh, with hundreds of devotees visiting daily. At the Dargah is also located the largest mosque in Sylhet, one of the largest in the country.
[edit] See also
- Islam in Bangladesh
- Sylhet
- Konya
- Hadhrami people
- Shah Paran, his nephew and another Sufi saint
- Nizamuddin Auliya, his spiritual Friend
- Sufism
- Shah Siddiq, one of Shah Jalal's 360 followers and Sufi saint
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Shah Jalal (R)". Shah Jalal (R). Banglapedia. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/S_0238.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ Islam in South Asia in practice source of shuhel-e-yamani By Barbara Daly Metcalf, Published by - Princeton universiti press, 2009. Page 385[1]
- ^ Biographical encyclopedia of Sufis, By N. Hanif, Published by Surup & sons, new delhi, 1st edition 2000. p 167
- ^ Biographical encyclopedia of Sufis, By N. Hanif, Published by Surup & sons, new delhi, 1st edition 2000. p 167
- ^ Islam in South Asia in practice By - Barbara Daly Metcalf, Published - Princeton university press Uk 2009, Page 383 - 385.
- ^ The rise of Islam and the Bengal frontier, 1204-1760, By Richard Maxwell Eaton, Published by - university of california press, page 76
Konya Shah
