The Hazrat Pir Muhammad Shah Library is a library on Pir Muhammad Shah Road, Pankore Naka,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

, in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. One of the oldest libraries in India, it has a collection of rare original manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sindhi and Turkish languages.

Introduction

The library is located within the precincts of the tomb-shrine complex of Pir Muhammad Shah, a Sufi who was born in

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...

in 1688 and migrated to Ahmedabad in 1711, where he died in 1749. Prominent writer and scholar Professor Mohyiuddin Bombaywala has held the post of director since last 30 years. Dr. Ziauddin A. Desai, the well-known numismatist and scholar, was associated with the Library and its governing trust until his death in 2002.

History

Pir Muhammad Shah was a Hussaini Sayyid and a well-respected Sufi who lived in Ahmedabad during the rule of

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

. His father died before his birth and his uncle, ‘Abd al-Rahman, trained the young Muhammad Shah in religious scholarship and practical

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...

. The Pir was a great lover of learning and possessed an extraordinary memory. During his lifetime, the Pir and his ''murids'' (disciples) had amassed a large collection of manuscripts and books of academic and spiritual value. These are housed in the "kutubkhana" (library). Pir Muhammad Shah was a bi-lingual poet himself and wrote profusely in Persian and

Dakhani Deccani (also known as Deccani Urdu and Deccani Hindi). https://knowledgehubadda.blogspot.com/2022/02/blog-post_74.html? m=1 or Dakni, Dakhni, Dakhini, Dakkhani and Dakkani (, ''dekanī'' or , ''dakhanī''), is a variety of Hindustani spoken ...

. Among his many works, the best known is ''Nur al-shuyukh'' in Persian which is a versified history in the ''mutaqarib'' meter. Sunni Vohras of the Kadi jamat are also followers (''murids'') of Pir Muhammad Shah. Pir Muhammad Shah wrote five sujaras. Dargah sharif of Hazrat Pir Muhammad Shah is a well-known historical site where many go to visit the ''dargah'' and library. The Pir Muhammad Shah trust has been supporting Muslim students right from primary school to graduation. The trust also manages a hostel for Muslim students who come to study in Ahmedabad from far places.

Catalogues

''Arabi, Farsi, Urdu makhtūtāt kī wadahatī fihrist'', 10 vols., (Ahmedabad: Pir Muhammad Shah Dargah Sharif Trust) 1998. Shaykh Farid al-Din Burhanpuri, d. 1998, "Kutub khanah-yi Dargah Hazrat Pir Muhammad Shah," Nawa-i Adab (October 1955); Taher, Amin Ahmed Khan, and Muhammed Burhanuddin, "Dargah Libraries in India: A Comparative Study," International Library Journal 18 (1986): 337–345; Z. A. Desai, "Some Rare Seal-Bearing Persian Manuscripts in the Hazrat P. M. Dargah Library," Indo-Iranica 46, l-lv (1993): 52–73. Works on the history or individual manuscripts in the Library: published 6 journals. 12 catalogues.

References

Libraries in Gujarat Education in Ahmedabad {{India-struct-stub