Makhdum Shah Daulah ( ar, مخدوم شاه دولة) was a thirteenth-century Sufi Muslim figure in present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. He is associated with the

spread of Islam The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territorie ...

into the

Sirajganj District Sirajganj District ( bn, সিরাজগঞ্জ জেলা) is a district in the North Bengal region of Bangladesh, located in the Rajshahi Division. It is an economically important district of Bangladesh. Sirajganj district is the 25th l ...

. He was martyred in Shahzadpur (meaning ''city of the prince''), an area named after him.

Background

Makhdum Shah was a descendant of

Muadh ibn Jabal Muʿādh ibn Jabal ( ar, مُعاذ بن جبل; 605 – 639) was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muadh was an '' Ansar'' of Banu Khazraj and compiled the Quran with five companions while Muhammad was still alive. He was kn ...

, and he was the second son of a ruler in Yemen.

Life

His Pir Murshid was

Shams Tabrizi Shams-i Tabrīzī ( fa, شمس تبریزی) or Shams al-Din Mohammad (1185–1248) was a Persian * * * * Shafi'ite poet, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi and is ref ...

(who was also the Murshid of Rumi, author of the famous Musnavi Sharif). Together with some twenty companions, he travelled east by the land route through Bukhara and into

the subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

preaching Islam. In Bukhara, he met

Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari Jalaluddin "Surkh-Posh" Bukhari ( fa, , c. 595-690 AH, 1190 – 1295 CE) was a Sufi saint and missionary belonging to the Sufi order of Hussaini Jalali. Names Bukhari, a family name, is derived from the location of his birth city of Bu ...

and spent some time with him. Bukhari presented Daulah with a pair of gray pigeons. Eventually they settled in Shahzadpur, at the time part of a Hindu kingdom ruled by Raja Vikrama Keshari.

Death

The king was displeased with the disruption caused by Makhdum Shah and his followers and ordered them expelled from his kingdom. Makhdum Shah refused to comply and he and nearly all of his followers were killed. Makhdum Shah is buried in Shahzadpur in

, near the Shahi mosque.

References

* Wali, Maclavi Abdul (January 1904) "On the Antiquity and Traditions of Shahzadpur" ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: January to December 1904'', Calcutta, p. 2, a
https://books.google.com/books?vid=LCCN08000086&id=kEAOAAAAIAAJ
* Haq, Muhammad Enamul (1975) ''A History of Sufi-ism in Bengal'' Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dacca; * Karim, Abdul (1959) ''Social History of Muslims in Bengal, down to A.D. 1538'' Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dacca; {{DEFAULTSORT:Makhdum, Shah Indian people of Arab descent 13th-century Yemeni people 14th-century Indian Muslims Sufi mystics 1313 deaths Bengali Sufi saints People from Sirajganj District