Gulamur Rahman Maizbhandari (; 1865–1937), also known by his

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

Baba Bhandari (), was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

preacher who succeeded his uncle, Syed Ahmad Ullah, as the head of the Maizbhandari Sufi Order, the first such Sufi order in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Background and ancestry

Gulamur Rahman's father was Abdul Karim Shah, younger brother of Syed Ahmad Ullah, and his mother was Musharaf Jaan. His paternal ancestors were Syeds and originally migrated from

Madinah Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

, the former capital of medieval Bengal, via Baghdad and Delhi. His ancestor, Hamid ad-Din, was the appointed

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

and

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

, but due to a sudden epidemic in the city, Hamid later migrated to

Patiya Patiya () is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. History During the British rule, a police station(thana) was established in Patiya in 1845. It was upgraded to an ''upazila'' in 1984. The region saw revolutionar ...

Chittagong District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a s ...

. Hamid's son, Syed Abdul Qadir, was made the ''imam'' of Azimnagar in modern-day

Fatikchhari Fatikchhari is a town and municipality in Chittagong District in the division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and urban centre of Fatikchhari Upazila Fatikchhari () is an upazila of Chittagong District in Chitta ...

. He had two sons; Syed Ataullah and Syed Tayyab Ullah. The latter had three sons; Syed Ahmad, Syed Matiullah and Syed Abdul Karim, and the youngest son was the father of Gulamur Rahman.

Early life and education

Rahman was born into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

family in the village of Maizbhandar in Fatikchhari, Chittagong on 14 October 1865. His uncle, who called him "the rose of my garden", entrusted him with the teaching of students, particularly adepts. He spent time wandering alone in the woods as part of his spiritual studies. Around 1914, he entered a state of meditation and stopped speaking except on rare occasions, thus becoming known as a magdub pir. In 1928, he moved out of his father's house into his own, where disciples and his four sons took over responsibility for the order's administration.

Succession from Syed Ahmad Ullah

According to German scholar Hans Harder, there is disagreement over the type of spiritual mandate Gholam Rahman received from Syed Ahmad Ullah and his status as a saint. Writers from Rahmaniyya Manzil, the house of the descendants of Gholam Rahman, class him as a ''ġawṯ al-aʿẓam'', the highest category of ''walī Allāh'', alongside Ahmadullah, and sometimes claim that he was installed by Ahmadullah as his spiritual successor (''sağğādanašīn''). The descendants of Syed Ahmad Ullah, however, insist that he was Ahmadullah's main delegate (''pradhān khaliphā''), and object to him receiving the title of ''ġawṯ al-aʿẓam'', though it does appear in one of Delawar Hosain's writings. Hand Writing of Baba Bhandari

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maizbhandari, Gulamur Rahman 1826 births 1937 deaths People from Fatikchhari Upazila Indian Sufi religious leaders 19th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam Hanafis 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis

Background and ancestry

Early life and education

Succession from Syed Ahmad Ullah

See also

References

External links