Ḥabībullāh Qurayshī (; 1865 – 1943) was a Bengali Islamic scholar and educationist of the

Deobandi The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It was formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the nam ...

movement. He was the founding director-general of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam.

Early life and family

Habibullah Qurayshi was born in 1865, to the

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 ...

Mianji family in Qazipara, Chariya village, Hathazari,

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 ...

. His father, Matiullah Mianji Qurayshi, was an alim. The family traced their ancestry to Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the fourth

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph and a member of the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

tribe of

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

. He lost his mother at the age of five, and was the only child of his parents.

Education

Qurayshi first studied the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

with Imamuddin Mianji and other books with Masiullah. He then enrolled at the Mohsinia Madrasa, which was the only higher Islamic educational institute in

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

at the time. After completing Jamat-e-Duam, he proceeded to study at the

Darul Uloom Deoband Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic university and seminary ( darul uloom) in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. Established in 1866 by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayy ...

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. After spending some time there, he joined the Jameul Uloom in

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

, where he spent 7 years studying under Ashraf Ali Thanwi. Completing his education thereon, Qurayshi pledged

bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' (, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Bedouin culture it was a procedure for choosing the leader of the trib ...

to Thanwi who instructed him to return to Bengal and establish a hujra near his home for spiritual asceticism. In this state, he spent 2 years. Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Ishaq Bardhamani were also his teachers.

Career

Having returned to Chittagong, Qurayshi met Abdul Wahid Bengali, Sufi Azizur Rahman and Abdul Hamid Madarshahi. They discussed the importance of establishing a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

. Subsequently, Qurayshi sent a latter to his pir, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, regarding the plans. With the permission of his teacher, Qurayshi established a small building for teaching purposes (now located just west of the present Chariya Madrasa). With the advice of his colleagues, the madrasa was relocated to a place near the present-day Panka Masjid in Hathazari Bazar. For several reasons, there was a need for another relocation. In 1899, he finally co-founded Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam along with the three scholars and through the assistance of locals. When the scope of work increased over time, Qurayshi became the madrasa's inaugural director-general as instructed by Thanwi. He served in this position until 1941.

Death

Habibullah Qurayshi died in 1943. His janaza was led by Said Ahmad Sandwipi. He was then buried next to the grave of Zamiruddin Ahmad, at the Hathazari Madrasa's central cemetery, and is now known as Maqbara-e-Habibi.

References

{{Authority control Deobandis 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Hanafi fiqh scholars Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Darul Uloom Deoband alumni 1943 deaths 1865 births People from Hathazari Upazila 19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam Bangladeshi people of Arab descent Founding members of Darul Ulum Hathazari Director general of Darul Uloom Hathazari Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi

Early life and family

Education

Career

Death

See also

References