Makhdum Shah Daulah (, ) was a celebrated

Sufi Muslim Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

figure of

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 ...

. He is associated with the

spread of Islam The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

into the

Sirajganj District Sirajganj District () is a district in North Bengal, Bangladesh, it is located in Rajshahi Division. It is the 25th largest district by area and 9th largest district by population in Bangladesh. It is known as the gateway to North Bengal. Its a ...

, part of a long history of interactions between the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. He was martyred in Shahzadpur (meaning ''city of the prince''), an area named after him.

Biography

Makhdum Shah Daulah was said to have been a descendant of

Muadh ibn Jabal Muʿādh ibn Jabal (; 603 – 639) was a (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muadh was an of the Banu Khazraj tribe and compiled the Quran with five companions while Muhammad was still alive. He acquired a reputation for knowledge. Mu ...

, a companion of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

who was appointed as a governor in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. His father had two sons and one daughter. Makhdum Shah Daulah was trained in

Sufism 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 ...

and with his father's permission, he set off to propagate the teachings of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

by travelling to other lands. He was accompanied by his sister, three nephews (Khwaja Kalan Danishmand, Khwaja Nur and Khwaja Anwar), twelve disciples and other followers. They eventually reached

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, where he was welcomed by

Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari Sayyid Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Naqvi Al Bukhari (, c. 595-690 AH, 1190 – 1295 CE was a saint from the Indian subcontinent. He belonged to the Jalali Sufi order and was descended from the 10th Shia Imam, Ali al-Hadi. Early life Bukhari, ...

who gifted him with a pair of grey pigeons. They continued to travel eastwards, eventually reaching northern

. The area was ruled by a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

'' known as Vikrama Keshari and his territory extended as far as

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. Keshari was not content with the propagation of Islam in his kingdom. Conflict occurred between the two sides in which Makhdum Shah Daulah was executed by Raja Vikrama Keshari and most of his disciples were

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloquial ...

. Keshari later repented for his hostility towards the Muslim community and buried their deceased with due solemnity near the Shahzadpur Shahi Mosque. The area was named as Shahzadpur (city of the prince) in his honour.

Legacy

The area of Raja Vikrama Keshari was renamed as Shahzadpur (city of the prince) in honour of Makhdum Shah Daulah. He is buried in a

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

compound, next to many of his followers such as Shah Shamsuddin Tabrezi, Shah Mahmud, Shah Ahmad, Shah Khingar, Hasila Pir, Shah Ajmal and Shah Badla. Another compound was built for others who were martyred in the conflict and is known as Ganj-e-Shahidan. Makhdum Shah Daulah's sister had drowned herself in the nearby river and that area is identified as Sati Bibir

Ghat Ghat (), a term used in the Indian subcontinent, to refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aap ...

. The subsequent Muslim rulers of Bengal endowed 722

bigha The bigha or beegah (, , Assamese: বিঘা) is a traditional unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in northern & eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. There is no "standard" size of bigha and it varies considerably from place ...

s of land for the maintenance of the

and mosque in Shahzadpur and it was entrusted to the descendants of Khwaja Nur, who had survived the conflict.

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?id=kEAOAAAAIAAJ
* Haq, Muhammad Enamul (1975) ''A History of Sufi-ism in Bengal'' Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dacca; {{DEFAULTSORT:Daulah, Makhdum Shah 13th-century Yemeni people Sufi mystics 1313 deaths Bengali Sufi saints People from Shahzadpur Upazila