Maqṣūd Ullāh ibn Thanāʾ Ullāh ibn Ḥijr Ullāh al-Ghāzī (; 1883–1961), commonly known as Maqsudullah (), 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 ...

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 ...

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

best known as the inaugural Pir of Talgasia Darbar Sharif. He was a disciple of

Ashraf Ali Thanwi Ashraf Ali Thanwi (often referred as Hakimul Ummat and Mujaddidul Millat; 19 August 1863 – 20 July 1943) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, thinker, reformist and a revivor of classical Sufi in the Indian subcontinent during the Briti ...

, and founded numerous '' qaumi

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 ...

s'' in the Greater Barisal region.

Early life and family

Maqsudullah was born in 1883 to 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 of ''

Ghazis A ''ghazi'', or ''gazi'' (, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raids against non-Muslims. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by ...

'' in the village of Talgasia,

Jhalakathi Jhalokathi District officially Jhalakathi District, () is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2. It is bounded by Barisal district to the north, Barguna district to the east ...

, then located under the

Backergunge District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast river delta ...

of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. His father, Moulvi Ghazi Sanaullah, died in 1898 whilst returning from the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage and so Maqsudullah was mostly raised by his mother, Amena Khatun, and his paternal grandfather, Moulvi Ghazi Hijrullah.

Education

Maqsudullah completed the memorisation of the

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

at an early age. His grandfather then took him to the nearby Kachua Madrasah where he entrusted him to the supervision of Saeed Ahmad of Kalkini. After completing his studies in Kachua, Ahmad instructed Maqsudullah to travel to

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( English: /ˈhɪndustæn/ or /ˈhɪndustɑn/, ; ) was a historical region, polity, and a name for India, historically used simultaneously for northern Indian subcontinent and the entire subcontinent, used in the modern day ...

and enrol 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 ...

seminary. Maqsudullah left for Deoband in 1906, where he spent several years attaining further

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

. Among the other Barisali students at Deoband during his time were Zainul Abedin, Muhammad Yasin, Mansur Ahmad and Fajruddin. Maqsudullah became a student and ''

murid In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...

'' of

. Thanwi later sent him to study under Ali Ahmad of Hasanpur. After spending some time studying in Hasanpur and

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...

, Maqsudullah returned to Deoband in 1916 where he received ''

khilafat A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...

'' (spiritual succession) from Thanwi within a few days in the four

tariqa A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the ...

Career

Maqsudullah returned to

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 ...

in 1919. He was later appointed as the principal of Kachua Madrasa for many years. He then established the Madrasa-e-Ashrafia Emdadia in his ancestral village of Talgacchia, one of the early '' qaumi'' institutions in the Greater Barisal region and based on the

Dars-i Nizami Dars-i Nizami () is a study curriculum or system used in many Islamic institutions ( madrassas) and Darul Ulooms, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century and can now also be found in parts of South Africa, Canada, the Unite ...

curriculum. He also founded a mosque adjacent to the madrasa known as Baitul Mamoor. Maqsudullah then went on to establish many more ''

s'' in Barisal such as Ashraful Uloom Barisal, Latabunia Madrasa, Kaikhali Madrasa and the Paikkhali Maqsudul Uloom Madrasa in Bhandaria. On 13 December 1947, a consultation conference was held at the Chawkbazar Jame Ebadullah Mosque presided by Syed Mahmud Mustafa. The conference was attended by the major ''

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

'' of Greater Barisal including Maqsudullah of Talgasia who assisted in the establishment of the Mahmudia Madrasa.

Death

Maqsudullah died in 1961, and was buried in the Talgasia Darbar Sharif. He was succeeded as pir by his descendants such as Shahidullah Ashrafi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maqsudullah 1961 deaths 1883 births 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam People from Jhalokati district Hanafis Deobandis Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi

Early life and family

Education

Career

Death

See also

References