Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali (1858 – 30 May 1920) was a Bengali writer and reformer in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Early life

Ali was born in 1858 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 Mirzas in the village of Aliabad in

Rajshahi district Rajshahi District () is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore Distric ...

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 ...

. After completing his studies at the Sreedharpur Bengali Middle School, he enrolled at the Rajshahi Normal School. He passed in quarterly examinations but was unable to continue studying, and so he passed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in 1887 as a private candidate instead of a regular candidate. In 1889, he could not pass the F.A. examination and did not continue his education. Apart from Bengali and English, Ali was self-taught in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, Persian and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Career

He began his career joining as a teacher in school of

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...

. He was also teacher in Loknath School and Rangpur Government Normal School. He served as school-inspector and sub-registrar. He retired in 1917.

Social reform

Ali became involved in social reform after his retirement. In 1884, he founded the Nur-al-Iman Society, an educational organisation which sought to empower the Muslim community, and served as its first secretary. It was inspired by the

Brethren of Purity The Brethren of Purity (; also The Brethren of Sincerity) were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 9th or 10th century CE. The structure of the organization and the identities of its members have never been clear."Ha ...

and The Asiatic Society. As part of the society's initiatives, Ali established the Fuller Hostel in

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

and Muslim Hostel in Naogaon. Ali edited the society's newspaper ''Nur al-Iman'' and was also the editor of Shikkha Samachar and Shikkha Samabay (1919). He was the founder of Anjuman-e-Hemayate Islam (1891) and Rajshahi District Mussalman Education Society (1918). Ali was the chief patron of ''Soltan'', a daily newspaper published from

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

between 1926 and 1928 and edited by Maniruzzaman Islamabadi.

Literature

His first book ''Dugdha-Sarobar'' first published in 1891. In 1895, he completed ''Saubhagya Sparshamani'', a five-volume Bengali translation of

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

's ''

Kimiya-yi sa'ādat ''Kīmīyā-yi Sa'ādat'' ( ) is a book written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī, a Persian theologian, philosopher, and prolific Muslim author, often regarded as one of the greatest systematic thinkers and mystics of Isl ...

''.

Death

Ali died on 30 May 1920.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Mirza Muhammad Yusuf 1858 births 1920 deaths Bengali writers Bengali-language writers People from Rajshahi District 19th-century Bengalis Bengali Muslims 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian male writers