Munshi Mohammad Meherullah
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Munshi Mohammad Meherullah (1861 – 7 May 1907) 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 ...
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 ...
, poet and social reformer. He is best known for his oratory and writing on
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 ...
and comparative religion and his efforts has been compared to
Raja Ram Mohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer and writer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a socio-religious reform movement in the Indian subcontinent ...
's defense of
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
against anti-Hindu views expounded by Christian missionaries in India. In 1891, writer
Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali (1858 – 30 May 1920) was a Bengali writer and reformer in British India. Early life Ali was born in 1858 to a Bengali Muslim family of Mirzas in the village of Aliabad in Rajshahi district, Bengal Presidency. After com ...
referred to Munshi Meherullah as
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...
(Friend of Bengal) in the introduction to his book 'Dughd-Sarobar'.


Early life

Meherullah was born in 1861, 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
Munshi During the Mughal Empire, ''Munshi'' () came to be used as a respected title for persons who achieved mastery over language and politics in the Indian subcontinent. Use in Bengal The surname "Munshi" ( Bengali: মুন্সি) is used by bot ...
s in Kaliganj under Jhenaidah subdivision,
Jessore District Jessore District, List of renamed places in Bangladesh, officially Jashore District (; ), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna District, Khulna and Satkhira District, Satk ...
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 ...
. He learnt Bengali at a local school until the untimely death of his father, Munshi Muhammad Warith, when he was around 10 years old. He further continued his education under the guidance of Moulvi Ismail Sahib, with the financial help of his maternal family. He learned
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 ...
and
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
during these years. From another teacher, Munshi Musabuddin, he learned
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 ...
. With his vast knowledge of languages and 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 ...
, he became not only an important figure in his local community but someone who could converse with members of elite households in
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
and
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 ...
. The elite spoke and wrote in different languages, depending on where they resided and who they were. He was a polyglot, visionary and a channel for communication between these people of different socio-economic classes. Interestingly, along with everything else, Meherullah was a businessman. After doing a government job for a short while, he got trained as a tailor and used his business not only to support his family but to stay in touch with his community.


Religious conversions

During his lifetime, Christian missionaries moved into disaster struck rural parts of Bengal and started conversion of Muslims with the promise of hospitals, food and education. The salvation that the missionaries provided, improved lives but at the cost of having to give up on one's beliefs. Young Meherullah was initially attracted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, seeing the charitable efforts of the Missionaries. Muhammad Abdul Majid mentions this in ''Chotoder Munshi Mohammad Meher Ullah''. According to Majid, Meherullah became a Christian, moved to
Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...
and lived under the patronage of
Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
. There, he studied not only the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
but the books written by Muslim
dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...
and decided to revert to Islam and shed light on the beauty of Islam to the people who were converted with misinformation used to vilify Islam .


Religious activism

Abul Ahsan Chaudhuri points out that cycles of epidemics, flooding, famines, had unsettled agricultural ecosystem and the socio-economic infrastructure in
Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In many Slavic languages, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope": Ukrainia ...
and
Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...
. As a result, the charitable efforts of
Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
made the Muslim peasantry particularly vulnerable to conversion. Meherullah upon returning to
Jessore District Jessore District, List of renamed places in Bangladesh, officially Jashore District (; ), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna District, Khulna and Satkhira District, Satk ...
and with his re-converted disciple Shaikh Jamiruddin adopted oratory method known as ''bahas'' (disputation) and sought to refute
Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
. He was able to re-convert numerous Muslims who had been converted to Christianity. He established ''Madrasaye Karamatia'' and ''Islam Dharmottejika Sabha'' in 1889 at Manoharpur village in Jessore. He contributed regularly to Muslim newspapers like the ''Sudhakar'' and ''
Islam Pracharak ''Islam Pracharak'' was a historic monthly Bengali magazine founded in the late 19th century. History ''Islam Pracharak'' was founded in September 1891. The magazine was edited by Muhammad Reazuddin Ahmad. The magazine wanted to promote Islamic lit ...
'' published from Kolkata. According to Kenneth W. Jones, no other Muslim preacher contributed to polemical literature in that period. While debating Christian missionaries, Meherullah did not vilify them. He called for intra-communal harmony. Also, among his other major contributions, Meherullah strived to teach the Muslim population not to adopt primitive ideas from their neighboring Hindu society, which was opposed to the remarriage of widows.


Notable works

Meherullah wrote at least 10 books between 1886 and 1908, which include * ''Isayee Ba Khristani Dhoka Bhanjan '' * ''Khristiya Dharmer Asarata'' (The hollowness of the Christian religion, 1887), * ''Bidhabagavjana O Bisadbhandar'' (Sufferings of Widows, 1894), * ''Meherul Islam'' (1897); * ''Hindu Dharma Rahasya O Devalila'' (1898, 2 editions) * ''Mussalman O Christian Tarkayuddha'' (Muslim and Christian Debates, 1908; 2 editions). * ''Rodde Khrishtian O Dlaliul Islam'' * ''Babu Ishanchandra Mandal and Charles French er Eslam Grahan'' (Embracing of Islam by Babu Ishanchandra Mandal and Charles French), * ''Slokmala'' (Compilation of verses)


Death and legacy

Meherullah died on 7 May 1907. An obituary in the '' Mihir-o-Sudhakar'' written by Sheikh Abdur Rahim, wrote:
"The political and religious world of Bengali Muslims is shrouded in great darkness. The person who dedicated his life to the uplift and reform of religion and society and infused a new life in
Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.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 et ...
, that preacher of the true values of Islam, Munshi Mohammad Meherullah, alas, is no more. The Christian padris shook in fear when they heard him defend Islam. His advice brought many Christian converts back into the fold."
Other publications such as the ''Islam Pracharak'', the ''Moslem Suhrid'', expressed profound grief. His protege Shaikh Jamiruddin wrote a hagiographic biography, ''Meher Charit''. Professor Abdul Hai, remarked "Meherullah proved to be the
Ram Mohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer and writer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a socio-religious reform movement in the Indian subcontinen ...
of the Muslims of Bengal — Roy saved the Hindus from being converted to Christianity in the early nineteenth century and Meherullah saved the Muslims from being proselytized to Christianity in the late Nineteenth century." A railway station in
Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...
was named after him. Bangladesh published a stamp of face value 2
taka The taka (, , sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of banknotes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the 2 and 5 govt. notes are the responsibility of the ...
in his honor in 1995. A hall of the
Jashore University of Science and Technology Jashore University of Science and Technology (), commonly known and abbreviated as JUST (), is a government-financed public university in Bangladesh. JUST is located at Sadhinata Sarak in Jessore Sadar Upazila, in Khulna Division. Its postal co ...
is named after him.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meherullah, Munshi Mohammad 1861 births 1907 deaths People from Jhenaidah District 19th-century Bengalis Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam