Saeed Ahmad Sandwipi (1882 – 16 February 1956) was a 20th-century

Hadith scholar Hadith studies is the academic study of hadith, a literature typically thought in Islam, Islamic religion to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. A major area of ...

and Sufi figure from the

Bengal region Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern- ...

, now part of Bangladesh. He is regarded as the first

Sheikh al-Hadith Sheikh ul Hadith () is an Arabic language term that refers to a highly respected and knowledgeable scholar who specializes in the study and teaching of hadith, which are the sayings and actions of Muhammad. In Islamic tradition, the study and unde ...

of Bengal, following his appointment as Sheikh al-Hadith at

Darul Uloom Hathazari Al-Jāmiʿah al-Ahliyyah Dār al-ʿUlūm Muʿīn al-Islām (), popularly known as the Hāṭhazārī Madrasah () or the Great Madrasah (), is a Qawmi institution of Hathazari, located in Bangladesh's Chittagong District. Established in 1901, it ...

, the first

Qawmi madrasa Qawmi Madrasah (, ) is an adjective describing one of the two major madrasah educational categories in Bangladesh. The Qawmi madrasahs are not regulated by the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board. As private charitable organizations, Qawmi madr ...

in Bangladesh. He founded

Al-Jameatul-Islamia Qasemul Uloom Charia Al-Jameatul-Islamia Qasemul Uloom Charia, commonly known as Charia madrasa, is a Qawmi madrasa located in Mirzapur union, Hathazari Upazila, Chittagong District, Bangladesh. The institution was established in 1944 by Saeed Ahmad Sandwipi, who beg ...

in 1944. He taught Hadith at both institutions for over five decades. He was a student of

Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (also known as Shaykh al-Hind; 1851–1920) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement, who co-founded the Jamia Millia Islamia University and launched the Silk Letter Movement for ...

and a member of the Majlis-e-Shura of

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 ...

. As a Sufi master, he had nearly 10,000

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 ...

s and seven successors, including

Muhammad Faizullah Mufti Faizullah (), was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, mufti, poet, educator and a reformer. He was among early students to study at the Darul Uloom Hathazari. He was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband and later served as the Chief Mufti ...

Early background

Saeed Ahmad Sandwipi was born in 1882 in Kalapania village,

Sandwip Sandwip (, ) is an island located in the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chittagong District. Along with the island of Urir Char and Bhasan Char, this is part of Sandwip Upazila. Description Sandwip is located in the north-east of the ...

, in present-day Bangladesh. His father, Munshi Nur Bang, was a religious scholar, and the family traced its origins to migrants from

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, bearing the surname

Akhund Akhund () is a Persian language, Persian title or surname for Islamic scholars, common in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Azerbaijan. Other names for similar Muslim Scholar include Sheikh and Mullah. The Standard Chin ...

. Saeed Ahmad completed his early education in 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 ...

'' and basic Islamic studies under his father's guidance. During this time, a scholar from Sandwip named Waziullah Sandwipi, who was studying at

in India, visited the area and gave public lectures. Impressed by Waziullah's influence, Nur Bang sent Saeed Ahmad to Darul Uloom Deoband in 1893 to pursue further religious studies. At Darul Uloom Deoband, Saeed Ahmad became a student of

and completed the Dawra-e-Hadith curriculum in 1904. While studying, he initially pledged spiritual allegiance (

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

Rashid Ahmad Gangohi Rashīd Aḥmad ibn Hidāyat Aḥmad Ayyūbī Anṣārī Gangohī (12 June 182611 August 1905) was a Deobandi Islamic scholar from Indian subcontinent, a leading figure of the Deobandi jurist and scholar of hadith, author of '' Fatawa-e-Rash ...

and, following Gangohi's death, renewed it with Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, from whom he also received khilafah (spiritual succession) and ijazah (authorization). Mahmud Hasan later instructed him to return to Bengal and continue his spiritual training under

Zamiruddin Ahmad Zamiruddin Ahmad (1878 – 6 July 1940) was a Sufi scholar active in the early 20th century in the Bengal region, now part of Bangladesh, and was a successor to Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. He served as the founding patron of Darul Uloom Hathazari for ...

, a disciple of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Saeed Ahmad returned to his homeland in 1905 to begin his religious and spiritual work.

Professional life

Al-Jamiatul Islamia Qasemul Uloom Charia 08

After returning to Bengal in 1905, Saeed Ahmad engaged in religious reform, particularly opposing practices he considered

bid'ah In Islam and sharia (Islamic law), ( , ) refers to innovation in religious matters. Linguistically, as an Arabic word, the term can be defined more broadly, as "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". It is the subject of many hadith ...

and

shirk Shirk may refer to: * Shirk (surname) * Shirk (Islam), in Islam, the sin of idolatry or worshiping beings or things other than God ('attributing an associate (to God)') * Shirk, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Shirk-e Sorjeh ...

, while maintaining a spiritual association with Zamiruddin Ahmad. On Zamiruddin's recommendation, he was appointed as a senior teacher at

in the same year. In 1908, following the introduction of the Dawra-e-Hadith program at the institution, he was appointed

. At that time, structured instruction of the six canonical Hadith collections (''

Kutub al-Sittah (), also known as () are the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam. They were all compiled in the 9th and early 10th centuries, roughly from 840 to 912 CE and are thought to embody the Sunnah of Muhammad. The books are the of al ...

'') was uncommon in Bengal, and he was the first to teach them formally at the Dawra-e-Hadith level, receiving recognition as the first Sheikh al-Hadith in Hadith studies in the region. His students at Darul Uloom Hathazari included

and

Shah Ahmad Hasan Shah Ahmad Hasan (), was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and educationist. He was an early student of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam in Hathazari. Hasan established Al-Jameatul Arabiatul Islamia Ziri, which was the second Qawmi madrasa o ...

. The authorities of Aliah madrasa in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

later invited him to teach in their planned Dawra-e-Hadith program, but he declined due to its government affiliation. He was also nominated to the Majlis-e-Shura (governing body) of Darul Uloom Deoband, representing Bengal and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. During a visit to Deoband, he temporarily taught ''

Sunan Abi Dawud ''Sunan Abi Dawud'' () is the third hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by scholar Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (). Introduction Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related to Hadith and preferred those (plural of ...

'' and ''

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (), commonly known as ' (), is the Qur'anic exegesis (') by Ibn Kathir. It is one of the most famous Islamic books concerned with the science of interpretation of the Quran. It also includes jurisprudential rulings, and takes care of the hadit ...

'' in the absence of Asghar Hussain Deobandi; among his students there were

Shabbir Ahmad Usmani Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (11 October 188713 December 1949) was an Islamic scholar and an activist of the Pakistan Movement, who served as the of Pakistan in 1949. He was the first to demand that Pakistan become an Islamic state. He was a religio ...

and

Ibrahim Balyawi Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi (1887–1967), also spelt as Muhammad Ibrahim Balliavi, was an Indian people, Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as the 6th Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He spent almost 50 years instructing Hadith, Logic in Isla ...

. In 1943, he resigned from Darul Uloom Hathazari and, in 1944, established

, where he continued teaching Hadith until his death. He had nearly 10,000 spiritual disciples and appointed seven individuals as successors, including

Final days

Saeed Ahmad fell ill during a visit to

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 ...

in northern Bengal and died in

Sirajganj Sirajganj is a city in north-western Bangladesh on the right bank of the Jamuna River, located in Rajshahi Division. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirajganj District, and with a population of 500000, it is the 14th largest city in Ba ...

on 16 February 1956 while returning home. His funeral was held the following day near Charia madrasa, led by

Azizul Haque Azizul Haque, () meaning "strong in the truth", is a male Muslim given name. Notable bearers of the name include: * Qazi Azizul Haque (1872–1935), also Khan Bahadur Qazi Azizul Huq, Quazi Syed Azizul Haque, police officer and fingerprint pioneer ...

, and he was buried adjacent to the institution. He was married twice—first in Sandwip, a marriage that ended in separation, and later in Hathazari. He had nine sons and seven daughters from both marriages.

References

{{Authority control Deobandis Hanafis 1882 births 1956 deaths People from Sandwip Upazila Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Shaikhul Hadith of Darul Uloom Hathazari Students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Members of the Majlis-e-Shura of Darul Uloom Deoband

Early background

Professional life

Final days

See also

References