Sharaf ad-Dīn Abū Tawʾamah (, ) was an Islamic scholar, author and

muhaddith A muhaddith () is a scholar specialized in the study, collection, and interpretation of hadiths, which are the recorded sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The role of a muhaddith is central to the science of hadith (ʻilm a ...

based in

the subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. He played a large role in disseminating

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 ...

in eastern Bengal, establishing one of the country's first

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. According to A. F. M. Abdur Rahman, in addition to his proficiency in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, he became well conversant in the local Old Bengali language of the time.

Life

Abu Tawwama was born into a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

family from

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 ...

in modern-day

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, a city located on the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

famed as a centre of scholarship. His brother was Hafiz Zayn ad-Din who he later migrated with across

Greater Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

to study Islamic theology and the

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s. He is said to have married at the age of 45 and had a daughter in

. After completing his education to a good level, he decided to move to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in circa 1260, where he taught for 10 years with the permission of Sultan

Ghiyas ud din Balban Al-Sultan al-Azam Ghiyath al-Dunya Wal Din Abu'l Muzaffar Balban al-Sultan (; 1216 – 13 January 1287), more famously known as Ghiyath al-Din Balban or simply Balban, was the ninth Mamluk sultan of Delhi. He had been the regent of the last S ...

. In circa 1270, Abu Tawwama and his family were requested by the Sultan to move to the city of

Sonargaon Sonargaon (; ; Literary translation, lit. ''Golden Hamlet (place), Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is one of the old capitals of ...

in Bengal, where Islam was not properly settled among the populace. Others have theorised that the reason for moving was because the

Sultan of Delhi The Sultan of Delhi was the absolute monarch of the Delhi Sultanate which stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent during the period of medieval era, for 320 years (1206–1526).Maner Sharif Maner, also known as Maner Sharif, is a historic town and a block in Patna district of Bihar, India. Situated approximately 24 km west of Patna on NH-922, it is renowned for its Mughal-era dargahs and as an important Sufi pilgrimage center. ...

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 ...

where they stayed for 4 years serving alongside Yahya Maneri. Maneri's son, Ahmed Maneri, became a disciple of Abu Tawwama and joined him on the journey to Sonargaon. Having finally reached Sonargaon, Abu Tawwama established a seminary and a

in the city; turning Sonargaon into a notable centre of Islamic education in

. Ahmed Maneri studied here for 22 years as his disciple, and Abu Tawwama later gave his daughter's hand in marriage to him. They had a son called Zaki Maneri. Abu Tawwama wrote a book on spirituality called "''Maqāmat''". The

book on

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

titled Nām-i-Haq is attributed to either Abu Tawwama or one of his disciples.

Death and legacy

Tawwama died in 1300 and was buried in a small tomb located in Mograpara,

. The madrassah no longer exists though its ruins can be found in the Dargabari area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawwama, Abu 1300 deaths Sufi saints Sufi teachers Sufi writers 13th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Hanafis Bengali Sufi saints 13th-century Indian Muslims 13th-century Indian people Sufism in Bangladesh People from Bukhara Year of birth missing People from Sonargaon Upazila