Syed Shah Isra'il ( bn, সৈয়দ শাহ ইসরাইল, fa, ), also known as Shah Bondegi ( bn, শাহ বন্দেগী, fa, ; lit. ''King of Worship''), was a 16th-century

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision of th ...

writer from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. He is celebrated as a renowned medieval author of the

Sylhet region The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...

Background

Syed Israil was born into the aristocratic

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the se ...

Syed family who were the landowners of

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circula ...

, a renowned literary centre of learning in the eastern part of the Bengal Sultanate. His father was Syed Khudawand, the son of Syed Musafir - who was the son of Syed Sirajuddin, the son of Sipahsalar

Syed Nasiruddin Syed Shah Nasiruddin ( bn, শাহ সৈয়দ নাসিরুদ্দীন, ar, شاه سيد ناصر الدين) was a Sufi saint and military leader associated with the spread of Islam in Bengal in the 14th century. As the comman ...

. Israil was the second son; his older brother being Syed Mikail and his younger brother being Syed Bondegi Saif.

Life

Famed for his high proficiency in the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and

s, he wrote ''Ma'dan al-Fawa'id'' (, ''Mine of Benefits'') in 941 AH (1534 AD). This is the earliest book in the Sylhet region, and thus Israil is considered Sylhet's first author. He was awarded the title of ''Malik al-Ulama'' (, ''king of scholars''), just like his uncle

Syed Ibrahim Mallick Ibrahim Bayu was a legendary Sufi saint-warrior who arrived in South Bihar in the 14th century and defeated the tribal Kol chiefdoms who had been oppressing the local Muslims. He also defeated Raja Birthal and became first Muslim conqueror ...

. Israil had 12 sons; Syed Hemad, Syed Taj Jalali, Syed Ismail (Chhoto Miah), Syed Abdullah Thani (Mezu Miah), Syed Ibrahim, Syed Muhammad, Syed Abdullah Muhammad, Syed Yaqub Faqirabadi, Syed Ilyas Quddus (Qutb al-Awlia), Syed Kamal, Syed Nuh and Syed Qutb.

References

People from Chunarughat Upazila Bengali writers 16th-century Persian-language writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 16th-century Indian Muslims 16th-century Indian scholars 16th-century educators 16th-century deaths 16th-century nobility 16th-century Islamic religious leaders 16th-century Bengalis {{Bangladesh-writer-stub