Saheb Qiblah Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali | |
|---|---|
আব্দুল লতিফ চৌধুরী ফুলতলী | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Muhammad Abdul Latif Chowdhury (1913-05-25)25 May 1913 |
| Died | 15 January 2008(2008-01-15) (aged 94) Sylhet, Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| Resting place | Saheb Bari, Fultali,Zakiganj,Sylhet District |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Spouse | Khadijah Khatun bint Shaykh Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri, Nihar-un-Nisa bint Abdul Rashid Khan |
| Children | 7 sons and 3 daughters including Husam Uddin Chowdhury Fultali |
| Notable work(s) | Al-Qawlus Sadeed fil Qiraat wat-Tajweed, Muntakhab-us-Siyar, Nalaa-e-Qalandar |
| Alma mater | Fultali Alia Madrasa Rangauti Alia Madrasa Badarpur Senior Madrasa Madrash-e-Alia Rampur Matlaul Uloom Madrasa |
| Known for | Ilm-ul-Qirat and Dawah |
| Other names | ʿAllāmah Shams-al-ʿUlamāʾ Raʾees-al-Qurrāʾ Quṭb-al-Awliyāʾ |
| Relations | Hadhrat Shah Kamal Al-Yemeni (Great Great Grandfather), Hadhrat Shah A'la Bakhsh (Great Grand-Father), Mufti Muhammad Abdul Majid Chowdhury Naqshbandi Mujaddidi (Father), Shaykh Abu Yusuf Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri (Father-in-law) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Tariqa | Qadiri Chishti (Nizami) Naqshbandi (Mujaddidi) Muhammadi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
Abdul Latif ChowdhuryFultali (Bengali:আব্দুল লতিফ চৌধুরী ফুলতলী; 25 May 1913 – 16 January 2008), reverentially known asSaheb Qiblah, was a late-twentieth centuryBangladeshiIslamic scholar,mufassir,qāriʾ, poet and orator. As a prolific author, he completed several works in Arabic, Bengali and Urdu includingMuntakhab as-Siyār andAnwar as-Sālikīn. His books are part of syllabic studies under theBangladesh Madrasah Education Board. Fultali was the leading figure of theIslamic Arabic University movement and the demand forfazil andkamil qualifications to be recognized asbachelor's andmaster's degrees.[1] He is the founder of several influential organisations and institutions in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom such as Anjumane Al Islah,Hazrat Shahjalal Darussunnah Yaqubia Kamil Madrasa andMadrasah-e-Darul Qirat Majidiah.
Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali was born on 25 May 1913, to a nobleBengali MuslimSufi Shah family in the village of Fultali in Badedeorailpargana,Sylhet district,Bengal Presidency (now inZakiganj,Bangladesh). His paternal lineage joins to Hadhrat Shah Kamal Al-Yemeni, one of the companions ofShah Jalal,[2] via Hadhrat Shah Muhammad A'la Bakhsh, a sage who contributed toAhmad Sirhindi's opposition against theDin-i Ilahi ofMughal emperorAkbar.[3] His father was AllamahMufti Muhammad Abdul Majid Chowdhury Fultali Naqshbandi Mujaddidi, a Hanafi Jurist and Principal of Gangajal Hasania Senior Madrasa.[4][5][6]
Allamah Fultali received his basic education from his own family. He was then taught by his distant cousin, Fatir Ali, at theFultali Alia Madrasa, where he also studied theQur'an withtajweed under Qari Sa'eed Ali. In 1336 AH (1918 CE), Allamah Fultali became a student at the Rangauti Madrasa inHailakandi at the request of its principal, Abdur Rashid, who was a student of Fultali's father. After completing higher secondary examinations at Rangauti, Fultali enrolled into the Badarpur Senior Madrasa inBadarpur in 1338 AH (1920 CE), where he studied variousIslamic sciences under hismurshid Abu Yusuf Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri. For higher education, Fultali then studied at the Rampur Alia Madrasah inRampur State at the instruction of Badarpuri. He then enrolled in Matlaul Uloom Madrasah to specialise inHadith studies under Khalillullah Rampuri and Wajihuddin Rampuri (student ofAnwar Shah Kashmiri). He studied there for a few years and obtained first class, first position in the final Hadith exam in 1355 AH (1936 CE). He also attained degrees intafsir andIslamic jurisprudence.[7]
At the age of 18, Allamah Fultali receivedijazah inqira'at and in theQadiri,Chishti,Naqshbandi andMuhammadiSufi orders from his spiritual master Mawlana Abu Yusuf Shah Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri, who was a disciple ofHafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri. He also received an ijazah in ChishtiNizami sub-order from Mawlana Ghulam Mohiuddin Rampuri and an ijazah in Naqshbandi Mujaddidi sub-order from Mawlana Abu Yusuf Shah Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri.[8] Allamah Fultali received an ijazah inqira'at from his spiritual master Mawlana Abu Yusuf Shah Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri Bundasili and also from Ustadh-ul-Qurrah Al-Hafiz Shaykh Abd-al-Rauf Karampuri Shahbazpuri.In 1363 AH (1944 CE), he travelled toMecca where he received ijazah inqira'at fromGrand Mufti Ahmad Abdullah Mahmud Al-Hijazi Al-Makki.[2][9]
In 1940, Allamah Fultali founded the Darul Qirat Majidiah Trust and institutionalized his effort to teach the perfect recitation of the Quran. Now there are more than two thousand branches of the trust throughout the world engaged in educating people in the field ofTajweed.[6][11]
Mawlana Abd-un-Noor (1880–1963) of Gorkapon inBadarpur was a prominent scholar and Sufi-Saint of that time, who requested Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali to visit the mosque conjoined toAdam Khaki's shrine. In 1946, Fultali announced that he would be travelling to Badarpur to give a lesson onqira'at at Adam Khaki's mosque.[citation needed] Abd-an-Nur Gorkaponi and his students purchased a horse for Allamah Fultali to ride on so the journey could be easier.[12] From 1946 to 1950, Allamah Fultali was a teacher at the Badarpur Senior Madrasa. He began teaching Qur'an with tajweed from his own home in 1950. As a result of riots in the1950s, Fultali briefly migrated toPakistan.[13] Fultali spent six years as a teacher ofHadith studies at the Gasbari Jamiul Uloom Kamil Madrasah. After that, he taughtSahih al-Bukhari,Sunan al-Nasa'i,Sunan ibn Majah,Sahih al-Tirmidhi,Sunan Abu Dawood,Al-Itqān,Nur al-Anwar,Al-Hidayah andTafsir al-Jalalayn at theSatpur Alia Madrasa and Isamati Alia Madrasa respectively. He finally returned toFultali Alia Madrasa, where he taught Hadith until his death.[11]
On 11 May 1967, a conference was held at theShah Jalal Dargah. Amemorandum strictly calling for the prohibition ofshirki practices was signed by the leading Islamic scholars from Sylhet including Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali, Hormuz Ullah Shayda,Mushahid Ahmad Bayampuri,Ibrahim Chatuli andNur Uddin Gohorpuri.[14]
Allamah Fultali was the best known and most influential spiritual leader among theBritish Bangladeshi community. He was based in Bangladesh, but made well-attended visits to the United Kingdom.[15] Among these visits, he establishedMadrasah-e-Darul Qirat Majidiah in 1978, which has since vastly expanded in London. He was a founder of numerous organisations related to religion, culture and education and a patron to a number of humanitarian and charitable organisations such as Muslim Hands Bangladesh.[6][11][16]
In 1983, he established theHazrat Shahjalal Darussunnah Yaqubia Kamil Madrasa with the assistance of Haji Abdus Subhan Tafadar of Subhanighat,Sylhet.[17]
Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali married Muhtarama Musammat Khadijah Khatun, daughter of his respectedShaykh and Mentor Abu Yusuf Shah Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri Bundasili (Hatim Ali), in 1345BS (1938 CE). He also married Muhtarama Nihar-un-Nisa, the daughter of Muhammad Abdur Rashid Khan of Fultali. He had seven sons and three daughters, they are: Muhammad Imad-ud-Din Chowdhury Fultali, Muhammad Najm-ud-Din Chowdhury Fultali, Mawlana Muhammad Shihab-ud-Din Chowdhury Fultali, Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Ghiyas-ud-Din Chowdhury Fultali, Mawlana Muhammad Qamar-ud-Din Chowdhury Fultali, Mawlana Hafiz Fakhr-ud-Din Chowdhury Fultali, and Mawlana MuhammadHusam Uddin Chowdhury Fultali, Karim-un-Nisa Chowdhury, Mahtab-un-Nisa Chowdhury and Aftab-un-Nisa Chowdhury[18]
On Thursday 16 January 2008 at 2:10 am, Fultali died at his home in Subhanighat,Sylhet due tonatural causes. Hisjanazah (Islamic funeral) took place the day after his death followingAsr prayer led by his eldest son. Reports in Bangladesh estimate that between 2 and 2.5 million attended his janazah. It is also estimated that further hundreds of thousands of people joined thejanazah across the Indian border.[5][24][25][26]
Anisaal-e-sawab andmahfil (gathering) is held on the anniversary of Allamah Saheb Qiblah Fultali's death every year at his village in Balai Hawor, Fultali and many other places around the world by his students and followers. His grandson, Prof. Mawlana Ahmad Hasan Chowdhury Fultali (Assistant Professor of Arabic atDhaka University) was the editor of one memorial book,Allamah Fultali Saheb Qiblah (Ra.) Smarak.[27]