Muhammad Mushahid Ahmad Bayampuri | |
|---|---|
মোহাম্মদ মুশাহিদ আহমদ | |
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1907 Bayampur,Sylhet District, Assam Province, British Raj |
| Died | 7 February 1971(1971-02-07) (aged 63–64) |
| Political party | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Convention Muslim League |
| Education | Kanaighat Islamia Madrasa Madrasa Aliya Rampur Meerut Alia Madrasa Darul Uloom Deoband |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Hussain Ahmad Madani,Shah Yaqub Badarpuri |
| Member of the 3rdNational Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office 1962–1965 | |
| President | Ayub Khan |
| Preceded by | Faizul Hasan |
| Succeeded by | Ajmal Ali Choudhury |
| Constituency | Sylhet-II |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Deobandi movement |
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| Ideology and influences |
| Founders and key figures |
|
| Notable institutions |
| Centres (markaz) of Tablighi Jamaat |
| Associated organizations |
| Deobandi jihadism |
| Deobandi jihadism: |
Mushahid Ahmad Bayampuri (Bengali:মুশাহিদ আহমদ বায়মপুরী,Arabic:مشاهد أحمد البايمفوري; 1907–1971) was a late-twentieth centuryBengali IslamicHadith scholar, teacher, writer, jurist, orator and politician. Often described by Bangladeshi scholars as theBukhari ofBengal, andShaykh al-Islam Bayampuri served as a member of theNational Assembly of Pakistan, the professor ofHadith studies atSylhet Government Alia Madrasah, the principal ofDarul Hadith Kanaighat and the president of the Eastern Sylhet Independent Religious Arabic Madrasah Education Board.[1][2] His numerous works, which covered a range of disciplines inIslamic literature such asHadith,Tafsir and thepolitical aspects of Islam, were written in the Arabic, Bengali and Urdu languages. Some of his books are part of syllabic studies in the city of Madinah and under theIndependent Religious Board of Education [bn].[3]
Muhammad Mushahid Ahmad was born on a Friday inMuharram 1327AH (1907 CE), in the village of Bayampur inKanaighat,Sylhet District, a village known for its principled islamic adherence, religious upbringing and home to many scholars. Both of his parents wereSunniBengalis. His father, Alim bin Danish Mian, was aqari, while his mother, Sufia Begum, was ahafiza known for her piety and modesty. He was the second of their three sons, and they were raised by their mother following the death of his father during his childhood.[4] Bayampuri was known among the locals asKalamanik, a moniker reflecting his notably dark complexion and prominent nose.[5]
Mushahid was very intelligent from his childhood. Initially, Bayampuri studied theQur'an,Bengali andUrdu with his mother at the age of seven years. he was admitted to the village school. At the age of 10, after completing his primary education with great success, he was admitted to the then Kanaighat Islamia Madrasa (nowDarul Hadith Kanaighat) and studied in the same madrasa for 7 years where he continued his Islamic studies under a structured curriculum learning the basics of the sciences.[4]
He began his career as a teacher after completing his studies at the madrasa but returned to education later inNorth India. He studied for five years at theMadrasa Aliya ofRampur State and two years at the Alia Madrasa ofMeerut. He wrote two books in this period, which were published under the name of his teacher. Although he went back to teaching in Bengal after these seven years, Mushahid later enrolled at theDarul Uloom Deoband inSaharanpur in 1936, where he studied Hadith underHussain Ahmad Madani and graduated with a degree whilst getting the highest mark inHadith studies after one and a half years of studying there.
In the certificate given to him, Shaykh Hussain Ahmad Madani (RA) wrote as a tazkiyyah (praise) - “…Muhammad Mushahid Sahib, a resident of Kanaighat in Sylhet district, has obtained the highest marks in the highest Jamaat of Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, where there were 180 students with special qualifications from outside Hindustan and from every district of Hindustan. He has been given various awards for being the first in the Jamaat. Allah Ta'ala has bestowed upon him many great and innate qualities. His intellect is very sharp and bright, his character is advanced and noble[6][7][8]
Bayampuri briefly taught at the Lalarchak Primary School before spending seven years inNorth India. He gaveHadith studies classes at the Alia madrasas ofBadarpur andRampur. Prior to his studies at Deoband, he taught at his local Lalarchar Rahmania Madrasa too.[4]
When he returned to Bengal, he was offered a position asShaykhul Hadith at theSylhet Government Alia Madrasah. He also served in this position at the Gachhbari Jamiul Uloom Kamil Madrasa, and during his term here. However, as he did not get along well with the management at Gachhbari, Bayampuri left the madrasa to join the Kanaighat Islamia Madrasa in 1953. He eventually became the principal andShaykhul Hadith of this madrasa until his death, and renamed it to Darul Uloom Darul Hadith Kanaighat. In order to unite the madrasas of eastern Sylhet (Sylhet andMoulvibazar), he established the Azad Dini Arabic Madrasa Education Board in 1953. He served as the board's president for the rest of his life. The board now has authority over 175 madrasas. InRamadan, he used to give lectures at the Bandarbazar Jame Mosque fromtarawih tosuhur.[4]
As a student ofHussain Ahmad Madani, Bayampuri rejected thePakistan Movement andPartition of India. After theindependence of Pakistan in 1947, Bayampuri continued to be a part of theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam. He participated in the 1962 basic elections as an independent candidate, defeating opponentBegum Serajunnessa Choudhury and successfully gaining a seat in the 3rdNational Assembly of Pakistan, representing theSylhet-II constituency.[9]
During his term, he felt that the strength of Islamic parties were even close to the strength needed to change the political landscape. As a result, he joinedAyub Khan'sConvention Muslim League for the greater good. He benefitted by taking grants from the government for funding Kanaighat Darul Uloom and Akuni Madrasa. However, joining this party made him unpopular. He lost this seat at the 1965 basic elections toAjmal Ali Choudhury. At the1970 Pakistani general elections, Bayampuri competed for the seat as a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam candidate but failed for a second time.[5]
During his time in parliament, Bayampuri petitioned for the erstwhileRepublic of Pakistan to rename itself the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He also believed that no law should be adopted by Pakistan that goes against theQur'an andSunnah. In the face of his demand, the Ayub Cabinet was forced to cancel the anti-Islamic clause from an ordinance. Bayampuri also called for the establishment of anIslamic university inEast Pakistan. In one part of his political career, Bayampuri briefly left Pakistan forAssam in India due to political oppression. A Pakistani minister later invited him back to the country after a compromise by theKing of Saudi Arabia.[5]
Mushahid Ahmad has written a number of works inArabic,Urdu andBengali:
Bayampuri married 10 times[10] and is the father of 11 children.[11]
He completedHajj three times. He became well known on an extremely broader scale for his scholarship and knowledge onHadith by Saudi Arabian religious authorities in one of these occasions. During his presence in a Hajj sermon, one of the Imam’s of Makkah andKhatib had made mention of a prophetic narration in which he had erred, it is reported that the Imam had narrated a Hadith from Al-Tabarani whilst mistakenly attributing it toMusnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, consequently from the crowd, Bayampuri stood up amongst everyone and corrected him. After witnessing this, the Khatib was impressed with the immense knowledge Bayampuri had possessed of the prophetic tradition. After finding out the knowledge Bayampuri possessed in Hadith, the Saudi Arabian Government enabled theKing of Saudi Arabia to have thestate constitution reviewed by Bayampuri to see where it could be amended. Bayampuri suggested that it be amended at 14 places.
He was requested by the government of Saudi Arabia to stay in the country and take up teaching positions as his knowledge would be of immense benefit. He was also approached by a group of people from the renownedAzhar University ofEgypt for the same request. However, after performingistikhara, he had decided not to take up the offers and that it would be befitting for him to go back to his homeland and carry on teaching there.[3] His relationship with the Saudi Government remained strong as he was supported by them for the oppression he faced in exile from his homeland on one occasion.
Bayampuri died in his village, on the night ofEid al-Adha on 7 February 1971.[5] Hisjanaza was performed by his younger brother Muzzammil Ahmad Bayampuri on Eid day, after theAsr prayer, and he was buried in front of Darul Hadith Kanaighat.[3]
Bayampuri’s name and status as a religious figure, Islamic scholar, and friend of God would further grow after his death due to the many miracles surrounding his death and burial. It was a good sign that he had passed on the 10 days ofDhu al-Hijjah, reported in Islamic tradition as the 10 best and most virtuous days of the Islamic year. He had signalled his death to his loved ones as he indicated that his time was near through the deterioration of his health. He is reported to have repeated numerous times on his deathbed “Al-hiqnee bi al-rafiq al-a’la”, consequently passing on the night of Eid whilst witnessing theDay of Arafah one last time.
It was reported that a strong fragrance had emitted from his grave a few days after he got buried, locals witnessed this and would swarm to his grave, to which the scholars of the village had to supplicate for it to stop in suspicion ofShirk (Islam) andBid'ah spreading, an incident similar to that of the death of ImamMuhammad al-Bukhari.[12] Bayampuri’s grave was similarly reported to have emitted strong fragrances on two separate occasions after his death as well with locals witnessing, once in 2012, and once in 2020, to which the news spread to various regions of Bangladesh, and scholars approving of such miracle.
Bayampuri is widely remembered and often mentioned in religious lectures by Islamic Scholars in many Islamic seminaries and lectures.
A bridge on theSurma River inKanaighat Upazila is named after Bayampuri. He has been praised by numerous scholars and is mentioned in various books. During Bayampuri's return from Assam to Sylhet,Hussain Ahmad Madani mentioned that "an enlightenment is going towards Sylhet". Abdul Karim Shaykh-e-Kouria mentioned that if all of theilm of the scholars ofSylhet District were put together, they would match only up to the knee of Bayampuri.[13]
His son, Sheikhzada Faruq Ahmad, contested in the1973 Bangladeshi general elections, losing only toHabibur Rahman (Tota Mia).[5]
মাওলানা মোশাহেদ ছাহেব