Sheikh al-Mashāʾikh Makhdūm Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī | |
|---|---|
শাহ জালাল | |
 Shah Jalal's grave in theShah Jalal Dargah,Sylhet | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1271-05-25)25 May 1271 Disputed, see below |
| Died | 15 March 1346(1346-03-15) (aged 74) Sylhet (now inBangladesh) |
| Resting place | Shah Jalal Dargah |
| Parents |
|
| Other names | Shah Jalal |
| Relatives | Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari (maternal grandfather) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Based in | Jalalabad |
| Post | Wali, religious leader and scholar |
| Predecessor | Syed Ahmed Kabir Suhrawardi |
| Successor | Shah Paran |
Shāh Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (شيخ جلال مجرد كنيائي),[1] popularly known asShah Jalal (Bengali:শাহ জালাল,romanized: Shah Jalal), was a celebratedSufi Saint, conqueror and historical figure ofBengal. His name is often associated with theMuslim conquest of Sylhet and theSpread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions between theMiddle East,Central Asia, andSouth Asia.[2] Various complexes and religious places have been named after him, including the largest airport inBangladesh,Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport,Shahjalal University of Science and technology (SUST) and numerous mosques around theUnited Kingdom.
Jalal was said to have been born on May 25, 1271. Various traditions and historical documents differ in his place of birth, and there is a gap of two centuries between the life of the saint and literature which attempted to identify his origin. Local ballads and devotees continue to refer to him asShah Jalal Yemeni, connecting him toGreater Yemen Specifically from theHadhramaut region. An inscription from circa 1505 AD, during the reign of SultanAlauddin Husain Shah, refers to Shah Jalal with the suffixKunyāʾī.[3] Towards the end of this century, in 1571, Shah Jalal's biography was recorded in Shaikh ʿAli Sher Bangālī'sSharḥ Nuzhat al-Arwāḥ (Commentary on the excursion of the souls). The author was a descendant of one of Shah Jalal's senior companions,Nūr al-Hudā, and his account was also used by his teacherMuḥammad Ghawth Shattārī in hisGulzar-i-Abrār of 1613. According to this account, Shah Jalal had been born inTurkestan, where he became a spiritual disciple ofAhmad Yasawi.[4] Muḥammad Nāṣiruddīn Ḥaydar composed a full biography of Shah Jalal titledSuhayl-i-Yaman Tārīkh-i-Jalālī in 1859, which referred to him as Yemeni. Although this was composed 5 centuries after Jalal's death, Haydar's work consulted two now-lost manuscripts;Risālah (Message) by Muḥīuddīn Khādim from 1711 andRawḍah as-Salāṭīn (Garden of the Sultans) from 1721.[5]
A number of scholars have claimed that the suffix from the Husain Shahi inscription refers to the city ofQūniyah (Konya) in modern-dayTurkey (then in theSultanate of Rum), and they stated further that Jalal may have possibly moved to Yemen in his later life. Others have linked the suffix to the village ofKaninah in Yemen'sHadhramaut region,[6] and some even toKenya inEast Africa.[7][8]
His mother, Syeda Haseenah Fatimah, and his father, Sayyid Mahmud ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, are claimed to be descendants of theQuraysh tribe inMakkah.[9] His mother was the daughter ofJalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari.[10] Jalal's father was a cleric and contemporary of the Sufi mysticRumi and died five years after his son's birth. Jalal was educated and raised by his maternal uncle, Syed Ahmad Kabir Suhrawardi. in Makkah.[8] He excelled in his studies; became ahafiz and masteredfiqh. He became amakhdoom, teacher ofSunnah and, for performing prayers in solitary milieu and leading a secluded life as anascetic,al Mujarrad was post-fixed to his name. It is claimed he achieved spiritual perfection (Kamaliyyat) after 30 years of study, practice and meditation.[11]
Jalal's maternal uncle, Syed Ahmad Kabir, gave him a handful of soil and asked him to travel to theIndian subcontinent. He instructed him to choose to settle and spreadDawah in any place in India where the soil exactly matches that which he gave him in smell and colour.[6] Shah Jalal journeyed eastward fromMakkah and met many great scholars and Sufimystics.[6] Sheikh Ali ofYemen gave up his duty as a prince to join Jalal on his expedition. Many people joined Jalal from theArabian Peninsula including his nephewShah Paran. Jalal also came across Sheikh Chashni Pir, a pedologist who would check the soil of the places that Shah Jalal would visit in order to find the matching soil given by Sheikh Ahmad Kabir. Jalal passed throughBaghdad and was present there during the time of the murder of the lastAbbasid caliphAl-Musta'sim in 1258.[12] Driven off by theMongol invasion of Baghdad, they continued journeying to the east.
Jalal reachedUch in thePunjab, where he and many of his companions were initiated into theSufi order ofSuhrawardiyya.[13] Jalal was joined by many other disciples throughout his journey. He passed throughDelhi where he was made a guest of the Sufi saintNizamuddin Auliya. Nizamuddin offered him a gift of two rare pigeons which would later be calledJalali Kobutor (Pigeons of Jalal). It is said that these pigeons continue to breed and its descendants remain around Jalal'sdargah.[8]
In 1303,Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah ofLakhnauti was engaged in a war with the neighbouringGour Kingdom in theSylhet region, then under the rule of theHindu kingGour Govinda. This began whenShaykh Burhanuddin, a Muslim living in Sylhet, sacrificed a cow for his newborn son'saqiqah (birth celebration).[14] Govinda, in a fury for what he saw as sacrilege, had the newborn killed as well as having Burhanuddin's right hand cut off.[15]
When word of this reached Sultan Firoz Shah, an army commanded by his nephew,Sikandar Khan and later hisSipah Salar (Commander-in-chief)Syed Nasiruddin, was sent againstGour. Three successive strikes were attempted, all ending in failure due to the Bengali armies inexperience in the foreign terrain as well as Govinda's superior military strategy.[16][15]
A fourth attack, now with the aid of Shah Jalal and his companions (at this point numbering 360) was undertaken.[17] Jalal may have been summoned by Firoz Shah for aid after the initial failed attacks against Gour Govinda. Alternatively, he may already have been present in Sylhet, fighting against the Hindu king independently prior to being approached by the Sultan.[17][18] The combined Muslim forces ultimately claimed victory against Gour. Govinda was forced to retreat and Sylhet was brought under Muslim control. According to tradition, Shah Chashni Pir at this point compared the soil in Sylhet with that which was previously given to Jalal by his uncle, finding them to be identical. In any case, following the battle, Jalal and his followers settled in Sylhet.[14][17]
APersian inscription from 1303 has since been discovered in Jalal'sdargah. It mentioned Sikandar's victory inArsah Srihat with the aid of the saint during the reign of Firoz Shah. This inscription can now be found inBangladesh National Museum.[1]
During the later stages of his life, Jalal devoted himself to propagating Islam. The famous travellerIbn Battuta, then inSatgaon,[19] made a one-month journey through the mountains ofKamarupa, north-east of Sylhet, to meet him.[20] On his way to Sylhet viaHabung, Ibn Battuta was greeted by several of Jalal's disciples who had come to assist him on his journey many days before he had arrived. At the meeting in 1345, Ibn Battuta noted that Shah Jalal was tall and lean, fair in complexion and lived by the mosque in a cave, where his only item of value was a goat he kept for milk, butter, and yogurt. He observed that the companions of the Shah Jalal were foreign and known for their strength and bravery. He also mentions that many people would visit Jalal to seek guidance.[10] He recalls:
This shaikh was one of the great saints and one of the unique personalities. He had to his credit miracles (karamat) well known to the public as well as great deeds, and he was a man of hoary age. . . . The inhabitants of these mountains had embraced Islam at his hands, and for this reason he stayed amidst them.[21]
The meeting between Ibn Battuta and Shah Jalal is described in his Arabic travelogue,Rihla (The Journey).
Even today inHadramaut, Yemen, Jalal's name is established in folklore.[22]
The exact date of his death is debated, but he is reported by Ibn Battuta to have died on 20 Dhul Qa'dah 746 AH (15 March 1346 CE).[23] He was buried in Sylhet inhis dargah (tomb), which is located in a neighbourhood now known asDargah Mahalla. Whether or not he has descendants is debated. He appointed his closest companion, Haji Muhammad Yusuf to be the khadim (guardian) of hisdargah and Yusuf's descendants, theSareqaum family, continue to have this role.
His shrine is famous in Sylhet and throughout Bangladesh, with hundreds of Muslims devotees visiting daily. He is buried next to four of his companions. The ex-Prince of Yemen, Shahzada Sheikh Ali to his south, Haji Yusuf to his east and Haji Khalil and Haji Dariya both to his west. The largest mosque in Sylhet was built at the Dargah (also one of the largest in Bangladesh).
Spiritual genealogy of Shah Jalal is as follows:
He had seen Caliph al-Musta'sim Billah al-Abbasi at Baghdad, and that he was there at the time of his murder.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
