Sharaf ad-Dīn Abū Tawʾamah | |
|---|---|
شرف ٱلدِّيْن أبُو تَوْأَمَة | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | |
| Died | 1300 CE |
| Resting place | Dargabari, Sadipur,Mograpara,Narayanganj District |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Education | Khorasan |
| Other names | Sharf al-Din |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| School | Hanafi |
| Muslim leader | |
Sharaf ad-Dīn Abū Tawʾamah (Arabic:شرف ٱلدِّيْن أبُو تَوْأَمَة,Bengali:আবু তাওয়ামা) was an Islamic scholar, author andmuhaddith based inthe subcontinent.[1][2] He played a large role in disseminatingIslam in eastern Bengal, establishing one of thecountry's firstmadrasas.[3] According toA. F. M. Abdur Rahman, in addition to his proficiency inPersian andArabic, he became well conversant in the localOld Bengali language of the time.[4]
Abu Tawwama was born into aSunni Muslim family fromBukhara in modern-dayUzbekistan, a city located on theSilk Road famed as a centre of scholarship. His brother was Hafiz Zayn ad-Din who he later migrated with acrossGreater Khorasan to study Islamic theology and thenatural sciences. He is said to have married at the age of 45 and had a daughter inBukhara.[4] After completing his education to a good level, he decided to move to Delhi in circa 1260, where he taught for 10 years with the permission of SultanGhiyas ud din Balban.[5]
In circa 1270, Abu Tawwama and his family were requested by the Sultan to move to the city ofSonargaon in Bengal, where Islam was not properly settled among the populace. Others have theorised that the reason for moving was because theSultan of Delhi feared that the scholar's influence was becoming a threat to his dominion and so exiled Abu Tawwama to Sonargaon.[6][7]
Abu Tawwama, Zaynuddin and their family then set off for Bengal, passing throughManer Sharif in Bihar where they stayed for 4 years serving alongsideYahya Maneri.[4] Maneri's son,Ahmed Maneri, became a disciple of Abu Tawwama and joined him on the journey to Sonargaon.[citation needed] Having finally reached Sonargaon, Abu Tawwama established a seminary and amadrasa in the city; turning Sonargaon into a notable centre of Islamic education inthe subcontinent.[5][8] Ahmed Maneri studied here for 22 years as his disciple,[5] and Abu Tawwama later gave his daughter's hand in marriage to him. They had a son called Zaki Maneri.[citation needed]
Abu Tawwama wrote a book on spirituality called "Maqāmat". ThePersian book onIslamic jurisprudence titled Nām-i-Haq is attributed to either Abu Tawwama or one of his disciples.[5]
Tawwama died in 1300 and was buried in a small tomb located inMograpara,Sonargaon.[5][9] The madrassah no longer exists though its ruins can be found in the Dargabari area.[10][11]
The Muslim history of Sonargaon began with the arrival of the great Maulana Shaikh Sharfuddin Abu Tawwama, the teacher
About 1275 A.D. Sharfuddin Yahya Manari ... came to Sonargaon with his teacher, Maulana Sharafuddin Abu Tawwama who later opened educational and charitable institutions in Sonargaon for the spread of Islam.