Imām al-ʿĀrifīnShah Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri | |
|---|---|
সুলতান আহমদ নানুপুরী | |
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Shah Sultan Ahmad 26 June 1914 |
| Died | 16 August 1997(1997-08-16) (aged 83) |
| Spouse | Momena Khatun |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Darul Uloom Deoband |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Muhammad Faizullah Hussain Ahmad Madani Ibrahim Balyawi Izaz Ali Amrohi |
| Disciple of | Hussain Ahmad Madani Azizul Haq |
Disciples | |
Students
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| Principal ofAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur | |
| In office 1958–1995 | |
| Succeeded by | Zamiruddin Nanupuri |
Shah Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri (Bengali:শাহ সুলতান আহমদ নানুপুরী; 26 June 1914 – 16 August 1997), also known by hisdaak naamBadshah, was aBangladeshiIslamic scholar, teacher and author. He established numerousmadrasas in Bangladesh and was the founding principal ofAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur for seventeen years.
Shah Sultan Ahmad was born on 26 June 1914, to aBengali Muslim family in the village of Dharmapur, located under theFatikchhari subdivision of theBengal Province'sChittagong District.[1] His father, Shah Fazlur Rahman, worked inRangoon,British Burma and his mother, Umdah Khatun, was a housewife. His grandfather's great-grandfather, known as Akbar Shah, was awali. His lineage is as follows; Sultan Ahmad ibn Fazlur Rahman ibn Hamid Ali ibn Qamar Ali ibn Kalu Ghazi ibn Akbar Shah. Among Fazlur Rahman's children, it was only him that did not die during childhood. When he was roughly two and a half years old, his mother died as a result of acholera outbreak.[2][3]
Sultan Ahmad's education began at a localmaktab ran by Ubaydul Haq Mianji. When he reached the age of five, he joined the Garzania Primary School. After his father's instruction, he later joined theHimayah al-Islam Madrasa in Nanupur Kalu Munshirhat. There he began studying fromYazdaham toJamate Shashum under the likes of Lal Miyan,[1] Obaydul Hoque andMuhammad Faizullah.[4]
In his final year, his father died. After completing his studies, his stepmother advised him to join theDarul Uloom Alia Madrasa in the city ofChittagong. Ahmad stayed there for a few months but did not enjoy the curriculum, and so returned home. Being influenced by his former teachers, he intended to re-enrol fromJamate Shashum at theDarul Uloom Deoband. He therefore travelled toSaharanpur inHindustan to complete his studies in Deoband. He also briefly studied at the nearbyMazahir Uloom, before graduating (MA) from the faculty ofHadith studies at Darul Uloom Deoband and beginning his philosophy course. Among his teachers wereHussain Ahmad Madani,Izaz Ali Amrohi,Ibrahim Balyawi,Zahur Ahmed,Habibullah Mirathi andRiyaz ad-Din.[4][5]
During his studies in Deoband, Nanupuri served as animam at the Deoband Central Mosque. After graduating and returning to Bengal, he sent a letter to join the faculty at theAl-Jamia al-Arabia Nasirul Islam inNazirhat Bazar and was accepted to teach there. The erstwhile principal of the madrasa, Nur Ahmad, later employedZafar Ahmad Usmani too. Usmani was a supporter of theAll-India Muslim League, whilst Nanupuri strongly believed that religious institutions like themadrasa should be free from political influence. Nanupuri subsequently left and became a teacher atAl-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar for 15 years.Azizul Haq later instructed Nanupuri to become the acting principal, and later the founding principal ofAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur in 1961. He served in Nanupur for seventeen years in total, and then gave up the role toZamiruddin Nanupuri.[6] Among his notable students wereAbdur Rahman (scholar),Muhibbullah Babunagari and Sultan Zauq Nadvi.[7]
Among the other madrasas that he established areAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiyyah Bayt al-Huda andAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiyyah Azizul Uloom Pokkhali. He was also the founder of theAr-Rashid monthly magazine.[4]
| Islam in Bangladesh |
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Ideology/schools of thought |
During his education in Deoband, Nanupuri spent seven years underHussain Ahmad Madani, pledgingbay'ah to Madani on 18 November 1944. However, after thePartition of India in 1947, Nanupuri was unable to maintain a close relationship with Madani, and could not meet withAshraf Ali Thanwi either as he was ill. Madani responded to Nanupuri in a letter giving him permission to mastertasawuuf under a differentSufi scholar. Nanupuri then became amurid ofAzizul Haq ofPatiya, and receivedkhilafah (spiritual succession) from him after 15 years.[8]
Nanupuri first completedHajj with hispir, Azizul Haq. In 1967, a businessman named Niamat Ali Sawdagar funded Nanupuri for Hajj. His third hajj took place in 1970, alongsideMohammed Younus andAbdur Rahman (scholar). His fourth and last hajj was in 1991, alongside Mufti Said Ahmad (founder of Jamia Sultania Lalpol) and Afsar Ahmad (Qari of Nanupur Madrasa).[4]
On 21 January 1945, Nanupuri married Momena Khatun, the first daughter of Munshi Abdul Khaliq. They had four sons and six daughters, although two sons died at an early stage. His son,Imdadullah Nanupuri, is also an Islamic scholar and the principal ofAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiyyah Bayt al-Huda.[9]
Nanupuri died on 16 August 1997 in his own room atAl-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur, after being ill for three years. The next day,Ali Ahmad Boalvi led hisjanaza at the Nanupur Madrasa courtyard. Nanupuri's elder sonHussain Ahmad Nanupuri was unable to participate as he was in theUnited Arab Emirates at the time and so when he returned, Nanupuri's younger sonImdadullah Nanupuri led a second funeral prayer. After the prayer, Nanupuri was buried in the Maqbara-e-Sultania.[5]
Nanupuri's leadingkhalifah (spiritual successor)Said Ahmad established amadrasa inFeni named after him asAl-Jamiah al-Islamiyyah as-Sultaniyyah. He also wrote a biography on his teacher titled "Shah Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri's life and teachings" which was published by the Hakimul Ulama Foundation Bangladesh.[8]Shah Ahmad Ghani also wrote a biography on Nanupuri, andAbdul Majid Muhajir-e-Makki wrote an eleven-volumeUrdu biography titled "Marif-e-Sultan".Abdus Salam Chatgami later edited the work and published it in two volumes.[10][11] His disciples have founded numerous institutions and organisations in his name such as theAllama Shah Sultan Ahmad Foundation Bangladesh, and his speeches have been collected and published. In 2018,Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiyyah Bayt al-Huda began publishing a seasonal magazine named after him as theSamayiki As-Sultan.[9] Among his other biographies are:
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