Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri

Ḥāfiẓ
Ahmad Jaunpuri
Personal life
Born1834 (1834)
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency
DiedJanuary 26, 1899(1899-01-26) (aged 64–65) (3 Rabi' al-Thani 1290 AH)
Sadarghat, Dacca, Bengal Presidency
Resting placeChawkbazar Graveyard, Dhaka
Parent
Other namesAhmed Jaunpuri
OccupationTheologian
RelativesAbdul Awwal Jaunpuri (brother)
Abdul Batin Jaunpuri (nephew)
Abdur Rab Jaunpuri (nephew)
Rashid Ahmed Jaunpuri (nephew)
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanafi
MovementTaiyuni
Muslim leader
PredecessorKaramat Ali Jaunpuri
SuccessorAbdur Rab Jaunpuri
Disciples
Influenced by
Influenced
Islam in Bangladesh
History
Culture
Architecture
Literature
Music
Major figures
Communities
Ideology/schools of thought
Educational organizations
Political parties
Influential bodies
Other topics

Ḥāfiẓ Aḥmad Jaunpūrī (1834 – 26 January 1899) was an Indian Muslim scholar, religious preacher and social worker. As the son and successor of Karamat Ali Jaunpuri,[1] he led the Taiyuni reformist movement in Bengal.[2]

Early life and family

Ahmad Jaunpuri was born in 1834, in the city of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, to an Indian Muslim family that traced their ancestry to the Arab tribe of Quraysh. He was the 36th direct descendant of Abu Bakr, the first Rashidun caliph. His father, Karamat Ali Jaunpuri,[3] migrated from Jaunpur in North India with the intention of reforming the Muslims of Bengal. Ahmad Jaunpuri's paternal grandfather, Abu Ibrahim Shaykh Muhammad Imam Bakhsh was a student of Shah Abdul Aziz, and his great-grandfather Jarullah was also a shaykh.[4]

Ahmad Jaunpuri completed his memorisation of the Qur'an at an early age, which led to him earning the title of Hafiz. He proceeded to gained more knowledge in Islamic studies in Lucknow and Jaunpur.[5] Many of his family members were also Islamic scholars, for example, his youngest brother Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri.[2]

Career

He established numerous madrasas and an eidgah in Daulatkhan in Bhola Island. He also provided black seed oil treatment to the locals. He represented the Taiyunis at a debate in 1879 in Madaripur against the Faraizis on the topic of the permissibility of the Friday prayer in British India. The Faraizis discarded Friday and Eid prayers as they considered British India as a Dar al-Harb (house of war). Over five thousand people attended this event and it was dubbed by Nabinchandra Sen as the Battle of Jumuʿah.[citation needed] In 1881, Nawab Abdul Latif gained permission for Jaunpuri to lead the Eid prayer at the Maidan of Calcutta. Over 70,000 Muslims joined the congregation, making it the largest gathering in Calcutta.[6] He wrote a book on Hajera.[7]

Jaunpuri had a cordial relationship with Munshi Mohammad Meherullah.[8]

Jaunpuri contributed to the refurbishment of the Ebadullah Mosque in Barisal. On 26 September 1897, Sir Nicholas Beatson-Bell, the district commissioner of Backergunge, organised a conference at the Barisal Zilla School in which Nawab Sirajul Islam and Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri delivered speeches on the importance of establishing the Bell Islamia Hostel.[9][10]

He set off to complete Hajj in 1882. During his stay in the Hejaz, he gained a great reception and was acclaimed as an orator.[2] He brought up his nephew Abdur Rab Jaunpuri, and Abu Yusuf Muhammad Yaqub Badarpuri of Sylhet was also his murid and one of his khalifahs (successors).[11] Another successor was Abdul Latif Taluqdar of Mirsarai.[12]

Death

Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri was affected by paralysis and was taken to Dacca for treatment. He died on the way in a boat on 26 January 1899 in Sadarghat. His body was washed in the boat, and his janaza was performed at the Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque in Old Dhaka at the request of his disciple, Sheikh Faiz Bakhsh Kanpuri.[13] He was buried just south of the mosque.[2] His biography was written by his nephew Abdul Batin Jaunpuri.[5]

Spiritual genealogy

  1. Prophet Muhammad
  2. Abū Bakr
  3. Salmān al-Fārisī
  4. Al-Qāsim bin Muḥammad
  5. Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq
  6. Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr al-Bisṭāmī
  7. Abu al-Ḥasan ʿAlī al-Kharaqānī
  8. Abū ʿAlī Faḍl Farmadī
  9. Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Hamadānī
  10. ʿAbd al-Khāliq Ghijdawānī
  11. Muḥammad ʿĀrif Riwgarī
  12. Maḥmūd Anjīr Faghnawī
  13. ʿAzīzān ʿAlī Rāmitānī
  14. Sayyid Amīr Kulāl
  15. Muḥammad Bābā as-Samāsī
  16. Sayyid Bahā ad-Dīn Naqshband
  17. Sayyid Mīr ʿAlā ad-Dīn ʿAṭṭār
  18. Yaʿqūb Charkhī
  19. Khwājah ʿUbaydullāh Aḥrār
  20. Khwājah Muḥammad Zāhid Wakhshī
  21. Khwājah Darwesh Muḥammad
  22. Khwājah Muḥammad Amkingī
  23. Khwājah Raḍī ad-Dīn Muḥammad Bāqī Billāh
  24. Aḥmad al-Fārūqī as-Sirhindī
  25. Sayyid Ādam al-Bannūrī
  26. Sayyid ʿAbdullāh Akbarābādī
  27. Shāh ʿAbd ar-Raḥīm Dehlawī
  28. Shāh Walīullāh Dehlawī
  29. Shāh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Dehlawī
  30. Sayyid Aḥmad Shahīd
  31. Karāmat ʿAlī Jaunpūrī
  32. Ḥāfiẓ Aḥmad Jaunpūrī

Disciples

Jaunpuri had numerous spiritual successors (khalifas) including:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

References

  1. ^ Sarkar, Jagadish Narayan (1972). Islam in Bengal (thirteenth to Nineteenth Century). Ratna Prakashan. p. 74.
  2. ^ a b c d Afaz Uddin, Muhammad (2012). "Jaunpuri, Hafiz Ahmad". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  3. ^ Ismail, Muhammad (2010). Hagiology of Sufi Saints and the Spread of Islam in South Asia. Jnanada Prakashan. p. 172. ISBN 9788171393756.
  4. ^ Hoque, Muhammad Inamul (2012). "Jaunpuri, Karamat Ali". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b Singh, Nagendra, ed. (2002). Sufis of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Vol. 3. Kitab Bhavan. p. 246. ISBN 9788171513185.
  6. ^ Hanif, N (2000). Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis (South Asia). Sarup & Sons. p. 190. ISBN 9788176250870.
  7. ^ Abdur Razzaq, Muhammad (1977). বাংলা ভাষায় ইসলামী পুস্তকের তালিকা (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. p. 194.
  8. ^ Ahmed, Rafiuddin (1992). Jones, Kenneth W (ed.). Religious Controversy in British India: Dialogues in South Asian Languages. State University of New York Press. p. 114.
  9. ^ Sikdar, Moslemuddin, খান বাহাদুর হেমায়েত উদ্দীন (in Bengali)
  10. ^ Bulbul, Saiful Ahsan (2012). বৃহত্তর বরিশালের ঐতিহাসিক নিদর্শন (in Bengali). Dhaka: Gotidhara.
  11. ^ Afaz Uddin, Muhammad (2012). "Jaunpuri, Abdur Rab". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  12. ^ a b Huda, Muhammad Shehabul (1985). The Saints And Shrines Of Chittagong. Chittagong: University of Chittagong. p. 201.
  13. ^ a b Hossain, Nazir, ed. (1981). কিংবদন্তির ঢাকা (in Bengali). Azad Muslim Club. p. 309.
  14. ^ Abdullah, Muhammad. মওলানা আবদুল আউওয়াল জৌনপুরী [Molana Abdul Auoal Jaunpuri] (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. p. 15.
  15. ^ Rashid, Abdur (2001). এই সেই ঝালকাঠি (in Bengali). Jhalkathi: Al-Islam Publications.