Aujubillahi
Minash-shaitanir Rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Evidence-based Account
of Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet, Bangladesh[1], Working Draft of 25.10.2018.
Abu Raihan Muhammed
Khalid[2]
Abstract
The 14th Century Arab traveller
Ibn Battuta took a very long detour from his journey to China, to meet a Sufi
Dervish in Kamrup, Bengal, the present day Sylhet in Bangladesh, named “Shaikh
Jalal-ud-din of Tabriz”. But the Dervish at the dargah in Sylhet today is
locally known simply as Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA), while a Dervish named Shah
Jalal Tabrizi (RA), the location of whose tomb remain uncertain to this date,
has his Khanaka in Pandua, West Bengal. The only two inscriptions from the 16th
century that mentions the Dervish refer the dervish at Sylhet as ‘Kanyee’ or
‘Kunyayi’ and ‘Mujarrad’; not Tabriji. In addition to the above there were
three Sufis in Bengal with the name ‘Jalal’ loosely in that period of the
history of Bengal. Could it be that the dargah at Sylhet is indeed of Shah
Jalal Tabrizi (RA) as Ibn Battuta reported, could it also be that he is a
second Dervish Shah Jalal (RA) in Bengal originating in Tabriz, or could it be
that there is only one Shah Jalal Tabrizi (RA), the one of Pandua, and he is the
one who is buried at the dargah at Sylhet as many scholars hypothesised, compelled
only by Ibn Battuta’s irrefutable remark, or could he be a different dervish
Shah Jalal (RA) who is not Tabriji, and rather either from Konya, Turkestan or
Yemen as some suggest? In this work, if Allah Subhanahu Tayala wishes, we wish
to examine the evidence available and discover the true account of the Dervish
at Sylhet Dargah. We want to know who this Dervish really is.
Introduction
In the summer of 1346 C.E.[3]
the traveller Ibn Battuta[4]
took a … miles sea and land journey from the Maldives, a very long detour from
his journey to China, to meet a Sufi Darvish named “Shaikh JIalal-ud-din of
Tabriz“[5]
in the Kamrup region of Bengal, i.e. the
present day Sylhet in the North-eastern Bangladesh. Ibn Battuta arrived at Chittagong[6]
on Sunday 18 Rabi' I, 747 A.H., 9 July, 1346 C.E[7].
On Sunday 9 Rabi’ II 747 A.H., i.e. 30 July, 1346 C.E. he arrived at kamaru[8].
In his travel account, the Rihla, Ibn Battuta states:
“(T)he day I visited the shaikh I saw on his body a mantle of
goat's hair which I liked and I said to myself, 'Would that the shaikh had given it to me!' When I saw
him with a view to taking leave of him he rose to the corner of the cave; and
removing his mantle he put it on me together with a cap of his own. As for
himself he wore a garment with patches all over. The fakirs told me that the shaikh did not ordinarily wear the said
mantle, that he had put it on at the time of my arrival and that he had said to
them, 'The Moroccan will desire this mantle, which a pagan sultan will snatch
from him and give it to our brother Burhan-ud-din of Sagharj (as-Saghraji)[9]
to whom it belongs and for whom it has been made.' When the fakirs told me
this, I said, 'I have obtained the saint's benediction inasmuch as he has
clothed me with his own garment and wearing this mantle I shall not go to see
any sultan, be he an infidel or a Muslim.' Then I withdrew from the Shaikh.”[10]
It is interesting to note that Ibn
Battuta stated that his object of vising the mountains of Kamaru was to meet a
saint living there named “Shaikh Jalal-ud-din of Tabriz“[11].
Tabriz is the traditional capital of the Persian province of Adharbaydjan,[12]
and the nisba Tabrizi normally to be expected from the name of the Tabriz city
in Adharbaydjan[13]. If
we take Kamaru to be Kamrup of Assam as it was suggested by many[14]
and the region he visited to be in present day Sylhet[15],
then we encounter a big problem, we do not know of any saint ever living in the
Sylhet region named Shaikh Jalal-ud-din of Tabriz. Sylhet is the site of the
Dargah of the famous saint Hazrat Shaikh Jalal, who does not have any place
name attached to his popular name. Neither the local population nor the
scholars ever suggested that he was from Tabriz[16].
He is however referred to as al-Mujarrad or the bachelor[17]
in some texts, meaning that he never married. As to his place of origin, some
sources mentioned him as ‘Kuniya’[18],
indicating that he originated from the city in Turkey of that name. While some
other sources mentioned him as ‘Yemeni’[19],
indicating that he originated from Yemen of the Arabian Peninsula.
Why, then, Ibn Battuta mentioned
the Dervish he met at Kamaru as Shaikh Jalal-ud-din Tabrizi, - is not clear and
has baffled generations of scholars[20].
The confusion is of such extent that even the best of the historians are unable
to shake it off and take a decisive stand on the identity of the saint at
Sylhet[21].
There are valid reasons for such confusion, however. Early Muhammadan period of
Bengal is not well recorded in history, to say the least. Historians lamented that
only secondary sources and incidental remarks for that period, i. e., from A.
D., 1203 to 1538 are available[22].
A proper history of Bengal region did not appear until the 18th
Century C.E.- the Tabakat I Nasiri, the The Riazu-s-Salatin, the Seir el
Mutakkherin are all from this or later periods, with only the Baharistan-I-Ghaybi
of Mirza Nathan as an exception which was however an extensive journal of a
Mughal Officer written in…. Numatic and inscription sources from this period
are also rare. Ibn Battuta remains the only first-hand source of history of
this period. As a historical record the importance of the Rihla of Ibn Battuta is
immense and difficult to disagree with. Moreever, there was a very famous sufi
saint by the name Shaikh JIalal-ud-din Tabrizi in Bengal around more or less
the same time, the first great sufi saint to arrive in Bengal. Although it is
generally believed that his place of work was the present day West Bengal, there
is indication that he may have travelled to Kamrup at some point, and the lack
of clear historical proofs on both Shaik’s case make it difficult to be
certain. This is why it is not easy to
disregard Ibn Battuta’s suggestion for the historians.
However, we must not forget that
no other sources, except Ibn Battuta, stated that the Shaikh Jalal-ud-din of
Sylhet is from Tabriz[23].
All these confusions arise from this single source, the Rihla of Ibn Battuta,
despite the fact that Ibn Battuta lost his original manuscript of his travel on
his way back to his homeland[24].
The Rihla that we have today was written entirely from memory by an assistant
from the dictations of Ibn Battuta when Ibn Battuta was asked by the Sultan of
Moroco to write his travel account. Many historians doubted Rihla’s
authenticity because it gave rise to historical impossibilities, and last but
not the least, Ibn Battuta actually used two different place names for the name
of the Saint he met at Kamaru, Bengal, one of which is ‘Tabreji’, and the other
is ‘ …
In this work, if Allah Subhanahu
Tayala wishes, we wish to examine the evidence available and discover the true
account of the Saint at Syhet Dargah. We want to know whether he is Shaikh
Jalal-ud-din Tabrizi or Shaikh Jalal-ud-din Mujarrad, a different person.
Limitations of this study
It is necessary to state here
that we do not currently have access to a library equipped with materials
capable of supporting the entire study. Our personal collection of materials is
only capable of providing materials for a part of it. We are relying mostly on
materials downloaded from the internet. Thanks to Allah Subhanahu Tayala a
large body of related literature is available on the internet in various
archives and online libraries. These books, which are in most cases scanned
digital copy of the original printed work, sometimes do not contain the entire
publication information in them.
We do not read or write Urdu or
Persian, we can read some Arabic but cannot use it for academic purposes. For
this reason we are unable to use at least three of the primary texts that are
available but are either in Arabic, or in Urdu or Persian. Instead we have used
translations, which are often of only the relevant part of the concern text,
created by other scholars. This has limited our scope of analysing the original
text ourselves. Elaboration of this limitation of the source materials is
provided in the following section on ‘Sources’.
The special transliteration symbols used by the
various translators to give effect to the original pronunciations of words of Arabic,
Persian and Urdu origin are not used here. For one the author is not fully
familiar with them at the time of writing this and secondly, because the
software used in writing this account, the Microsoft Office Word 2010 does not
provide a ready tool for using such symbols.
Methodology
This study concerns events that
took place from late 13th to early 14th century C.E. Therefore
this study relies on evidences of those events recorded in texts, inscriptions,
numismatics, and living memories of the relevant population. Therefore, this
study shall be conducted by review of the texts, inscriptions and numismatics,
interviews of relevant scholars, inhabitants of the locality of the dargah in
Sylhet and people having special connection with the dervish, such as those who
claim to be descendants of his disciples. At a later stage of the study a field
investigation of the Dargah at Sylhet including examination of the manuscripts written
by the disciples of the Saint, if these are available, shall be conducted.
In studying the written sources
such as texts, inscriptions, numismatics we have firstly created a
bibliography, and secondly, conducted a literature review to both enrich the
bibliography further and weigh the various primary and secondary sources. These
two documents are still growing as the study progresses. The bibliography shall
become a part of the final outcome of the study while the literature review
shall remain as a part of the record of the study which is kept at the Project
Homepage at ResearchGate.net[25].
Sources
As we have stated above the
events relevant to this study took place in late 13th and early 14th
century C.E. While many biographies of Hazrat Shah Jalal Mujarrad (R) in Bangla
and encyclopaedic entries in English have been written in recent times, only a
few accounts of his life written by writers contemporary to him are known.
These are Amir Khusrau’s ‘Afzal
al-fawaʾed’ (719
A.H./1319 C.E.), Ibn Battuta’s ‘Rihla’ (c.1377
CE), Shaikh Ali Sher’s ‘Sharh-i-Nuzhat-ul-Arwah’ (Year), Holayudh Misra’s ‘Sekh
Shuvodoya’ (year), an inscription in Persian issued in of 918 AH/1512 AD
during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah (1494-1519 AD) of Bengal, Ghausi’s ‘Gulzar-i-Abrar’ (1613 CE), Muhiuddim
Khadim’s ‘Risalat’ (1711 AD), an unknown author’s ‘Rauzat-us-Salatin’ (1721
AD), and Nasir al-Din Haidar’s ‘Suhail-i Yaman’ (A.H. 1277/ CE 1860–61).
Not all
the mentioned texts are available today; some remained as manuscripts and were
never published. Among the ones
available a full biography of the Darvish is rare as some accounts contain only
fragments of his life. So far we are unable to find an English translation of
the Amir Khusrau’s work, and the works of Shaikh Ali Sher, Muhiuddim Khadim,
Rauzat-us-Salatin. Selected small parts of the works of Ghausi and Nasir al-Din
Haidar have been translated to English and are available. The Persian
inscription of 1512 C.E. is preserved in the Dhaka museum and translation
of its text is available in secondary literatures.
Plan of the Study
The Study shall consist of the following parts:
1. Introduction
2. Limitations of this study
3. Methodology
4. Sources
5. Plan of the Study
6. The Study: Evidence based Account of Hazrat Shah Jalal
(RA) of Sylhet
6.1 Identity
of the Saint at Sylhet- Tabreji or Mujarrad?
6.2 Birth and Early Life;
6.3 initiation and training in
Spiritual Path;
6.4 Arrival in India;
6.5 The War against Gor Gobinda
at Sylhet;
7. Glossary of Terms
8. Bibliography
The Study: Evidence based Account of
Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet
6.1 Identity of the Saint at Sylhet- Tabreji or Mujarrad?
i) The Confusion
The confusion on the identity of
the Saint Shah Jalal (RA) at Sylhet has its roots in the statement made by Ibn
Battuta in his Rihla which is starkly different from every other source and was
later carried forward by fact that there were three Sufis in Bengal with the
name of Jalal[26]. They
are Makhdum Shaykh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi[27]-
who established himself in Pandwah and Deotala[28],
Shaykh (Shah) Jalal of Sylhet[29]-
whose dargah is in Sylhet[30],
and Shah Jalal Dakini whose is in Dhaka[31].
We shall briefly present the conflicting statements made by various original
sources and later scholars regarding the identity of the Saint at Sylhet.
The Primary Sources
Rihla of Ibn Battuta (c. 1385 C. E.)
Ibn Battuta in his travel account
Rihla states his object of going to the mountains of Kamaru was to meet a saint
living there namely “Shaikh Jalal-ud-din of Tabriz“[32]
or in another translation ‘Shaikh Jalaluddin Al-Tabrizi’[33].
However, on a later part of the book when he was describing his meeting with Saint
Shaikh Burhanuddin Shagharji in China he recalled the saint he met at Sylhet as
‘the Friend of God, Jalal-uddin of Shiraz’.[34].
Traditionally, the confusion centred
on the question whether the Saint Ibn Battuta met at Sylhet is the Saint Jalal
Uddin who is traditionally called Tabrizi or is a different Saint Jalal Uddin. Some
commentators favoured the proposition that it was the Saint Jalal Uddin from Tabriz[35].
Others favoured the proposition that there were two different ‘Saint Jalal
Uddin’ and the one Ibn Battuta met at Sylhet was not the Tabrizi. It was a different Shah Jalal who was called
‘Mujarrad’ and he was either from Konya, Turkestan or Yemen. Ibn Battuta, when
memorizing him for the writing, confused his original country with that of the
other Jalal Uddin at Pandwah.
However, in the light of the new
insights derived during the investigations conducted for the present study, it
appears that an altogether different explanation is possible for Ibn Battuta’s
use of Tabriz as the country of origin of the Saint at Sylhet. We propose that the
Saint Jalal Uddin Ibn Battuta met at Sylhet was not the Saint traditionally
called Tabrizi, but he was also a Jalal Uddin from the Tabriz region and Ibn
Battuta may rightly have called him a Tabrizi or a Shirazi. This is a new proposition
and to our knowledge no scholar so far has proposed it. We shall explain our
proposition after we present the confusion.
Among the translators and
commentators of Ibn Battuta’s Rihla, Mahdi Hussain, whose work is used by most
observers of the Bengal episode of Battuta’s travel, believes that the saint Tabrizi
Battuta met ‘should not be confounded with Shaikh Jalal Mujarrad Turkistani
mentioned in the Gulzar-i-Abrar’, indicating clearly that there were two saint
with the name Shah Jalal at Sylhet and the Shah Jalal met by Ibn Battuta was
the one who brought about the muslim conquest of Sylhet[36].
Ross E. Dunn believed that it was the saint who ‘participated in the Muslim
takeover of Sylhet[37]’
and that Ibn Battuta ‘appears to have confused the saint of this name, a divine
of the Suhrawardi order who died about 1225, with Shah Jalal, the Muslim conqueror
of Sylhet’[38].
Mr. Dunn concluded that this would have raised questions about the authenticity
of Ibn Battuta’s account, but ‘Bengalis themselves commonly confuse these two
holy men’, which seems to indicate that saint at Sylhet could as well be Shah
Jalal Tabrizi[39]. S. N. Bose was of the opinion that ‘no serious doubt is now
entertained’ that Shah Jalal Tabrizi and Shah Jalal of Sylhet were two distinct
persons and Ibn Battuta met the later in his travels[40].
Later Historians
Dr. Abdul Karim wanted to believe
the distinct identity of the saint at Sylhet but the weight of evidence against
this idea prevented him from making an unequivocal decision. He regretted that no
proper distinction has been made between the two saints, i.e. Shaykh Jalal
al-Din Tabrizi and Shaykh (Shah) Jalal of Sylhet, in
the local traditions, even in the account of Ibn Battutah and in his biography,
Suhayl-i-Yaman, written in the last century, while
insisting that they must be distinguished principally on the basis of the
inscription[41].
However, in the end Dr. Karim concluded that while Ibn Battuta’s account seems
to contain some confusion, he found it ‘difficult to decide which of the
Shaykhs Ibn Battutah met’.[42]
Dr. Karim unfortunately fails to give reasons behind the proposition that Ibn
Battuta’s account contains some confusion. It must be added here that Dr.
Karim’s hesitation is somewhat uncalled for as elsewhere in the book he ‘concludes’
that saint Tabrizi “lived towards the later part of the 12th and the earlier
part of the 13th centuries A.D”[43],
completely ruling out any chance of meeting him by Ibn Battuta as Battuta came
to Bengal in early 14th Century A.D[44].
Muhammad
Abdur Rahim, like Abdul Karim, placed his account of Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet in
two different sections, one part in the section on ‘Shaikh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi’[45]
and the other part in the following section on ‘Shah Jalal of Sylhet’[46].
He started his account of ‘Shah Jalal of Sylhet’ proper on the premise that there
is no authentic account of the life and career of Shah Jalal (RA) [47]-
relegating the Dervish’s biography Suhail-i-Yaman to ‘some details of his life’[48],
except for the incidental reference to him in Ibn Battuta’s work and two inscriptions
of the time of Husain Shah (1493-1517)[49]
and some account left by Gulzar-i-Abrar[50].
However,
he undertakes the lengthiest, but perhaps not most organised, examination of
the evidence on the confusion regarding the identity of the dervishes- Shah Jalal
Tabrizi (RA) and Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet in the section on ‘Shaikh Jalal al-Din
Tabrizi’ under the heading ‘Tabrizi and Shah Jalal’[51].
Assuming, perhaps, that readers are aware of the controversy and would
certainly consult section on Tabrizi, he makes no mention of this detailed
examination in the section on ‘Shah Jalal of Sylhet’, which may unfortunately mislead
the unsuspecting reader who may remain happily ignorant of this detailed analysis[52].
Here he begins with the acknowledgement of the confusion and states on the one
hand that some historians confused Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet with Shah Jalal
Tabriji (RA),[53]
which he thought a view ‘not unwarranted’[54],
and on the other hand that “there is also a vague notion in certain quarters that
Shaikh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi and Shah Jalal are two different saints”, but dismisses
the second notion by stating that “nothing substantial and documentary has yet
been produced in support of this contention”[55],
thereby evidently placing his weight in favour of the first contention. He
reinforces his verdict stated above by stating later that “the direct evidence of
Ibn Battuta”[56] “that
the Shaikh of Sylhet was Shaikh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi cannot be discredited by a
vague general notion and superficial statements. One direct evidence is worth a
hundred indirect ones”[57].
Although in the following paragraph he contradicts himself and calls the
evidence of Ibn Battuta “confusing and contradictory” and thus “cannot be
relied unreservedly”[58].
He notes that the confusion is evident in author of Shek Subhodaya’s referring
to Shaikh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi as Makhdum Shaikh Shah Jalal Tabrizi, and has
thus combined the names of two saints into one[59].
Further, he notes that there is no contemporary and reliable evidence about the
date and place of the death of Shaikh Jalal al-Din Tabrizi[60].
but in
the end decides that there can be no confusion that Shah Jalal Tabriji (RA) and
Shah Jalal Mujarrad (RA) are two distinct persons.
Dr. K.
R. Qanungo in his work edited by Sir Jadunath Sarkar, which is considered a
seminal work on the history of Bengal, avoided the controversy entirely and does
not ever state the name of the saint when he describes the muslim conquest of
Sylhet[61]
or Ibn Battuta’s account of Bengal[62].
In a
more recent work Richard M. Eaton also found it convenient not to import the
controversy in his account of the saint at Sylhet. He gives precise distinct
dates for the death of the two saints, 1244-45 C.E. for Tabrizi and 1346 C.E.
for Mujarrad[63],
while noting the similarities in their ‘hagiographical reconstruction’, both
‘having brought about a break between Bengal’s Hindu past’[64].
In her
account ‘Ibn Battuta Meets Shah Jalal al-Din Tabrizi in Bengal’[65],
Barbara D. Metcalf briefly notes the controversy regarding the identity of the
saint at Sylhet, i.e. whether he was born in Konya or Yemen or Tabriz. But she
falls short in deciding Ibn Battuta’s calling the saint a Tabrizi an error of
memory. Although she thought he perhaps conflated ‘him (as many do) with
another celebrated saint who came to Bengal, Shaykh Jalal Tabrizi, who had died
in 1244’[66]. Metcalf
does not, however, state which other primary sources that she referred to conflate
the saint at Sylhet with saint Tabrizi[67].
It is necessary to mention that Tabrizi is the only nisab or ‘place of origin indicator’
Barbara D. Metcalf ever used with the name of the saint in the Chapter and that
was in the tile of the Chapter. In all other places in the narrative she simply
uses ‘Shah Jalal’. This perhaps illustrates her self-contradiction regarding
her position in the controversy[68].
The Husain Shah Inscription of Sylhet, A. H. 911/1505 C.E.
Of the two historical
inscriptions that mention Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet, i.e. the A. H. 911
and the A.H. 918, the A.H. 911 inscription provide more information about him. The
Husain Shah Inscription of Sylhet, A. H. 911/1505 C.E. which was discovered in
… C.E. at [location] is a stone tablet affixed to a building, now located on
the enclosure wall of Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA)’s shrine at Sylhet[69],
was deciphered by James Wise in 1873 in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal. It contains Arabic inscription which states the name and details of
‘the great Khan’, the keeper of the wardrobe outside the palace of Sultan
Alauddin Hussain Shah [reign], commander and wazir of the District Mu’azzamabad,
who, according to the Tablet, was ordered by Dervish ‘Shaikh Jalal Mujarrad
Kanyee’, ‘Shaikh Jalal, the hermit, of Kanya’ by James Wise’s reading[70],
to erect the building. Shaikh Jalal or Shah Jalal is called a Mujarrad, meaning
a bachelor as he never took a wife[71],
and a ‘Kanyee’. ‘Kanyee’ is interpreted by James Wise as a nisba or place of
origin indicator, meaning ‘of Kanya’. He suggests that Kanya appears to be a
place in Arabia[72],
and more specifically Yaman[73].
Dr. Wise does not explain how he arrived at that conclusion.
H. E. Stapleton, in his 1913
piece on the first Muhammadan Invader of Sylhet, took Wise’s reading of the
nisba including the suggestion that it is a place apparently in Arabia[74],
without, however, stating specifically that it is Yaman. Like Wise, Stapleton
does not give reason either for his suggestion that Kanya is a place in the
Arabia.
Among the later historians who wrote
most on the topic, Abdul Karim does not produce a reading of the text of the
inscription, although he mentions it[75].
He thought the nisba ‘Kunyayi’ as he read it, of the name of Hazrat Shah Jalal
used in the inscription means that the Dervish hails ‘from Kunya in modern
Turkey’[76].
We understand that the place Kunya stated by A. Karim is Konya of modern day
Turky, the city which is famous for sufi Dervish Mavlala Jalaluddin Rumi. It is
mentionable here that Karim used the James Wise rendering of the inscription as
well that we have referred to above but have reached a different conclusion
regarding the location of the place ‘Kanya’ in the Dervish’s nisba without
denying or ever mentioning Wise and Stapleton’s reading that it is a place in
Arabia or more specifically in Yaman[77].
Abdur Rahim does not provide a
rendering of the text of the inscription but referring Dani’s work suggests
that the Dervish Shah Jalal originally belonged to Konya (iconium) of Turkey[78].
Eaton does not use or mention the
A. H. 911 (1505 C.E.) Husain Shah Inscription of Sylhet in his prominent 1993
work ‘(T)he Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760’[79],
or in his more recent 2009 work ‘Forest Clearing and the Growth of Islam in
Bengal’[80]
where he further examines the hagiographical narratives of Hazrat Shah Jalal
(RA).
It is interesting to note that
the nisba used with the name of the Dervish produced a few different readings
and identification of the place. We have seen James Wise read it as Kanya,
Abdul karim read it as ‘Kunyayi’, and Abdur Rahim corroborating that, F. A.
Qadri read it ‘Kinyae’[81].
Some suggested that this place is in Arabia, and some in Turkestan.
The A. H. 918 (1512 C.E.) inscription of Sylhet
Shamsul Ulema Abu Nasr Wahid,
Superintendent of the Dacca Madrasa, a native of Sylhet, with help from his
nephew discovered the second historical inscription, the A. H. 918 one that
mentions Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA), sometime immediately previous to 1913 C.E.
when he was working on the A. H. 911 inscription of Sylhet at the request
of H. E. Stapleton[82].
Stapleton provides the Arabic text of the inscription in his article and in it
the Dervish is mentions as ‘Shaikhul Mashaikh Makhdum Shaikh Jalal Mujarrad bin
Muhammad’[83], or
“Shaikhu-l-Mushaikh Shaikh Jalal, the hermit, son of Muhammad” as read by
Stapleton [84].
It is interesting to note that
there is no nisab attached to the name of the Dervish in this inscription
although several other qualifications were used to glorify and identify him.
Gulzar –i-Abrar of Ghausi (between 1611 and 1613 C.E.)
Muhammad
Ghausi ibn Hasan ibn Musa Shattari, i.e. Ghausi's Gulzar-i-Abrar, or ‘Gulzar-i-Abrar fi Sair al-Akhyar’[85]
is a rare hagiological compilation written in Persian dealing with lives
of the Sufi Shaykhs of India and especially of Gujrat, who flourished in the
seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth centuries A. H. (13th -16th
Century C. E.)[86].
Although a hagiography, it is valuable because of its exactitude
in dates and abundant information about a great many persons otherwise unknown[87]. The book was written
between 1611 and 1613 C.E.[88] The book gives an account
of Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet, which is based on an earlier account of Shaykh
Ali Sher (d. ca. 1562), a descendant of Shaikh Nurul Huda Abul Karamat,
a companion of Shah Jalal (RA): Sharh-i-Nuzhat al-Arwah[89][90]. The
original work is in Persian language which we cannot read. An English
translation of the work came out only in 2017 but unfortunately we have not
been able to procure a copy of that yet. The Asiatic Society of Bengal
catalogue of Persian inscription that we have referred to above contains a
cursory summery of the work. The summery records a complete list of the persons
whose biographies are dealt with in the book, i.e. Gulzar-i-Abrar[91], and in that list the
name of Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) of Sylhet appears as “Jalalu’d-Din Mujarrad
Turkistani”[92].
Abdul Karim reports that the
account in Gulzar-i-Abrar states that the Dervish was a ‘was a Turkistan born
Bengali’[93].
Eaton used a different spelling and said it is Turkestan but does not mention
anything about the Dervish being a Bengali[94]. He placed the credit of
Ghausi’s account entirely on Shaikh Ali Sher’s mid fifteenth century work on
which Ghausi is said to relied, and identified the
Dervish as a Turk[95], and in another work a
Central Asian Sufi[96].
S. M. Ikram, Abdul Karim notes, pointed out that Shaikh Jalal (RA) was not a
native of Yemen apparently ruling out any confusion that may exist with regards
to that fact[97].
If Karim’s quotation of Ikram’s translation of Ghausi’s account of Shah Jalal
(RA) is accurate as he suggested by placing it within double quotation mark, and
which is also corroborated by A. Rahim[98], it contradicts with the
suggestion made by Eaton in that in place of suggestion made by Karim that the
Dervish was a ‘Turkistan born Bengali’, Eaton states clearly that he was a
‘Turk’[99]. Eaton however does not
provide a quotation from Ghausi’s work and if Karim’s quotation is correct,
does not provide any reason for his departure from Ikram’s translation.
Unfortunately, we were unable to acquire a copy of S. M. Ikram’s work until now
and cannot compare these contradictory suggestions with the original
translation.
Suhail-i-Yaman by Nasir al-Din Haydar (1859 C. E.)
Suhayl-i-Yaman is the earliest dedicated
biography of Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) in existence today. The other old biographies,
such as the accounts written by the Dervish’s disciples on which the
Gulzar-i-Abrar or Suhail-i-Yaman are based upon, are presumed lost, while the
accounts in Gulzar-i-Abar, Fawaed-i-Fawad are of encyclopaedic nature and the
account in Ibn Battuta only covers certain aspects of the Dervish’s life. Although
it was written in 1859, long after the days of the Dervish, it is an abstract
of two earlier histories - the Risalah of Muhi-uddin Khadim and Rauzatus-Salatin by an unknown author[100],
which are now presumed lost[101]. It was written by Nasir al-Din
Haydar, a Munsif of the colonial British Government in Sylhet[102].
‘Dr. Wise of Dhaka’ published an abridgement of this book in the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1873.
We do
not have an English translation of this work in hand, it is not available.
While we have the access to the online Persian version[103],
we cannot read that language. However, excerpts of the account from the book
have been translated by various researchers. We shall be using these
translations for our study.
Dr.
Wise reports that Nasir al-Din Haydar in
Suhail-i-Yaman calls the Dervish ‘Shah Jalal Mujarrid Yamani’[104].
Mujarrid or, as we have seen in other sources, Mujarrad means a bachelor and
Yamani is the nisab or place of origin indicator meaning that the named person is
from Yemen. Dr. Wise presents the controversy regarding the identity of the
Dervish Jalal at Sylhet by recalling Ibn Battuta’s account which call the
Dervish of ‘Tabriz’ on the one hand and the Suhail-i-Yaman and the 1505 C. E.
inscription which, according to him, calling the Dervish a Yamani[105].
Abdul
Karim mentions the work in two places[106]
but does not give details or use it in his analysis.
Further controversy
The difference between the oral
tradition and the account of the Suhail-i Yaman is that the villagers of Pabna
identified Shah Jalal's teacher as the Prophet Muhammad, and not as a Sufi
master. The villagers also omitted any reference to Shah Jalal having defeated
a Hindu raja in combat[107].
ii) Ibn Battuta only Source
iii) Why Ibn Battuta’s account is
not entirely reliable
“There had been no significant
geographic writing about South Asia since al-Biruni's study written in the
course of Ghaznavid conquests some 300 years earlier (see the Introduction to
this volume). The Rihla provides detailed reminiscences not only of personal
experiences but of the social, economic, cultural, political, and everyday life
of the populations as well”[108].
Ibn Battuta’s
Manuscript was robbed
Rihla was
written from memory
Ibn Battuta gave
two place names for Hazrat Shah Jalal
In Arabic nomenclature in
nomenclature, the nisba or "noun of relation" is one of the
components of the mediaeval Arabic proper name. Its function is to express the
relation of the individual to a group, a person, a place, a concept or a thing[109].
The account of the goat hair
mantle that saint Shah Jalal (RA) gave to Ibn Battuta during his visit to the
saint’s cave at Sylhet returns briefly at a later stage of the book when Ibn
Battuta reaches China. We remember that Ibn Battuta describes it in full for
the reader at the section ‘(A) Striking story containing an account of his
miracles’,[110]
in the Chapter on Malabar and Bengal from the saint giving him the mantle to
its seizure by the Sultan of Khans and his later discovery of the mantle on
saint Burhan-ud-din of Sagharj (as-Sagharji)[111],
or Burhanuddin Assagharji[112]
in China. In the China part of his travel in a later Chapter of the book Ibn
Battuta retells the story in full detail. He tells us that the day he entered
the fourth city of the greater city Khansa, Hang-Chow[113],
where the Chief Governor Qurtey resides[114],
his companions were separated from him, and he was found by the Wazir, who
conducted him to the palace Chief Governor. “It was on this occasion that he
took from me the mantle which the saint Jalal ad-Din of Shiraz had given me, as
I have already related”[115].
Ibn Battuta here uses ‘Shiraz’ as the ‘nisba’ or the place name indicator for
the name of the saint at Sylhet who gave him the goat hair mantle. Therefore
Ibn Battuta used two different nisba or place of origin indicator for the name
of the saint he met at Sylhet, the first nisba is ‘Tabriji’[116]
and the second nisba is “Shiraz’[117].
Among the early translators to English, Yule takes notice of this discrepancy[118].
S. N. Bose was of the opinion that doing so shows that Ibn Battuta “was not
sure if he was either”[119].
New insights
It needs to be remembered that
Ibn Battuta took a very long detour from his route to China where he was
travelling as an emissary of the Sultan to meet the Saint at Sylhet. It took
him forty days of sea and another month inland journey to reach the place of
that Saint. The return from the Saint to his original route must have taken
thirty or forty more days. During these hundred or so days the name of the
Saint he so enthusiastically went to visit would be on the top of his mind. Despite
all that we have said about Ibn Battuta’s losing his manuscript and writing the
memoir from memory we may remember that Ibn Battuta recorded the prices of many
every day goods in Bengal, from chicken to rice etc. If he could remember all
these small details about Bengal, he should also be able to recall the name of
the Saint that he thought of for at least a hundred days.
Secondly, Ibn Battuta visited
Tabriz after his meeting with the Saint. This visit would give him an
opportunity to refresh his memories about that city and its famous people and
whether the Saint he met at Sylhet was or was not from Tabriz should not
confuse him anymore.
Thirdly, a historical fact that
we did not consider before in addressing this confusion is that Tabriz although
a Persian city in situated at the north of the country in a region which was
historically known as the Turkestan. Tabriz today has Azarbizan on its
North-east, Armenia to its North and Turkey on its immediate west.
Image No. 1: Selection taken from
the Map of the Islamic Republic of Iran dated January 2004 showing modern day
Tabriz region with the surrounding countries[120].
We have highlighted Tabriz with a red arrow for convenience.
iv) The 1512 C.E. inscription
v) the collective memory of the
local population
What is collective memory?
Importance of collective memory
for history
collective memory of the Saint at
Sylhet among the people of surrounding area
vi) Conclusion
“It was by his labours that the
people of these mountains became converted to Islam”[121].
It becomes apparent the saint had to live among the locals of Sylhet for a long
period of time extending several years in order to be able to convert the local
population to Islam as opposed to a brief visit. H. A. R. Gibb is of the
opinion that the saint that Ibn Battuta met at Sylhet is the same Shah Jala
whose tomb at Sylhet is ‘still
venerated’[122].
6.2 Birth and Early Life
It appears that it is easier to
ascertain the date of death of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R) than to ascertain the date
of his birth. Traveller Ibn Battuta stated that the news of the Darvish’s death
reached him while he was in China, about two years after he visited the Darvish[123].
Since Ibn Battuta’s meeting with the Darvish is at a certain date the date of
his death is certain[124].
Richard Eaton stated the Darvish died on 1346 CE[125].
However, the Darvish’s birth is mired in controversy. Not only that a certain
date is available, it also remains controversial among the scholars to date
where the Darvish was actually born. Two birth places are designated to Hazrat
Shaikh Jalal al-Din Mujarrad, one is Hydramat in Yemen and the other is Kunya
in Turkistan or present day Turkey.
Investigate:
1.
“One of his companions told me, that on the day
before his death he invited them all to come to him; he then said to them:
To-morrow I depart from you, Deo volente,
and my vicegerent with you is'God besides whom there is no other God”[126].
--- Where and when Ibn Battuta met Shah Jalal (RA)'s companion after the
saint's death?
2.
‘Borhin Oddin of Sagirj/Sagharj’ of Khan Balik,
China[127].
What is the time of this saint? His time corresponds to the time of Hazrat Shah
Jalal (RA) of Sylhet, would be an evidence.
3.
A critical examination of Baihaqi's narration of
the Indian expedition during the reign of masud of Ghazna, afghanistan.
indo-lranica, Calcutta 1972.
4.
A review of the Tarikh-e-Baihaqi by Adal Husan
Ali vol-44 Jan. 1970
5.
Burhanuddin Sagharji, the spiritual guide of
Syed Ali Hamadani. 40.Classical Persian Poets in Amir Khusrau's E'ijaz-e-
Khusarvi
[1]
Project name: Ascertaining Evidence-based Account of Hazrat Shah Jalal ad-Din
al-Mujarrad al-Naqshbandi (Hazrat Shah Jalal) (R) of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Project home: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Ascertaining-an-evidence-based-account-of-Shah-Jalal-ad-Din-al-Mujarrad-al-Naqshbandi-Hazrat-Shah-Jalal-R-of-Sylhet-Bangladesh.
Project Start Date: 28.09.2017. I started to write this document on Friday the 26th October,
2017.
[2]
LL.M. (London); LL.M. (Chittagong); Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln’s Inn, England
and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Worked for several NGOs,
Government of Bangladesh and Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Labour
Organization (ILO) along with many individual clients in environment, climate
change, and general legal matters; www.raihankhalid.com. Researchgate
Profile:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abu_Raihan_Khalid, Email:
raihan.khalid@yahoo.com.
[3]
Yule thought that it was ‘the cold weather of 1345-46 A. D’, Yule, Cathay and
the Way Thither, P. 514, as quoted in Bose, S. N., 1922, page 144.
[4]
For a detailed account of the
traveller Ibn Battuta and his 14th century C.E. travel account The Rihla, see Chapter… of this
monograph.
[5]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, page 238.
[6]
A port city in Bangladesh.
There is much debate regarding the city Ibn Battuta actually arrived at for his
visit to the Bengal. The original text states that the city in ‘Sadkawan’. Some
have decided that it is Satgaon, a port city now falls in West Bengal and some
decided that it is Chittagong, then known as ‘Chatgaon’ another port city now
in Bangladesh. We shall discuss this mater in more details later on. Mahdi
Husain (1976) decided that it is Chittagong.
[7]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, (India, Maldive and Ceylon),
Translation and Commentary, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1976, publishes as
publication No. 122 of the ‘Gackwad's Oriental Series’. Published under the
Authority of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Baroda, General
Editor: A. N. Jani, M.A.. Ph.D. D.Litt., KavyaTirtha. Director, Oriental
Institute. First Edition: 1953, Second Edition (Reprint): 1976, accessed a
scanned copy of the book online at:
https://ia802501.us.archive.org/8/items/TheRehlaOfIbnBattuta/231448482-The-Rehla-of-Ibn-Battuta_text.pdf,
accessed last on 05.11.2017. The Foreword of the book states that “The Rehla of
Ibn Battuta was first published in the Gaekwad's Oriental Series as No. CXXII
in 1953 by the then Director, the Late Professor G. H. Bhatt”, A. N. Jani,
Director, Oriental Institute, Baroda, March. 11, 1976; hereinafter referred to
as Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976. Introduction, page
lxix.
[8]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, ibid, page lxix.
[9]
Reference needed.
[10]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, Introduction, page 241.
[11]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, page 238.
[12]
Minorsky, V., Tabriz, Encyclopaedic Entry in Bearman, P.J. et. al. (Eds.), The
Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume X, T-U, Leiden: Brill, 2000. ISBN
90 04 11211 1, article revised by C.E.
Bosworth, hereinafter referred to as ‘Minorsky, V., 2000’ page 49.
[13]
Bearman, P.J. et. al. (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume
X, T-U, Leiden: Brill, 2000. ISBN 90 04 11211
1, hereinafter referred to as Bearman, P.J. et. al. 2000, page 50.
[14]
See, interalia, Husain, M., (Trans.),
The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, page 237, footnote No. 5. There is no debate
regarding the fact that Ibn Battuta visited the location which is Sylhet in
present day Bangladesh.
[15]
H. A. R. Gibb notes that “(I)t
has been fully established by Yule (Cathay, IV, 151-5) that the district
visited by Ibn Battuta was Sylhet where the tomb of Shah Jelal (=Shaikh Jalal
ad-Din) is still venerated”, Gibb,
H.A.R. (Trans.), Ibn Battuta-Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, London:
George Routledge and Sons Limited, 1939 (reprint) (1929), (hereinafter referred to as ‘Gibb,
H.A.R., 1939’) footnote No. 9
to Chapter IX at page 366.
[16]
It is however because of the
statement of Ibn Battuta that there is a dispute at all regarding the origin of
the saint at Sylhet.
[17]
Reference needed.
[18]
Reference needed.
[19]
Reference needed.
[20]
Describe the confusion, list
the major scholars stand point.
[21]
Reference needed.
[22]
Blochmann, H., Contributions to the Geography and History of Bengal (Muhammadan
Period).—PART I., Geographical.—PART II., Historical, based on Inscriptions
received from General A. Cunningham, C. S. I., DR. J. Wise, E. V. Westsmacott,
ESQ., W. L. Heeley, ESQ., Walter M. Bourke, ESQ., &C., and on unpublished
coins, with notes by E. V. Westmacott, ESQ., and DR. J. Wise.—By H. Blochmann,
M. A., Calcutta Madrasah, JASB, 1873, Vol. 42, Part 1 (History, Literature,
&C.), edited by the Honorary Secretaries, Calcutta: Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, 1873, introductory remarks, page 209.
[23]
Abdul Karim.
[24]
Citation needed.
[25] See note No. 1 for the web address
of the Project Home page at ResearchGate.net.
[26]
Karim, A., Social History of the Muslims in Bengal (Down to A. D. 1538), East
Pakistan: The Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dacca, 1959, (hereinafter ‘Karim,
A., 1959’), footnote No. 3 to Section C, Chapter III, at page 91.
[27]
Karim, A., 1959, page 91. He is alternatively called ‘Abu’l Qasim Makhdum
Shaykh Jalal Tabrizi’, ibid, page 91. His tomb is pointed out at more than one
place, namely at Sylhet (Assam District Gazetteer, II, pp. 81-82) and at
Pandwah ((i) A.A K.—Memoirs of Gaur and Pandwah, p 99; (n) A A , pp 377-378),
footnote No. 3, Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, page 238.
[28]
Karim, A., 1959, page 95.
[29]
Karim, A., 1959, page 99.
[30]
Karim, A., 1959, page 101.
[31]
Karim, A., 1959, page 120.
[32]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, page 238.
[33]
Bose, S. N. (Trans.), Ibn Batuta's Travels in Bengal, Translated from the French
of Messrs. Defremery and Sanguinetti, in Bhattasali, N. K., Coins and
Chronology of the Early Independent Sultans of Bengal, Cambridge: W. Heffer
& Sons, 1922, Appendix 1, (hereinafter referred to as ‘Bose, S. N., 1922’) page
138.
[34]
Yule, H., 1916, page 131; Gibb, H.A.R., 1939, page 294; Lee, S., 1829, Page 218. It is necessary to mention
here that Yule did not translate Ibn Battuta’s Rihla himself. He borrowed from
‘the unabridged travels as rendered into French by MM. Defremery and
Sanguinetti’; however, the commentary is his own, see Yule, H. (Trans. &
Ed.) Cathay and the Way Thither, Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of
China, Vol. 1, London: Hakluyt Society, 1915
/MDCCCCXV, (1913), Dedication
and Preface, page ix.
[35]
See below for the different
opinions of the historians with regard to this confusion.
[36]
Husain, M., (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, 1976, footnote No. 3, page 238.
[37]
Dunn, R. E., The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, A Muslim Traveler of the 14th
Century, Updated With A 2012 Preface, University of California Press, 2012,
[1989] ISBN 978-0-520-27292-7, (hereinafter referred to Dunn, R. E., 2012),
Chapter 11, China.
[38]
Dunn, R. E., 2012), Chapter 11, China.
[39]
Dunn, R. E., 2012), Chapter 11, China, footnote No. 26.
[40]
Bose, S. N., 1922, page 149.
[41]
Karim, A., 1959, page 99.
[42]
Karim, A., 1959, page 101.
[43]
Karim, A., 1959, page 95.
[44]
See our account of Ibn
Battuta, supra. Dr. Karim himself
raises this point in the same breath with his somewhat self-contradictory
conclusion, see page 101.
[45]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 85.
[46]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 100.
[47]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 100.
[48]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 100.
[49]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 100. Of the two inscriptions, the 1505 C.E.
inscription is, contrary to Rahim’s view, directly related to the Dervish.
Please see above the section on ‘The Husain Shah Inscription of Sylhet, A. H.
911/1505 C.E’.
[50]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 100.
[51]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 85.
[52]
Rahim, M. A., Social and Cultural History of Bengal, Volume 1 (1201-1576),
[place of publication]: [publisher], 1959, pages 100 to 103.
[53]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 85.
[54]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 86.
[55]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 86.
[56]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 86.
[57]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 86.
[58]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 87.
[59]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 86.
[60]
Rahim, M. A. (1959), page 86.
[61]
Sarkar, J. (ed.), The History of Bengal, Volume II, Muslim Period 1200-1757,
Dacca: The University of Dacca, Fourth Impression 2006, (1948). ISBN –
984-510-233-0, (hereinafter Sarkar, J. (ed.), 1948), page 79-80.
[62]
Sarkar, J. (ed.), 1948, pages 100-103.
[63]
Eaton, R. M., The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760, Comparative
Studies on Muslim Societies, 17, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1993, (hereinafter referred to as Eaton, R. M. 1993), Chapter
3, Early Sufis of the Delta, The Question of Sufis and Frontier Warfare.
[64]
Eaton, R. M. 1993, ibid.
[65]
Metcalf, B. D. (Ed), Islam in South Asia in Practice, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 2009. ISBN 1400831385, 9781400831388, hereinafter referred to
as ‘Metcalf, B. D. (Ed) 2009’, page 280.
[66]
Metcalf, B. D. (Ed) 2009, page 283.
[67]
This is particularly troubling
as we find no other primary source stating the saint at Sylhet a ‘Tabrizi’.
[68]
Elsewhere in the book in
another part titled ‘Belonging’ she used ‘Shah Jalal Mujarrad’ for the name of
the saint Ibn Battuta met in the introduction to that Part. However no
reference to that is made in the Chapter in question which is dedicated to the
saint at Sylhet.
[69]
Stapleton, H.E. (Ed.) Eastern Bengal, Notes and Queries, VI, Ghazi Saheb, The
Patron Saint of Boatman: and First Musalman Invader of Sylhet, Dacca: The Dacca
Review, Volume 3, No. 5, August 1913, hereinafter referred to as ‘Stapleton,
H.E., 1913’, Page 153. Dacca
is the old spelling of the name of the present day capital of Bangladesh
‘Dhaka’. The new spelling was adopted in the 1980s. This was reported in 1913,
and we shall confirm whether the inscription is still in its reported
loication.
[70]
Wise, J., (1873) Note on Shah
Jalal, the patron saint of Silhat, in Blochmann, H., Contributions to
the Geography and History of Bengal (Muhammadan Period), PART I., Geographical,
PART II., Historical, based on Inscriptions received from General A.
Cunningham, C. S. I., DR. J. Wise, E. V. Westsmacott, ESQ., W. L. Heeley, ESQ.,
Walter M. Bourke, ESQ., &C., and on unpublished coins, with notes by E. V.
Westmacott, ESQ., and DR. J. Wise, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1873, Vol. 42, Part I,
(History, Literature, &C.), edited by the Honorary Secretaries, Calcutta:
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1873, hereinafter referred to as
Wise, J. (1873), Page 293-294.
[71]
Reference.
[72]
Wise, J. (1873), page 294.
[73]
Wise, J., 1873, page 281 and
the second footnote at that page.
[74]
Stapleton, H.E., 1913, page 154.
[75]
Karim, A., 1959, page 99.
[76]
Karim, A., 1959, page 99.
[77]
Karim, A., 1959, page 99, see footnote No. 6. James Wise rendering is one of
the two sources Karim cited as his source. It is not clear why Abdul Karim
suppressed James Wise (1873) and H. E. Stapleton’s (1913) suggestions.
[78]
Rahim, M. A., 1959, Page 101.
[79]
Eaton, R. M. 1993, ibid.
[80]
Eaton, R. M., Forest Clearing and the Growth of Islam in Bengal, Chapter 28 in
Metcalf, B. D. (Ed), Islam in South Asia in Practice, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 2009. ISBN 1400831385, 9781400831388, hereinafter referred to
as Eaton, R. M., 2009.
[81]
Qadri, F. A., Shaykh Jalal-al-din Mujarrad (d. 1340 A. D.) and the Annexation
of Sylhet to the Muslim Kingdom of Bengal, in…, footnote No. 11 to page 115. F. A. Qadri did not use or mention the A. H. 911
inscription of Sylhet in his work, only mentions the nisab in connection with
the quotation of Ghausi’s Gulzar-i-Abrar.
[82]
Stapleton, H.E., 1913, page 154.
[83]
Reading from the original
Arabic inscription provided by Stapleton by this author. For Arabic text of the
inscription see Stapleton, H.E., 1913, page 154.
[85]
R. M. Eaton, gives the
complete title of the work in his ‘The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social
Roles of Sufis in Medieval India, Princeton University Press, 2015, ISBN
1400868157, 9781400868155, see footnote reference No. 86 at page 75, accessed
through Google Books - books.google.com.bd, at https://goo.gl/sDoQUZ,
on 24.10.2017.
[86]
Ivanow, W., Concise Descriptive Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the
Collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta: Asiatic Society of
Bengal, 1924, hereinafter referred to as ‘Ivanow, W., 1924’, Manuscript No. 259, D 262, page 96, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.62108,
accessed on 23.10.2017.
[87]
Ivanow, W., 1924, Ibid. Please note that the editor of the
Catalogue’s comment at the end of the entry: “Its orthography often shows that
the scribe did not always properly understand what he wrote”, page 108, ibid.
[88]
Ivanow, W., 1924, ibid.
[89]
Karim, A., 1959,
quoting Ivanow: Descriptive Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, Calcutta. Asiatic Society work No. 240, pp. 96-108; footnote
No. 7 to page 99.
[90]
The approximate date of death of Shaikh Ali Sher is supplied by R. M. Eaton,
see Eaton, R. M., 1993, ibid, Chapter 3. His connection to
Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) is provided by A. Rahim by referring to Ivanow, ibid; see Rahim, A., 1959, page 100.
[91]
Ivanow, W., 1924, Page 97.
[92]
Biographical entry No. 143, the second Chaman of Gulzar-i-Abrar, see Ivanow,
W., 1924, Page 100.
[93]
Ghausi’s Gulzar-i-Abrar,
quoted and translated by S. M. Ikram, in his 1957 article ‘An unnoticed account
of Shaikh Jalal of Sylhet’, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Vol.
II, 1957, p. 63-68; reproduced in Karim, A., 1959, page 99-100, see footnote
Nos. 1 and 2 at page 100. Karim does not provide the title of S.M. Ikram’s
original work from which quoted. We have supplemented Karim’s details with that
of R.M. Eaton, see his footnote No. 8 to Chapter 3: Early Sufis of the Delta’, Eaton,
R. M., 1993, ibid. See also Rahim,
A., 1959, page 100.
[94]
Eaton, R. M., 1993, ibid, Chapter 3.
[95]
Eaton, R. M., 1993, ibid, Chapter 8: Islam and the Agrarian
Order in the East.
[96]
Eaton, R. M., 2009, ibid.
[97]
S. M. Ikram’s above mentioned 1957 article is referred to, Karim, A., 1959, page 100 and footnote
No. 2 at the same page.
[98]
See abobe.
[99]
See the references we have
provided above.
[100]
Wise, J., 1873, page 278.
[101]
Karim, A., 1959, page 12.
[102]
Wise, J., 1873, page 278.
[103]
At Rekhta website.
[104]
Wise, J., 1873, page 278.
[105]
Wise, J., 1873, page 281 and
the second footnote at that page.
[106]
Karim, A., 1959, page 12 and 99.
[107]
John P. Thorp, "Masters of Earth: Conceptions of 'Power' among Muslims of
Rural Bangaldesh" (Ph.D. Theiss., University of Chicago, 1978), 63-64.
[108]
Metcalf, B. D. (Ed), Islam in South Asia in Practice, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 2009. ISBN 1400831385, 9781400831388, hereinafter referred to
as ‘Metcalf, B. D. (Ed) 2009’, page 281.
[109]
C.E. Bosworth et. al. (Eds.) Encyclopaedia
of Islam Vol 8 Ned-Sam, LEIDEN: E. J. BRILL, 1995, Page 54.
[110]
Husain, M., (Trans.), 1976, page 240.
[111]
Husain, M., (Trans.), 1976, page 240.
[112]
Bose, S. N., 1922, ibid, page 142.
[113]
Gibb, H.A.R., 1939, page 293. “Khansa consists of six cities, each with its own
wall, and an outer wall surrounding the whole”, ibid. ‘Hang-chow-fu’ in Mahdi Hussain translation, Husain, M.,
(Trans.), page 240. Yule provided two variations of the pronunciation of the
name: Quinsai, Cansay, Yule, H., 1916, footnote No. 1, Page 89.
[114]
“The Emir Kurty” in Samuel Lee translation, see Lee, S., 1829, Page 218. ‘Sultan of Hang-chow-fu’
in Mahdi Hussain translation, Husain, M., (Trans.), 1976, page 240.
[115]
Gibb, H.A.R., 1939, page 294; Lee, S., 1829, Page 218; Yule, H., 1916, page 131. Hussain Mahdi translation does not contain
this second description of the event as he only translates the part related to
‘India, Maldives and Cylon”. At the end
of the sentence H. A. R. Gibb referred to page 269 where Ibn Battuta describes
the event when the saint Shah Jalal at Sylhet gives him the Goat Hair Mantle.
[117]
Yule, H., 1916, page 131; Gibb, H.A.R., 1939, page 294; Lee, S., 1829, Page 218.
[118]
Yule, H. (Trans. & Ed.) Cathay and the Way Thither- Being a Collection of
Medieval Notices of China, Vol. 4- Ibn Battuta- Benedict Goes-Index, New Delhi:
Munshiram Manohrlal Publishers Private Limited, 1916. ISBN: 81-215-0838-X (for
the Set); 81-215-0842-8 (Vol. IV), hereinafter referred to as Yule, H., 1916,
foot note No. 1, page 87.
[119]
Bose, S. N., 1922, page 149.
[120]
Map of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Department of Peacekeeping Operations,
Cartographic Section, United Nation, Map No. 3891 Rev. 1, January 2004,
downloaded from: , on 28.08.2018.
[121]
Gibb, H.A.R. (Trans.), Ibn Battuta-Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, 1939
(1929), Pages 268-269.
[122]
Gibb, H.A.R., 1939, footnote
No. 9 to Chapter IX at page 366.
[123]
Citation needed.
[124]
Ibn Battuta ‘arrived at kamru’ ‘on Sunday 9 Rabi’ II 747 A.H., i.e. 30 July,
1346 C.E.’, Husain, Mahdi, (Trans.), The Rehla of Ibn Battuta (1976), ibid,
page lxix.
[125]
Eaton, R. M. The Rise of Islam
and the Bengal Frontier, 12041760, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS, Berkeley ·
Los Angeles · London, © 1993, The Regents of the University of California,
accessed an online version at http://hudsoncress.net/html/library/history-travel/Eaton,%20Richard%20-%20The%20Rise%20of%20Islam%20and%20the%20Bengal%20Frontier.pdf, on 20.11.2017. Page number not
available in the online version.
[126]
Lee, S., The Travels Of Ibn Battuta; Translated from the Abridged Arabic
Manuscripts preserved in The Public Library of Cambridge with Notes,
illustrations of the History, Geography, Botany, Antiquities &c. occurring
throughout the work. London: Printed For the Oriental Translation Committee,
and sold by J. Murray, Albemarle Street; Purbury, Allen, & Co. Leadenhall
Street, and Howel & Stewart, Holborn, 1829, (hereinafter Lee, S., 1829) Page 195.
[127]
Lee, S., 1829, Page 196.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন