Abdul Wahhab Pirji (Bengali: আব্দুল ওহাব পীরজী; 1890 – 29 September 1976), popularly referred to as Pirji Huzur (Bengali: পীরজী হুজূর), was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, author and educationist.[1] He was a disciple of Ashraf Ali Thanwi and the founding principal of Jamia Hussainia Ashraful Uloom in Bara Katara, Dhaka.[2]

Abdul Wahhab
Pirji Huzur
আব্দুল ওহাব পীরজী
Personal
Born
Abdul Wahhab

1890
DiedSeptember 29, 1976(1976-09-29) (aged 85–86)
Resting placeAzimpur Graveyard, Dhaka
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanafi
MovementDeobandi
EducationDhaka Mohsinia Madrasa
Mazahir Uloom
Darul Uloom Deoband
TeachersAnwar Shah Kashmiri
Abdul Wahid Allahabadi
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)ʿAbd al-Wahhāb
عبد الوهاب
Patronymic (Nasab)ibn Aḥsanullāh
بن أحسن الله
Epithet (Laqab)Pīrjī Ḥuḍūr
بيرجي حضور
Toponymic (Nisba)al-Kumillāʾī
الكملائي
Muslim leader
Disciple ofAshraf Ali Thanwi
Zafar Ahmad Usmani
Disciples

Early life and education

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Abdul Wahhab was born in 1890 to a Bengali Muslim family of Munshis in the village of Ramkrishnapur in Homna, then located under the Tipperah District (now Comilla District) of the Bengal Presidency. His father, Munshi Ahsanullah, was a devout Muslim and maintained close relations with the ulama.[3] His elder brother was the husband of Ghulam Azam's paternal aunt.[4]

He completed his initial studies at his local madrasa, and then enrolled at the Dhaka Mohsinia Madrasa where he studied for several years. Abdul Wahhab then travelled to Saharanpur where he became a student at the seminaries of Mazahir Uloom and Darul Uloom Deoband respectively. In Saharanpur, he completed Hadith studies under Anwar Shah Kashmiri and the sciences of tajweed with Abdul Wahid Allahabadi, as well as studying logic, philosophy, Islamic jurisprudence and tafsir.[5] He graduated with a sanad from the Dawra-e-Hadith in Darul Uloom Deoband and then began his journey within Sufism by becoming a murid of and pledging bay'ah to his murshid Ashraf Ali Thanwi for six months. After Thanwi's death in 1943, Pirji would become a disciple of Zafar Ahmad Usmani.[6]

Career

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After returning to Bengal as a qualified muhaddith in 1930, Pirji dedicated his life to teaching the Islamic sciences. Between 1930 and 1935, he taught as a professor of Hadith at the Jamia Islamia Yunusia in Shahidbaria and the Gazaria Madrasa in Khulna.[7] In 1936, he co-founded the Jamia Hussainia Ashraful Uloom in Dhaka alongside Shamsul Haque Faridpuri and Muhammadullah Hafezzi with the assistance of local businessman Hafez Hussain Ahmad of Jinzira.[8] He also founded numerous other madrasas in the country such as the Jamia Arabia Islamia Emdadul Uloom, which he established in 1948 in Rahmatpur, Homna. As a disciple of Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Pirji was also associated with the Pakistan Movement.[9]

He also served as an imam of several mosques throughout his life, and led the janaza of Hakim Habibur Rahman as requested in the latter's will.[10] Abdul Wahhab would refer to Abu Hammad Mahbubul Baset as a Qutb.[11] He subsequently served as the madrasa's first and lifelong principal.[12]

Death and legacy

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Pirji died in 1976, and was buried at the Azimpur Graveyard in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[2][13] His three sons, including Pirzada Rashid Ahmad,[14] continue to run the Jamia Hussainia Ashraful Uloom madrasa.[15] He had many students including Azizul Haque, Muhammad Shahidullah, Aminul Islam, Fazlul Haque Amini, Obaidul Haque Wazirpuri, Shamsul Haq Daulatpuri, Qutbuddin Kanaighati and Momtazuddin.[6][16][17][18]

See more

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References

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  1. ^ Abdul Karim, Mohammad (2003). দেওবন্দ আন্দোলন : বাংলার মুসলিম সমাজে প্রভাব (১৮৬৬–১৯৪৬) [Deoband movement: Influence on Bengal's Muslim community (1866–1946)] (Thesis). Kushtia: Islamic University, Bangladesh. p. 200.
  2. ^ a b Islam, Amirul (2012). সোনার বাংলা হীরার খনি ৪৫ আউলিয়ার জীবনী (in Bengali). 50 Bangla Bazar, Dhaka: Kohinoor Library. pp. 89–91.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ al-Kumillai, Muhammad Hifzur Rahman (2018). "الشيخ الفاضل العلامة عبد الوهّاب بن المنشئ أحسن الله، المعروف ببيرجي حضور، الكُمِلائي" [The honourable Shaykh, the Allamah, Abd al-Wahhab, son of the Munshi Ahsanullah, famed as Pirji Huzur, al-Kumillai]. كتاب البدور المضية في تراجم الحنفية (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt: Dar al-Salih.
  4. ^ জীবনে যা দেখলাম: ১৯২২-১৯৫২ (in Bengali). Kamiyab Prakashan. 2002. p. 81.
  5. ^ Nizampuri, Ashraf Ali (2013). The Hundred (Bangla Mayer Eksho Kritishontan) (1st ed.). Salman Publishers. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-112009250-2.
  6. ^ a b Alam, Muhammad Morshed (2014). হাদীস শাস্ত্র চর্চায় বাংলাদেশের মুহাদ্দিসগণের অবদান (Thesis) (in Bengali). University of Dhaka. p. 148. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ^ Chaudhuri, Rathindrakanta Ghatak (1988). ঝরাপাতা (in Bengali). Barna Bichitra. pp. 121–123.
  8. ^ Abdus Sattar, Mohammad (1993). ফরিদপুরে ইসলাম [Islam in Faridpur] (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. pp. 164–165. ISBN 9789840600953.
  9. ^ Qismati, Zulfiqar Ahmad (1970). "বাংলার আলেম সমাজ". আযাদী আন্দোলনে আলেম সমাজের ভূমিকা (in Bengali). Vol. 1. East Pakistan Jamiat-e-Ittehadul Olama. p. 75.
  10. ^ Abdullah, Mohammad (1981). হাকিম হাবিবুর রহমান (in Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. p. 4.
  11. ^ Khan, Mohammad Salek (1991). মানুষ গড়ার মোহন মায়ায়. Mahkdumi and Ahsanullah Library. p. 131.
  12. ^ Islam, Aminul (1997). পীরজী হুজুর-এর সংক্ষিপ্ত জীবনী স্মরণিকা (in Bengali). Jamia Hussainia Ashraful Uloom. pp. 7–8.
  13. ^ Abdus Sattar (1987). কেউ দেখে কেউ দেখে না (in Bengali). Sanju Publications. pp. 38–39.
  14. ^ Sohel, Ahsan Habib (13 June 2022). "প্রধানমন্ত্রীর হস্তক্ষেপ কামনা করছি- পীর মাওঃ রশীদ আহমদ". Gonokantho (in Bengali).
  15. ^ Mawlana Nur Muhammad Azmi. "2.2 বঙ্গে এলমে হাদীছ" [2.2 Knowledge of Hadith in Bengal]. হাদীছের তত্ত্ব ও ইতিহাস [Information and history of Hadith] (in Bengali). Emdadia Library.
  16. ^ Ali, Shah Asghar (2019), মাওলানা শামসুল হক দৌলতপুরী রাহ. এর জীবন সংগ্রাম [The life and struggles of Maolana Shamsul Haq Daulatpuri Rah.] (in Bengali)
  17. ^ Maqsud, Ataul Karim (2018), মাওলানা কুতুব উদ্দিন রহ. এর জীবন ও কর্ম [The life and works of Maolana Qutub Uddin Rah.] (in Bengali)
  18. ^ Mahbub, Salatur Rahman (2018), মাওলানা ওবায়দুল হক উজিরপুরী (এম.পি) রাহ. [Maolana Obaidul Haque Wazirpuri (M.P) Rah.] (in Bengali)