ʿAbd al-Awwal Jaunpūrī ( ur, , bn, আব্দুল আউয়াল জৌনপুরী; 1867 – 18 June 1921) was an

Indian Muslim Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslim ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, religious preacher, educationist and author. Described as one of the "most gifted and outstanding" of

Karamat Ali Jaunpuri Karāmat ʿAlī Jaunpūrī ( ur, , bn, কারামত আলী জৌনপুরী; 12 June 1800 – 30 May 1873), born as Muḥammad ʿAlī Jaunpūrī, was a nineteenth-century Indian Muslim social reformer and founder of the Taiyuni ...

's many children, he displayed an important role leading his father's founded Taiyuni reformist movement in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Early life and education

Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri was born in 1867, as the youngest son of

and Batul Bibi, in the island of

Sandwip Sandwip ( bn, সন্দ্বীপ, Shondip) is an island located along the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chattogram District. Along with the island of Urir Char, it is a part of the Sandwip Upazila. Description Sandwip is locate ...

off the coast of

. He belonged to an

family that traced their ancestry to the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribe of

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...

, with Jaunpuri being a 36th-generation direct descendant of

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

, the first

Rashidun caliph , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...

. Jaunpuri's father had migrated from Jaunpur in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

with the intention of reforming the Muslims of

. His paternal grandfather, Abu Ibrahim Shaykh Muhammad Imam Bakhsh was a student of

Shah Abdul Aziz Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlavi (11 October 1746 – 5 June 1824; ) was Muhaddith (scholar of Hadith) and Mujadid Sufi and reformer from India. He was of the Naqshbandi Sufi order which emerged from a tradition of violent backlash against the ...

, and his great-grandfather Jarullah was also a

shaykh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...

. Many of his family members were also Islamic scholars, for example, his eldest brother Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri. Jaunpuri learnt how to recite the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

at the age of six. His father died when he was eight years old, and so he came under the care of his cousin, Mawlana Salahuddin Ahmad, who took him back to Jaunpur. Jaunpuri completed its ''

hifz Hafiz (; ar, حافظ, ḥāfiẓ, pl. ''ḥuffāẓ'' , f. ''ḥāfiẓa'' ), literally meaning "memorizer", depending on the context, is a term used by Muslims for someone who has completely memorized the Quran. Hafiza is the female equiva ...

'' (memorisation) at the age of thirteen, and led ''

tarawih ''Tarawih'' ( ar, تراويح, tarāwīḥ), also rendered in English as ''Taraweeh'', is derived from the Arabic root ر و ح related to rest and relaxation. Tarawih prayers are special Muslim prayers involving reading long portions of the ...

'' prayers that same year, completing the Qur'an in the first ten days of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

. His talent began to be noticed, and he began leading prayers in various mosques across Jaunpur,

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

and

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

. Jaunpuri then studied

Arabic grammar Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with ...

and Qur'anic studies under Moulvi Muhammad Hamid in Noakhali. In 1882, he proceeded to the

Firangi Mahal Firangi Mahal is a building complex located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in Lucknow at Victoria Road and Chowk. The word Firang (originally referring to Franks) refers to Europeans and '' Mahal'' means palace in Persian. The ...

institute in Lucknow, where he completed further

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

and studied

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Abd al-Hayy al-Lucknawi Abdul Hayy Lucknawi Firangi Mahali (1264 - 1304 A.H./1848 - 1886 C.E) was an Indian Islamic scholar of Hanafi school of Islamic thought. Lineage Abdul Hayy was born in Banda, India, in 1847. He was a descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. Early ...

, Hafiz Abul Hasanat, Naeem Lucknawi, Nizamuddin Lucknawi, Muhammad Muhsin, Muhammad Usman and Shah Zaman Vilayati. After five years in Lucknow, he moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

at the suggestion of the Bengali scholar Lutfur Rahman Burdwani. However, Burdwani was later unavailable for teaching advanced Arabic and so Jaunpuri set off for

Mymensingh Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north ...

with his sister. In 1887, he left for

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

and gained financial support from his father's disciple Qari Hafizuddin. He studied at the Indian-run Madrasah as-Sawlatiyah in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

for two years. Among his teachers in Mecca were

Rahmatullah Kairanawi Rahmatullah Kairanawi (also known as Rahmatullah Kairanawi Al-Hindi; 1818–1891) was a Sunni Muslim scholar and author who is best known for his work, '' Izhar ul-Haqq''. Background Kairanawi was born in Kairana, Muzaffarnagar in 1818. He is a ...

, Muhammad Noor and Abdullah Makki. He also studied ''

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

'' (Islamic jurisprudence), ''

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

'', ''

tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

'' (Qur'anic exegesis) under Abdul Haq Allahabadi, who was one of his father's disciples based in Mecca. He eventually received ''

ijazah An ''ijazah'' ( ar, الإِجازَة, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such au ...

'' (certification) from Allahabadi.

Career

After completing his studies in Arabiam Jaunpuri did have plans to further study in countries like

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

. However, his eldest sister's son, Muslihuddin of

Pabna Pabna ( bn, পাবনা) is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the histo ...

, had died and so he returned to Jaunpur in 1889. Nevertheless, Jaunpuri managed to complete ''

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

'' twice during his time in Arabia. Like the rest of his family, he began to propagate Islamic teachings which included renouncing '' shirk'' (idolatry) and ''

bid'ah In Islam, bid'ah ( ar, بدعة; en, innovation) refers to innovation in religious matters. Linguistically, the term means "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". In classical Arabic literature ('' adab''), it has been used as a fo ...

'' (religious innovations) by means of public speeches. After spending a year travelling across various towns and villages in Jaunpur and eastern India. He returned to Bengal in 1890, to continue his father's movement, settling in the city of

. He gave lectures at the Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque. His second son, Muhammad Hammad Abduz Zahir Jaunpuri (d. 1896-97 CE), died at an early age and in memory of him, Jaunpuri established the ''Madrasah-i-Hammadiyyah'' in the city's

Armanitola Armanitola ( bn, আরমানিটোলা) is an area in the old city of Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The area takes its name from the Armenian settlement that surrounded Armenian church there. First Public Meeting ...

neighbourhood. As one of the main leaders of the pacifist Taiyuni movement, he received awards in recognition of his services from the local

Nawabs of Dhaka The Nawab of Dhaka (Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of ''na ...

and the ruling

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Nawab

Khwaja Salimullah Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur (7 June 1871 – 16 January 1915) was the fourth Nawab of Dhaka and one of the leading Muslim politicians during the British rule in India. In 1906, the Muslim League was officially founded at the educationa ...

was known to have performed

Eid prayers Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid ( ar, صلاة العيد), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with ...

behind Jaunpuri at the

Lalbagh Fort Lalbagh Fort ( bn, লালবাগ কেল্লা) is a fort in the old city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its name is derived from its neighborhood Lalbagh, which means Red Garden. The term Lalbagh refers to reddish and pinkish architecture from ...

. He began touring eastern Bengal, visiting places such as

, Chandpur, Laksam and Faridpur. The latter was an important centre for their

Faraizi The Faraizi movement ( bn, ফরায়েজি আন্দোলন, fôrayeji andolon) was a movement led by Haji Shariatullah in Eastern Bengal to give up un-Islamic practices and act upon their duties as Muslims ( ''farāʾiḍ''). Fo ...

opponents who were then under the leadership of Abdul Ghafur Naya Miyan (son of

Dudu Miyan Muḥsin ad-Dīn Aḥmad (1819–1862), better known by his nickname Dudu Miyān, was a leader of the Faraizi Movement in Bengal. He played an active role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Early life Ahmad was born in 1819, to a Bengali Muslim fami ...

). For the first time in history, there began a union between the Faraizis and Taiyunis, as a result of Naya Miyan pledging ''

bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' ( ar, بَيْعَة, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. ''Bayʿah'' is sometimes taken under a written pact ...

'' to Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri. Among Jaunpuri's activities was the condemnation of

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

music, dancing and the veneration of

shrines A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

Personal life

Jaunpuri married the daughter of Hafiz Ahsan, one of his early teachers in Jaunpur. Their first two sons, Abdul Akhir Jaunpuri and Muhammad Hammad Abduz Zahir Jaunpuri, died at an early age. They had five more sons and five daughters. His son,

Abdul Batin Jaunpuri ʿAbd al-Bāṭin Jaunpūrī ( ur, , bn, আব্দুল বাতেন জৌনপুরী; 1900–1973), also known as Abdul Baten Siddiqi, was an Indian Muslim ulama, scholar, religious preacher, educationist. He authored many of the bi ...

, wrote the biography of

and Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri.

Works

Jaunpuri was known to have authored 121 books, 89 of which have been published. The topics of his books ranged from

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...

and the

history of Islam The history of Islam concerns the political, social, economic, military, and cultural developments of the Islamic civilization. Most historians believe that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE. Muslims r ...

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

and biographies of early

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. During his time in Mecca, Jaunpuri wrote two books. The first book, an-Nafhat al-Anbariyyah fi Isbat al-Qiyam fi Mawlud Khayr al-Bariyyah, advocated for the permissibility of the

Mawlid Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi ( ar, المولد النبوي, translit=mawlid an-nabawī, lit=Birth of the Prophet, sometimes simply called in colloquial Arabic , , among other vernacular pronunciations; sometimes , ) ...

and for its qiyam to be ''

mustahabb ''Mustahabb'' () is an Islamic term referring to recommended, favoured or virtuous actions. ''Mustahabb'' actions are those whose ruling (''ahkam'') in Islamic law falls between ''mubah'' (neutral; neither encouraged nor discouraged) and ''waji ...

''. The book gained support from scholars in Mecca and

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, and their accolades were added to the end of the book in later publications. His second book written in Mecca was Nawadir al-Munifah fi Manaqib al-Imam Abu Hanifah, which was a biography of the eighth-century Persian theologian

Abu Hanifa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Mus ...

. #an-Nafhat al-Anbariyyah fi Isbat al-Qiyam fi Mawlud Khayr al-Bariyyah (on Mawlid) #Nawadir al-Munifah fi Manaqib al-Imam Abu Hanifah (on Abu Hanifah) #Khayr az-Zabur fi Istihbab Ziyarah al-Qubur (1893, on visiting graves) #Hidayah an-Nisa (1895, on women) #ad-Durrah al-Ghaliyah fi Manaqib Muawiyah (1898, in defence of

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...

) #ad-Durr an-Nadid fi Gharir al-Qasid (1904, Arabic poetry) #al-Bayan al-Munsajim fi Kashf al-Musta'jim (1920, biography of 184 prophets, companions and

awliya A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by t ...

) #al-Busṭā fī Bayān aṣ-Ṣalāh al-Wusṭā (Urdu) #Mufīd al-Muftī (Urdu)

Death

Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri died on 18 June 1921 in Calcutta. He had arrived in Calcutta for medical aid from Faridpur. He was buried in

Maniktala Maniktala is a residential area of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. Etymology The tomb of Manik Pir is located in lane near Maniktala crossing. Some people say, the neighbourhood is named after Manik Pir. Others say, M ...

, North Calcutta, in the garden of his disciple Abdur Rahman Khan of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. His early biography, ''Seerat Molana Abdul Avval Jaunpuri Rehmatullahi Aleihi'', was written by his son

in 1950. Another one of his biographers, Muhammad Abdullah, identified 63 of his books and published ''Mawlana Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri'' in 1995.

External links

al-Busṭā fī Bayān aṣ-Ṣalāh al-Wusṭā by Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri (in Urdu)
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaunpuri, Abdul Awwal Indian Muslim scholars of Islam 1867 births 1921 deaths Indian revolutionaries 19th-century Indian Muslims 19th-century Indian educators 19th-century Muslim theologians 20th-century Indian Muslims 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Muslim theologians People from Jaunpur district Sunni Muslim scholars Hanafis