Abū Naṣr Muḥammad Waḥīd ( ar, أبو نصر محمد وحيد, bn, আবু নসর মুহম্মদ ওহীদ; 21 September 1878 – 31 May 1953), or simply Abu Nasr Waheed, was a Bangladeshi
Islamic scholar
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...
, educationist, author and politician. He is best known for his reformations to
Islamic education Islamic education may refer to:
*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 theolo ...
in Bengal, and development of Arabic language education among
Bengali Muslims
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
. Wahid also served as the Education Minister of British Assam and a member of the
Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
.
Early life and family
Muhammad Wahid was born on 21 September 1878, to a middle class
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
family in the Moulvi Bari of the Hawapara neighbourhood of
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
, which was then under the
North-East Frontier
Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1912 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province.
Its capital was in Shillong.
The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' n ...
of the
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 ...
. His father, Muhammad Jawed Bakht, was a '' qari'' and ''
khalifah
Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...
'' 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 ...
. His family were originally from the village of Kalaruka in
Chhatak
Chhatak ( bn, ছাতক; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet.
Further reading
* {{cite book , last=Hossain , first=Ash ...
,
Sunamganj
Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately ...
.
Education
Wahid was initially homeschooled with an Islamic education by his father, Qari Muhammad Jawed Bakht. He then joined the Sylhet Government High School from where he completed his
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
in 1892. He then gained admission to the local
Murari Chand College
Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...
where he received his FA in 1895. Wahid then enrolled at the Presidency College in
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 ...
, undertaking a bachelor's and master's in Arabic language. He was the first Bengali Muslim to undertake degrees in Arabic under the British system, having graduated in 1897. He did another BA from
Dacca University
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 ...
.
Career
After completing his education, Wahid became a teacher at the Sylhet Government High School and among his students were
Abdul Hamid ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحميد) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥamīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which gave rise t ...
and
Basanta Kumar Das Basanta Kumar Das may refer to:
* Basanta Kumar Das (Indian politician) (1898–1984)
* Basanta Kumar Das (Pakistani politician)
Basanta Kumar Das ( bn, বসন্ত কুমার দাস) was a Member of the 2nd National Assembly of Paki ...
. After a while, Wahid returned to Calcutta to study law whilst teaching at the Calcutta Alia Madrasa. Among his students in Calcutta were
Amiruddin Ahmad
Amiruddin Ahmad was a Bengali politician and jurist who served as the Governor of East Pakistan.
Early life
Amiruddin Ahmad was born on 22 December 1895 in West Bengal. He joined as the Deputy Legal Remembrancer of Bengal on 1 April 1942.
Caree ...
,
A.S.M. Akram Abu Saleh Muhammad Akram (1888, Calcutta - April 1968, Lahore) was the first Chief Justice of Dacca High Court and a former justice of the Federal Court of Pakistan (now the Supreme Court of Pakistan).
Bengal Boundary Commission
Akram was one of t ...
and
Amin Ahmed
Amin Ahmed NPk, MBE ( bn, আমিন আহমদ; 1 October 1899 – 5 December 1991) was a jurist and chief justice of the Dacca High Court in Bangladesh.
Early life and education
Amin Ahmed was born on 1 October 1899 at Ahmadpur vill ...
.
Wahid later abandoned his legal studies and became the professor of Arabic and
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 ...
at the
Cotton College
Cotton College was a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cotton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It was also known as ''Saint Wilfrid's College''.
The school buildings were centred on Cotton Hall, a country house used by religious communities fro ...
in
Gauhati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. He also briefly taught logic and English. Among his students in Gauhati was
Muhammed Saadulah
Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla KCIE ( as, ছাৰ ছৈয়দ মহম্মদ ছাদুল্লাহ; 21 May 1885 – 8 January 1955) was the Prime Minister of Assam in British India. He was also the chairman of Gauhati Municipalit ...
. The government attempted to transfer Wahid to
Hooghly Mohsin College
Hooghly Mohsin College (HMC) began on 1 August 1836 as the New Hooghly College. It was established by Muhammad Mohsin, who also started other colleges. On its 100th anniversary it was renamed Hooghly Mohsin College. It became affiliated to Univer ...
, but this was stopped by
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 ...
, the Nawab of Dacca, who assisted in Wahid transferring to Dacca Mohsinia Madrasa. Wahid served as superintendent of the Dacca Mohsinia Madrasa from 1905 to 1919. In 1906, he travelled across the
Muslim world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...
in countries such as
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and
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 ...
. He also toured European institutions, visiting Berlin, Budapest, Paris and Vienna. On his return to the subcontinent, Wahid also visited
Darul Uloom Deoband
The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...
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 ...
. His travels were a means of surveying and researching different educational systems to inspire his Islamic educational reforms in Bengal. After consulting numerous
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
across the world, he formulated the reformed ''New Scheme'' madrasa system as the head of the Mohammedan Education Advisory Committee in 1914. The scheme modernised Islamic education in Bengal. In 1919, he became the first principal of Islamic Intermediate College in Dacca, with other Islamic Intermediate Colleges being found in Hooghly and
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
. He was a member of the 13-member founding committee of Dacca University. After its establishment in 1921, Wahid additionally served as a professor and the inaugural Head and founder of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the university. Wahid also founded the same department at a university in
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
, Bihar. Wahid served as secretary and as a member in many university committees such as the Madrasah Reform Committee in 1906, the Earle Conference in 1907, the Sharf Committee in 1909, the Nathan Committee in 1912 and many more. Wahid retired in 1927. At his initiative in 1935, the
Sylhet Government Alia Madrasah
Sylhet Government Alia Madrasa ( bn, সিলেট সরকারী আলিয়া মাদ্রাসা; ar, المدرسة العالية الحكومية سلهت) is located in Chawhatta, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Founded in 1913, the mad ...
became the first madrasa in Bengal to receive ''kamil'' status.
Wahid was also known to have brought to light a
Shah Jalal Dargah
The Shah Jalal Dargah ( bn, শাহজালাল দরগাহ) is the shrine and burial place of the 14th century Muslim saint Shah Jalal, located in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The site, known as a ''dargah'', was originally constructed , though ...
inscription kept in the house of Sheikh Abdul Haq, his sister's father-in-law, in Ambarkhana, Sylhet. He presented it to Dacca Museum where it is still kept.
Political career
Wahid contested in the first parliamentary elections for the
Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
and was successfully elected to the Sylhet Sadar constituency. He also served as
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
's education minister from April 1937 to February 1938 in the cabinet of
Muhammed Saadulah
Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla KCIE ( as, ছাৰ ছৈয়দ মহম্মদ ছাদুল্লাহ; 21 May 1885 – 8 January 1955) was the Prime Minister of Assam in British India. He was also the chairman of Gauhati Municipalit ...
.
Literary career
Abu Nasr Wahid wrote many books in Arabic and Bengali, and was also fluent in English, Persian and
Arabic literature
Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...
such as ''Barakat al-Adab'' and ''Mirqah al-Adab'' (for beginners), and other books such as ''Khutbah an-Nabi'', ''Salsil Qiraat'', ''Nukhab'' (selected stories from
Kalīla wa-Dimna
''Kalīla wa-Dimna'' or ''Kelileh va demneh'' ( ar, كليلة ودمنة) is a book containing a collection of fables. A lot of researchers have agreed that the book goes back to Indian roots, and was based on the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; att ...
,
One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
and
Brethren of Purity
The Brethren of Purity ( ar, إخوان الصفا, Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā; also The Brethren of Sincerity) were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 9th or 10th century CE.
The structure of the organization and the ide ...
), ''Nukhab al-Ulum'' and ''Madarij al-Qiraat''. His most famous work in Bengali is ''Diniyat Shikkha'' (Religious Education). He also contributed to primary school Bengali textbooks.
Personal life
Wahid was married to Syeda Masuda Khatun, but after her death, he married her sister Syeda Ammatul Batool Nanni Begum. His father-in-law, Syed Abdul Jabbar of
Taraf
''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...
, a ''
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
'' based in
Comilla
Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...
. Wahid had two sons. His daughter, Afsari Begum, married Syed Ahmadullah, son of Syed Azizullah. He embarked on the
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 ...
pilgrimage in 1934.
Awards
In 1909, Wahid was awarded the title of Shamsul Ulama. He was made a cadre of the
Indian Education Service
The Indian Education Service or Indian Educational Service (IES) formed part of the British Raj between 1896 and 1924, when overseas recruitment ceased. It was an administrative organisation running educational establishments in British India, larg ...
in 1921.
Death and legacy
Wahid died on 31 May 1953, in
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 ...
,
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
. He was buried in the family cemetery of Shah Ahsanullah, the Pir of Musurikhala in Narinda.