Ajiria Alia Madrasa ( bn, আজিরিয়া আলিয়া মাদরাসা, ar, المدرسة العالية الأجيرية) is an ''alia'' madrasa, situated in Fulbari,
Golapganj Upazila
Golapganj Upazila ( bn, গোলাপগঞ্জ), previously known as Gulabganj, is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet Division, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Geography
Golapganj Upazila (Sylhet District) area 278.34 km ...
,
Sylhet District
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
History
The descendants of Mughal statesman and
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 ...
Mir Hazara established a madrasa in the village of Fulbari. Among his descendants was the 19th-century mystic Shah Abdul Wahhab Choudhury, who headed up the madrasa immediately before it was transformed into its present form. His
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, ...
background turned the madrasa into a notable centre for the production of literary works in the
Sylhet Nagri
Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nagari ( syl, , ISO: , ), known in classical manuscripts as Sylhet Nagri (, ''Sileṭ Nagri'') amongst many other names (see below), was an Indic script used to write the Sylheti language and Eastern Bengali languages. ...
script, and among the erstwhile students were Sufi poets Shitalong Shah and
Ibrahim Ali Tashna
Shāh Muḥammad Ibrāhīm ʿAlī ( bn, শাহ মোহাম্মদ ইবরাহীম আলী; 1872 – 11 September 1931) was a Bengali Islamic scholar, poet and activist of the Khilafat Movement. He wrote poetry in the Bengali, Ur ...
.
In 1860, Allama Muhammad Ajiruddin Ahmad Choudhury, a student of Abdul Wahhab Choudhury, used his family wealth to re-endow it and transform it into an Alia Madrasa, related to the style of the Alia Madrasa of Calcutta. From then on it came to be known as Ajiria Alia Madrasa. Ahmad was a renowned Persian-language author, and among his books are ''Guldasta-i-Aqaid'' and ''Aqaid-i-Ajiria'' (Creed of Ajiria). He also wrote books in
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 ...
. He was also the father of Mohius Sunnah Chowdhury, who played a great role in the development of the madrasa.
The madrasa became an important centre for the
Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
, with key activities from its alumni Abdul Musabbir of Gohorpur, who founded the Sylhet District Muslim Student Association, and Sayad Naziruddin Ahmad of Balikandi. Other notable alumni include
Ibrahim Chatuli
Ibrahim Ali Chatuli ( bn, ইব্রাহীম আলী চতুলী; 1894–1984) was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, politician and social reformer. He was the Education Minister of Assam Legislative Council, and an elected Member of the ...
and
Ismail Alam
Abū al-ʿAzīz Muḥammad Ismāʿīl ʿAlī ( bn, আবুল আজীজ মোহাম্মদ ইসমাঈল আলী; 1868–1937) was a Bengali politician, teacher and activist of the Khilafat Movement. He wrote poetry in Urdu unde ...
. Notable teachers at the institute include the Deobandi cleric Maulana
Abdul Jalil Choudhury
ʿAbd al-Jalīl ibn Aṣghar Choudhury al-Badarfūrī ( ar, عبد الجليل بن أصغر تشودهري البدرفوري; 19 December 1989), or simply Abdul Jalil Choudhury Badarpuri ( bn, আব্দুল জলিল চৌধুরী ...
, a leading opponent of Partition in the area who would eventually migrate to India in protest at the creation of Pakistan.