The Bangaliyyah Madrasah ( ar, المدرسة البنجالية, al-Madrasah al-Banjāliyyah), refers to the

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s constructed in

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

during the 14th-15th century by the

Sultans of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

. Part of a history of interactions between the

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

and

Sharifate of Mecca The Sharifate of Mecca () or Emirate of Mecca was a state, non-sovereign for much of its existence, ruled by the Sharifs of Mecca. A sharif is a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, Muhammad's grandson. In Western sources, the prince of Mecca was known ...

, an account of these can be found in the Tarikh Makkah (History of Makkah).

History

Ghiyathiyyah madrasas

Sultan

Ghiyathuddin Azam Shah Ghiyasuddin A'zam Shah ( bn, গিয়াসউদ্দীন আজম শাহ, fa, ) was the third Sultan of Bengal and the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He was one of the most prominent medieval Bengali sultans. He established diplomatic relatio ...

founded two institutes in

Makkah 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 city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow va ...

and

Madinah 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, ...

during his reign in Bengal from 1390 to 1411. The Madrasah as-Sultaniyyah al-Ghiyathiyyah al-Banjaliyah ( ar, المدرسة السلطانية الغياثية البنجالية) of Makkah was located near the gate of Umm Hani of

Masjid al-Haram , native_name_lang = ar , religious_affiliation = Islam , image = Al-Haram mosque - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg , image_upright = 1.25 , caption = Aerial view of the Great Mosque of Mecca , map ...

. Construction began in

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. ...

1411 CE and was completed in 1412 CE. It was the first madrasa in Makkah to teach all four

madhhab A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within ''fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence). The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE an ...

s. The

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...

and Shafiʽi school had twenty students each, while the

Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...

and

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

schools had ten students each. The contemporary Arab scholar

Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Fasi Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Fasi ( ar , تقي الدين أبي الطيب محمد بن أحمد الفاسي, 8 September 1373, in Mecca, Hejaz – 6 July 1429, in Mecca, Hejaz) was an Arab Muslim scholar, hafith, faqih, historian, and ...

worked in this madrasa as teacher of Maliki

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 ...

and other teachers, included Jamal ad-Din Qarshi, Shihab ad-Din Saghani, Muhy ad-Din Fasi, Abul Hasan al-Haskafi and the Shibi family. The Ghiyathiyyah of Madinah was situated near Bab as-Salam in

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qub ...

. The Sultan also commissioned money to buy property for establishing and to maintain both of these institutes. He sent a lot of money to repair the Arafat Stream. However, the

Sharif of Makkah The Sharif of Mecca ( ar, شريف مكة, Sharīf Makkah) or Hejaz ( ar, شريف الحجاز, Sharīf al-Ḥijāz, links=no) was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and ...

Hasan ibn Ajlan Badr al-Dīn Abū al-Ma‘ālī Ḥasan ibn ‘Ajlān ibn Rumaythah ibn Abī Numayy al-Ḥasanī ( ar, بدر الدين حسن بن عجلان بن رميثة بن أبي نمي الحسني) was Emir of Mecca from 1396 to 1426 with interruptions ...

, decided to use the money given by the Sultan for another project instead. The madrasas were said to be the best institutions in the region during this period.

Later madrasas

A later Bengali sultan,

Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah ( bn, জালালউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ শাহ; born as Yadu or Jadu) was a 15th-century Sultan of Bengal and an important figure in medieval Bengali history. Born a Hindu to his aristocratic fat ...

, had good relations with

Barakat ibn Hasan Zayn al-Dīn Abū Zuhayr Barakāt ibn Ḥasan ibn ‘Ajlān al-Ḥasanī ( ar, زين الدين أبو زهير بركات بن حسن بن عجلان الحسني) was an Emir of Mecca. Early life Barakat was born in 801 Hijri year, AH (1398/13 ...

, the Sharif of Makkah, sent him presents and robes of honour. The Sultan gained permission from the Sharif to construct a madrasah in the city of Makkah. He is also said to have constructed a madrasah in Madinah between 1428 and 1431.

References

{{authority control Bangaliyyah Universities and colleges in Saudi Arabia Ilyas Shahi dynasty History of Saudi Arabia 14th-century madrasas 15th-century madrasas

History

Ghiyathiyyah madrasas

Later madrasas

See also

References