Harun Babunagari (; 1902–1986; often referred to as Buzurgo Saheb) was a
Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
Deobandi
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...
Islamic scholar,
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, ...
and an exegete of the Quran. He was the founder and first Principal of
Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah ʿAzīz al-ʿUlūm Bābūnagar ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية عزيز العلوم بابونغر), better known simply as Babunagar Madrasah ( bn, বাবুনগর মাদ্রাসা), is one of the ...
, one of the oldest
Qawmi Madrasa
Qawmi Madrasah ( bn, কওমী মাদ্রাসা, ar, المدرسة القومية, al-Madrasah al-Qawmiyyah) is an adjective describing one of the two major madrasah educational categories in Bangladesh. The Qawmi madrasahs are not ...
in Bangladesh.
Early life and education
Harun Babunagari was born in 1902, to a
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 village of Babunagar in
Fatikchhari,
Chittagong District
Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is ...
. His father
Sufi Azizur Rahman
Ṣūfī ʿAzīzur Raḥmān ( bn, সুফি আজিজুর রহমান; 1862—1922) was a Muslim theologian, teacher and reformer. After being influenced by Abdul Wahid Bengali in his student life, he became associated with the sprea ...
was the founder of
Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Ahliyyah Dār al-ʿUlūm Muʿīn al-Islām ( ar, الجامعة الأهلية دار العلوم معين الإسلام), popularly known as the Hāṭhazārī Madrasa ( bn, হাটহাজারী মাদ্রাসা) ...
in
Hathazari
Hathazari ( bn, হাটহাজারী) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh.
Geography
Hathazari is located at . It has 52,594 households and a total area of 251.28 km2. The main river is Halda River ...
, and traced his ancestry to Caliph
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 ...
. Babunagari had three other siblings, most notably Amin, a former head of the
Hadith studies
Hadith studies ( ar, علم الحديث ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth'' "science of hadith", also science of hadith, or science of hadith criticism or hadith criticism)
consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in th ...
department at
Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah ʿAzīz al-ʿUlūm Bābūnagar ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية عزيز العلوم بابونغر), better known simply as Babunagar Madrasah ( bn, বাবুনগর মাদ্রাসা), is one of the ...
.
He completed his primary education at a primary school in Babunagar. He studied various subjects there, including
Saadi Shirazi
Saadi Shīrāzī ( fa, ابومحمّد مصلحالدین بن عبدالله شیرازی), better known by his pen name Saadi (; fa, سعدی, , ), also known as Sadi of Shiraz (, ''Saʿdī Shīrāzī''; born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was ...
's
Gulistan Gulistan, Golestan or Golastan ( fa, گلستان) means "flower land" in Persian language (''gol'' meaning "flower", and ''-stan'' or meaning "land").
It may refer to:
Places
Iran
"Golestan" most often refers to:
* Golestan province in nor ...
- the most influential
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 ...
prose in history. His father,
Sufi Azizur Rahman
Ṣūfī ʿAzīzur Raḥmān ( bn, সুফি আজিজুর রহমান; 1862—1922) was a Muslim theologian, teacher and reformer. After being influenced by Abdul Wahid Bengali in his student life, he became associated with the sprea ...
, used to also teach him the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
at home. After completing his primary studies, Babunagari joined Al-Jamia al-Arabia Nasirul Islam in
Nazirhat Bazar, which was founded by his father, who also taught there. He studied there up until Kafiya.
In
Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...
1341 AH (August/September 1922), Babunagari enrolled at
Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Ahliyyah Dār al-ʿUlūm Muʿīn al-Islām ( ar, الجامعة الأهلية دار العلوم معين الإسلام), popularly known as the Hāṭhazārī Madrasa ( bn, হাটহাজারী মাদ্রাসা) ...
in
Hathazari
Hathazari ( bn, হাটহাজারী) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh.
Geography
Hathazari is located at . It has 52,594 households and a total area of 251.28 km2. The main river is Halda River ...
, which was also founded by his father. Due to family circumstances, he only studied up until Dawra-e-Hadith (Masters) and only learning up until Jamat-e-Ula
Mishkat Sharif. He later completed studying
Sihah Sittah
The ''Kutub al-Sittah'' ( ar-at, ٱلْكُتُب ٱلسِّتَّة, al-Kutub as-Sittah, lit=the six books) are six (originally five) books containing collections of ''hadith'' (sayings or acts of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) compiled by six ...
with his elder brother, Amin.
Career and Spirituality
Following the death of his father
Sufi Azizur Rahman
Ṣūfī ʿAzīzur Raḥmān ( bn, সুফি আজিজুর রহমান; 1862—1922) was a Muslim theologian, teacher and reformer. After being influenced by Abdul Wahid Bengali in his student life, he became associated with the sprea ...
in 1922, Babunagari decided to fulfill his dreams. At the age of only 22, he established
Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah ʿAzīz al-ʿUlūm Bābūnagar ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية عزيز العلوم بابونغر), better known simply as Babunagar Madrasah ( bn, বাবুনগর মাদ্রাসা), is one of the ...
in 1924. He served as the madrasa's principal up until his death in 1986.
He also served as a
murid
In Sufism, a ''murīd'' (Arabic مُرِيد 'one who seeks') is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by ''sulūk'' (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title murshid, '' pir'' or ''shaykh''. A '' sālik'' or Su ...
to Zamiruddin Ahmad for 18 years. After the latter's death, he turned to
Azizul Haq
Mufti Azizul Haq (; 1903 — 1961) was an Islamic scholar and social reformer from present-day Bangladesh. He was the founder of Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya, Al-Jamiah al-Islamiyyah Patiya and served as its first chancellor.
Early life and educa ...
. During a gathering at the Hathazari
eidgah
Eidgah or Idgah, also Eid Gah or Id Gah ( fa, "site of Eid bservances; bn, ঈদগাহ; pnb, ; ur, ; hi, ईदगाह) is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture for the open-air enclosure usually outside the city (or at th ...
, Haque stood up during Babunagari's speech and declared that he has given him permission of the four
tariqa
A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth".
...
.
Personal life and Death
Babunagari married Umme Salma and had five children. His eldest child,
Muhibbullah Babunagari
Shah Mohammad Muhibbullah Babunagari ( bn, শাহ মোহম্মদ মুহিব্বুল্লাহ বাবুনগরী; born 15 February 1934) is a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, Politician and Academician. He is the c ...
, succeeded his roles after his death. His daughter, Fatimah Khatun, was the mother of
Junaid Babunagari
Muḥammad Junaid, popularly known as Junaid Babunagari ( bn, জুনায়েদ বাবুনগরী; 8 October 1953 – 19 August 2021), was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, educator, writer, researcher, Islamic speaker and sp ...
.
He died on 18 August, 1986 at the Chittagong Medicare Clinic. His
janaza
Funerals and funeral prayers in Islam ( ar, جنازة, Janazah) follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial o ...
was performed the next day, led by his son
Muhibbullah Babunagari
Shah Mohammad Muhibbullah Babunagari ( bn, শাহ মোহম্মদ মুহিব্বুল্লাহ বাবুনগরী; born 15 February 1934) is a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, Politician and Academician. He is the c ...
. He was subsequently buried at the Maqbara-e-Haruni in the southern part of his madrasa in Babunagar.
See more
*
List of Deobandis
Deobandis are the followers of the Deobandi movement, which originated in Deoband, India in the mid-19th century. The movement emphasizes a strict adherence to Islamic law and traditional Islamic scholarship, particularly in the areas of hadith an ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babunagari, Harun
20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
Hanafi fiqh scholars
Deobandis
1924 births
1986 deaths
People from Fatikchhari Upazila
20th-century Bengalis
Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Bangladeshi people of Arab descent