Abū al-ʿAzīz Muḥammad Ismāʿīl ʿAlī ( bn, আবুল আজীজ মোহাম্মদ ইসমাঈল আলী; 1868–1937) was a
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
politician, teacher and activist of the Khilafat Movement. He wrote poetry in
Abul Aziz Muhammad Ismail Ali was born in 1868, 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 Batiail in
Kanaighat
Kanaighat ( bn, কানাইঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is the second-largest upazila (sub-district) of Sylhet District after Gowainghat Upazila. It is named after the town of Kanaighat, which is also the only ...
, Sylhet District. His father, Mawlana Shah Abdur Rahman Qadri, was a notable
mufti
A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...
by occupation. His younger brother was the scholar
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 ...
. The family was descended from Shah Taqiuddin, a 14th-century Sufi missionary and companion of
Shah Jalal
Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions betw ...
.Monthly Madina, February 2009 (in Bengali)
Education
Ismail initially studied at home with his father before studying at the Ajiria Madrasa in Fulbari,
Golapganj
Golapganj Upazila ( bn, গোলাপগঞ্জ), previously known as Gulabganj, is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Geography
Golapganj Upazila (Sylhet District) area 278.34 km2, located in bet ...
. After getting good results in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...
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 ...
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 ...
of Fazlur Rahman Ganj-e-Muradabadi.
Career
Along with his Bengali mother-tongue, Ismail Alam became a confident speaker of Arabic, Persian and
Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' Khilafat Movement, in addition to writing poetry. He used to judicial work. He also taught
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 ...
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 ...
Ismail Alam mainly wrote poetry in the Persian and Urdu languages, which was common among the upper-class Muslims of
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
. His
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
, titled Diwan-i-Alam was noticed by William Hamilton Harley, the erstwhile principal of Calcutta Alia Madrasa. Harley awarded Alam the title of ''Banglar Tota'', or the ''Parrot of Bengal''. Alam composed the diwan in 1910 from Kanpur 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 ...
when he was in Qayyumi, Waqiee Mahalla, Tikapur. It contained a sirah and various
naʽat
Naat ( bn, নাত; Punjabi and ur, ) is poetry in praise of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The practice is popular in South Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan and India), commonly in Bengali, Punjabi or Urdu. People who recite Naat are known as ' ...
s dedicated to the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
. Anjab Ali Shawq, another Urdu poet of Bengal, referred to Alam as his teacher of poetry.
Death
Alam was blind in the last thirteen years of his life. He died in 1937. He was buried in the Sarakerbazar
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 ...
graveyard, located 20 miles away from his village in
Kanaighat
Kanaighat ( bn, কানাইঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is the second-largest upazila (sub-district) of Sylhet District after Gowainghat Upazila. It is named after the town of Kanaighat, which is also the only ...