Maqṣūd Ullāh ibn Thanāʾ Ullāh ibn Ḥijr Ullāh al-Ghāzī ( ar, مقصود الله بن ثناء الله بن حجر الله الغازي; 1883–1961), or simply Maqsudullah ( bn, মকসুদুল্লাহ), 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 ...

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 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 ...

best known as the inaugural Pir of Talgasia Darbar Sharif. He was a disciple of

Ashraf Ali Thanwi Ashraf Ali Thanwi (often referred as Hakim al-Ummat and Mujaddid e Millet; 19 September 1863 – 20 July 1943) was a late-nineteenth and twentieth-century Sunni Islam, Sunni scholar, jurist, thinker, Mujaddid, reformist and the revival of classic ...

, and founded numerous ''

qaumi 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 ...

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'' in the Greater Barisal region.

Early life and family

Maqsudullah was born in 1883 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 of ''

Ghazis A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophe ...

'' in the village of Talgasia,

Jhalakathi Jhalokati, also spelled Jhalokathi, ( bn, ঝালকাঠি) is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2 It is bounded by Barisal district to the north and east, Barguna dis ...

, then located under the

Backergunge District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj was a former district of British India. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast delta of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra r ...

of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. His father, Moulvi Ghazi Sanaullah, died in 1898 whilst returning from 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 and so Maqsudullah was mostly raised by his mother, Amena Khatun, and his paternal grandfather, Moulvi Ghazi Hijrullah.

Education

Maqsudullah completed the

memorisation Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. It is a mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall visual, auditory, or tactical information. The scientific study of memory is part of cognitive neurosc ...

of the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard 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 from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

at an early age. His grandfather, Moulvi Ghazi Hijrullah, then took him to the nearby Kachua Madrasah where he entrusted him under Saeed Ahmad of Kalkini. After completing his studies in Kachua, Ahmad instructed Maqsudullah to travel to

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

and enrol at the

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 ...

seminary. Maqsudullah left for Deoband in 1906, where he spent several years attaining further

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 theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

. Among the other Barisali students at Deoband during his time were Zainul Abedin, Muhammad Yasin, Mansur Ahmad and Fajruddin. Maqsudullah became a student and ''

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

. Thanwi later sent him to study under Ali Ahmad of Hasanpur. After spending some time studying in Hasanpur and

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

, Maqsudullah then returned to Deoband in 1916 where he received ''

khilafat A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

'' (spiritual succession) from Thanwi within a few days in 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". ...

Career

Maqsudullah returned to

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in 1919. He was later appointed as the principal of Kachua Madrasa for many years. He then established the Madrasa-e-Ashrafia Emdadia in his ancestral village of Talgacchia, one of the early ''

'' institutions in the Greater Barisal region and based on the

Dars-i Nizami Dars-i Nizami is a study curriculum or system used in many Islamic institutions (madrassas) and Dar Ul Ulooms, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century and can now also be found in parts of South Africa, Canada, the United S ...

curriculum. He also founded a mosque adjacent to the madrasa known as Baitul Mamoor. Maqsudullah then went on to establish many more ''

s'' in Barisal such as Ashraful Uloom Barisal, Latabunia Madrasa, Kaikhali Madrasa and the Paikkhali Maqsudul Uloom Madrasa in Bhandaria. On 13 December 1947, a consultation conference was held at the Chawkbazar Jame Ebadullah Mosque presided by Syed Mahmud Mustafa. The conference was attended by the major ''

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 ...

'' of Greater Barisal including Maqsudullah of Talgasia who assisted in the establishment of the Mahmudia Madrasa.

Death

Maqsudullah died in 1961, and was buried in the Talgasia Darbar Sharif. He was succeeded as pir by his descendants such as Shahidullah Ashrafi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maqsudullah 1961 deaths 1883 births 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam People from Jhalokati district Hanafis Deobandis Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi

Early life and family

Education

Career

Death

See also

References