The Maulvi family ( bn, মৌলভী খানদান), better known as the family of Jitu Miah ( bn, জিতু মিঞা), were a wealthy

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 ...

jagirdar family of

Maulvi Mawlawi ( ar, مولوي; also spelled Maulvi, Molvi, Moulavi and Mawlvi) is an Islamic religious title given to Muslim religious scholars, or ulama, preceding their names, similar to the titles Mawlānā, Mullah, or Sheikh. Mawlawi generally ...

s based in

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

. They played important religious and political roles in the

history of Sylhet The Greater Sylhet region predominantly includes the Sylhet Division in Bangladesh, and Karimganj district in Assam, India. The history of the Sylhet region begins with the existence of expanded commercial centres in the area that is now Sylhe ...

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 ...

and

the subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

. Jitu Miah, the last jagirdar of the family, died in 1925 without leaving behind an heir. However the family estate managed by the local government, continued to be a prominent landmark in the town and a legacy of the family.

History

Maulvi Kalim Faruqi is generally considered to be the founder of the family. Faruqi was a student and successor (

khalifah Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...

) of the 18th-century

Urdu poet Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghali ...

Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan Mirzā Mazhar Jān-i Jānān ( ur, ), also known by his laqab Shamsuddīn Habībullāh (1699–1781), was a renowned Hanafi Maturidi Naqshbandī Sufi poet of Delhi, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of Urdu poetry."And Muhammad is Hi ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Faruqi was considered to have been a scholar of

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

. Mawlana Azmi, author of a history book on Hadith in Bengal, peculiarly attributed the suffix ''

Sylheti Sylheti may refer to: * Sylhetis, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group in the Sylhet division and South Assam * Sylheti language, a language of the Sylheti region * Sylheti Nagri Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nagari ( syl, , ISO: , ), known in cla ...

'' to Faruqi suggesting the family may have had connections with the

Sylhet region The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...

this early on; either originating from there or inhabiting there. Faruqi's grandson was

Abu Nasr Muhammad Idris Khan who was also a scholar of

. Idris moved to

during the Nawabi period to work as a

Qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

and subjudge. Historian

Achyut Charan Choudhury Achyut Charan Choudhury ( bn, অচ্যুৎচরণ চৌধুরী; 5 February 1866 – 25 September 1953) was a Bengali writer and historian. Though he wrote several books regarding Vaishnav Hinduism, Choudhury is most well known for h ...

claims Idris migrated from Tipperah (Comilla), which is just south of Sylhet, where he and his forefathers lived. Idris was the Sadr-us Sudur of

and wrote a ''sharh'' (commentary) on

Al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ar, جلال الدين السيوطي, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī) ( 1445–1505 CE),; (Brill 2nd) or Al-Suyuti, was an Arab Egyptian polymath, Islamic scholar, historian, Sufi, and jurist. From a family of Persian or ...

's ''Jamʿ al-Jawāmiʿ''. Idris had two sons who were both authors and

alim Alim (''ʿAlīm'' , also anglicized as ''Aleem'') is one of the Names of God in Islam, meaning "''All-knowing one''". It is also used as a personal name, as a short form of Abdul Alim, "''Servant of the All-Knowing''": Given name * Alim ad-Din A ...

s; Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir and Maulana Abul Husayn Abdur Rahman Ziya (d. 1893). Maulvi Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir was a respected Mawlana, judge and celebrated polyglot writer. Some of Abdul Qadir's notable books include ''Ad-Durr al-Azhar fī Sharḥ

al-Fiqh al-Akbar ''Al-Fiqh al-Akbar'' (Arabic: الفقه الأكبر ) or "The Greater Knowledge" is a popular early Islamic text attributed to the Muslim jurist Abu Hanifa. It is one of the few surviving works of Abu Hanifa. It outlines the foundational arti ...

'', ''Ar-Radd al-Maʾkūl ʿalā an-Nahj al-Maqbūl'' (a book opposing the

Wahhabi Movement Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...

), ''Al-Fawaʾid al-Qādiriyyah fī Sharḥ al-ʿAqāʾid an-Nasafiyyah'' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 ...

) and ''Al-Jawāmiʿ al-Qādiriyyah fī Muʿtaqid Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah'' (Arabic, c. 1818), ''Kashf al-Qādir fī Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ as-Ṣaghīr'' (unpublished manuscript). He was praised by

Siddiq Hasan Khan Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān al-Qannawjī (14 October 1832 – 26 May 1890) was an Islamic scholar and leader of India's Muslim community in the 19th century, often considered to be the most important Muslim scholar of the Bhopal ...

, a

nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

of the

Bhopal State Bhopal State (pronounced ) was an Islamic principality founded in the beginning of 18th-century India by the Afghan Mughal noble Dost Muhammad Khan. It was a tributary state during 18th century, a princely salute state with 19-gun salute in a ...

for his works. The first editions of his books ''Tafsīr-i-Qādiriyyah'' (

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 ...

) and ''Khulāṣah al-Masāʾil'' (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

and last editions circulated in 1969 by the

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Education Press. In 1886, he published the Urdu book ''Makhzan al-Irfān min Ṣunʾ is-Subḥān'' in

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of khan ('leader') and bahadur ('brave') – was a formal title of respect and honor, which was conferred exclusively on Muslim and other non-Hindu natives of British India. It was one degree higher than the title of K ...

Maulvi Abu Nasr Muhammad Yahia, commonly known by his

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

''Jitu Miah'', was born in either 1848 or 1851 in the family home in Sheikghat,

. Yahia first started working as a sub-registrar under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. From 1897 to 1903, he was vice-chairman and honorary magistrate of the Sylhet Municipality (now

Sylhet City Corporation Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) is a self-governing organisation which governs the municipal areas of Sylhet. This civic body of Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative se ...

). As part of the

1924 New Year Honours The 1924 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published in ''The Lo ...

, King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

awarded Yahia with the First Class

Kaisar-i-Hind Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

for his public services in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Yahia's first wife was his paternal first cousin, Sara Khatun. Sara died shortly after. Yahia later married the daughter of Khwaja Rasul Baksh of the

Nawab family of Dhaka The Nawab of Dhaka (Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of ''na ...

. She also died not long after and Yahia had no descendants. Yahia was said to have more wives later on from whom he had many children which he never publicly admitted. However, to preserve the existence of his estate, before his death in 1925, he made his estate a

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

with authorisation from the

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

. The

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 ...

administrator became the mutawalli of the K B Yahia Waqf Estate. When Sylhet was upgraded to the divisional level, the mutawalli was the administrator of the

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions of ...

. He was said to have donated 60% of his wealth to social, religious and educational institutions and charities.

Estate

Abdul Qadir built the first family house in 1886 located in what is now the cow-

haat Haat or hat, even haat bazaar, is an open-air market that serves as a trading venue for local people in rural areas and towns of Indian subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Haat bazaars are conducted on a regular ba ...

of Kazir Bazar. The estate was damaged during and after the earthquake of 1897. In 1911, a two-storey Mughal-style building, made of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and powdered brick-dust, was built by his son, Yahia, in the front part of the estate, known as Yahia Villa. The ground floor acted as a

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

and contains hand-calligraphy of 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, ...

and

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

collected by Yahia. The entire floor has an area of 5523.959 square metres On top of the right side of this room is another room which contains a long black table and 20 chairs. This room acted as a meeting room. Many politicians, scholars and influential people visited, stayed in and were invited to the estate such as

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Khwaja Salimullah Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur (7 June 1871 – 16 January 1915) was the fourth Nawab of Dhaka and one of the leading Muslim politicians during the British rule in India. In 1906, the Muslim League was officially founded at the educationa ...

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the I ...

Muhammed Saadulah Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla KCIE ( as, ছাৰ ছৈয়দ মহম্মদ ছাদুল্লাহ; 21 May 1885 – 8 January 1955) was the Prime Minister of Assam in British India. He was also the chairman of Gauhati Municipalit ...

Khwaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin ( bn, খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন; ur, ; 19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a Pakistani politician and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. He is noted as being the first Bengali to hav ...

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods. Maulana Bhashani was pop ...

Yusuf Ali Chowdhury Yusuf Ali Chowdhury (1905 – 26 November 1971), known as Mohan Mia, was a Bengali-Pakistani politician. Early life Chowdhury was born in 1905 in Faridpur, Faridpur District, Bengal Presidency, British Raj. His father, Chowdhury Moyezud ...

Hussain Ahmed Madani Hussain Ahmad Madani (6 October 1879 – 5 December 1957) was an Indian Islamic scholar, serving as the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1954.

, Badshah Mian (descendant of

Haji Shariatullah Haji Shariatullah ( bn, হাজী শরীয়তুল্লাহ; 17811840) was a prominent religious leader and Islamic scholar from Bengal in the eastern subcontinent, who is best known as the founder of the Faraizi movement. In 1884, ...

) and

M. A. G. Osmani Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani ( bn, মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), also known as ''Bangabir'' (the Hero of Bengal), was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career ...

. The Government also gave rights for the possession of guns in the estate.

Legacy

Yahia became notable for his philanthropic works and the family estate became so famed during his time that it continues to be locally known today as ''Jitu Miyar Bari'' (Jitu Miah's house) and officially as ''Yahia Villa''. A popular old poem about the Sylhet city mentions the house: This translates to "The steps of Channighat, the beard of Bonku Babu, the house of Jitu Miah, and the clock of Ali Amzad", all of which are local landmarks. Rajon Das later did some conservation work for the building. It was proposed in 2019 that this historical house be a place to conserve the

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

of the region by making it the headquarters of the Department of Archaeology's Sylhet Divisional Archaeological Museum.

Eponyms

*Yahia Villa, Sheikhghat, Sylhet *Jitu Miah's Point, Sheikhghat *Khan Bahadur Yahia General Hospital, Jitu Miah's Point *Khan Bahadur Yahia High School, Atukura,

Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succe ...

References

{{Bengal Zamindars People from Sylhet Asian noble families Bengali families Bangladeshi families Muslim families

History

Estate

Legacy

Eponyms

See also

References