Aḥmad Ḥasan ibn Waṣī ar-Raḥmān ibn Ḥamīd ʿAlī al-Jīrawī ( ar, أحمد حسن بن وصي الرحمن بن حامد علي الجيروي; 1882–1967), popularly known as Shah Ahmad Hasan ( bn, শাহ আহমদ হাসান), 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 ...

Islamic scholar and educationist. He was an early student 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) ...

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 ...

. Hasan established Al Jameatul Arabiatul Islamia Jiri, which was the second

Qawmi Madrasah 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 ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Early life and education

Ahmad Hasan was born in 1882 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 Jiri in western

Patiya Patiya ( bn, পটিয়া) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. History During the British rule, a police station(thana) was established in Patiya in 1845. It was upgraded to an ''upazila'' in 1984. Th ...

under the

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 ...

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 ...

. He received his primary education at home from a tutor. He studied 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. ...

and the

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

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

In 1315 AH (1897-98 CE), Hasan enrolled at the Mohsinia Madrasa, which was the only ''

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 '' ...

'' in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

. He began systematically studying at the state-run madrasa from Jamaat-e-Dahum. In 1318 AH (1901 CE), the Madrasa Moinul Islam was established in

, which was the first ''

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 Bengal. After coming into contact with

Abdul Hamid Madarshahi Fakhr al-Islām ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Rustam ʿAlī al-Madārshāhī ( ar, فخر الإسلام عبد الحميد بن رستم علي المدارشاهي; 1869–31 March 1920), commonly known as Abdul Hamid Madarshahi ( bn, আব্দ� ...

, Hasan was admitted to Hathazari from Jamaat-e-Nahum. Among his teachers in Hathzari were

Habibullah Qurayshi Ḥabībullāh Qurayshī ( bn, হাবিবুল্লাহ কুরাইশি; 1865 – 1943) was a Bengali Islamic scholar and educationist of the Deobandi movement. He was the founding director-general of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum M ...

and Zamiruddin Ahmad.

Career

Whilst studying as Jamaat-e-Ula at Hathazari, Ashraf Ali of Kaiyagram used to have a

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

in their house. Hasan once came home with him in consultation and decided to establish the second

of Bengal. According to the decision, he first started the madrasa education in a shop room. Later, he relocated the madrasa to his village in Jiri.

Sufism

Hasan was 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 ...

'' 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 ...

. After his death, he then became a disciple of Qazi Muazzam Husayn of

Mirsarai Mirsarai ( bn, মীরসরাই) is a town and municipality in Chattogram District of Chattogram Division, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth ...

, a ''

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 ...

'' (spiritual successor) of

Rashid Ahmad Gangohi Rashīd Aḥmad ibn Hidāyat Aḥmad Ayyūbī Anṣārī Gangohī (182611 August 1905) ( ur, ) was an Indian Deobandi Islamic scholar, a leading figure of the Deobandi jurist and scholar of hadith. His lineage reaches back to Abu Ayyub al- ...

. Shah Ahmad Hasan received the ''khilafat'' from Husayn.

Death and legacy

He died in 1967. He was the father of five daughters. Abdul Wadud Sandwipi presided over 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 ...

. He was buried next to Jiri Madrasa.

References

{{Hanafi scholars 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Hanafi fiqh scholars Deobandis 1882 births 1967 deaths People from Chittagong District 20th-century Bengalis Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Darul Uloom Hathazari Alumni Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi