Shaykh Gharib Khan Nistani Afghani ( bn, শেখ গরীব খাঁন নিস্থানি আফগানী, ar, ), popularly known as Shāh Gabru ( bn, শাহ গাবরু), was a 14th-century

Sufi Muslim 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, r ...

figure from 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 ...

. Gabru's name is associated with the propagation of Islam in

Osmani Nagar Osmani Nagar ( bn, ওসমানীনগর) is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Etymology “Osmani Nagar” is a compound of two words, ''Osmani'' and ''nagar'' (city), which literally means “the city of ...

. In 1303, he joined

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 bet ...

in the

Conquest of Sylhet The Conquest of Sylhet ( bn, শ্রীহট্টের বিজয়, Srīhôtter Bijôy, Conquest of Srihatta) predominantly refers to an Islamic conquest of Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the milit ...

Life

Gabru was born in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in the 13th century. Shah Gabru met

during his meeting with

Nizamuddin Auliya Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi () was an Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the India ...

and decided to accompany him in his expedition towards the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. In 1303, he took part in the final battle of the

under Shah Jalal's leadership against Raja

Gour Govinda Govinda Fenchu ( bn, গোবিন্দ ফেঞ্চু), better known by his regnal title Gour Gobind ( bn, গৌড় গোবিন্দ) and also known by the sobriquet Shomudro Tonoy ( bn, সমুদ্র তনয়), was the ...

. Following the victory, Shah Jalal ordered a small number of his companions to migrate to what is now known as

. Gabru is noted to be a part of a collective known as the ''Panch Pir'' (পাঁচপীর; five saints). He set up a

hujra A mehmaan khana ( Hindustani مہمان خانہ, मेहमान ख़ाना, bn, মেহমান খানা) is a drawing room where guests are entertained in many houses in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Alternative names i ...

south of Banaiya Haor in a Hindu village. Many

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

families embraced

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

due to his efforts and Gabru eventually married into one of the families. The elders of the family lovingly called him "Gabru" (meaning popular person or son-in-law) following the marriage; which led to him being more popularly known as Shah Gabru. The village was named after him as Gabhurteki.

Legacy and descendants

It is unclear how and what year he died, but he is buried in a

mazar Mazar of Al-Mazar may refer to: *Mazar (mausoleum); often but not always Muslim mausoleum or shrine. Places *Mazar (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning shrine, grave, tomb, etc. *Mazar, Afghanistan, a village in Balkh Pro ...

in Gabhurteki next to the four other pirs. It is now known as the

Maqam MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a ...

of the Panch Pir. His descendants can also be found in the nearby areas and were a very notable

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

family. His son was Muhammad Ghazi and his grandson was Muhammad Sulayman. Sulayman's son was Muhammad Adam, and his son was Muhammad Mahtab ad-Din. Mahtab's son was Muhammad Hilal ad-Din and Mahtab's grandson was Muhammad Rafiq ad-Din. Rafiq's son was Muhammad Sami who was presented the title of

Chowdhury Chowdhury is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associated ...

. His son was Muhammad Sabdar Husayn Chowdhury, who had five sons: Nadir, Sadir, Haydar, Ghulam and Hatim. Nadir had a son called Amin ad-Din Chowdhury who in turn had three sons; Ahmad ad-Din Chowdhury, Moulvi Kafil ad-Din Chowdhury and Moulvi Khalil ad-Din Chowdhury. Sadir had two sons; Moulvi Ahmad Latif Chowdhury and Moulvi Ahmad Razzaq Chowdhury. Latif's two sons were Shafiq and Rafiq. Razzaq's three sons were Abd al-Khaliq, Abd al-Malik and Abd al-Salik. Haydar had two sons; Shams al-Hasan Chowdhury and Badr al-Hasan Chowdhury. Shams had a son called Nur al-Hasan Chowdhury. Ghulam Husayn Chowdhury was the

ustad Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian language, Persian, , Azerbai ...

of the Mazumdar family and later the

wakil In Islamic law, a wakīl (), in older literature vakeel, is a deputy, delegate or agent who acts on behalf of a principal. It can refer to an attorney, a diplomat or the custodian of a mosque or religious order. ''Wakīl'' is also one of the nam ...

of Sylhet District Judge Court. Ghulam Husayn's son was Mufti Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, who married Husne Ara Banu. They had five children; Mawlana Mustafa Chowdhury, Moulvi Mujtaba Chowdhury, Lutf an-Nisa, Ashraf an-Nisa and Karmabir Dr. Murtaza Chowdhury. Mustafa was a prominent

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...

poet. Mustafa has a great-grandson, Sharif Chowdhury, who is also the 15th generation descendant of Shah Gharib Khan Nisthani. Lutf an-Nisa married Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Chowdhury of

Karimganj Karimganj is a city in the Karimganj District of the Indian state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj city is located at . The area of Karimganj city is 16.09 km2. It has an average elevation of 13& ...

. Ashraf an-Nisa married Mawlana Siraj al-Haq Chowdhury of Ranaping,

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 ...

. Murtaza Chowdhury was born in Gabhurteki on 29 December 1896. He studied

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 ...

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 ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Murari Chand College Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...

. He then studied at the

Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, established in 1881, is a homeopathic medical college and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest homoeopathic medical college in India. It offers the Bachelor of Homeopathic M ...

. He had connections with the

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari F ...

, and is often considered to be instrumental to the development of the

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 ...

system in Bengal having established the Azad Dini Adarah and Sylhet Qaumi Madrasah Board himself.

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.

was a close associate of his and the scholar mentioned Murtaza and his efforts in his books and speeches as well. Murtaza is also noted for persuading 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 ...

to allow the Islamic call to prayer to be announced in Sylhet Central Prison. Murtaza had one son by the name of Shaykh Jubayr Ahmad Chowdhury Kamal. Jubayr was an author and one of his well-known works is the biography of his father's life and services. He had two sons; Rashid Ahmad Chowdhury Lubab and Mawlana Saeed Ahmad Chowdhury Subab. Hatim Husayn Chowdhury was a renowned

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 ...

. Hatim married a woman from the Mirza family of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. He later built a mosque in Colootola in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

where he became a teacher and mutawalli, permanently residing in the city. His children were Aisha Khatun and Khan Bahadur Hamid Chowdhury. Hamid was the city magistrate of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

and later the

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

divisional commissioner. He then became the chairman of the service commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabru, Shah Indian people of Baloch descent People from Osmani Nagar Upazila Afghan Muslims 14th-century Indian Muslims Baloch people Bengali Sufi saints