Shah Paran ( bn, শাহ পরান, Shah Poran) was a 14th-century

Sufi saint 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 ...

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

led by his maternal uncle Shah Jalal.

Biography

Shah Paran's birth name is unknown though it has been suggested that his name was

Farhan Farhan or Farhaan (Persian: فرحان ''farḥān'') is a name of Persian origin meaning "happy, joyful, blessed, happy, delightful, rejoicing, merry, inclined to hopefulness". The name is the male variant from the female stem given name Farah, an ...

which later got corrupted into ''Poran'', meaning "soul". Poran is used as a term of endearment in the Bengali language. Others suggest that Shah Paran was a corruption of Shah Piran meaning "king of

pir Pir or PIR may refer to: Places * Pir, Kerman, a village in Kerman Province, Iran * Pir, Satu Mare, commune in Satu Mare County, Romania Religion * Pir (Alevism), one of the 12 ranks of Imam in Alevism * Pir (Sufism), a Sufi teacher or spiritu ...

s". He was born in Hadramaut, Yemen in the 13th century. His father's name was Muhammad who died when Paran was 11 years old. Paran studied under his grandfather Syed Ahmad Kabir Suhrawardi and later with Amin, a dervish from

Neshapur Nishapur or officially Romanization of Persian, Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian literature, ...

. He decided to accompany Shah Jalal, his maternal uncle, in his expedition across the Indian subcontinent to propagate the religion of

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 ...

. In 1303, Paran 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 ...

. Some time after, Paran was said to have consumed one of the ''Jalali Kobutor'', the pigeons that Jalal received as a gift from Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi. As a result, Paran was banished outside of

Sylhet town 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 a ...

. He established a

khanqah A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...

on top of a hill in modern-day Khadim Nagar, Dakshingarh which came to be known as Shah Paran's hill.

Death and legacy

Shrine of Hazrat Shah Paran Sylhet Bangladesh 38

Paran died unmarried and with no descendants. He was buried near his khanqah. A dargah complex was built with a neighbouring mosque, eidgah, langar khana, female prayer space and pond. For centuries, large numbers of devotees have visited his tomb, a practice which continues to the present time. On the 4th, 5th and 6th day of Rabi-ul-Awal, the Urs of Shah Paran takes place. A bridge over the Surma River, a passenger ferry, and a residence hall at

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) is a Public university, public research university, research based university in Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is the List of universities in Bangladesh#Public universities, 8th oldest university o ...

have all been named after Shah Paran.

Spiritual genealogy

Spiritual genealogy of Shah Paran is as follows: * Muhammad * Ali * Hasan al-Basri * Habib al-Ajami * Maruf Karkhi *

Sari al-Saqati Abū al-Ḥasan Sarī (al-Sirrī) b. al-Mughallis al-Saqaṭī (867CE) also known as Sirri Saqti (Arabic:سری سقطی) was one of the early Muslim Sufi saints of Baghdad. He was one of the most influential students of Maruf Karkhi and one o ...

Khwaja Mumshad Uluw Al Dīnawarī Khwāja Mumshād ʿUlū Ad-Dīnawarī ( fa, ), also known as Karīm ad-Dīn Munʿim ( ar, كريم الدين منعم), was a prominent Sufi of the 9th century. He was born in Dinavar, Iranian Kurdistan present day Iran province. He was discipl ...

* Shaykh Ahmad Aswad Dinnuri * Shaykh Abu Muhammad Amwiya * Shaykh Azi Uddin Suhrawardi * Shaykh Abu Nazib Ziauddin * Shaykh Hisab Al-Din * Shaykh Makhdum * Bahauddin Zakariya * Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari * Shaykh Ahmad Kabir Suhrawardi * Shaykh Jalal * Shah Paran

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paran, Shah 14th-century Indian Muslims Hadhrami people People from Sylhet Indian people of Arab descent Bengali Sufi saints

Biography

Death and legacy

Spiritual genealogy

See also

References