Sholakia ( bn, শোলাকিয়া) is a locality near
Kishoreganj
Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District
Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It ...
town in
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 ...
. It is famous for its
Eidgah
Eidgah or Idgah, also Eid Gah or Id Gah ( fa, "site of Eid bservances; bn, ঈদগাহ; pnb, ; ur, ; hi, ईदगाह) is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture for the open-air enclosure usually outside the city (or at th ...
where the largest congregation of
Eid prayer
Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid ( ar, صلاة العيد), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with ...
in Bangladesh is held on the occasion of ''
Eid ul-Fitr'', the day of celebration after the
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, the month of fasting.
400,000 people join the prayer on every Eid.
The Eidgah, on the bank of river
Narosunda is reported to be in size, accommodating 250 rows or about 150,000 of participants for every congregation.
An equal number of participants take part in the prayer using the fields, roads and courtyards around the Eidgah.
A small number of elites make use of the two-storied
mimbar
A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and ...
(prayer hall with towers for ''
adhan'') nearby, which can accommodate about 500 people.
The prayer on the occasion of ''
Eid ul-Adha'', the festival of ''
qurban
''Qurbanī'' ( ar, قربانى), ''Qurban'', or ''uḍḥiyah'' () as referred to in Islamic law, is a ritual animal sacrifice of a livestock animal during Eid al-Adha.
The concept and definition of the word is derived from the Qur'an, the s ...
i'' or sacrifice, is also comparably large. The regular population of Sholakia is 1,026, consisting 180 households.
Organization
Mufti
A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...
Moulana Farid Uddin Masud has been conducting the eid prayers since 2009. The Eidgah has an executive committee of 51 members with the
District Commissioner (DC) as the president.
For every congregation, district police administration deploys a large number of police officers equipped with metal detectors, mine detectors and close circuit cameras. Medical teams and fire brigades are also kept alert during the prayers.
''Eid ul-Fitr'' is the biggest religious festival in the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
-dominated
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 ...
, followed by ''Eid ul-Adha''.
History
Syed Ahmed, a saint (known as peer) and an Islamic leader of Kishoregonj lived in Sholakia, Shaheb bari, organised the first Eid congregation in 1828 in the fields of his own
taluk
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
. Syed Ibrahim, Father of Syed Ahmed came from what is now
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
through
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
and then he came to India. He preached Islam in 24 Porganas of India and protested against different Subversive activities of British against the locals. Then he migrated to
Comilla
Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...
and then at
Mymensingh
Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north ...
. After few years later Syed Ibrahim went to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
to observe the Hajj. But His wife lived in Nikli of Kishoregonj. By this time Syed Ahmed took born. He educated at Azimpur, Dhaka and He participated in Fakir movement from Mymensingh. Later, towards the end of the 18th century, he moved to Sholakia, Shaheb Bari to begin Islamic activities. In 1827 he founded the first Mosque of
Kishoreganj
Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District
Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It ...
at Sholakia, Shaheb Bari. He observed different Islamic activities at the majar of Bora Pir (Shah Monnoon, other opinion the name was Moyezuddin Moznu) of Kishoregonj at Sholakia, Shaheb Bari
The local myth says that 125,000 people turned out at that congregation, hence the name ''Sholakia'' (''shoa'' meaning one and a quarter and ''lakh'' meaning a hundred thousand). During foundation of Eidgah, Zamindar of Jangalbari and Hybathnagor helped Syed Shaheb. Dewan Mannan Dad Khan of Hybathnagor, who was a descendant of
Isa Khan
Isa Khan (c. 1529 – September 1599) was a Muslim Rajput zamindar who was one of the Baro Bhuiyans (twelve landlords) and a Zamindar of Khizirpur in 16th-century Bengal. Throughout his reign he resisted the Mughal empire invasion. It was o ...
, donated of land to the Eidgah in 1950.
Other features
![Abu Taher Mohammad Haider's grave taken by Manik on 17-2-11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Abu_Taher_Mohammad_Haider%27s_grave_taken_by_Manik_on_17-2-11.jpg)
Sholakia, standing by Kishoreganj-
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 ...
road, the commercial artery of the area, is almost free from
arsenic contamination of groundwater
Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a form of groundwater pollution which is often due to naturally occurring high concentrations of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater. It is a high-profile problem due to the use of deep tube wells for ...
, a menace in the
Ganges Basin
The Ganges Basin is a part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra- Meghna (GBM) basin draining 1,999,000 square kilometres in Tibet, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. To the north, the Himalaya or lower parallel ranges beyond form the Ganges-Brahmaputra divide. ...
and elsewhere Binangladesh. Divided into Kharompatty and Kolapara
mahalla
is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or "neighborhood" in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations.
History
Historically, mahallas were autonomous social i ...
s, Sholakia has a sporting club, ''Sholakia Sporting Club'', that takes part in local level soccer tournaments. Manufacturing bricks and tiles is a major commercial activity here.
2016 bombing
On 7 July 2016, half an hour before prayers were to begin Thursday morning, a bombing at the site killed two police officers and a civilian. A group of men approached a police checkpoint, at a high school near the prayer ground, and set off a bomb, said Tofazzel Hossain, an assistant superintendent of the Kishoreganj police. "They attacked the police out of nowhere," said Mr. Hossain, who said some of the attackers had been carrying guns and bladed weapons. Six other police officers were seriously wounded, said a police inspector, Mueid Chowdhury, but they were expected to survive. At least five civilians were also hurt. The police killed one of the attackers and arrested two others, Mr. Hossain said. A search was underway for the other assailants. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Notable Eidgahs in Bangladesh
*
Gor-e-Shahid Eidgah Maidan
Gor-E-Shahid Baro Maidan ( bn, গোর-এ-শহীদ ঈদগাহ ময়দান) is a Eidgah located in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. It is the largest in Bangladesh. The number of devotees increased following the construction of a wide min ...
, in Dinajpur City
*
Dhanmondi Shahi Eidgah
The Dhanmondi Shahi Eidgah ( bn, ধানমণ্ডী শাহী ঈদগাহ), also known as Mughal Eidgah ( bn, মোগল ঈদগাহ), is located in Saat Masjid road, in Dhanmondi residential area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Eid ...
, in Dhaka
*
Sylhet Shahi Eidgah, in Sylhet
*
Baitul Mukarram
References
{{Reflist
11
muktijoddharkantho
External links
* Abdul Karim,
Mr. Abdul Karim Islam in Mymensingh',
Islamic Foundation Bangladesh
Islamic Foundation Bangladesh ( bn, ইসলামিক ফাউন্ডেশন বাংলাদেশ) is a government organization under the '' Ministry of Religious Affairs'' in Bangladesh working to disseminate values and ideals of Is ...
Islam in Bangladesh
Geography of Dhaka Division