Ṣūfī ʿAzīzur Raḥmān ( bn, সুফি আজিজুর রহমান; 1862—1922) was a
Muslim theologian, teacher and reformer. After being influenced by
Abdul Wahid Bengali
ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Bengālī ( bn, আব্দুল ওয়াহেদ বাঙ্গালী; c. 1850—1905) was a 19th-century Muslim theologian, teacher and social reformer. He was one of the initiators of the Deobandi movement into Ben ...
in his student life, he became associated with the spread of the
Deobandi movement
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi ...
into
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 ...
. In 1896, he co-founded
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) ...
.
Early life and family
Azizur Rahman was born in 1862, 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 Babunagar in
Fatikchhari,
Chittagong District. The family traced their ancestry to Caliph
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
. In his childhood, he was noted for his cleanliness and humbleness and was nicknamed ''Sufi Saheb''.
His education began in Babunagar and he later enrolled at the
Mohsinia Madrasa in
Chittagong. Whilst studying for Jamat-e-Ula, he was introduced to
Abdul Wahid Bengali
ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Bengālī ( bn, আব্দুল ওয়াহেদ বাঙ্গালী; c. 1850—1905) was a 19th-century Muslim theologian, teacher and social reformer. He was one of the initiators of the Deobandi movement into Ben ...
. He was inspired after hearing Bengali's recitation of the
Quran
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.: , s ...
, and began regularly reciting the Quran to him. Abdul Wahid subsequently took him to Abdus Samad Pandit for religious homeschooling. Ultimately, Azizur Rahman gained the highest mark in his Jamat-e-Ula exam.
Career
In response to topping the Jamat-e-Ula exams, the Mohsinia Madrasa staff requested Azizur Rahman to remain in the madrasa as a teacher. However, he did not take up this role as he did not want a job dependent upon the British government. Instead, he joined the anti-colonial
Deobandi movement
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi ...
under his mentor
Abdul Wahid Bengali
ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Bengālī ( bn, আব্দুল ওয়াহেদ বাঙ্গালী; c. 1850—1905) was a 19th-century Muslim theologian, teacher and social reformer. He was one of the initiators of the Deobandi movement into Ben ...
. The two joined
Habibullah Qurayshi and
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 ...
to establish
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) ...
in
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 ...
. Two to three years after its establishment, Azizur Rahman began teaching at the institution and remained in this role for ten to fifteen years.
Azizur Rahman noticed the lack of religious education facilities in
Fatikchhari. As a solution, he established
Al-Jamia al-Arabia Nasirul Islam in
Nazirhat Bazar. A few years later, he entrusted the madrasa to Nur Ahmad and left for his ancestral village in Babunagar. His plan was to establish a madrasa in Babunagar.
Death and legacy
Azizur Rahman died in 1922, before he could establish the madrasa of Babunagar. He left behind four children including
Harun Babunagari, who established
Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah ʿAzīz al-ʿUlūm Bābūnagar ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية عزيز العلوم بابونغر), better known simply as Babunagar Madrasah ( bn, বাবুনগর মাদ্রাসা), is one of the ...
in his father's owned land. Harun's son is
Muhibbullah Babunagari
Shah Mohammad Muhibbullah Babunagari ( bn, শাহ মোহম্মদ মুহিব্বুল্লাহ বাবুনগরী; born 15 February 1934) is a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, Politician and Academician. He is the c ...
, the incumbent Amir of
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh. Azizur Rahman's granddaughter, Fatima Khatun, was the mother of
Junaid Babunagari
Muḥammad Junaid, popularly known as Junaid Babunagari ( bn, জুনায়েদ বাবুনগরী; 8 October 1953 – 19 August 2021), was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, educator, writer, researcher, Islamic speaker and s ...
, former Amir of
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Sufi Azizur
Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
19th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
Hanafi fiqh scholars
1922 deaths
1862 births
Deobandis
19th-century Bengalis
20th-century Bengalis
Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam
Bangladeshi people of Arab descent
People from Fatikchhari Upazila
Founding members of Darul Ulum Hathazari