Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy ( ar, عبيد الله العبيدي السهروردي, bn, ওবায়দুল্লাহ আল ওবায়দী সোহরাওয়ার্দী; 1832 – 9 February 1885) was a Bengali Islamic scholar, educationist and writer from

Midnapore Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...

Early life

Suhrawardy was born in 1832, in the village of Chitwa in Midnapore district, Bengal Presidency. He belonged to the noble Bengali Muslim Suhrawardy family who had arrived to Hussain Shahi Sultanate of Bengal in the 15th century, and bestowed the village of Ghoramara. Suhrawardy was a direct descendant of the

Sufi 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, ...

author Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi, who was in turn a descendant of Abu Bakr, the first Rashidun caliph. Suhrawardy's father, Shah Aminuddin Suhrawardy, was the final

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 ...

of the Suhrawardy family and 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 Hooghly. Two of his brothers were lawyers and subordinate judges (the highest rank available under British rule at the time). His siblings were Ruhul Amin Suhrawardy, Maulvi Mubarak Ali Suhrawardy (alias Mohammad Ali), Abdul Ali Suhrawardy and Umme Kulsum Suhrawardy.

Education

Suhrawardy was homeschooled, and educated in Islamic studies, Arabic and Persian. He also learnt English. Suhrawardy graduated from Calcutta Alia Madrasa in 1857 during the Sepoy mutiny.

Career

Ubaidullah first job was working as an aide to Prince Jalaluddin, the grandson of Tipu Sultan of Mysore, in Kolkata. After which he worked as the Scrivener at the Legislative Council, part of the office of the Viceroy of India. In 1865, he joined the Hooghly Mohsin College and taught Anglo-Arabic. One of his student was

Syed Ameer Ali Syed Ameer Ali Order of the Star of India (1849–1928) was an Indian/ British Indian jurist hailing from the state of Oudh from where his father moved and settled down at Bengal Presidency. He was a prominent political leader, and author of a n ...

. In 1874, he was appointed the first superintendent of Dhaka Madrassah. Ubaidullah was a follower of

Nawab Abdul Latif Nawab Bahadur Abdul Latif (1828 – 10 July 1893) was a 19th-century Bengali aristocrat, educator and social worker. His title, ''Nawab'' was awarded by the British in 1880. He was one of the first Muslims in 19th-century India to embrace the i ...

and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He was affiliated with the Mohammedan Literary Society (1863), Central National Mohammedan Association (1877), Bengal Social Science Association and other organisations in Calcutta. He was also a member of the managing committee of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh (1875). He founded, in Dacca, two reformist and community development associations: Samaj Sammilani Sabha in 1879, and Mussalman Suhrid Sammilani (Mohhamedan Friends Association) in 1883. Ubaidullah wrote books in Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English and translated many works. Noted among his works are ''Grammar of Arabic Language'', ''Urdu Diwan'' (Urdu poems, 1880), ''Farsi Dewan'' (Persian poems, 1886), ''Dastar-e-Parsi Amuz'' (Persian grammar), ''Lubbul Arab'' (Arabic grammar), ''Miftahul Adab'' (Urdu grammar), ''Dabistan-i-Danish Amuz'' (Urdu, physics), ''Dastar-e-Farsi Amuz'' (Persian, rhythm and rhetorics), ''Dastan-i-Ibratbar'' (Persian, autobiography). With the assistance of Syed Amir Ali, he rendered ''Makhaz-ul-Ulm'' by Syed Keramat Ali into English as a Treatise on the Sciences (1867) and Rammohun Roy's ''Tuhfatul Muwahedin'' into English in 1884. His ''Mohammedan Education in Bengal'' (1867) is an original work on education. He edited ''Guide'' (Urdu) and ''Durbeen'' (Persian). A number of his manuscripts on philology, psychology, women's education, in Urdu, still remain unpublished. He also understood basic Latin and Greek. The Indian government awarded him the title ''Bahrul Ulm'' (Sea of knowledge)for his contribution to education in India. The University of Dhaka awards the Bahrul Ulm Ubaidi Suhrawardy medal, which was named after him. Acharya

Harinath De Harinath De (12 August 1877— 30 August 1911) was an Indian historian, scholar and a polyglot, who later became the first Indian librarian of the National Library of India (then Imperial Library) from 1907 to 1911. In a life span of thirty four ...

, as a tribute to him, created an oil painting of him.

Death and legacy

Ubaidullah died in Dhaka, Bengal Presidency, British India, on 9 February 1885. His son,

Hassan Suhrawardy Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Suhrawardy CStJ, FRCS (17 November 1884 – 18 September 1946) was a Bengali surgeon, military officer in the British Indian Army, politician, and a public official. He was the former chairman of the executive commi ...

, was a noted politician in British India and his granddaughter,

Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah (22 July 1915 – 11 December 2000) was a Pakistani Bengali, Bengali Pakistani politician from Bengal, diplomat and author. She was the first Muslim woman to earn a PhD from the University of London. She wa ...

, was a notable academic and diplomat of Pakistan. His daughter, Khujista Akhtar Banu, was a well-known writer and poet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suhrawardy, Ubaidullah 1832 births 1885 deaths Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam Bengali writers Bengali educators 19th-century Bengalis People from Midnapore Aliah University alumni University of Calcutta faculty Suhrawardy family