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 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 ...

, and 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) ...

in 1896.

Early life and family

Abdul Wahid was born in 1268 Hijri (1851—1852 CE), 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 Haola in Kharandwip,

Boalkhali Boalkhali ( bn, বোয়ালখালী) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Geography Boalkhali is located at . It previously had 33514 households and its total area is 145.44 km2. According to ...

Chittagong District Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. His father,

Shaykh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...

Moulvi Zinat Ali, was a ''munsef'' (local judge) at a court in Kaukhali,

Rangunia Rangunia is a town in Chittagong District in the division of Chittagong. It is the administrative headquarter and urban centre of Rangunia Upazila Rangunia ( bn, রাঙ্গুনিয়া) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chatt ...

. Ali was fluent in Bengali, English,

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 ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

and the Arabic language after reading a book in Urdu. Instead of proceeding with the colonial education system that taught English, Abdul Wahid turned towards Arabic. In response, people close to him began to mock him. However, he was certain in his goals and left his village for

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 ...

, where his father's friend lived. He expressed his desire of learning Arabic to his father's friend. The man then wrote a letter to Zinat Ali of his son's situation and desire and Abdul Wahid was subsequently enrolled at the Muhsinia Madrasa in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

In Deoband

His neighbours continued to criticise the fact that the son of a judge was studying Arabic. Eventually, Abdul Wahid set off for

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

without telling anyone and joined the

Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...

. In Deoband, he dedicated his time to religious studies to such a level that he would often not reply to letters that he received from home. He had enrolled at the prestigious seminary only 5-6 years after its establishment. He was one of the only two students of Qasim Nanautavi and Yaqub Nanautawi that were from eastern Bengal at the time. The other student was Ubaydul Hakim, who also belonged to the village of Kharandwip. After 14 years at Deoband, Abdul Wahid graduated from the Faculty of Hadith (Masters). After both of them completed their formal education at Deoband, the two expressed their desire to study

tasawwuf 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 ...

under Qasim Nanautavi. Nanautavi instead directed them towards

Imdadullah Muhajir Makki Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (1817 – 1899) was an Indian Muslim Sufi scholar of the Chishti Sufi order. His disciples include Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, and Ashraf Ali Thanwi. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he led the Musl ...

. However, after he migrated 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 ...

, they pledged ''

bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' ( ar, بَيْعَة, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. ''Bayʿah'' is sometimes taken under a written pact ...

'' to Fazlur Rahman Ganj-e-Muradabadi. They spent an additional two years under him, eventually gaining

khilafah A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

(spiritual succession). At that time Abdul Wahid received a letter from his mother mentioning that his father had died. His mother urged him to return home, thus Abdul Wahid returned to Bengal after 16 years.

Personal life

His mother arranged for a marriage fearing that Abdul Wahid might move abroad again. He was engaged to a noblewoman from Kadalpur in

Raozan Raozan,gohira ( bn, রাউজান) is an upazila of Chattogram District, in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was established in 1947. Geography Raozan has 45,777 households and a total area of 246.58 km2. The two main rivers ...

. In this marriage, Abdul Wahid had one daughter, Shakirah Khatun, and two sons, Sulayman and Ayyub. However, Abdul Wahid felt that his wife was not religiously devoted. After he failed in repeatedly trying to persuade her to become more practicing, he returned her to her parents' home. From there, he did not return to his home but rather set off to the home of his close friend

Sufi Azizur Rahman Ṣūfī ʿAzīzur Raḥmān ( bn, সুফি আজিজুর রহমান; 1862—1922) was a Muslim theologian, teacher and reformer. After being influenced by Abdul Wahid Bengali in his student life, he became associated with the sprea ...

in Babunagar, Fatikchhari. Abdul Wahid's second marriage occurred through the assistance of

. He married a woman from Nazirhat and temporary leased some land from a man to the west of the Dhurang canal in Babunagar. He had a daughter with this wife.

Career

After returning to Bengal, Abdul Wahid started a

tupi Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipalit ...

business in

. He also began teaching

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

in the village of Babunagar along with

. In 1896, the two co-founded

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 ...

along with

Habibullah Qurayshi Ḥabībullāh Qurayshī ( bn, হাবিবুল্লাহ কুরাইশি; 1865 – 1943) was a Bengali Islamic scholar and educationist of the Deobandi movement. He was the founding director-general of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum M ...

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� ...

. Abdul Wahid became a teacher of

tajwid In the context of the recitation of the Quran, ''tajwīd'' ( ar, تجويد ', , ' elocution') is a set of rules for the correct pronunciation of the letters with all their qualities and applying the various traditional methods of recitation ('' ...

at the madrasa. In 1908, he began teaching ''

Kutub al-Sittah The ''Kutub al-Sittah'' ( ar-at, ٱلْكُتُب ٱلسِّتَّة, al-Kutub as-Sittah, lit=the six books) are six (originally five) books containing collections of ''hadith'' (sayings or acts of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) compiled by six S ...

'' at the madrasa.

Death and legacy

He died in 1905, at the age of 55. His

janaza Funerals and funeral prayers in Islam ( ar, جنازة, Janazah) follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial o ...

was performed by Habibullah Qurayshi and he was buried in his paternal graveyard (now known as al-Maqbarah al-Wahidiyyah) in Munshipara, Kharandwip. To the east of his grave, a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

was established in his name as Wahidia Madrasa. Among his biographers, Mawlana Jafar Sadiq is notable.

References