MUSLIM RELIGIO-REFORN MOVEMENTS IN BENGAL DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ABSTRACT Tliesis Suhmitted Por the Award of the degree of JBottor of ^]^iIagop|)p IN Sunni Theology BY Md. Mahboobur Rahman M.Th. M.Phil. UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF Prof. Abdul Aleem Khan Chairman & Then Dean DEPARTMENT OF SUNNI THEOLOGY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1994 T^fe^l -^-•:;^r-.^v^^^'- 23FEBI99a A B S TRACT The present work seeks to investigate the Muslim Religious Reform Movements in Bengal during the Nineteenth Century. Nineteenth century Bengal is a significant phase as it affected Bengal;, Islamic reform movements in this century was a world wide phenomenon. In the sub-continent of India and Pakistan Shah Wall Allah was the dominating influence. The subsequent growth of his religious teaching spread out in Bengal and some important Islamic revivalist movements came into existence, e.g. i) Fara'idi movement of Haji Shari'at Allah, the founder directly inspired by Arab puritanism), ii) Tariqah-i-Muhammadiyah movement of Sayyed Ahmad Shaheed, iii) Titu Mir and his religious reform movement, and iv) Ahle-Hadith movement. No serious attempt has so far been made to reconstruct the history of the Muslim Religious Reform Movements in Bengal during the Nineteenth Century. The attention of the most of the scholars has centred round the political history of the Movement, making occasional references to its Socio-Religious aspects but their accounts are uncritical and generally based upon the later hagiological material. In the present work an attempt has been made to make a fairly extensive and critical use of all sources available. Throughout the work we have attempted to justify reasonable argument our reliance on a particular source, wherever there has been a conflict of evidence or a contradiction. This aspect of the Musl'fnr religious reform movements in Bengal during the nineteenth century is based on brief references found in the chronicles of Northern India and on the data collected from a study of inscriptions and other archaeological evidences. There is, however, sufficient materials in these chronicles as well as in the contemporary literatures e.g. Persian Bengali and Urdu available, with the help of which Mas>llB»-religious reform movements in Bengal during the nineteenth century can be reconstructed. There are ten chapters in the present thesis are as follows :- Chapter - 1 :Introduction Sources A. Sources on the Socio-religious conditions of the Muslims in Bengal during the nineteenth century. B. Sources on the Fara'idi Movement i) Fara'idi Sources ii) Contemporary sources on the Fara'icji Movement iii) Government Records C. Sources on the Tariqah-iMuhammadiyan Movement, Titu Mir's Movement and Ahle-Hadith Movement. Chapter II : Genesis of the Muslim Eldigious Reform Movements in Bengal: in the Nineteenth Century. Chapter III: Fara'idi Movement. Chapter IV : Tariqah-i-Muharamadiyan Movement Chapter V : Titu Mir and his Socio-Religious Reform Movement. Chapter VI : Ahle Hadith Movement Chapter VII: Religious Doctrines of the Revivalist Movements Chapiter VIII : Ta'aiyuni Opposition to the Revivalist Movements. Chapter IX : Organisation under the Revivalist Moveirients. Chapter X : Conclusive Phase of the Socio-religious Reform Movements in Bengal Chapter first and second discussed sources and Socio-religious conditions of the Muslims in Bengal during the nineteenth century. Chapter third examines the Fara'idi Movement. Haji Shari'at Allah the founder of the Fara'ldi movement, was born of a petty Talukdar family in A.D. 2 1781 at Shamail a village in the Madaripur subdivision. It may be noted that Madaripur, at that time, formed a part of Bakarganj district and was transferred to the district of Faridpur in A.D. 1873^. His father 'Abdul Jalil Talukdar, a man of not very large means, died when he was hardly eight years old . Thereafter, he was 1. J.A.S.P., (Journal of Ariatic Society of Pakistan), Vol. Ill, p. 187. fort note 4; J.E., Gastrell : Geographical and statistical Report of the Districts of Jessore, Fareedpur and Backerganj, Calcutta, 1868, p. 36, No. 151; and Translation of Proceedings held in two cases tried in 1847 before the session Judge of Dacca in which Dudu Miyan and his Followers belonging to the Sect of Hajees or Fara'idis, Calcutta, Military Orphan Press, 1848, p. 268, which confirms that the Haji was a petty landholder and possessed a estate of his own. 2. Cf. J.A.S.P. Vol. Ill, p. 187, footnote 4, In the opision of some local people, he was born inneighbouring village, Hajipur. 3. Cf. Beveridge : District of Bakarganj, its History and statistics, London, 1876, p. 249. 4. Munshi ' Abd-al-Halim, Ms. (Bengali MS), Ha^ir'^tfi^lS^^'^^-i:,^ Allah, vol. 1; Wazir *Ali, Muslim Ratnahii>„''lBengali '^ ^»t' // ^' brought up in the family of his boyhood as a gay and carefree child having little to do with strict disciplines . On a certain occasion, being reprimanded by his uncle, Shari'at Allah left home and ran away to Calcutta when he was about twelve years old. There he got an oipportunity to present himself to a teacher of the Holy Qur'an namely Maulana Basharat Ali, who taking pity 2 on the boy, enrolled him in his Qur'an classes . Having completed the reading of the Qur'an he proceeded to Phurphura, in the district of Hughly, to take lessons in Arabic and Persian languages on the advice of his teacher . Then he proceeded to Makksh with his teacher Maulana Basharat Ali , who disgusted with the British regime and decided to emigrate to the Holy city of Makkah . They, accordingly, set out for Arabia about A.D. 1799 . Thus the boy, who was later to be the founder of a revivalist movement in Bengal, got an opportunity to visit Makkah, the international centre of 1. Munshi ^Abd-al-Halim : MS. Haji Shari'at Allah, fol. I. 2. Munshi *Abd-al-Halim : MS Haji Shari'at Allah, fol. 2f 3. Ibid., fol. 4f. 4. Ibid., fol. 6-7. 5. Ibid., fol. 7-8. 6. Ibid., of Islamic culture. It may also be noted that his visit to Makkah was, therefore, not the result of a premeditated plan. Scholars differ widely in calculating the chronology of his life though all contemporary and later writers agree that he undertook the journey to Makkah at the age of 18 and returned to Bengal after an absence of 20 years . On the basis of his tomb inscription we can 2 fixed the chronology of his life as follows . Birth A.D. 1781 Pilgrimage to Makkah .. A.D. 1799 Return to Bengal A.D. 1818 Death A.D. 1840 Haji Shari'at Allah's stay in Arabia ranged from A.D. 1799 to A.D. 1818; and if his later, i.e., his role as a preacher, is any guide to his learning, it may be concluded that he took the best advantage of his stay in Makkah. James Wise and Hidayet Hosain testify that he came back from Arabia as a good Arabic scholar and a 3 skilful disputer . His tomb inscription eulogises him 1. Cf. J.A.S.P. Vol., Ill, p. 191 ff. 2. J.A.S.P., Vol. Ill, p. 195. 3. James Wise : Notes on the races, Castes and Trades of Eastern Bengal, London, 1884, p. 22; and M. Hidayat Husain, "Fara'idi", Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st ed.. Vol. II., p. 57. as "the learned of all learned, the exponent of Divine Law in eloquent and elegant tongue, the source of all guidance in the lands of Hind and Bengal, defender of religion against the menaces of the Shi'as and tha disbelievers and against all misguidance, valiant fighter for righteaurness against all falsehood and variety, deliverer of Islam (which) was covered by darkness like the sun enveloped clouds, whose words in truth fulness, were like mountains in the open field..."^ His stay in Arabia can be divided into the following two phases. i) In the first phase, he spent the initial two years in the residence of one Maulana Murad, a Bengal domicile at Makkah, and studied Arabic literature and 2 Islamic jurisprudence under the Maulana . This prepared him for the regular courses in the religious seminaries of Makkah. ii) The second phase which is the most important, lasted for 14 years. During this period he received guidance from Tahir Sambal, a Hanafi jurist under this learned scholar he studied almost all branches of 1. J.A.S.P., Vol. Ill, p. 198. 2. *Abd-al-Halim : MS Haji Sharl'at Allah, fol. 5. 8 religious sciences including the mysteries of Sufism. Haji Shari'at Allah was also formally initiated into the Qadiriyah order of Sufism . The Fara'idi movement was started by Haji Shar'iat Allah in A.D. 1818 and continued by his followers down to the present day. The movement spread over Eastern Bengal (Present Bangladesh), Assam and West Bengal. The term "Fara'idi is derived from the Arabic word" fara'id", plural of "faridah", which means "an obligatory duty" enjoined by Islam. The Fara'idis are, therefore, those who aimed at enforcing the obligatory religious duties. They, however, interpreted the term "faraid" in a broad sense to include all the religious duties enjoined by Allah and the Prophet irrespective of their importance though they laid emphesis on the observance of five fundamental institutions (bina) of Islam, viz (i) the profession of the dogma of faith (Ifalimah) , (ii) attending daily prayers (Salat or namaz), (iii) fasting during the month of Ramadan (saven or rozah), (iv) paying poor-tax (zakat), and (v) pilgrimage to Makkah (haji). The object of this amphesis on the fundamental institutions was to focus the attention of 1.