The Sareqaum family (Bengali: āĻ¸āĻ°ā§āĻāĻāĻŽ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻĻāĻžāĻ¨) are a Bengali Muslim family of the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. They are best known for their centuries-old role as one of the custodian families of the waqf (estate) of Shah Jalal, a 14th-century Islamic preacher whose name is commonly associated with the spread of Islam in the region. The family is the only known family in Bengal to hold the title of Sar-e-Qaum (head of the people).[1] Some members of the family have migrated to other parts of the world such as to the United Kingdom - which is known to host a large Bangladeshi diaspora.[2]
Origin
Following the Conquest of Sylhet in 1303, Shah Jalal ordered most of his companions, traditionally thought to have numbered above 300, to disperse to and settle in different parts of Bengal and propagate Islam in those places. Haji Yusuf was one of the companions who remained in the neighbourhood of Chowkidighi alongside Shah Jalal. At Jalal's instruction, Yusuf married a native woman who had become a Muslim. Before dying on 15 March 1346, Jalal appointed Yusuf to be the mutawalli (custodian) of his waqf (estate).[3]
It is assumed that after Shah Jalal's death in 1346, he was buried and a tomb complex was built in his waqf estate - which was now in the control of Yusuf. Following Yusuf's own death, he was also buried within the waqf - Yusuf's tomb being located southeast of Jalal's tomb. He was succeeded by Khwaja Fayzullah, Manik Nizam Uddin, Shaykh Muhammad and Malik Ahmad respectively. Malik Ahmad would be succeeded by Pir Bakhsh.[4]
Title obtainal
In the 17th century, Sylhet came under the control of the Mughal Empire. The Faujdar (governor) of Sylhet, Isfandiyar Khan Beg, was known to have officially recognised the inauguration of Shaykh Pir Bakhsh as the rightful custodian of the waqf in the 1660s. Pir Bakhsh was given the title of Sar-e-Qaum (head of the people) and his descendants, the Sareqaum family, continue to hold this role. Khan also built a mosque near the dargah and the ruins of this incomplete mosque can be seen today, behind the trees near the Dargah Gateway.[5]
During this Mughal period, a house was constructed to serve as a majlis (lounge) and it was known as the Jolsha Ghor. To the west of this house remains the graves of two custodians; Sareqaum Abu Nasr and Sareqaum Abu Nasir.[6]
During British rule
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ˛ā§ āĻā§āĻ āĻĻā§āĻ°ā§ āĻāĻ¸āĻŋāĻŦā§āĻ¨āĻž āĻāĻā§, āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻā§āĻāĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻĢāĻŋāĻ°āĻŋāĻ¤ā§āĻā§ āĻ¤āĻŦā§
Tumi chole gechho doore aashibena kobhu, Tomare khujiya ankhi phiritechhe tobu
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ āĻ¯āĻ¤ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž, āĻ°ā§āĻļāĻā§āĻā§ āĻāĻā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻŖā§ āĻĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ¸āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻ˛āĻž
Tomar amar majhe hoyechhilo joto kotha bola, Reshtuku aajo praane dey aashi dola
āĻ¸āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§, āĻĻā§āĻĒā§āĻ°ā§, āĻ¸āĻžāĻāĻā§, āĻ¨āĻŦ āĻŦāĻ°āĻˇāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ, āĻ¯āĻ¤ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ
Shokare, dupure, shanjhe, nobo boroshay, Joto kotha hoyechhilo tomar amay
āĻ¤āĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻšāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻāĻ§āĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻāĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻā§āĻāĻā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŋ
Tahar protiti kotha protiti chahoni, aandhare kahare khuje janigo jani
āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻŋ āĻ¨āĻŋāĻāĻļā§āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸ āĻ¤āĻŦ āĻāĻ¤āĻā§āĻā§ āĻšāĻžāĻ¸āĻŋ, āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋāĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨ āĻāĻāĻ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻ¤ā§āĻ°ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻŋ
Protiti nishaash tobo etotuku hashi, protidin eki kotha tore bhalobashi
āĻ¤ā§āĻ°ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻŋ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻŦāĻ¨ā§ āĻŽāĻ°āĻŖā§, āĻāĻ¨āĻŽā§ āĻāĻ¨āĻŽā§ āĻŽā§āĻ° āĻ āĻŦāĻ¸āĻ° āĻā§āĻˇāĻŖā§
Tore bhalobashi ami jibone morone, jonome jonome more oboshor kkhone
– A poem written by Moulvi Sareqaum Ubaydullah.[7]
Sareqaum Abu Torab Abdul Waheb was the head of the family in the late 1800s and was also buried next to Shah Jalal. He was succeeded by Sareqaum Abu Sayad Abd al-Hafiz and then Sareqaum Abu Zafar Abdullah.
On 16 September 1936, Bengali Muslim litterateurs, gathered at the Sareqaum House where they established the well-known literary society known as the Sylhet Central Muslim Literary Society (later branching out to become the Kendriya Muslim Sahitya Sangsad). One of the oldest literary societies in Bangladesh, its inaugural secretary was Sareqaum Abu Zafar Abdullah, a well-known Bengali writer and the Mutawalli of Shah Jalal's dargah.[8] Other members of this society included Muhammad Nurul Haque and Syed Abdul Majid. Many of Abdullah's works were published in the popular newspapers of those times.[9] His most famous work was Shaptak.[3] The Sangsad as well its Al-Islah magazine were based in Abdullah's property.[10] He was key activist during the Pakistan Movement.[11] Abdullah's maternal cousin was the historian Nasiruddin Ahmad Chowdhury.[12] In 1971, Abdullah started the construction of a minaret (with a clock) in the dargah complex which was completed a few days after the Independence of Bangladesh.[6]
Moulvi Sareqaum Ubaydullah was a poet who famously wrote the Rakhaliya Bashi.[7] From 1942, he was a member of the Sangsad. He hosted Kazi Nazrul Islam during his visit to the Sylhet region.[13]
Post-independence period
The Mutawalli Sareqaum Yusuf Amanullah, son of Abu Zafar Abdullah, was Abdullah's successor and the vice-president of the Sangsad from 1988 to 1990. In 1996, Sareqaum Ikramullah was a sponsor of the Sangsad. Amanullah died in 2013 at the age of 76 years due to illness. He had one son and four daughters, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina paid her respects.[14] In the same year, the Khadim Sareqaum Yunus Ayatullah died.[15] Sareqaum Khaled Ahmed was a director for the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce.[2]
Yusuf Amanullah's successor was his son, Sareqaum Fatehullah Al-Aman.[16] During Aman's time as Sareqaum, he was the first known custodian to have cancelled the centuries-old annual urs ceremony held at the Dargah as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17][18]
See also
Further reading
- Taher, Syed Muhammad (2014). āĻ¸āĻ°ā§āĻāĻāĻŽ āĻāĻŦā§ āĻāĻžāĻĢāĻ° āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻš : āĻā§āĻŦāĻ¨ āĻ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻŽ [The life and works of Sareqaum Abu Zafar Abdullah] (in Bengali). Utsho Prokashon.
- Taher, Syed Muhammad (2018). āĻ¸āĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ āĻāĻ°āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻāĻĨāĻž ā§Ž : āĻ āĻā§āĻĄ āĻāĻŦāĻĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻš [Biographies of Sylhet 4: AZ Abdullah] (in Bengali). Madan Mohan College.
References
- ^ Mehedi, Ujjol (26 May 2018). āĻāĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¤āĻžāĻ°ā§, āĻāĻ āĻāĻšāĻžāĻ°ā§. Prothom Alo (in Bengali).
- ^ a b āĻŦā§āĻ°āĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻļ-āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ˛āĻžāĻĻā§āĻļ āĻā§āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻžāĻ° āĻ āĻŦ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¸ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻĄ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻĄā§āĻ°āĻžāĻˇā§āĻāĻŋâāĻ° āĻā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻĒ āĻ˛āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ. LondonBDNews24 (in Bengali). 16 Jun 2015.
- ^ a b Husayn, Muhammad Ashraf (1990). Silhater Itihas (in Bengali). Vol. 1. Mahmud Ahsan Choudhury.
- ^ Qurashi, Ishfaq (December 2012). "āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻĻāĻžāĻāĻĻ āĻā§āĻ°āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻļā§āĻ° āĻ¨āĻāĻŦāĻ¨āĻžāĻŽāĻž" [Shah Dawud Qurayshi's genealogy]. āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛(āĻ°āĻ) āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻĻāĻžāĻāĻĻ āĻā§āĻ°āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻļā§(āĻ°āĻ) [Shah Jalal and Shah Dawud Qurayshi] (in Bengali). Vol. 3.
- ^ Chowdhury, Mujibur Rahman (2 Oct 2019). āĻā§āĻĄāĻŧ-āĻŦāĻā§āĻā§ āĻŽā§āĻ¸āĻ˛āĻŋāĻŽ āĻŦāĻŋāĻāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻ¸ā§āĻĢāĻŋ-āĻ¸āĻžāĻ§āĻāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻĨāĻž (in Bengali). Sylheter Dak.
- ^ a b Qurashi, Ishfaq (December 2012). "āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻˇā§āĻĒā§ āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻžāĻš" [Shah Jalal's dargah briefly]. āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛(āĻ°āĻ) āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻĻāĻžāĻāĻĻ āĻā§āĻ°āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻļā§(āĻ°āĻ) [Shah Jalal and Shah Dawud Qurayshi] (in Bengali). Vol. 1.
- ^ a b Rahman, Fazlur (1993). āĻ¸āĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻžāĻŦā§āĻ¯ āĻ¸āĻžāĻ§āĻ¨āĻž (in Bengali). pp. 175â176.
- ^ Sharma, Nandalal. "Kendriyo Muslim Sahitya Sangsad". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ Taher, Syed Muhammad. Sareqaum Abu Zafar Abdullah: Jibon O Kormo (in Bengali).
- ^ Jibani Granthamala (in Bengali). Vol. 166. Bangla Academy. 1993. pp. 15â20.
- ^ Raziuddin Qurayshi (30 Apr 2019). āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦāĻŋāĻŦā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻ¸āĻāĻāĻ āĻ¨. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali).
- ^ Rafiqur Rahman Loju (31 August 2019). āĻāĻ¤āĻŋāĻšāĻžāĻ¸ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧāĻ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ°āĻ¨ā§āĻĨā§āĻ° āĻāĻĨāĻž. Sylheter Dak (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 21 May 2020.
- ^ Chowdhury, Husayn Tawfiq (25 May 2019). "āĻ¸āĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻā§ āĻ¨āĻāĻ°ā§āĻ˛". Sylheter Dak (in Bengali).
- ^ āĻšāĻ¯āĻ°āĻ¤ āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ (āĻ°āĻšāĻ) āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻžāĻšā§āĻ° āĻŽā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻāĻžāĻ˛. The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). April 2013.
- ^ Ariful Haque Choudhury (24 Aug 2014). āĻ¸āĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ āĻ¸āĻŋāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻĒā§āĻ°ā§āĻļāĻ¨ āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ ā§¨ā§Ļā§§ā§Ē-ā§¨ā§Ļā§§ā§Ģ. Sylhet City Corporation (in Bengali).
- ^ āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ (āĻ°āĻš.) āĻŽāĻžāĻāĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻāĻ°āĻļ āĻļāĻ¨āĻŋāĻŦāĻžāĻ° āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ (in Bengali). Kaler Kantho. 9 Aug 2017.
- ^ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ°āĻļ āĻšāĻā§āĻā§ āĻ¨āĻž āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ (āĻ°āĻš.) āĻŽāĻžāĻāĻžāĻ°ā§. Banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 30 June 2020.
- ^ ā§ā§Ļā§Ļ āĻŦāĻāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ¤āĻŋāĻšāĻžāĻ¸ā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĨāĻŽ āĻāĻ°āĻ¸ āĻšāĻā§āĻā§ āĻ¨āĻž āĻļāĻžāĻšāĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ āĻŽāĻžāĻāĻžāĻ°ā§ [First time no Urs in Shah Jalal's mausoleum in 700 years]. Jugantor (in Bengali). 3 July 2020.
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