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Shāh Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal (), was a celebrated Sufism Saint, conqueror and historical figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Muslim conquest of Sylhet and the Spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions between the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.Ahmed, Shamsuddin, Inscription of Bengal, vol. iv, Dhaka (1960), p 25 Various complexes and religious places have been named after him, including the largest airport in Bangladesh, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Shahjalal University of Science and technology (SUST) and numerous mosques around the United Kingdom.
A number of scholars have claimed that the suffix from the Husain Shahi inscription refers to the city of Konya in modern-day Turkey (then in the Sultanate of Rum), and they stated further that Jalal may have possibly moved to Yemen in his later life. Others have linked the suffix to the village of Kaninah in Yemen's Hadhramaut region, and some even to Kenya in East Africa.
Jalal reached Uch in the Punjab, where he and many of his companions were initiated into the Sufi order of Suhrawardiyya. Jalal was joined by many other disciples throughout his journey. He passed through Delhi where he was made a guest of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. Nizamuddin offered him a gift of two rare pigeons which would later be called Jalali Kobutor (Pigeons of Jalal). It is said that these pigeons continue to breed and its descendants remain around Jalal's dargah.
When word of this reached Sultan Firoz Shah, an army commanded by his nephew, Sikandar Khan and later his Sipah Salar (Commander-in-chief) Syed Nasiruddin, was sent against Gour Kingdom. Three successive strikes were attempted, all ending in failure due to the Bengali armies inexperience in the foreign terrain as well as Govinda's superior military strategy.Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh,"Population Census of Bangladesh, 1974: District census report" (1979), p. 15
A fourth attack, now with the aid of Shah Jalal and his companions (at this point numbering 360) was undertaken. Jalal may have been summoned by Firoz Shah for aid after the initial failed attacks against Gour Govinda. Alternatively, he may already have been present in Sylhet, fighting against the Hindu king independently prior to being approached by the Sultan. The combined Muslim forces ultimately claimed victory against Gour. Govinda was forced to retreat and Sylhet was brought under Muslim control. According to tradition, Shah Chashni Pir at this point compared the soil in Sylhet with that which was previously given to Jalal by his uncle, finding them to be identical. In any case, following the battle, Jalal and his followers settled in Sylhet.
A Farsi inscription from 1303 has since been discovered in Jalal's dargah. It mentioned Sikandar's victory in Sylhet region with the aid of the saint during the reign of Firoz Shah. This inscription can now be found in Bangladesh National Museum.
Even today in Hadramaut, Yemen, Jalal's name is established in folklore.The rise of Islam and the Bengal frontier, 1204–1760, By Richard Maxwell Eaton, Published by – university of california press, page 76
The exact date of his death is debated, but he is reported by Ibn Battuta to have died on 20 Dhul Qa'dah 746 AH (15 March 1346 CE).Rahman, M. F., Hazrat Shah Jalal and 360 Awliya, p.13, Deshkaal Publications, Sylhet, 1992 He was buried in Sylhet in his dargah (tomb), which is located in a neighbourhood now known as Dargah Mahalla. Whether or not he has descendants is debated. He appointed his closest companion, Haji Muhammad Yusuf to be the khadim (guardian) of his dargah and Yusuf's descendants, the Sareqaum, continue to have this role.
His shrine is famous in Sylhet and throughout Bangladesh, with hundreds of Muslims devotees visiting daily. He is buried next to four of his companions. The ex-Prince of Yemen, Shahzada Sheikh Ali to his south, Haji Yusuf to his east and Haji Khalil and Haji Dariya both to his west. The largest mosque in Sylhet was built at the Dargah (also one of the largest in Bangladesh).
Early life and education
His mother, Syeda Haseenah Fatimah, and his father, Sayyid Mahmud ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, were descendants of the Quraysh tribe in Makkah.Rahman, M. F., Hazrat Shah Jalal and 360 Awliya, Deshkaal Publications, Sylhet, 1992, p.12-13 His mother was the daughter of Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari. Jalal's father was a cleric and contemporary of the Sufi mystic Rumi and died five years after his son's birth. Jalal was educated and raised by his maternal uncle, Syed Ahmad Kabir Suhrawardi. in Makkah. He excelled in his studies; became a hafiz and mastered fiqh. He became a makhdoom, teacher of Sunnah and, for performing prayers in solitary milieu and leading a secluded life as an ascetic, al Mujarrad was post-fixed to his name. It is claimed he achieved spiritual perfection ( Kamaliyyat) after 30 years of study, practice and meditation.Islam in South Asia in practice source of suhel-e-yamani By Barbara Daly Metcalf, Published by – Princeton universiti press, 2009. Page 385 [1]
Travel to South Asia
Jalal's maternal uncle, Syed Ahmad Kabir, gave him a handful of soil and asked him to travel to the Indian subcontinent. He instructed him to choose to settle and spread Dawah in any place in India where the soil exactly matches that which he gave him in smell and colour. Shah Jalal journeyed eastward from Makkah and met many great scholars and Sufi Mysticism. Sheikh Ali of Yemen gave up his duty as a prince to join Jalal on his expedition. Many people joined Jalal from the Arabian Peninsula including his nephew Shah Paran. Jalal also came across Sheikh Chashni Pir, a pedologist who would check the soil of the places that Shah Jalal would visit in order to find the matching soil given by Sheikh Ahmad Kabir. Jalal passed through Baghdad and was present there during the time of the murder of the last Abbasid caliph Al-Musta'sim in 1258. Driven off by the Mongol invasion of Baghdad, they continued journeying to the east.
Conquest of Sylhet
In 1303, Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of Lakhnauti was engaged in a war with the neighbouring Gour Kingdom in the Sylhet region, then under the rule of the Hindu king Gour Govinda. This began when Shaykh Burhanuddin, a Muslim living in Sylhet, sacrificed a cow for his newborn son's aqiqah (birth celebration). Govinda, in a fury for what he saw as sacrilege, had the newborn killed as well as having Burhanuddin's right hand cut off.
Later life
During the later stages of his life, Jalal devoted himself to propagating Islam. The famous traveller Ibn Battuta, then in Satgaon,Hazrat Shah Jalal O Sylhet er Itihas by Syed Mujtaba Ali, re-published by Utsa Prakashan, Dhaka, 1988, p.60 made a one-month journey through the mountains of Kamarupa, north-east of Sylhet, to meet him.Rihla 9, 1344 On his way to Sylhet via Habung, Ibn Battuta was greeted by several of Jalal's disciples who had come to assist him on his journey many days before he had arrived. At the meeting in 1345, Ibn Battuta noted that Shah Jalal was tall and lean, fair in complexion and lived by the mosque in a cave, where his only item of value was a goat he kept for milk, butter, and yogurt. He observed that the companions of the Shah Jalal were foreign and known for their strength and bravery. He also mentions that many people would visit Jalal to seek guidance.Islam in South Asia in practice By – Barbara Daly Metcalf, Published – Princeton university press Uk 2009, Page 383 – 385. He recalls:This shaikh was one of the great saints and one of the unique personalities. He had to his credit miracles (karamat) well known to the public as well as great deeds, and he was a man of hoary age. . . . The inhabitants of these mountains had embraced Islam at his hands, and for this reason he stayed amidst them.
The meeting between Ibn Battuta and Shah Jalal is described in his Arabic travelogue, Rihla ( The Journey).
Spiritual genealogy
Spiritual genealogy of Shah Jalal is as follows:
Eponyms
Companions
See also
Further reading
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