Shah
Ali Baghdadi
Mazar of Shah Ali Baghdadi
Personal
Bornc. 1414
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Died1480(1480-00-00) (aged 65–66)
Mirpur, Dhaka, Bengal Sultanate
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
TariqaChishti
Qadri
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)ʿAlī
علي
Patronymic (Nasab)ibn Fakhr ad-Dīn
بن فخر الدين
Toponymic (Nisba)al-Baghdādī
البغدادي
Muslim leader
Based inMirpur, Dhaka
Period in office15th century
Disciple ofShah Bahar
PostSufi saint

Shāh ʿAlī al-Baghdādī (c. 1414–1480) was a 15th-century Muslim missionary and Sufi saint based in the Faridpur and Dhaka regions of Bengal.[1]

Life

Ali al-Baghdadi was born in c. 1414 to Mufti Fakhruddin in Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate. He was a descendant of Sultan Ali, allegedly a son of Muhammad al-Jawad and younger brother of Ali al-Hadi. He was said to have belonged to the Qadiri Order.

At the age of twenty, he travelled to the Delhi Sultanate with forty to one hundred companions in 838 AH (1434 CE).[2][3] He married into the Sayyid dynasty of Delhi.[4] Eventually, he entered the Sultanate of Bengal during the reign of Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah. The Sultan gifted him with 12,000 bighas of land in Dholsamudra, Faridpur and he settled in the qasba of Girdah. The presence of Sufi saints such as Shah Ali Baghdadi, his brother-in-law Shah Husayn Tegh-Burhana and companions Haji Saaduddin and Shah Muhammad Goraz led to the area being named as Miran-i-Girdah in their honour.[2] Many Hindus in Girdah converted to Islam through his efforts.[1]

In due course, Ali proceeded to Dhaka. This later migration is explained by the engulfment of Girdah as a result of Padma River erosion and Ali's desire to become initiated into the Chishti Order by Shah Bahar, a Sufi saint based in Dhaka.[2] Nevertheless, Ali also contributed to spreading Islam in Dhaka, where he remained until the rest of his life.[1]

Shrine

After practicing chilla in complete fasting for forty days, Shah Ali Baghdadi died in c. 1480 and was buried in Mirpur, Dhaka.[5][6] However, according to a book preserved in his mausoleum, he died in 1577 AD.[1] The Bangladeshi Islamic scholar Nur Muhammad Azmi identifies Shah Ali's year of death as 913 AH (1507 AD).[4] Many pilgrims visit his shrine at the time of his urs (death anniversary) from different parts of Bengal and beyond. His mosque was completely renovated in 1806.[2]

The second Nawab of Dhaka Khwaja Abdul Ghani constructed a road leading to the shrine in the 18th century.[7] His son and successor, Khwaja Ahsanullah, contributed towards the renovation of the shrine and establishment of a musafir-khana (guest-house).[8][9]

Legacy

Ancient inscription from the Girdah Dargah Mosque

The Shah Ali Thana was founded in 2005, and includes the ward of Shah Ali Nagar.[10]

A mosque in Girdah contains an ancient relic chamber set up by Shah Ali Baghdadi. These include his wooden plate, turban, prayer mat and tasbih (made out of fish bone).[2] The chamber also holds a kurdi coat which was said to have belonged to Shah Madar, as well as Relics of Muhammad, Ali, Hasan, Husayn and Abdul Qadir Gilani.[3]

His nephew, Shah Habibullah Maddan-e-Khoda (son of Shah Husayn Tegh-Burhana), settled in the village of Banamalidia, Madhukhali (where he is buried) and is the ancestor of former parliamentarian Syed Qumrul Islam Saleh Uddin.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bhuiyan, Mosharraf Hussain (2012). "Shah Ali Baghdadi (R)". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Miah, Muhammad Abul Hashem; Ahmed, Nizamuddin (2000). Archaeological Survey Report of Greater Faridpur District. Department of Archaeology. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9789847730004.
  3. 1 2 "ফরিদপুরে সংরক্ষিত মহানবী (সা.) ও সাহাবিদের পবিত্র নিদর্শন!". Banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 27 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 Azmi, Nur Muhammad. "2.2 বঙ্গে এলমে হাদীছ" [2.2 Knowledge of Hadith in Bengal]. হাদীছের তত্ত্ব ও ইতিহাস [Information and history of Hadith] (in Bengali). Emdadia Library.
  5. ↑ Quasem, Muhammad A. (2012). "Wali". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Bangladesh District Gazetteers: Dacca. 1969.
  7. ↑ Alamgir, Mohammad (2012). "Ghani, Nawab Khwaja Abdul". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Alamgir, Mohammad (2012). "Ahsanullah, Khwaja". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Alamgir, Mohammad (2012). "Nawab Family of Dhaka". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Mondal, Rajib (2012). "Shah Ali Thana". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

23°47′49″N 90°20′56″E / 23.7970°N 90.3489°E / 23.7970; 90.3489


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