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Shah Mumin smumin@hotmail.com 3/05/05 12:20 PM |
Brief description about Hazrat Shah Jalal Full Name: Sheikh-ul Mashaek Mokhdum Sheikh Shah Jalal Mozorrodh Bin Muhammed (Born: 1271, Konya, Turky -- death: 1347, Sylhet, Bangladesh). Shah Jalal's father was contemporary to Mawlana Jalal Uddin Rumi. Rumi's mazaar is also situated in Shah Jalal's birthplace, Konya in Turky. His ancestors came from Yemen, hence he is also called the "Mozorrodh-e-Yemeni". Shah Jalal was raised by his maternal uncle, Syed Ahemd Kabir, in Mecca. He became a Hafiz (those who know the Holy Koran by heart) and also became proficient in Islamic theology. Legend has it that one day his uncle gave him a handful of earth and ask him to go to Hindustan with the instruction that whichever place in Hindustan matches this earth completely in smell and color, he should settle down for meditation and preaching. Shah Jalal journeyed eastward and reached Hindustan (modern India) in c. 1300. In Ajmir, he met the great Sufi mystic (Dervish/Pir), Kwaja Gharibnawaz Moinuddin Hasan Chisty. He also met with Nizam Uddin Awlia (1236-1325), a prominent Dervish, in Delhi. Nizam Uddin requested him to go to Sylhet to rescue Sheikh Burhan Uddin. The Sheikh was only a handful of Muslims living in the kingdom (Sylhet area) of a Hindu King, Gaur Gavindha. As the cow is a sacred animal (mother goddess) in Hindu religion, the king banned the slaughtering of cows in Sylhet. However, Burhan Uddin secretly slaughtered a cow to perform his son's Akika (christening of child in Muslim culture). It is said that a crow carried a piece of meat and dropped it in the king's yard. The enraged king ordered killing of the Sheikh's son and the Sheikh himself was imprisoned. Sheikh Burhan Uddin's mazaar (shrine) is located in the banks of river Surma in Sylhet town. Shah Jalal reached Sylhet with 360 Awlias (disciples). Some of the awlias originally followed him from Delhi, and some joined on the way to Sylhet. Knowing that Shah Jalal was advancing toward Sylhet, the king removed all ferry boats from the river Surma. Legend has it that Shah Jalal crossed the river Surma by sitting in a Zainamaaz (prayer rug). The king ran away without raising any resistance. Shah Jalal also found a match of the earth his uncle once gave him. He settled down in a placed called Dargah Mahallah, near Choukidhiki. He preached Islam from there. He and his disciples also travelled as far as Mymensingh and Dhaka. In his book "Afdalul Hawaade", poet Hazrat Amir Khosru gave exact dates of Shah Jalal's travel to Sylhet. Khosru was a Moghul court poet, and considered the founder of Urdu language. Persian traveller, Ibn Batuta, also came to Sylhet to meet Shah Jalal. The story of Ibn Batuta's Shirt: This is a very interesting story involving a a shirt Shah Jalal was wearing when Ibn Batuta came to meet him. Ibn Babuta liked the shirt but did not say anything. Then, when he went back, Shah Jalal already sent the shirt for him as a gift. I'm not sure whether it was in Sonargaon, Delhi or Mecca where Ibn Batuta received the gift. Shah Jalal died shortly thereafter. (sorry I forgot the rest of the story. Any help will be appreciated...) Jalali Kabutar: Kabutar means pigeons in Farsi (Perisan). It is one of many words inhertied from Farsi to Bengali. Nizam Uddin Awlia gave Shah Jalal a pair of pigeons when he was coming to Sylhet. These pigeons were and still are considered sacred by both Hindus and Muslims in Sylhet. Nobody kills or eats them in greater Sylhet town. Some believe that it is okay to kill them once they cross the river, Horma. Legend says, Shah Jalal transformed the witchcraft followers of Gaur Gavindha into catfishes which are still alive in the tank adjacent to the Mazaar (shrine). Swords, the holy Koran, and the robes of the Shah Jalal are still preserved in Shah Jalal's Dargah (shrine). There are golden fishes (Koi fish) in another tank. There are also legends surrounding these fishes. Nobody eats these fishes. Some of them are hundreds of years of age, as people belive. These fishes are ritually bured when they die. The catfishes are huge since thousnads of people feed them everyday. The exact date of his death is unknown. According to Ibn Batuta, it was 1347. Urush: This is the annual gathering of the Sufis and general people during the anninversary of Shah Jalal's death. Urush is also observered for his deciples in many parts of Sylhet. Thousands of Fakirs (transient men who live in jungles and shrines of Sufi saints), travels to Sylhet from all over Bangladesh. These men are identified by red robes with iron sticks in their hands and colorful garlands in their necks. Some even travel from distant parts of India. These Fakirs closely resembles the original Hindu Sadhu-Sanyashis (hermits) who treaded this land for centuries. Many of them are for simple pleasures of Ganja (Marijauna), Hashish, etc, but nobody knows who is the real one. Strict Islamic clerics tried, though unsuccessfully, to stop these festivities, as Islam strongly forbids any saint worship or assigning divine power to any human being. Shah Jalal's nephew, Hazrat Shah Paran, lived out of town, in Major Tila area. Legend says that he was of very high temper and would curse people when they are unruly and the curse would come true. To save people from his wrath, Shah Jalal ordered him to settle down just the outskirt of the town. In many villages, you will find shrines of the awlias and pirs. Many of them are claimed to be one of Shah Jalal's 360 desciples but many claims are not substantiated. There is a huge business surrounding those shrines. Many opportunistic Vondos (false saints) take advantage of people's fear and respect for the Pirs. Syed Waliullah's famous novel, "Lal Saalu", depicts one of these stories. |
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