Hazrat Shah Jalal

Hazrat Shah Jalal Mazar Mosque

Hazrat Shah Jalal:

Full Name:(Yamanī Shāh Jalāl ad-Dīn al-Mujarrad) is a celebrated Sufi Muslim figure in Bengal. Jalal's name is associated with the Muslim conquest of north-eastern Bengal and the spread of Islam in Bangladesh through Sufism. He was buried in Sylhet, Bangladesh, formerly known as Jalalabad, while the country's main airport is named in his honour.

Personal Info:

Religion:Islam

Personal: Born 669 AH (1271 CE)Hadramaut, Yemen

Died: 746 AH (1347 CE)Sylhet, Bengal (now in Bangladesh)

Based in: Sylhet (initially Hadramaut)

Title: Shaykh-ul-Mashāykh, Al-Mujarrad Khalifa

Predecessor: Syed Ahmed Kabir

Successor: Shah Paran

Hazrat Shah Jala Life:

During the later stages of his life, Shah Jalal devoted himself to propagating Islam. Under his guidance, thousands of Hindus and Buddhists converted to Islam. Shah Jalal became so renowned that the famous traveller Ibn Battuta, then in Chittagong, made a one-month journey through the mountains of Kamaru near Sylhet to meet him.[3] On his way to Sylhet, Ibn Batuta was greeted by several of Shah Jalal's disciples who had come to assist him on his journey many days before he had arrived. At the meeting in 1345 CE, Ibn Batuta 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 the Shah to seek guidance.[4]

The meeting between Ibn Batuta and Shah Jalal is described in his Arabic travelogue, Rihla (The Journey). Amir Khusrau also gives an account of Shah Jalal's conquest of Sylhet in his book Afdalul Hawaade. Even today in Hadramaut, Yemen, Shah Jalal's name is established in folklore.[5]

The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is reported by Ibn Batuta to have died in 746 AH (1347 CE). He left behind two descendants, with many still living in Sylhet today. He is buried in Sylhet in his Dargah (tomb), which is located in a neighborhood now known as Dargah Mohalla. His shrine is famous in Sylhet and throughout Bangladesh, with hundreds of devotees visiting daily. The largest mosque in Sylhet was built at the Dargah (also one of the largest in Bangladesh).

The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal:

Shrine of Saint Hazrat Shah Jalal is the most historical interest in Sylhet town. Today, more than six hundred years after his death, the shrine is visited by innumerable devotees of every caste and creed, who make the journey from far away places. Legend says, the great saint who came from Delhi to preach Islam and defeated the then Hindu Raja (king) Gour Gobinda, transformed the witchcraft followers of the Raja into catfishes which are still alive in the tank adjacent to the shrine Swords, the holy Quran and the robes of the holy saint are still preserved in the shrine. 

 
 
                                               

Wari-Bateshwar

The Wari-Bateshwar region (Bengali: উয়ারী-বটেশ্বর Uari-Bôṭeshshor) in Narsingdi, Bangladesh is the site of an ancient fort city dating back to 450 BCE. [1] The 2500 year old ruins being unearthed near the old course of the Brahmaputra River, are a major archaeological discovery in South Asia. It challenges the earlier notions of early urban civilization in Bengal.The river has now shifted a few kilometres eastward. The Meghna flows only a few kms to the south of this area and the Arial Khan flows into it.The location of the two villages on a comparatively high, flood-free ground; their proximity to the old Brahmaputra, and access to the Meghna add significance to the site.Md Hanif Pathan, a schoolteacher, first brought the archaeological importance of the villages to light in 1933. Later his son Md Habibullah Pathan, an amateur archaeologist took initiative to collect antiquities and study them.A large number of iron artifacts, eg iron blooms/ handaxes (?), spearheads, knives, nails and slugs were reported earlier. Recently nails, slugs, melted tiny missing parts and unidentified iron objects were discovered from the excavation. Although furnace has not been encountered in the small-scale excavation but some signs of firing activity could be noticed. Burnt bricks like clay lumps, result of a high temperature burning, were discovered. It is likely that there was an iron smelting industry in and around the site. Iron objects were found at Wari in NBPW level also. The time bracket of NBPW from different sites of the subcontinent varies from c 700 to 100 BC or 50 AD.

A part of fallen mud-wall has been found in NBPW level. The discovery is very significant because it reveals the long tradition of mud-wall architecture in the region in particular and in Bengal in general. This mud-wall is possibly the earliest evidence of architecture in Bangladesh. However, brick structures (brick size, 32 x 30 x 6 cm) are also found in the region. The religious nature of Wari-Bateshwar habitation is not very clear. The discovery of a Knobbed Ware at Wari hints at the existence of Buddhist practice in the region.The unearthing of a 180-meter long, six-meter wide and 21-35cm thick road with a by-lane points to very early urbanisation in this area.

It has been inferred that Wani-Bateshwar was the eastern most limit of the Mauryan Empire. The recent discovery of NBPW from excavation has provided positive support in favour of this hypothesis. It has been argued by scholars that the wide distribution of NBPW is concomitant with Mauryan imperialism. The discovery of NBPW is significant for the understanding of Buddhism and trade routes also.