Habibullah Qurayshi

Habibullah Qurayshi was born in 1865, to the Bengali Muslim Mianji family in Qazipara, Chariya village, Hathazari, Chittagong District. His father, Matiullah Mianji Qurayshi, was an alim.^[4] The family traced their ancestry to Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the fourth Umayyad caliph and a member of the Arab tribe of Quraysh.^[5] He lost his mother at the age of five, and was the only child of his parents.^[6][7]

Qurayshi first studied the Quran with Imamuddin Mianji and other books with Masiullah.^[8] He then enrolled at the Mohsinia Madrasa, which was the only higher Islamic educational institute in Chittagong at the time.^[9] After completing Jamat-e-Duam, he proceeded to study at the Darul Uloom Deoband in North India.^[10] After spending some time there, he joined the Jameul Uloom in Kanpur, where he spent 7 years studying under Ashraf Ali Thanwi.^[11] Completing his education thereon, Qurayshi pledged bay'ah to Thanwi who instructed him to return to Bengal and establish a hujra near his home for spiritual asceticism. In this state, he spent 2 years.^[12] Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Ishaq Bardhamani were also his teachers.^[1]

Having returned to Chittagong, Qurayshi met Abdul Wahid Bengali, Sufi Azizur Rahman and Abdul Hamid Madarshahi.^[16] They discussed the importance of establishing a madrasa. Subsequently, Qurayshi sent a latter to his pir, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, regarding the plans.^[17] With the permission of his teacher, Qurayshi established a small building for teaching purposes (now located just west of the present Chariya Madrasa). With the advice of his colleagues, the madrasa was relocated to a place near the present-day Panka Masjid in Hathazari Bazar. For several reasons, there was a need for another relocation. In 1899, he finally co-founded Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam along with the three scholars and through the assistance of locals.^[18] When the scope of work increased over time, Qurayshi became the madrasa's inaugural director-general as instructed by Thanwi.^[19] He served in this position until 1941.^[20]