Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri
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26 June 1914
Imām al-ʿĀrifīn Shah Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri | |
|---|---|
সুলতান আহমদ নানুপুরী | |
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Shah Sultan Ahmad 26 June 1914 |
| Died | 16 August 1997 (aged 83) Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur, Bangladesh |
| Spouse | Momena Khatun |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Darul Uloom Deoband |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Muhammad Faizullah Hussain Ahmad Madani Ibrahim Balyawi Izaz Ali Amrohi |
| Disciple of | Hussain Ahmad Madani Azizul Haq |
Disciples | |
Students
| |
| Principal of Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur | |
| In office 1958–1995 | |
| Succeeded by | Zamiruddin Nanupuri |
Shah Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri (Bengali: শাহ সুলতান আহমদ নানুপুরী; 26 June 1914 – 16 August 1997), also known by his daak naam Badshah, was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, teacher and author. He established numerous madrasas in Bangladesh and was the founding principal of Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur for seventeen years.
Shah Sultan Ahmad was born on 26 June 1914, to a Bengali Muslim family in the village of Dharmapur, located under the Fatikchhari subdivision of the Bengal Province's Chittagong District.[1] His father, Shah Fazlur Rahman, worked in Rangoon, British Burma and his mother, Umdah Khatun, was a housewife. His grandfather's great-grandfather, known as Akbar Shah, was a wali. His lineage is as follows; Sultan Ahmad ibn Fazlur Rahman ibn Hamid Ali ibn Qamar Ali ibn Kalu Ghazi ibn Akbar Shah. Among Fazlur Rahman's children, it was only him that did not die during childhood. When he was roughly two and a half years old, his mother died as a result of a cholera outbreak.[2][3]
Education
Sultan Ahmad's education began at a local maktab ran by Ubaydul Haq Mianji. When he reached the age of five, he joined the Garzania Primary School. After his father's instruction, he later joined the Himayah al-Islam Madrasa in Nanupur Kalu Munshirhat. There he began studying from Yazdaham to Jamate Shashum under the likes of Lal Miyan,[1] Obaydul Hoque and Muhammad Faizullah.[4]
In his final year, his father died. After completing his studies, his stepmother advised him to join the Darul Uloom Alia Madrasa in the city of Chittagong. Ahmad stayed there for a few months but did not enjoy the curriculum, and so returned home. Being influenced by his former teachers, he intended to re-enrol from Jamate Shashum at the Darul Uloom Deoband. He therefore travelled to Saharanpur in Hindustan to complete his studies in Deoband. He also briefly studied at the nearby Mazahir Uloom, before graduating (MA) from the faculty of Hadith studies at Darul Uloom Deoband and beginning his philosophy course. Among his teachers were Hussain Ahmad Madani, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Ibrahim Balyawi, Zahur Ahmed, Habibullah Mirathi and Riyaz ad-Din.[4][5]
Career
During his studies in Deoband, Nanupuri served as an imam at the Deoband Central Mosque. After graduating and returning to Bengal, he sent a letter to join the faculty at the Al-Jamia al-Arabia Nasirul Islam in Nazirhat Bazar and was accepted to teach there. The erstwhile principal of the madrasa, Nur Ahmad, later employed Zafar Ahmad Usmani too. Usmani was a supporter of the All-India Muslim League, whilst Nanupuri strongly believed that religious institutions like the madrasa should be free from political influence. Nanupuri subsequently left and became a teacher at Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar for 15 years. Azizul Haq later instructed Nanupuri to become the acting principal, and later the founding principal of Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Obaidia Nanupur in 1961. He served in Nanupur for seventeen years in total, and then gave up the role to Zamiruddin Nanupuri.[6] Among his notable students were Abdur Rahman (scholar), Muhibbullah Babunagari and Sultan Zauq Nadvi.[7]
Among the other madrasas that he established are Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiyyah Bayt al-Huda and Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiyyah Azizul Uloom Pokkhali. He was also the founder of the Ar-Rashid monthly magazine.[4]
