| Akhiri Chahar Shambah | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghan and Persian Muslims [1] |
| Significance | Muhammad's temporary recovery |
| Observances | Nafl prayers, donations, prayers |
| Date | Last Wednesday of Safar |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Part of a series on |
| Muhammad |
|---|
Akhiri Chahar Shambah is a holy day [1] for Muslims of the Indian subcontinent and Iran. [2] It is an Arabic and Persian word-pair; its Arabic part is akheri, meaning "last" and the Persian part is chahar sambah, meaning "Wednesday". [3]
At the beginning of Hijri 11, Muhammad fell seriously ill. Gradually his physical condition started to deteriorate. He became so ill that he could not even lead the prayer. He recovered on Wednesday, the 28th Safar. The day was the last Wednesday of the month of Safar. [4]
On this day feeling somewhat better, he took a bath and led the prayer for the last time. The people of Medina came to know about this news [4] and came in groups to see him. [5] All of them offered charity, prayers and prayers in thanksgiving. Some of his followers freed their slaves and donated money or camels. [4] On that day Abu Bakr donated 5 thousand, Umar 7 thousand, Uthman 10 thousand, Ali 3 thousand dirhams and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf donated 100 camels. [5]
Although there is a difference of opinion among religious scholars regarding the observance of this day, this day is observed in the light of certain rules. [5] [6] The day is originally celebrated as 'Thanksgiving Day'; So that after taking bath and performing two rak'as Al-Shukr Nafl prayers, prayers for freedom from disease and charity are done. [2] Islamic mehfils are held in various mosques, madrasas, darbars, khanqahs to observe this day. On this day, various educational institutions in Bangladesh are officially closed as well as considered as an optional holiday in offices and courts. [5]
Safar, also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ṣafar means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when Muslims fled the oppression of Quraish in Mecca and travelled to Madina.
The Bishwa Ijtema is an annual gathering of Muslims in Tongi, by the banks of the River Turag, in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Ijtema is considered a demonstration of Muslim unity, solidarity, mutual love and respect and an opportunity to reiterate their commitment to Islamic values. It is the biggest festival by population in Bengali culture, one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world, and the second-largest Muslim gathering, with 5 million adherents, after the Arba'een Pilgrimage's 15–20 million attendees in Iraq, both surpassing the 2–3 million worshipers who participate in the Hajj, considered to be one of the five pillars of Islam, in Saudi Arabia. Bishwa Ijtema is a modern event where Muslim participation is voluntary.
Syed Emdad Ali (1875–1956), was a Bengali poet and writer. He was born in Munshiganj District, Bengal, now in Bangladesh. He was against the use of highly Sanskritised vocabulary in Bangla as well as the unnecessary use of Persian and Arabic words. A liberal humanist, Emdad Ali believed in communal harmony.
Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy was a Bengali Islamic scholar, educationist and writer from Midnapore. He is regarded as the Father of modern Islamic education in Bengal and was awarded with the title of Bahr ul Ulum, meaning: sea of knowledge by the British.
According to the 2011 census, West Bengal has over 24.6 million Muslims, making up 27% of the state's population. The vast majority of Muslims in West Bengal are ethnic native Bengali Muslims, numbering around over 22 million and comprising 24.1% of the state population. There also exists an Immigrants Urdu-speaking Muslim community numbering 2.6 million, constituting 2.9% of the state population and mostly resides in Urban areas of the state.
Bengali Muslims are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ethnic group among Muslims after Arabs. Bengali Muslims make up the majority of Bangladesh's citizens, and are the largest minority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.
Abū al-Khayr Muḥammad Ayyūb ʿAlī al-Māturīdī, or simply Ayub Ali, was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, author and educationist. He was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 1976 by the Government of Bangladesh.
Syed Abul Bashar Mahmud Hossain was a Bangladeshi lawyer and jurist who served as the 2nd Chief Justice of Bangladesh during 1975–1978.
Wajed Ali Khan Panni was a Bengali politician, educationist and the zamindar of Karatia.
Ahmed Ali Enayetpuri was a Bengali writer, journalist, and politician.
Dobhashi is a neologism used to refer to a historical register of the Bengali language which borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It became the most customary form for composing puthi poetry predominantly using the traditional Bengali alphabet. However, Dobhashi literature was produced in the modified Arabic scripts of Chittagong and Nadia. The standardisation of the modern Bengali language during the colonial period, eventually led to its decline.
Sharaf ad-Dīn Abū Tawʾamah was an Islamic scholar, author and muhaddith based in the subcontinent. He played a large role in disseminating Islam in eastern Bengal, establishing one of the country's first madrasas. According to A. F. M. Abdur Rahman, in addition to his proficiency in Persian and Arabic, he became well conversant in the local Old Bengali language of the time.
Maulawi Āghā Aḥmad ʿAlī was a 19th-century Bengali academic, historian and scholar of the Persian language. In addition to Persian, he also composed poetry in Urdu. He is seen as one of the greatest Persian scholars of Dhaka, and even Bengal as a whole.
Qadi Heyat Mahmud was a medieval Bengali poet, mystic and judge. Although his works, like other Middle Bengali poetry, are religion-centric, they are marked by social consciousness and tolerance, and contain many Rangpuri dialectic features. Mahmud is considered to be the last poet of Middle Bengali literature, and his lifespan directly ends shortly after the British East India Company's victory at the Battle of Plassey.
Karāmat ʿAlī Jaunpūrī, born as Muḥammad ʿAlī Jaunpūrī, was a nineteenth-century Indian Muslim social reformer and founder of the Taiyuni movement. He played a major role in propagating to the masses of Bengal and Assam via public sermons, and wrote over forty books. Syed Ameer Ali is one of his notable students.
Ḥāfiẓ Aḥmad Jaunpūrī was an Indian Muslim scholar, religious preacher and social worker. As the son and successor of Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, he led the Taiyuni reformist movement in Bengal.
Muḥammad Fayḍ Allāh ibn Hidāyat ʿAlī al-Islāmābādī, popularly known as Mufti Faizullah, was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, mufti, poet, educator and a reformer. He was among early students to study at the Darul Uloom Hathazari. He was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband and later served as the Chief Mufti of the Darul Uloom Hathazari. He established Mekhal Madrasa following in the style of Ashab-e Suffah. He authored over 100 books in Arabic, Persian and Urdu.
Abul Hasan Jashori was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, politician, author, teacher and freedom fighter. He was the founding principal and Shaykh al-Hadith of the Jamia Ezazia Darul Uloom Jessore institution.
ʿAbd ar-Rabb Jaunpūrī was an Indian Muslim scholar, author and teacher. He was associated with Taiyuni reformist movement, founded by his grandfather Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, and succeeded his uncle Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri as the leader of the movement in 1899.
Abū Naṣr Muḥammad Waḥīd, or simply Abu Nasr Waheed, was a Bengali Islamic scholar, educationist, author and politician. He is best known for his reformations to Islamic education in Bengal, and development of Arabic language education among Bengali Muslims. Wahid also served as the Education Minister of British Assam and a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly.
