The Shrine of Bayazid Bostami is a shrine in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Bayazid Bostami was a famous Persian Sufi born in Bostam, Iran. Its shrine area as a complex consists of a tomb surrounded by a brick structure along with an old mosque and a large pond. There is no significant historical evidence about Bostami's visit and tomb in this area. The whole complex is located on a hillock of Nasirabad, considered to be a holy place and attracts a large number of visitors and pilgrims daily.
The tomb and the sarcophagus it houses were originally discovered in 1831, and at the time were enclosed by a wall with protective pillars, that have since been replaced by a more modern structure. At the foot of the tomb hill, there is an ancient three-domed mosque, which is believed to date from the time of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb (1618–1707). The interior of the mosque is sparsely decorated, while the mihrab on the qibla wall (indicating the direction of Mecca) has an identical projection on its opposite side. [1]
Although the shrine is believed to be Bostami's tomb according to local tradition, there is no significant historical evidence about Bostami's visit to this part of Bangladesh. It is thought that this tomb was attributed to him as a jawab or imitation. According to Hamidullah Khan (a historian of 19th-century Chittagong), Muslim faqirs and wanderers of the time used to come to Chittagong to take their seats on hill tops surrounded by jungles. [1]
Some people believe that Bostami visited this part of the world during his lifetime. According to legend, during his return local followers asked him to stay in Chittagong. Overwhelmed by their love and devotion, Bostami pierced his fifth (little) finger, allowed a few drops of blood to fall to the ground, and permitted his followers to build a shrine there on his name.
Although there is no authentic historical record about Bostami's visit to Chittagong, some 18th-century Bengali poets remembered a Shah Sultan of Nasirabad in their poems. [1]
In front of the tomb, there is a large pond that houses a large number of black soft-shelled turtles known as Bostami turtle or Bostami kachim (locally called mazari) which are a very rare and critically endangered species. Legends claim that these turtles are the descendants of evil spirits that incurred the wrath of the renowned saint, Bayazid Bostami, while he was visiting the area. It is believed that the evil spirits were then transformed into turtles as a punishment and are doomed to spend eternity in this pool. At present, the shrine's caretakers – the Mazar Committee – protect the turtle population but will not allow specimens to be taken anymore, regardless of whether they would be killed or reintroduced into the wild.
Scientifically, the black soft-shelled turtle or Bostami turtle (Aspideretes nigricans, sometimes placed in genus Nilssonia) is a species of freshwater turtle found in India (Assam and Tripura) and Bangladesh (Chittagong). They have been long-believed to be inbred variants of the Ganges soft-shelled turtle (A. gangeticus or N. gangeticus) or the peacock soft-shelled turtle (A. hurum or N. hurum). While it is a close relative of the latter, it is a distinct species. As of 2002, the IUCN classified the species as extinct in the wild. [2]
2012 an initiative taken to build a multi-storey mosque at the location of the pond was stayed by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Although several concrete pillars had been erected inside the shrine pond, about 10 feet off the bank despite the rule of high court. [3]
Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī), commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī, was a Persian Sufi from north-central Iran. Known to future Sufis as Sultān-ul-Ārifīn, Bisṭāmī is considered to be one of the expositors of the state of fanā, the notion of dying in mystical union with Allah. Bastami was famous for "the boldness of his expression of the mystic’s complete absorption into the mysticism." Many "ecstatic utterances" have been attributed to Bisṭāmī, which lead to him being known as the "drunken" or "ecstatic" school of Islamic mysticism. Such utterance may be argued as, Bisṭāmī died with mystical union and the deity is speaking through his tongue. Bisṭāmī also claimed to have ascended through the seven heavens in his dream. His journey, known as the Mi'raj of Bisṭāmī, is clearly patterned on the Mi'raj of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Bisṭāmī is characterized in three different ways: a free thinking radical, a pious Sufi who is deeply concerned with following the sha'ria and engaging in "devotions beyond the obligatory," and a pious individual who is presented as having a dream similar to the Mi'raj of Muhammed. The Mi'raj of Bisṭāmī seems as if Bisṭāmī is going through a self journey; as he ascends through each heaven, Bisṭāmī is gaining knowledge in how he communicates with the angels and the number of angels he encounters increases.
Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. The port city of Chittagong, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is located within this district.
The black softshell turtle or Bostami turtle, previously placed in genus Aspideretes, is a species of freshwater turtle found in India and Bangladesh. It was long believed to be inbred individuals of the Indian softshell turtle or the Indian peacock softshell turtle, but while it is a close relative of the latter, it is a distinct species. In the 1800s it was believed these turtles were brought from Iran to Chittagong shrine pond by Hazrat Bayezid Bostami. His turtles he had brought to this pond were treated as sacred and respected by the public. Previously declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2002, these turtles were found still to exist in a temple's pond called the Hayagriva Madhava Temple located in Assam, and in Kalyan Sagar lake in Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur, Tripura, India. Through conservation methods and protection of the species, some of these turtles can be found today throughout the wild, and scientists and environmental biologists are continuing to work hard to preserve this endangered species and their natural habitat. Their mitogenome represents relatedness to 19 other species of the Testudines. When looking at the phylogenetic tree, Nilssonia Nigricans are a species represented as sisters to Nilssonia formosa.
Indian peacock softshell turtle is a species of turtle found in South Asia, and is listed on the IUCN Red List as a vulnerable species.
The Indian softshell turtle, or Ganges softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle found in South Asia in rivers such as the Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi. This vulnerable turtle reaches a carapace length of up to 94 cm (37 in). It feeds mostly on fish, amphibians, carrion and other animal matter, but also takes aquatic plants. This turtle is listed in part II of Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and possession of this species is an offence.
Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) is a self-governing agency that governs the municipal areas of Chattogram and some adjoining areas of south-eastern Bangladesh.
Bagha Mosque is a mosque located at Bagha, 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Rajshahi in Bangladesh.
Dhaka is the capital and one of the oldest cities of Bangladesh. The history of Dhaka begins with the existence of urbanised settlements in the area that is now Dhaka dating from the 7th century CE. The city area was ruled by the Buddhist and shaivite Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Sena dynasty in the 10th century CE. After the Sena dynasty, Dhaka was successively ruled by the Turkic and Afghan governors descending from the Delhi Sultanate, followed by the Bengal Sultanate, before the arrival of the Mughals in 1608. The city became proto-industrialised and declared capital of the Mughal Bengal. After Mughals, British ruled the region for 200 years until the independence of India. In 1947, Dhaka became the capital of the East Bengal province under the Dominion of Pakistan. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Dhaka became the capital of the new state.
Sarail is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District located in the Chittagong Division and near the Dhaka Division, Bangladesh.
Hathazari is an upazila of Chittagong District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Sitakunda is an upazila, or administrative unit, in the Chittagong District of Bangladesh. It includes one urban settlement, the Sitakunda Town, and 10 unions, the lowest of administrative units in Bangladesh. It is one of the 15 upazilas, the second tier of administrative units, of the Chittagong District, which also includes 33 thanas, the urban equivalent of upazilas. The district is part of the Chittagong Division, the highest order of administrative units in Bangladesh. Sitakunda is the home of the country's first eco-park, as well as alternative energy projects, specifically wind energy and geothermal power.
Kaliganj is an upazila (sub-district) of Gazipur District in central Bangladesh, part of the Dhaka Division.
Batali Hill is the highest hill in the city of Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is located near the Tiger Pass crossing, about 1 kilometre from the center of the city, and falls under Khulshi Thana.
Wali Khan Mosque is an 18th-century mosque located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is situated in the Chawk Bazar area of the city.
Malik Andil Habshi, better known by his regnal title Saifuddin Firuz Shah was the second "Habshi" ruler of the Bengal Sultanate's Habshi dynasty. He was a former army commander of the Sultanate's Ilyas Shahi dynasty.
Baba Adam's Mosque is a mosque situated in the village of Qadi Qasbah under Rampal Union of Bangladesh's Munshiganj District. It was constructed in 1483 A.D by Malik Kafur to function as a Jami mosque during the reign of Jalaluddin Fateh Shah. The tomb of Baba Adam Shahid, a 15th-century Muslim preacher, lies near the edifice.
The region of Chittagong is traditionally centred around its seaport which has existed since ancient times. The region was home to the ancient independent Buddhist kingdoms of Samatata and Harikela. It later fell under of the rule of the Gupta Empire, the Pala Empire and the Arakanese kingdom of Waithali until the 7th century. Arab Muslims traded with the port from as early as the 9th century. Historian Lama Taranath is of the view that the Buddhist king Gopichandra had his capital at Chittagong in the 10th century. According to Tibetan tradition, this century marked the birth of Tantric Buddhism in the region. The region has been explored by numerous historic travellers, most notably Ibn Battuta of Morocco who visited in the 14th century. During this time, the region was conquered and incorporated into the independent Sonargaon Sultanate by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah in 1340 AD. Sultan Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah constructed a highway from Chittagong to Chandpur and ordered the construction of many lavish mosques and tombs. After the defeat of the Sultan of Bengal Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah in the hands of Sher Shah Suri in 1538, the Arakanese Kingdom of Mrauk U managed to regain Chittagong. From this time onward, until its conquest by the Mughal Empire, the region was under the control of the Portuguese and the Magh pirates for 128 years.
Bayazid is a Thana of Chittagong District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. There are three wards in the Thana.
The fauna of Bangladesh includes about 1,600 species of vertebrate fauna and about 1,000 species of invertebrate fauna based on incomplete records. The vertebrate fauna consists of roughly 22 species of amphibians, 708 species of fish, 126 -species of reptiles, 628 species of birds and 113 species of mammals. The invertebrate fauna includes about 30 species of aphids, 20 species of bees, 178 species of beetles, 135 species of flies, 400 species of spiders, 150 species of lepidopterans 52 species of decapods, 30 species of copepods, 2 species of starfish and some species of sand dollars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins. Bangladesh's wide variety of ecological conditions, encompassing the long sea coast, numerous rivers and their tributaries, lakes, haors, baors, ponds and other forms of wetlands, lowland evergreen forests of tropical nature, semi-evergreen forest, hill forests, moist deciduous forests, swamps, and flat lands with tall grasses, has ensured the vast diversity of species found in the country. However, the increasing population, unplanned urbanization and expansion of agriculture and industry have been significantly affecting the ecological structure of Bangladesh, leaving several species extinct and many others endangered.
Paragal Khan was an administrator and military commander (lashkar) of the Bengal Sultanate in the late 15th century and early 16th century. He served as the General of Alauddin Husain Shah.
