Shah Jalal Dakhini

Not to be confused with Shah Jalal.
Shah
Jalal Dakhini
Personal life
Born
Gujarat or Deccan
Died1476 CE
Dhaka, Bengal Sultanate
Resting placeBangabhaban, Dilkusha, Motijheel Thana, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
Muslim leader
Period in office15th century

Shah Jalal Dakhini (Bengali: শাহ জালাল দাখিনী, Arabic: شاه جلال داخني) was a 15th-century Sufi Muslim figure of Dhaka, eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh).[1] Dakhini was one among the many Sufis who spread Islam in eastern India.[2] Saint received an honorifics as a Dakhini as he was the resident of Deccan.[1]

Biography

It is debated whether Dakhini was originally from the Deccan Plateau in South India (as his name suggests) or that he was from Gujarat in Western India. According to 'Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi's Akhbar-ul-Akhyar, Dakhini studied under Shaykh Piyara in North India. Piyara was a Bengali Muslim scholar of the Chishti Order.[3][4]

One day, he set off with a few companions from Gujarat to eastern Bengal, during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah. He established a khanqah in present-day Motijheel, Dhaka in order to propagate Islamic teachings to the local people.[1] He gained a large following in Dhaka, so much so that it was seemingly proportionate to the power of a king. It is said he also started to have a very pompous attitude.[3] According to legend, the Sultan was angered by this, viewing Dakhini as a threat, and so had Dakhini and his comrades executed in 1475.[5] Dakhini is assumed to be buried in the eastern tomb of a single-domed mazar (mausoleum) northeast of the Bangabhaban gateway.[6]

Legacy

Bangabhaban at night.

Tradition holds that his tomb is within the Bangabhaban compound.[1][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Bhuiyan, Mosharraf Hussain (2012). "Shah Jalal Dakhini (R)". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  2. ^ Islam, Md Nazrul; Islam, Md Saidul (2020). Islam and Democracy in South Asia: The Case of Bangladesh. Springer Nature. p. 130. ISBN 978-3-030-42909-6.
  3. ^ a b Abdul Mannan Talib (1980). Bangladeshe Islam. Adhunika Prakasani.
  4. ^ 'Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi (1500s). Akhbar-ul-Akhyar.
  5. ^ "Revisiting Dhaka's Treasures". The Daily Star. 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  6. ^ Hundred Years of Bangabhaban, 1905-2005. Press Wing Bangabhaban. 2006. pp. 156, 171. ISBN 978-984-32-1583-3.
  7. ^ Dani, Ahmad Hasan (1962) [First published 1956]. Dacca: A Record of Its Changing Fortunes (2nd ed.). Mrs. Safiya S. Dani. p. 22. OCLC 987755973.