Karamat Ali Jaunpuri

Muhammad Ali Jaunpuri was born in the neighbourhood of Mulla Tola in Jaunpur, North India on 18 Muharram 1215 A. H. (12 June 1800 CE).[3] It is claimed that he was the 35th direct descendant of Abu Bakr, the first Rashidun caliph,[4] with his ancestors migrating from Baghdad to Jaunpur in the early 19th century. His father, Abu Ibrahim Shaykh Muhammad Imam Bakhsh, was the only son of Shaykh Jarullah and Musammat Jamila Bibi. Bakhsh was a student of Shah Abdul Aziz and was employed as a sheristadar at the Jaunpur Collectorate. Jaunpuri's mother, Musammat Bati Bibi, was the daughter of Shaykh Lutf-e-Ali. His younger brother, Shah Rab Ali Jaunpuri, was a faqir and khalifah of Syed Ahmad Shaheed.[5]

It is said that the name Karamat was later prefixed to his name as people started to notice his karamat.[6] From his own books, it can be seen that he used to refer to himself as simply ‘Ali Jaunpuri’ or ‘Ali Jaunpuri better known as Karamat Ali’.[7]

His lineage is recorded as follows: He is Ali, bin Abu Ibrahim Muhammad Imam Bakhsh, bin Jarullah, bin Gul Muhammad, bin Najib ad-Din, bin Muhammad Fazil, bin Muhammad Ali, bin Abu Muhammad, bin Abdullah, bin Abu al-Fath, bin Hamid, bin Muhammad Hafiz, bin Sayadullah Hafiz, bin Hafiz, bin Burhan ad-Din, bin Khwaja Ashraf, bin Khwaja Najib, bin Khwaja Sayfullah, bin Khwaja Shams ad-Din, bin Khwaja Bayazid, bin Khwaja Abdullah, bin Khwaja Sufi, bin Khwaja Muzaffar, bin Khwaja Mus'ab, bin Khwaja Sayf ad-Din, bin Khwaja Nasir ad-Din, bin Khwaja Abu Saham, bin Khwaja Abu Ali, bin Khwaja Umar, bin Khwaja Ibrahim, bin Khwaja Ahmad.[8][5] Khwaja Ahmad is claimed to have been a son of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr although this is not attested.

Jaunpuri's early education in Arabic and Persian began with his father, and he later started Hadith studies and other Islamic studies under Qudratullah Radaulvi and Ahmadullah Anami. He studied reasoning with Ahmad Ali Abbasi Chiraiyakoti and was taught tajweed and Qur'an by Qari Sayyid Ibrahim Madani and Qari Sayyid Muhammad Iskandarani,[9] eventually mastering all seven qira'at.[3] Jaunpuri was also taught Nastaliq and Tughra calligraphy by Hafiz Abdul Ghani to such a degree that it was said he could write Al-Ikhlas with the basmala on a piece of rice and leave space to write his name as well. Apart from this, he also learned the martial arts and wrestling and the art of running sticks and knots from expert art teachers. Jaunpuri studied fiqh under Shah Abdul Aziz and Shah Ismail Dehlvi.[3] He was also a student of Sakhawat Ali Jaunpuri (d. 1854).[10]

At the age of eighteen, Jaunpuri became interested in tasawwuf. After taking his father's permission, Jaunpuri pledged bay'ah to Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareli, who was the founder of the Tariqah-e-Muhammadiya movement.[4] On the very first week of service, Sayyid Ahmad instructed him to get involved in the work of guidance and bestowed the Khilafah (succession) letter with the spiritual genealogy through Shah Ismail Dehlvi.[11][note 1]

The Jama Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ibrahim Shah Sharqi of the independent Jaunpur Sultanate in 1470.

His religious activities were spread across northern India in places like Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Sultanpur, Ghazipur and Faizabad. At that time, there was no daytime adhan in Jaunpur, it could only be heard with the rising and setting of the sun. He reformed this un-Islamic ritual and with great effort issued adhan in mosques. There were also concerns behind the management of the historic Jama Mosque, Jaunpur. Instead of adhan and prayers, the mosque was used for worldly gatherings like baraat, clubbing and marriage ceremonies regardless of religion. Cattle were also tied in some parts of the Jamia Masjid. It continued for many years after until Jaunpuri managed to re-establish the five daily prayers at the mosque. Similarly, after Jamia Masjid Jaunpur, he started a series of Friday sermons which continued for many years after his death. Due to his preaching efforts, attempts were made to kill him several times but he escaped due to his skill in martial arts. He also established Madrasa Hanafia and Madrasat-ul-Quran in Jaunpur for the publication of religious knowledge. The first teacher of Madrasa Hanafia was Abdul Haleem Farangi Mohali (father of Abdul Hai Lucknowi).[12][9][11]

Under Sayyid Ahmad's instruction in 1822, Jaunpuri began preaching to the Muslim masses in Bengal and Assam.[4][6][13] He played an important role in Arabic, Urdu and Islamic studies in the country.[14] Starting in Calcutta, he travelled to various places including Dhaka, Mymensingh, Dinajpur, Faridpur, Noakhali, Chittagong, Goalpara, Dhubri, Kamrup and Rangpur.

For most of Karamat Ali Jaunpuri's career, he had to sail in Bengal and Assam for religious activities. For this reason, he established a travelling madrasa within a large boat. His students lived in the boat and Jaunpuri used to bear their expenses and teach them there.[11]

Karamat Ali Jaunpuri married four times. He first married a lady of Jaunpur but she died. He married two women in Noakhali who also died during his lifetime. His fourth wife, originally from North India, settled in Rangpur with him.[1]

Islam in Bangladesh
History Muslim conquest Islamic rule Bengal Sultanate Bengal Subah Anjuman-i-Ulama-i-Bangala
Culture Architecture Bangladeshi Bengali Indo-Islamic Indo-Saracenic Mughal Literature Arabic Bengali Dobhashi Jangnama Kissa Marsiya Puthi Persian Urdu Music Ghazal Hamd Nashid Naat Qawwali Zari Zikir
Major figures Bakhtiyar Khalji Shah Jalal Khan Jahan Ali Shah Makhdum Titumir Shariatullah Karamat Ali Jaunpuri Sher-e-Bangla Siraji Nazrul Bhashani
Communities Bengali Muslims Dhakaiyas Kan Mahifarash Mahimal Nashya Shaikh Shershabadia Sylhetis Rohingyas Bihari Muslims Pangals
Ideology/schools of thought Ahl-i Hadith Barelvi/Rezvi Deobandi/Qawmi Fultali Maizbhandari Shia
Educational organizations Alia Madrasah Qawmi Madrasah Islamic University, Bangladesh International Islamic University Chittagong
Political parties Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan Islami Andolan Islami Front Islami Oikya Jote Jamaat-e-Islami Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Khelafat Majlish Muslim League Nizam-e-Islam Party Tariqat Federation
Influential bodies Anjuman Mufidul Islam Hefazat-e-Islam Islamic Foundation Bangladesh Tablighi Jamaat Tamaddun Majlish
Other topics Bishwa Ijtema Mosques in Bangladesh (Baitul Mukarram) Muslim nationalism in South Asia Muslim chronicles for Bangladeshi history Sufism in Bangladesh

Jaunpuri has written roughly 46 books. 19 of them were compiled into the three-volume Zakhira-e-Karamat book. The remaining works are scarce. An incomplete list of his works:

• Miftahul Jannat
• Zeenat al-Musalli
• Zeenat al-Qari
• Sharh-e-Hindi Jazari
• Kawkab-e-Durri
• Tarjama-e-Shamail-e-Tirmizi
• Tarjama-e-Mishkat Sharif
• Aqaid-e-Haqqa
• Tazkiratul Aqaid
• Mafizul Huruf
• Qawl ath-Thabit
• Maqami al-Mubtadieen
• Haqq al-Yaqin
• Bay'at-o-Tauba
• Qawl al-Amin
• Murad al-Murideen
• Qawl al-Haq
• Merat al-Haq
• Imtinan al-Qulub
• Mokashifat-e-Rahmat
• Mulakkhas
• Barahin Qat'iyyah fi Mawlud Khayr al-Bariyyah
• Farz-e-Aam
• Hujjat-e-Kateya
• Nur al-Husa
• Zad at-Taqwa
• Kitab-e-Esteqamat
• Nurun Ala Nur
• Rahat-e-Ruh
• Quwwat al-Iman
• Ihqaqul Haqq
• Rafiq as-Salikeen
• Tanweer al-Qulub
• Tazkiyat an-Neswan
• Nasim al-Haramain
• Maulood-e-Khairul Bariyyah
• Keramatul Haramain
• Qurratul Wiyyun
• Resala-e-Faisala
• Okazatul Mumineen
• Fath-e-Bab-e-Sabiyan
• Dawat-e-Majnun[6][7]

Jaunpuri was buried adjacent to the Keramatia Mosque in Rangpur, which is named after him.

During his travels in Rangpur in 1873, Jaunpuri fell ill and subsequently died on 2 Rabi' al-Thani 1290 AH (30 May 1873 CE).[3] He was buried near the Munshipara Jame Mosque in Rangpur.[4][6]

Jaunpuri left behind 14 children. Two of his sons, Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri and Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri gained prominence in Bengal later on.[16][17][18]

Pabitrajhar Karamatia Madrasa

Sayedpur Karamatia Madrasa

Buzurg Santoshpur Karamatia Madrasa

• Sangkhipta Islami Bishwakosh, Volume 1, Islamic Foundation Bangladesh

• Read Miftah-ul-Jannah, Miftah-ul-Khabta and Rafiq-ul-Salikeen in Urdu online