{{Short description|14th-century Sufi saint}} {{use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox religious biography | honorific_prefix = Shaykh al-Mun`im al-Mukarram | name = Alaul Haq | honorific_suffix = Ganj-e-Nābāt | image = Ala ul-Haq Umar al-Khalidi al-Bangali.png | caption = Calligraphy of Alaul Haq (full name) | birth_date = 1301 AD | birth_place = [[Hazrat Pandua]], [[Bengal]] | father = As`ad Khālidī | religion = [[Sunni Islam]] | denomination = [[Hanafi]] | order = [[Chishti Order]] | flourished = Late 12th century | teacher = [[Akhi Siraj]], Nizām ul-Haq Sarfī | students = [[Ashraf Jahangir Semnani]], [[Nur Qutb Alam]] | death_date = 1384-1398 AD <small>(aged between 83 and 97)</small> | death_place = [[Hazrat Pandua]], [[Bengal Sultanate]] (now [[Malda district]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]) | relatives = [[Akhi Siraj]] (father-in-law), Badr Islam Abu Zahid (grandson) | module = {{Infobox Arabic name|embed=yes | ism = Umar<br/>عمر | nasab = ibn As'ad<br/>بن أسعد | kunya = | laqab = Ala al-Haq wa ad-Din<br>علاء الحق والدين<br>Ala al-Haq<br>علاء الحق | nisba = al-Khalidi<br>الخالدي<br>al-Bangali<br>البنغالي<br>Pandawi/Al-Bandawi<br>پانڈوی/الباندوي}} }} {{Bengal Sultanate}} '''Alā ul-Ḥaq wa ad-Dīn ʿUmar ibn As`ad al-Khālidī al-Bangālī''' ({{langx|ar|علاء الحق والدين عمر بن أسعد الخالدي البنغالي}}), commonly known as '''Alaul Haq''' ({{langx|bn|আলাউল হক}}) or reverentially by the [[sobriquet]] '''Ganj-e-Nābāt''' ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|گنج نابات}}}}, {{langx|bn|গঞ্জে নাবাত}}), was a 14th-century [[Islamic scholar]] of [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Ismail, Muhammad|pages=71–72|title=Hagiology of Sufi Saints and the Spread of Islam in South Asia|publisher=Jnanada Prakashan|year=2010}}</ref> Posted in [[Hazrat Pandua]], he was the senior disciple and successor of [[Akhi Siraj]], and a [[Bengal Sultanate]] government official.<ref name=abd/>
==Early life and education== Alaul Haq Umar was born in 1301, in the city of [[Hazrat Pandua]] to a [[Muslim]] family. His father, Shaykh As`ad Khālidī,<ref>{{cite book|title=Nafahatul Uns: A work on the biographies of about 567 Sufi Saints|author=[[Jami]]|location=[[Kanpur]]|year=1893}}</ref> migrated from [[Lahore]] to Pandua where he served as the Finance Minister of the [[Sultanate of Bengal]]. His uncles, cousins and brothers also held high ranks in the Sultanate court.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Shaikh Alauddin Pandavi — A Sufi Saint of Pandua in Fourteenth Century|author=Qamaruddin, Muhammad|pages=472–474|volume=56|journal=Proceedings|publisher=[[Indian History Congress]]|year=1995}}</ref> Some sources claim that Haq was first taught by Nizamul Haq Sarfi, who was a senior scholar of Bengal based in [[Gauḍa (city)|Lakhnauti]] and teacher of Nasiruddin Bahath. This claim however, has been doubted by others due to issues relating to time periods. After the death of his father, Haq was meant to have inherited two gardens worth 8000 [[History of the taka|taka]]s though someone else had taken possession of them. Haq never attempted to regain the inherited property.<ref name=abd/>
Excelling in his studies, Alaul Haq began calling himself ''Ganj-e-Nābāt'' and gained popularity in Bengal. This act was criticised by [[Nizamuddin Auliya]] of [[Delhi]], as his teacher was [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar|Ganj-e-Shakar]] (treasure of sugar), and the title of ''Ganj-e-Nabat'' (store of fine sugar) was a sign of arrogance and superiority. [[Akhi Siraj]] of the [[Chishti Order]] returned to Bengal on the advice of his teacher, Nizamuddin Auliya, where he was appointed as the country's court scholar. Alaul Haq became his student and dropped the ''Ganj-e-Nabat'' title. There are many stories relating to Haq's relationship with his mentor Siraj. It is said that Haq would accompany his teacher with a cauldron on his head, and carrying an oven whilst barefooted so that he could his teacher could have hot meals, and would often have to walk in such a state in front of the homes of his relatives. This eventually led to Alaul Haq suffering from [[alopecia]].<ref name=social/> This supposedly even took place during Siraj's numerous [[Hajj]] visits.<ref name=borah>{{cite book|title=Baharistan-I-Ghaybi – Volume II|author=Nathan, Mirza|editor=M. I. Borah|year=1936|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279665/page/n389/mode/2up|publisher=[[Government of Assam]]|location=[[Gauhati]], [[Assam]], [[British Raj]]|page=823}}</ref>
Alaul Haq was admired by his teacher Siraj to such an extent that he was made his successor and the husband of Siraj's daughter.<ref name=sufis>{{cite book|title=Sufis of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh|volume=1|pages=72–73|year=2002|publisher=Kitab Bhavan|editor=Singh, NK|location=[[New Delhi]]}}</ref>
==Career== Following the death of Siraj, Haq served as the court scholar; setting up a [[khanqah]] in [[Hazrat Pandua]] and becoming an elite member of the [[Sultan of Bengal]] [[Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah]]'s government.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Shaikh Alaul Haq (R)|author=Abdul Karim}}</ref> During the reign of Sultan [[Sikandar Shah]], Haq was put in charge of the royal treasury of the [[Bengal Sultanate]].<ref name=abd/>
It is said that Alaul Haq was so generous to his students and the needy that his generosity outweighed that of the Sultan. As a result, he was banished to [[Sonargaon]] for two years before being allowed to return to his Khanqah.<ref name=social/><ref name=bpedia/> [[Ashraf Jahangir Semnani]], a former ruler of [[Semnan Province|Semnan]] in modern-day [[Iran]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Mir-atUl-israr-UrduTranslation|title=Mir-at ul-Israr - Urdu translation|last=Shaykh Abdul Rahman Chishti|language=Urdu}}</ref> had abdicated his throne to become a student of Alaul Haq in Pandua.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Khazinat-ul-asfiyaurduTranslation4Volumes|title=Khazinat-ul-Asfiya (Urdu translation) 4 volumes|last=[[Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Lahori]]}}</ref> His journey took two years and upon meeting Haq and his disciples in the outskirts of Pandua, Semnani was carried by [[Litter (vehicle)|doli]] to Haq's khanqah where he was fed four handfuls of rice and [[paan]] by Alaul Haq. Semnani studied under Alaul Haq for 1
2 years, before being instructed by him to go and propagate in [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]].<ref>''Hayate Makhdoom Syed Ashraf Jahangir Semnani'' (1975), Second Edition (2017) {{ISBN|978-93-85295-54-6}} {{cite book|location = MAKTABA JAMIA LIMITED, SHAMSHAD MARKET, ALIGARH-202002, [[Uttar Pradesh]]|title = HAYATE MAKHDOOM SYED ASHRAF JAHANGIR SEMNANI (2nd Ed.)|author = Syed Waheed Ashraf|date = 2017|ol = 26384309M}}.</ref><ref>‘'MUQADDEMA-E- LATĀIF-E-ASHRAFI' Book in PERSIAN, Published by Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India</ref><ref name="abd">{{cite book|title=The Muslim Mystic Movement in Bengal, 1301-1550|year=1993|author=Abdul Latif|publisher=K P Bagchi}}</ref>
{{quote|{{Nastaliq|نهاده تاج دولت بر سر من، علاء الحق والدین گنج نابات}}<br>''Ala al-Haq wa ad-Din Ganj-i-Nabat'' has placed the crown of [[al-Dawla|Dawlat]] upon my head|[[Farsi|Persian]] couplet recited by student [[Ashraf Jahangir Semnani]] after being received by Alaul Haq at the khanqah}}
==Death== [[File:Chhoti Dargah at Pandua in Malda District 11.jpg|thumb|left|The historic Chhoti Dargah cemetery in [[Hazrat Pandua]].]] It is suggested by [['Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi]], in his ''Akhbar al Akhyar'', that Alaul Haq died in the year 800 AH (1398 AD).<ref>{{cite book|page=143|author=[['Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi]]|title=Akhbarul Akhyar}}</ref> On the other hand, the guardians of Haq's shrine possess a book which cites his death in 786 AH (1384 AD). It has also been said that Alaul Haq's [[janaza]] was performed by [[Jahaniyan Jahangasht]].<ref name=social>{{cite book|author=[[Abdul Karim (historian)|Abdul Karim]]|pages=103–105|title=Social History of the Muslims in Bengal (Down to A.D. 1538)|year=1959|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Pakistan]]|url=https://archive.org/details/SocialHistoryOfTheMuslimsInBengalDownToA.D.1538-AbdulKarim/page/n115/mode/2up}}</ref> His shrine, the Chhoti Dargah,<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|author=Serajuddin, Asma|article=Tomb Architecture}}</ref> is one of the major [[dargah]]s of Bengal; located in the ruined city of [[Hazrat Pandua]] in [[Malda district|Malda]] and adjacent to the other contemporary scholars of Bengal such as [[Jalaluddin Tabrizi]]. Haq's disciples included his son [[Nur Qutb Alam]] (who was his successor), as well as the Sufi saints [[Ashraf Jahangir Semnani]] and [[Husayn Dhukkarposh]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Manaqib al-Asfiya|chapter=Maktubat-i-Sadi|pages=339–340|author=Shah Shuayb}}</ref> His [[urs]] is commemorated from 23 to 25 [[Rajab]] in Chhoti Dargah, presently in [[West Bengal]], [[India]].<ref name=bpedia/> Alaul Haq's grandson, Badr Islam, and his great-grandson, Shaykh Zahid, were prominent scholars in [[Sonargaon]].<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Sonargaon|author=Khan, Muazzam Hussain}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|title=Akhbarul Akhyar|author=Abdal Haqq Muhaddith Dehlwi [d.1052H-1642 CE]}}: A short biography of the prominent Sufis of India have been mentioned in this book including that of Alaul Haq Pandavi * 'Mir'at-ul-Israr' by Syed Abdur Rahman Chisti * 'Lataife-Ashrafi' (Discourses of Ashraf Jahangir Semnani) Compiled by Nizam Yemeni, Edited and annotated by [[Syed Waheed Ashraf]], published in 2010 * 'Ma'arijul-Wilayat' * 'Hayate Makhdoom Syed [[Ashraf Jahangir Semnani]](1975), Second Edition(2017) {{ISBN|978-93-85295-54-6}}, Maktaba Jamia Ltd, Shamshad Market, Aligarh 202002, [[India]]
{{authority control}} {{Hanafi scholars}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandavi, Alaul Haq}} [[Category:Bengali Sufi saints]] [[Category:Chishtis]] [[Category:People from Malda district]] [[Category:14th-century Bengali people]] [[Category:Sufi writers]] [[Category:Sufi mystics]] [[Category:Sufi teachers]] [[Category:Bengal Sultanate officers]] [[Category:14th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam]]