{{short description|Islamic theologian from Bengal}} {{Infobox religious biography | honorific_prefix = [[Sayyid|Syed]] | name = Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari | native_name = সৈয়দ আহমদ উল্লাহ মাইজভাণ্ডারী | native_name_lang = bn | image = Shrine of Gaus Al Azam Ahmed Ullah Maizbhanderi at Chittagong, Bangladesh.jpg | alt = | caption = Shrine of Syed Ahmed Ullah Maizbhandari | religion = [[Islam]] | denomination = [[Sunni]] | jurisprudence = [[Hanafi]] | Sufi_order = [[Qadiri]]<br>[[Maizbhandari]] | flourished = Modern era | birth_date = {{birth date|1826|01|14|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Fatikchhari Upazila|Maizbhandar]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[Company Raj|British India]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1906|01|23|1826|01|15|df=y}} | death_place = Maizbhandar, [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]], [[British India]] | resting_place = Maizbhandar Darbar Sharif | spouse = Syeda Alfunnisa Bibi Syeda Lutfunnissa Bibi | location = Maizbhandar Darbar Sharif | successor = [[Baba Bhandari]] (Nephew) <br/>[[Syed Delowar Hossain Maizbhandari]] (Grandson) <br/>[[Syed Emdadul Hoque Maizbhandari]] (great-grandchild) [[Syed Aminul Haque Wasel Maizvandari]] (Nephew) | teacher = | students = | initiated = | works = <!-- or | literary_works = --> | profession = | founder = Tariqa-e-Maizbhandaria | module = {{Infobox Arabic name|embed=yes | ism = Aḥmad Ullāh<br/>أحمد الله | nasab = ibn Muṭīʿ Ullāh ibn Ṭayyab Ullāh ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Ḥamīd ad-Dīn<br/>بن مطيع الله بن طيب الله بن عبد القادر بن حميد الدين | nisba = al-Māʾijbahandārī<br>المائجبهنداري<br>as-Sayyid<br>السيد}} }} Syed '''Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari''' ({{langx|ar|أحمد الله المائجبهنداري}}, {{langx|bn|আহমদ উল্লাহ মাইজভাণ্ডারী}}; 14 January 1826 – 23 January 1906) was a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[Sufi saint]] and founder of the [[Maizbhandari]] [[Sufi order]] in [[Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://maizbhandarsharif.com/english/life-of-gausul-azam-hazrat-ahmad-ullah-maizbhandari/|title=Life of Gausul Azam Hazrat Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari|website=maizbhandarsharif.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517072050/http://maizbhandarsharif.com/english/life-of-gausul-azam-hazrat-ahmad-ullah-maizbhandari/|archive-date=17 May 2019}}</ref>

==Ancestry== Ahmad Ullah's ancestors were Syeds and originally migrated from [[Madinah]] to [[Gauḍa (city)|Gaur]], the erstwhile capital of medieval Bengal, via [[Baghdad]] and [[Delhi]]. His great-great-grandfather, Hamid ad-Din, was the appointed [[Imam]] and [[Qadi]] of [[Gauḍa (city)|Gaur]], but due to a sudden epidemic in the city, Hamid later migrated to [[Patiya Upazila|Patiya]] in [[Chittagong District]].<ref name=Harder>{{Citation | last = Harder | first = Hans | title = Sufism and Saint Veneration in Contemporary Bangladesh: The Maijbhandaris of Chittagong | date = 2011 | publisher = Routledge | pages= 15–22 | isbn = 978-1-136-83189-8}}</ref> Hamid's son, Syed Abdul Qadir, was made the ''imam'' of Azimnagar in modern-day [[Fatikchhari Upazila|Fatikchhari]]. He had two sons; Syed Ataullah and Syed Tayyab Ullah. The latter had three sons; Syed Ahmad, Syed Matiullah and Syed Abdul Karim, and the second son was the father of Syed Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari.

==Early life and education== Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari was born in a [[Bengali Muslim]] family in the village of Maizbhandar in the [[Bengal Presidency]]'s [[Chittagong District|District of Chittagong]] on 14 January 1826 CE to Syed Matiullah and Syeda Khayrunnesa. He had two brothers; Syed Abdul Hamid and Syed Abdul Karim.

Ahmad began his education at the local [[Maktab (education)|maktab]] in his village and was later educated in Azimnagar under [[Mawlana]] Muhammad Shafi. In 1844, he enrolled at the [[Aliah University|Aliah Madrasa]] in [[Calcutta]] where he studied [[tafsir]], [[hadith]], [[Islamic jurisprudence]] and philosophy. During this time, he stayed and studied at the residence of Sufi Nur Muhammad until 1851. He also studied under Syed Abu Shahma Muhammad Salih Qadri Lahori as well as Abu Shahma's celibate elder brother Dilwar Ali Pakbaz Lahori.<ref name=huda>{{cite thesis|publisher=[[University of Chittagong]]|author=Huda, Muhammad Shehabul|title=The Saints And Shrines Of Chittagong|year=1985|location=[[Chittagong]]|url=https://archive.org/details/TheSaintsAndShrinesOfChittagong/page/n167/mode/}}</ref>

==Personal life== In 1859, Ahmad Ullah's mother married him with Syeda Alfunnesa who was the daughter of Afaz ad-Din, the [[Munshi]] of Azimnagar. Alfunnesa died six months later, and Ahmad Ullah's mother then got him married to his sister-in-law Syeda Lutfunnesa in the same year. They had three daughters and a son. The daughters all died at a young age and his son, Syed Fayzul Haque, predeceased his father though leaving behind two sons - Syed Dilwar Husayn and Syed Mir Hasan.<ref name=huda/>

==Career== After completing his studies, Ahmad Ullah worked as a [[Qadi]] at a [[Sessions Court]] in [[Jessore]]. A year later, he resigned and began teaching at the Religious College of Munshi Boali in [[Calcutta]] and later the [[Aliah Madrasa]].

From 1859 onwards, Ahmad Ullah busied himself with delivering sermons, attending [[mehfil]]s and being invited to the homes of his followers. He told his brothers to take care of his property, whilst he founded the Tariqa-e-Maizbhandaria, or the Maizbhandari Sufi order. The order was influenced by the [[Chishti Order]].<ref name=Harder/><ref>{{Citation |trans-title=Maizbhandar Darbar Sharif |script-title=bn:মাইজভান্ডার দরবার শরীফ |url=http://fatikchhari.chittagong.gov.bd/site/tourist_spot/563a40db-2147-11e7-8f57-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%20%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%20%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AB |website=fatikchhari.chittagong.gov.bd |access-date=9 May 2020 |archive-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208051544/http://fatikchhari.chittagong.gov.bd/site/tourist_spot/563a40db-2147-11e7-8f57-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%20%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%20%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AB |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ali|first=Syed Murtaza|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28ogAAAAMAAJ&q=Tarika+e+maizbhandari|title=Saints of East Pakistan|date=1971|publisher=Oxford University Press, Pakistan Branch|language=en|page=23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfhAAQAAIAAJ&q=Maijbhandari|title=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=2006|publisher=Mouton|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZepRAQAAIAAJ&q=Maizbhandari|title=Pakistan Quarterly|date=1964|publisher=Pakistan Publications.|language=en|page=129}}</ref>

==Tariqah-e-Maizbhandaria== An August 2008 research report by the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) and Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) of Australia reported that the Sufi order of Maizbhandaria had over ten million followers.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/australian_refugee_review_tribunal/bangladesh/Maijbhandari%20sect.pdf |title=RRT Research Response. Country: Bangladesh |author=Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) [Australia]|author-link =Refugee Review Tribunal |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |date=18 August 2008 |id=BGD33602}}</ref> Syed Emdadul Hoque Maizbhandari is the order's current leader.<ref name=BSS>{{cite news |url= https://diri.org.bd/syed-emdadul-hoque-maizbhandari|title= Syed Emdadul Hoque Maizbhandari}}</ref>

According to German scholar Hans Harder, the order based in Maizbhandar "is a powerful religious institution whose very popularity and influence defy any notions of marginality. It has been able to draw adherents from all sections of society, including the urban middle class, and have managed to assert their perspective on Islam vis-à-vis pressure from reformist quarters while keeping in touch with the religious mainstream in Bengal". In terms of literature, there has been "a sizeable textual output from within the movement since the beginning of the twentieth century, including hagiographies and theological treaties, in the form of monographs, leaflets and journals".<ref name=Harder/>

The order is known for its gatherings for spiritual listening and devotional music, which are important in Bengali Sufi traditions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Alam|first=Sarwar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAKqDwAAQBAJ&q=maizbhandari&pg=PT184|title=Cultural Fusion of Sufi Islam: Alternative Paths to Mystical Faith|date=2019-08-19|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-429-87294-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dey|first=Amit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=deHXAAAAMAAJ&q=Maijbhandari|title=The Image of the Prophet in Bengali Muslim Piety, 1850-1947|date=2005|publisher=Readers Servic|isbn=978-81-87891-34-5|language=en}}</ref> There are over 10,000 such songs, transmitted orally at first but now on CD and video, and they have come to form their own distinct genre of music in Bangladesh.<ref name=Harder/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maizbhandari, Syed Ahmad Ullah}} [[Category:Bengali Sufi saints]] [[Category:Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:1826 births]] [[Category:1906 deaths]] [[Category:People from Maizbhandar]] [[Category:19th-century Bengali people]] [[Category:Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:Indian Sufi religious leaders]] [[Category:People from Chittagong]]