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The Muslim Sufi and mystics spread the light of Islam in Bengal in the th and tenth centuries. In the beginning, Bengal was very receptive to the call of Islam, but thereafter there had been a strong Hindu revival, which immensely infused a now religious spirit among the Hindus. This Hindu revival converted many areas to Hinduism and also had an impact on Muslim society. As the Muslim missionaries discontinued their efforts, there were serious impediments to the spread of Islam. There was a wide-scale ignorance about Islam prevalent among the Muslim masses, resulting in the emergence of Hindu beliefs and practices in the society.
The Muslim revival in Bengal began in the 19th
century, which was meant to put an end to Muslim isolation and exploitation.
The person who came forward to stir the dormant faith of the Bengali Muslims
was Haji Shariat Ullah, who was born in 1781 in the village of Shamail
(Faridpur District). After regaining his early education, Haji Shariat Ullah
left for Hijaz in 1799 at a very young age. In 1820, he returned from Makkah
after a twenty-year stay.During his stay in Arabia, he was greatly impressed by
the doctrines of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab, who had initiated the Wahabi
movement in Arabia.
Haji Shariat Ullah began his reform movement,
known as the Fraizi Movement, in the center of Bengal. This movement was
started as a reaction to the anti-Muslim policies of the British. The Fraizi
movement emphasized the performing of Fraiz, religious duties imposed by the
god and his prophet (PBUH). The followers of Haji Shariat Ullah are known as
Fraizis for their insistence on fulfilling religious obligations. Haji Shariat
Ullah was extremely dismayed to see the deplorable condition of the Muslims who
had been crushed by the East India Company. The Zamindars, who were mostly
non-Muslims, were exploiting the Muslim cultivators by denying them their due
share of their toil.
Haji Shariat ullah was deadly against the false
and superstitious beliefs that had arisen in the Muslim society due to long contact
with the Hindus. He utterly disliked the expressions of pir (master) and
"murid" (disciple) and desired that they be replaced with
"ustad" (teacher) and "shagird" (student). He believed that
these little things signified a complete submission in the relationship between
teacher and student. He strongly forbade the laying on of hands at the time of
accepting a person into discipleship, which had crept into Muslim society. He
required Tauba from his followers as a manifestation of repentance for all past
sins and a pledge to lead a righteous and God-fearing life in the future. His
followers, as already mentioned, were known as Fraizis, but they preferred to
call themselves Tawbar Muslims. His movement brought the Muslim peasantry
together against the cruel exploitation by the Hindu Zamindars.
Haji Shariat Ullah was a pious man who lived a
simple life. He won the deep loyalty and confidence of the people with his
utmost sincerity and devotion. His disciples and followers blindly took him as
competent and able to pull them out of crisis and despair. He was to provide
consolation to the people in their time of adversity and affliction. He
declared jahad against the infidels as inevitable and termed the sub-continent
Dar-ul-Harb, where the offering of Friday prayers was unlawful.
Haji Shariat ullah's fraizi movement instilled a
great deal of enfidencre among the Muslim masses who had been roused from their
slumber.It infused a spirit among Muslim peasants who got together for the
protection of their rights. Haji Shariat Ullah became the center of a great
spiritual revival among Muslims and laid the foundation for his successors to
continue their struggle.
Haji Sahib invited the opposition of the Hindu
Zamindars, who were perturbed by the unity of the Muslim peasantry. They
started harassing him by instituting false cases against him. Ultimately, he
was forced to leave Najabari in the district of Dhaka, a place where he had
settled after his return from Arabia. He returned to his birthplace in Faridpur
district, where he continued his religious preaching and fighting against the
non-Islamic forces till his death in 1840.
In view
