Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri facts for kids

Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri (1867 – 18 June 1921) was an important Muslim scholar, teacher, poet, and writer from India. He was known for his religious speeches and his role in leading the Taiyuni reform movement in Bengal. Many people, including scholar Muhammad Mojlum Khan, described him as one of the most talented children of his father, Karamat Ali Jaunpuri.

Early Life and Family

Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri was born in 1867. He was the youngest son of Karamat Ali Jaunpuri and Batul Bibi. His birthplace was the island of Sandwip, located off the coast of Bengal. His family was Indian Muslim and believed their ancestors came from the Arab tribe of Quraysh. Jaunpuri was said to be a direct descendant of Abu Bakr, the first leader of Islam after Prophet Muhammad.

His father, Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, had moved from Jaunpur in North India. He wanted to help improve the religious practices of Muslims in Bengal. Many people in Jaunpuri's family were also Islamic scholars. For example, his oldest brother was Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri.

His Education

Jaunpuri started learning to recite the Qur'an at the age of six. Sadly, his parents died when he was only eight years old. After this, his cousin, Mawlana Salahuddin Ahmad, took care of him. His cousin brought him back to Jaunpur.

Jaunpuri finished memorizing the entire Qur'an (called hifz) by the age of thirteen. In that same year, he led the special night prayers during Ramadan, known as tarawih. He completed reciting the whole Qur'an in these prayers within the first ten days of Ramadan. People started to notice his great talent. He began leading prayers in mosques in different cities like Jaunpur, Lucknow, Dacca, and Noakhali.

He then studied Arabic grammar and Qur'anic studies in Noakhali. His teacher there was Moulvi Muhammad Hamed Bhabaniganji. In 1882, he went to the Firangi Mahal school in Lucknow. There, he continued his Islamic studies and learned Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. He had many teachers in Lucknow, including Abd al-Hayy al-Lucknawi. After five years, he moved to Calcutta.

In 1887, he traveled to the Hejaz region, which is now part of Saudi Arabia. He received help from his father's student, Qari Hafizuddin, to pay for the trip. He studied for two years at the Madrasah as-Sawlatiyah in Mecca, a school run by Indians. His teachers in Mecca included Rahmatullah Kairanawi. He also studied fiqh (Islamic law), hadith (sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad), and tafsir (explaining the Qur'an). He learned these subjects from Abdul Haq Allahabadi, who was also a student of his father. Jaunpuri eventually received a special certificate, called an ijazah, from Allahabadi. This certificate showed he was qualified to teach these subjects.

His Career and Work

After finishing his studies in the Arabian Peninsula, Jaunpuri had plans to study more in countries like Egypt and the Levant. However, his eldest sister's son passed away, so he returned to Jaunpur in 1889. During his time in Arabia, Jaunpuri completed the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) twice.

Like his family, he began teaching Islamic principles. He encouraged people to avoid shirk (worshipping anyone or anything other than God) and bid'ah (new religious practices that are not part of original Islamic teachings). He did this through public speeches. After traveling for a year in Jaunpur and eastern India, he returned to Bengal in 1890. He settled in Dacca to continue his father's movement. He gave lectures at the Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque.

His second son passed away at a young age. In his son's memory, Jaunpuri built a school called Madrasah-i-Hammadiyyah in the Armanitola area of the city.

Leading the Taiyuni Movement

As a main leader of the peaceful Taiyuni movement, he was recognized for his work. He received awards from the local Nawabs of Dhaka and the ruling British Raj. It is known that Nawab Khwaja Salimullah prayed the Eid prayers behind Jaunpuri at the Lalbagh Fort.

He started traveling around eastern Bengal, visiting places like Mymensingh, Chandpur, Laksam, and Faridpur. Faridpur was an important place for their opponents, the Faraizi movement. However, for the first time, the Faraizis and Taiyunis came together. This happened when Abdul Ghafur Naya Miyan, the Faraizi leader, pledged his support to Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri. Jaunpuri's work included speaking out against certain practices that he believed were not part of true Islamic teachings, such as some forms of Sufi music, dancing, and excessive veneration of shrines.

Family Life

Jaunpuri married the daughter of Hafiz Ahsan, who was one of his early teachers in Jaunpur. Their first two sons died when they were very young. In total, they had twelve children: seven sons and five daughters. One of his sons, Abdul Batin Jaunpuri, later wrote a book about the lives of both Karamat Ali Jaunpuri and Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri.

His Writings

Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri was a very productive writer. He wrote 121 books, and 89 of them were published. His books covered many different topics. These included Islamic jurisprudence (Islamic law), the history of Islam, Sufism (Islamic mysticism), and biographies of early Muslims.

While he was in Mecca, Jaunpuri wrote two books.

• The first book was called an-Nafhat al-Anbariyyah fi Isbat al-Qiyam fi Mawlud Khayr al-Bariyyah. In this book, he explained that celebrating the Mawlid (the birthday of Prophet Muhammad) was allowed and even recommended. Scholars in Mecca and Medina supported this book.
• His second book written in Mecca was Nawadir al-Munifah fi Manaqib al-Imam Abu Hanifah. This book was a biography of the important eighth-century Persian scholar, Abu Hanifa.

Here are some of his other notable works:

• Khayr az-Zabūr fī Istiḥbāb Ziyārah al-Qubūr (1893, about visiting graves)
• Hidāyah an-Nisā (1895, about women)
• ad-Durrah al-Ghāliyah fi Manāqib Muʿāwiyah (1898, defending Mu'awiya I)
• ad-Durr an-Nadid fī Gharir al-Qasid (1904, Arabic poetry)
• al-Bayān al-Munsajim fī Kashf al-Musta'jim (1920, biographies of 184 prophets, companions, and saints)
• aṭ-Ṭarīf lil-Adīb aẓ-Ẓarīf
• al-Manṭūq fī Maʿrifah al-Furūq
• ʿArāis al-Afkār fī Mufākhirah al-Layl wan-Nahār
• at-Talīd lish-Shāʿir al-Majīd
• ar-Radīf lit-Tālī aṭ-Ṭarīf
• Aḥsan al-Wasāil ilā Ḥifẓ al-Awāil
• aṭ-Ṭarīq as-Sahl ilā Ḥāl Abī Jahl
• al-Muḥākamah bayna Faḍīlah ʿAishah wa-Fāṭimah
• al-Busṭā fī Bayān aṣ-Ṣalāh al-Wusṭā (in Urdu)
• Mufīd al-Muftī (in Urdu)

Later Life and Death

Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri passed away on June 18, 1921, in Calcutta. He had traveled to Calcutta from Faridpur to get medical help. He was buried in Maniktala, North Calcutta. His burial place is in the garden of his student, Abdur Rahman Khan of Dhaka.

His son, Abdul Batin Jaunpuri, wrote an early biography about him in 1950. It was titled Seerat Molana Abdul Avval Jaunpuri Rehmatullahi Aleihi. Another scholar, Muhammad Abdullah, identified 63 of his books. He published his own book about Jaunpuri, called Mawlana Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri, in 1995.