Haji Shariatullah

• Haji Shariatullah was born in 1781 in Faridpur district in East Bengal.
• Haji Shariatullah went to Arabia in 1799 for 19 years to perform Hajj and study under Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab whom he was greatly influenced by.
• Haji Shariatullah died in 1840 but his work was continued by his son Mohsin-ud-din.
• Haji Shariatullah believed that the Muslim community had moved away from true islamic practice and he wanted them to return to the obligatory duties of Islam which are called faraiz. This movement is called the faraizi movement.
• Haji Shariatullah found that the Muslims of East Bengal were being oppressed by British and Hindus.
• The Muslims were being opressed because previously the Muslims were the ruling class in Bengal, but when the British took over, they worked with the local landowners who were called Zamindars and were mostly Hindus. The Muslims were also being given very few opportunities in education and employment.
• Because of the oppression, many Muslim families had been reduced to near poverty, and so Haji Shariatullah started the faraizi movement.
• The Faraizi movement was started for a few reasons:

  1. To remove the Hindu practices that had crept into muslim worship.
  2. To restore the pride of the Muslims
  3. To bring Muslims back to their obligatory islamic duties(faraiz)
• The Faraizi movement placed emphasis on praying for past sins and promising to lead a righteous life in the future and to follow the religious obligations of a true Muslim.
• Haji Shariatullahs success caused great concern amongst the Hindus. In fear of him creating problems and Muslims having a desire to improve their lives, the Zamindars drove Haji Shariatullah out of the region to Nawabganj in Dhaka where Haji Shariatullah died in 1840.
• Haji Shariatullahs work was carried on by his son Mohsin-ud-din who took many measures:

  1. Mohsin-ud-din divided East Bengal into areas called circles and each circle was under control of Khalifa's who were responsible for the social and spiritual welfare of the Muslims in their area.
  2. Mohsin-ud-din helped peasants oppose the excessive taxes imposed on them by the hindus and British.
  3. Mohsin-ud-dins opposition to payment of taxes lead to unrest in East Bengal and he went as far as to declare Jihad against the British government.
• The British arrested Mohsin-ud-din and put him in prison where he died in 1860 after which the Faraizi movement declined.
• The Faraizi movement gave encouragement to Muslims at a time when they were demoralised by the oppression from the british and Hindus.
• The Faraizi movement also brought about a revival of the Islamic religion in east Bengal.
• Because of the Faraizi movement, the Bengal peasants became more united in opposition to the harsh treatment they received. They also became more aware of their rights and unity grew between them.
• It is said that some of the seeds of the Pakistan movement were sown by the Faraizi movement.