Abu Zafar Mohammad Saleh
{{Short description|Bangladeshi Islamic scholar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Abu Zafar Mohammad Saleh
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name = আবু জাফর মোহাম্মদ সালেহ
| native_name_lang = bn
| other_names =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1915
| birth_place = Sarsina, Swarupkati, Backergunge District, Bengal Province
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1990|2|13|1915||}}
| death_place = Sarsina, Nesarabad, Pirojpur District, Bangladesh
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Sarsina Darbar Sharif graveyard
| religion = Islam
| denomination = Sunni
| jurisprudence = Hanafi
| movement =
| parents = Nesaruddin Ahmad
| education = Darussunnat Kamil Madrasa
Mazahir Uloom
Darul Uloom Deoband
| teachers = Nesaruddin Ahmad
Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi
| influences = Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique, Hussain Ahmad Madani
| awards = Independence Day Award (1980)
| module = {{Infobox officeholder| embed = yes
| office = 2nd Pir of Sarsina
| termstart = 31 January 1952
| termend = 13 February 1990
| predecessor = Nesaruddin Ahmad
| successor = Shah Muhibbullah}}| module2 = {{Infobox Arabic name|embed=yes
| ism = Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ
محمد صالح
| nasab = ibn Nithār ad-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Ṣadr ad-Dīn ibn Ẓahīr ad-Dīn
بن نثار الدين أحمد بن صدر الدين بن ظهير الدين
| kunya = Abū Jaʿfar
أبو جعفر
| laqab = Pīr Ṣāḥeb Sārsīna
পীর সাহেব ছারছিনা
| nisba = Ākhūnd
آخوند
al-Barīsālī
البريسالي}}
}}
Abu Zafar Mohammad Saleh ({{langx|bn|আবু জাফর মোহাম্মদ সালেহ}}; 1915 – 13 February 1990), popularly known as the Pir of Sarsina, was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar.{{Cite news |last=|first=|date=|script-title=bn:মুক্তিযুদ্ধে শর্ষীনার পীরের ভূমিকা: প্রতিবেদক শওকত মিল্টনকে প্রাণনাশের হুমকি|url=https://www.priyo.com/i/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A7%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AD%E0%A7%82%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%95-%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A3%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BF|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-19|work=Priyo.com|language=bn}} He was said to have contributed to the establishment of 3000 educational institutions. Saleh had also pushed for the establishment of the Islamic Arabic University and ibtedayi madrasas in Bangladesh.{{cite web|work=Muktibani|language=bn-BD|title=শতাব্দীর ঐতিহ্যধন্য ছারছীনা শরীফ|url=https://www.muktibani.com/391|access-date=2022-05-23}} Despite being a recipient of the Independence Day Award,{{Cite book|last=Rahman|first=Syedur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJfcCPUr0OoC&q=Abu+Zafar+Mohammad+Saleh&pg=PA350|title=Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh|date=2010-04-27|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7453-4|location=|pages=350|language=en}} he has been accused of collaborating with the Pakistan Army and committing war crimes during the Bangladesh Liberation war.{{Cite news |script-title=bn:বিতর্কিতদের স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার বাতিল হচ্ছে |url=https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/first-page/2016/09/07/402729|access-date=2020-07-19|work=Kaler Kantho|language=bn}}
Early life and family
Saleh was born on a Thursday in 1915, to a scholarly Bengali Muslim family of Pirs in the village of Sarsina in Swarupkati (later renamed to Nesarabad), Firozpur, then situated in the Backergunge District of the Bengal Province. His father, Nesaruddin Ahmad, was a khalifah (spiritual successor) of Furfura Sharif's Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique and the inaugural Pir of Sarsina. His grandfather, Haji Sadruddin Akhand, and great-grandfather, Munshi Zahiruddin Akhand, were also prominent Sufis of the Greater Barisal region.{{cite book|title=বরিশাল বিভাগ পরিচিতি|publisher=Greater Bakerganj-Patuakhali Society|location=Dhaka|pages=36–37|year=1993|editor=Ahmed, Siraj Uddin}}
Education
Saleh began his education under his father. He enrolled at the Darussunnat Kamil Madrasa in Sarsina – one of the most prominent institutions in greater Barisal, founded by his father in 1915. Saleh studied several books there including the Mishkat al-Masabih. He then set off for Hindustan, where he studied at the Mazahir Uloom seminary of Saharanpur. He completed his studies there by reciting the Kutub al-Sittah to his teachers. Among his teachers in Saharanpur were Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi, Abdur Rahman Kamilpuri, Allamah Asadullah and Allamah Siddiq. Saleh was then admitted into Darul Uloom Deoband where he maintained a cordial relationship with Hussain Ahmad Madani.{{cite book|language=ar|title=كتاب البدور المضية في تراجم الحنفية|author=al-Kumillai, Muhammad Hifzur Rahman|publisher=Dar al-Salih|location=Cairo, Egypt|year=2018|chapter=الشيخ الفاضل العلامة أبو جعفر صالح بن مولانا نثار الدين بن الصوفي ظهير الدين أخوند، رحمه الله تعالى}}
Career
After his father's death in 1952, Saleh inherited the leadership of Sarsina Darbar Sharif and the chairmanship of the Darussunnat Kamil Madrasa. Saleh supported Abdus Sattar, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate for presidency in 1981.{{Cite book|last1=Chakravarti|first1=S. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ui5uAAAAMAAJ&q=Abu+Zafar+Mohammad+Saleh|title=Bangladesh: Domestic politics|last2=Narain|first2=Virendra|date=1986|publisher=South Asian Publishers|isbn=978-81-7003-068-3|language=en}} He headed the Bangladesh Jamate Hizbullah Hazrat and Bangladesh Jamate Ulema.{{Cite book|last=Hossain|first=Golam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XhUNAAAAIAAJ&q=Abu+Zafar+Mohammad+Saleh|title=General Ziaur Rahman and the BNP: Political Transformation of a Military Regime|date=1988|publisher=University Press|isbn=|location=|pages=45|language=en}}
Controversy
Saleh was awarded by the Government of Bangladesh with the Independence Day Award, the highest civilian honour, for his contribution to the education sector of Bangladesh in 1980. During this time, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was in power.{{Cite news |date=2017-12-01|script-title=bn:এবার স্বাধীনতা পদক পেলেন ১৬ ব্যক্তি ও সংস্থা|url=http://www.ntvbd.com/bangladesh/43504/ |work=NTV |language=bn |access-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035442/http://www.ntvbd.com/bangladesh/43504/|archive-date=2017-12-01}} The Awami League government has thought of revoking this award as various government documents claim that Saleh was involved in crimes against humanity. Among them is the book "War of Independence of Bangladesh: Documents" (Vol. 7) and "Where are the killers and brokers of 1971", which give direct account of his crimes. It has also been said that he enjoyed friendly relations with the Pakistan Army during the war.{{Cite news |date=2017-03-26|title=I cannot remember anything|url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/special-supplement/2017/03/26/cannot-remember-anything|access-date=2020-07-19|work=Dhaka Tribune}}
Death
References
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{{Authority control}}
{{Hanafi scholars}}
{{Islam in South Asia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saleh, Abu Zafar Mohammad}}
Category:Recipients of the Independence Award
Category:Bangladeshi Islamists
Category:20th-century Bengalis
Category:Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Category:Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam