Muhammad Shahidullah

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{{Infobox religious biography

| name = Muhammad Shahidullah

| native_name = মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ

| native_name_lang = bn

| image = Mohammod Sohidullah.jpg

| caption = Shahidullah in a literary conference in Curzon Hall, Dhaka (April 1954)

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1885|07|10}}

| birth_place = 24 Pargana, Bengal, British India

| alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|Sorbonne University | University of Calcutta}}

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Linguist
philologist
writer
educationalist

}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1969|7|13|1885|7|10}}

| death_place = Dacca, East Pakistan, Pakistan

| children = 9, including Muhammad Takiullah and Murtaja Baseer

| spouse = Marguba Khatun

| awards = 30px Independence Day Award (1980)

| honours = 30px Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1967)

| religion = Islam

| denomination = Sunni

| jurisprudence = Hanafi

| creed = Maturidi

| disciple_of = Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique

}}

Muhammad Shahidullah ({{langx|bn|মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ}}; 10 July 1885 – 13 July 1969){{cite book|author=Badiuzzaman|chapter=Shahidullah, Muhammad|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Shahidullah,_Muhammad|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh|editor=Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal|publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh|year=2012|edition=Second}} was a Bengali linguist, philologist, educationist, and writer.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080229110723/http://www.rubd.net/pages/fb/shahidullah.php University of Rajshahi]{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/remembering-a-luminary-32605|title=Remembering a luminary: Bangla Academy celebrates Shahidullah's birth anniversary|work=The Daily Star|date=July 2014}} He played vital role in Language movement of 1952 he was the first to establish logic about Why Bengali should be the state language of Pakistan over Urdu.{{Cite web |title=Shahidullah, Muhammad - Banglapedia |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Shahidullah,_Muhammad |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=en.banglapedia.org |language=en}}

In 2004, he was ranked number 16 in the BBC's poll of the Greatest Bengali of all time.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3623345.stm|title=Listeners name 'greatest Bengali'|work=BBC News|date=14 April 2004|access-date=2018-01-11|language=en-GB}}{{Cite news|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2004/04/16/d4041601066.htm|newspaper=The Daily Star|edition=Vol. 4 Num 313|title=BBC Listeners' Poll – Bangabandhu judged greatest Bangali of all time|access-date=2018-01-11|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225011711/http://archive.thedailystar.net/2004/04/16/d4041601066.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2004/04/17/stories/2004041703001700.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225011708/https://www.thehindu.com/2004/04/17/stories/2004041703001700.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2018-12-25|work=The Hindu|title=Mujib, Tagore, Bose among 'greatest Bengalis of all time'|date=2004-04-17|access-date=2018-01-11}} He is considered as one of the best scholar of linguistics that South Asia ever produced.{{Cite news |date=2022-07-18 |title=Dr Muhammad Shahidullah: A tribute |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/in-focus/news/dr-muhammad-shahidullaha-tribute-3072711 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240621195537/https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/in-focus/news/dr-muhammad-shahidullaha-tribute-3072711 |archive-date=2024-06-21 |access-date=2025-05-10 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}There is a residential hall in Dhaka University named after him.{{Cite web |title=Home :: Dhaka University Halls |url=https://www.du.ac.bd/hall/HSH |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=www.du.ac.bd}}

Early life and education

File:Shahidulla.jpg

Shahidullah was born on 10 July 1885 to a Bengali Muslim family in the village of Peyara in the erstwhile Bengal Presidency's 24 Parganas district. His father, Mafizuddin Ahmed, was the guardian of a mazar, and his mother, Marguba Khatun, was a housewife.

Shahidullah passed his school final entrance exam in 1904 from Howrah Zilla School. In 1906, he passed the FA exam from Presidency College in Kolkata. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Sanskrit in 1910 from City College, Kolkata, and his Master of Arts degree in 1912 in comparative philology from the University of Calcutta. He earned his PhD degree from Sorbonne University in 1928 for his research on the dialects of the Charyapada. He was the first Bengali Muslim to receive this doctorate degree. He was also a murid (disciple) of Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique, the inaugural Pir of Furfura, from whom he received mystic education and khilafah (spiritual succession).{{cite news|lang=bn|work=Janakantha|title=ফুরফুরা শরীফের যুব সংস্কারক|url=https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/details/article/409720/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%99%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%97-%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AC-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%95/|access-date=2022-04-14|author=Abdul Qayyum, Hasan|date=15 March 2019}}{{cite web|date=15 March 2019|author=Abdul Qayyum, Hasan|archive-date=3 December 2019|title=যুগসংস্কারক মওলানা আবু বকর সিদ্দিকী (রহ)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203043038/https://www.ittefaq.com.bd/print-edition/features/dhormochinta-/36847/%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%95--%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%81-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0--%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%80-(%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B9)/print|url=https://www.ittefaq.com.bd/print-edition/features/dhormochinta-/36847/%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%95--%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%81-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0--%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%80-(%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B9)/print|access-date=2022-04-14|work=The Daily Ittefaq}}

Career

Shahidullah began his career by teaching at Jessore Zila School in 1908. After working as the headmaster of Sitakunda High School for some time in 1914, he practiced law at Bashirhat in 24 Parganas. In 1915, he was elected as vice-chairman of the town's municipality. He was Sharatchandra Lahiri Research Fellow (1919–21) under Dinesh Chandra Sen at the University of Calcutta and joined the University of Dhaka as a lecturer in 1921 in Sanskrit and Bangla. During his period at the University of Dhaka, he did research on the origins of the Bengali language. In 1925, he presented his thesis that Bangla as a language originated from Gaudi or Magadhi Prakrit. He was principal of Bogra Azizul Huq College from 1944 to 1948. He then returned to the University of Dhaka, serving as head of the Bangla Department and dean of the Faculty of Arts. He taught part-time at the Law Department (1922–25) and the International Relations Department as a teacher of French (1953–55). He worked as head of the Bangla and Sanskrit Department of the University of Rajshahi (1955–58).{{cite news|title=Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah: Exploring the roots of Language|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-193687|work=The Daily Star|access-date=22 February 2018|language=en|date=11 July 2011}}

He served as an editor for the Islami Bishwakosh project for a while.{{cite news|url=https://www.prothomalo.com/nagorik-sangbad/article/1668028/%E0%A6%A1.-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%8D%E2%80%8C%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC-%E0%A6%AD%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8B-%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC|script-title=bn:ড. মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ্‌র কৃতিত্ব ভোলার মতো নয়|author=Muhammad Zafar Ali|date=10 July 2020|work=Prothom Alo|language=bn}}{{cite news|url=https://www.jugantor.com/todays-paper/features/islam-and-life/69362/%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9E%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B8-%E0%A6%A1.-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9B%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8|script-title=bn:জ্ঞানতাপস ড. মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ অকাতরে বিদ্যা বিলিয়েছেন|author=Sharif Uddin Peshawar|date=13 July 2018|work=Jugantor|language=bn}}

Muhammad Shahidullah's mastery of different languages was extraordinary and outstanding. He was fluent in 24 languages and had an outstanding knowledge of 18 languages. Some of the notable languages are Bengali, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, English, French, Assamese, Oriya, Maithili, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kashmiri, Nepali, Sinhala, Tibetan, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Pali, etc.{{cite news |author=Ahasan |first=Nazmul |date=February 21, 2018 |title=Shahidullah, a linguist and language activist |script-title= |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/amar-ekushey-2018/shahidullah-linguist-and-language-activist-1537948 |work=The Daily Star}}

Noteworthy books

Sindabad Saodagarer Galpa (The Stories of the Merchant Sindbad, 1922)
Bhasa O Sahitya (Language and Literature, essays, 1931)
Bangala Byakaran (Bangla Grammar, 1936)
Diwan-i-Hafiz (Poems of Hafiz, translation, 1938)
Shikwah O Jawab-i-Shikwah (Questions and Their Answers, translation from Iqbal, 1942)
Rubaiyat-i-Omar Khaiyam (Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, translation, 1942)
Essays on Islam (1945)
Amader Samasya (Our Problems, essays, 1949)
Padmavati (Volume I editor, 1950)
Bangla Sahityer Katha (History of Bangla Literature, Volume I in 1953, Volume II in 1965)
Vidyapati Shatak (Collection of Vidyapati's Songs, text analysis, 1954)
Bangla Adab Ki Tarikh (History of Bangla Literature, essays, in Urdu, 1957)
Bangla Sahityer Itihas (History of Bangla Literature, 1957)
Bangala Bhasar Itibritta (History of Bangla Language, 1959)
Amarkabya (Unforgettable Poetical Works, 1963)
Sekaler Rupkatha (Fairy Tales of Ancient Time), 1965{{cite web|url=http://www.londoni.co/index.php/58-history-of-bangladesh/biography/dr-muhammad-shahidullah/254-dr-muhammad-shahidullah-advancement-of-bangla-language-awards-passing-burial-biography-of-muslim-and-bengali|title=Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah - advancement of Bangla language, awards, passing & burial - biography of Muslim and Bengali|website=Londoni}}
Les Chants Mystiques de Kanha et de Saraha [The Mystic Songs], 1928, Adrien Maisonneuve.{{Cite book|last=Shahidullah|first=Muhammad|date=1928|title=Les chants mystiques de Kāṇha et de Saraha|trans-title=The Mystic Songs of Kanha and Saraha|language=fr|url=https://archive.org/details/shahidullahleschantsmystiques/page/n1/mode/2up|access-date=October 25, 2022}}

Family

Shahidullah has seven sons and two daughters. Children:

Mohammad Raziullah,

Mohammad Safiyullah,

Mohammad Waliullah,

A K Mohammad Zakiyullah,

Mohammad Taqiullah,

Mohammad Naqiullah,

Mohammad Bashirullah,

Mohzuza Haque (born Khatun),

Masrura Haque (born Khatun).

His third son, A.K.M. Zakiyullah, established a school named 'Dr. Shahidullah Gyanpith' in Hazi Osman Goni Road, Alu bazaar (Old Dhaka) and a research library named 'Dr. Shahidullah Memorial Library and Language Research Center' in Senpara Parbata, Mirpur-10, Dhaka.

Another of his sons, Abul Bayan M. Naqiyyullah (M.S) studied at George Washington University in Washington, DC, US and settled in Cairo, Egypt, after serving as a pathologist in Saudi Arabia.

Another of Shahidullah's sons, A.K.M. Bashirullah – known popularly by his alias Murtaja Baseer – is considered one of the most stylish and foremost painters in Bangladesh.{{cite web|url=http://www.londoni.co/index.php/58-history-of-bangladesh/biography/dr-muhammad-shahidullah/252-dr-muhammad-shahidullah-early-life-of-gyantaposh-education-family-life-career-biography-of-muslim-and-bengali|title=Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah - early life of Gyantaposh, education, family life, career - biography of Muslim and Bengali|website=Londoni}}

Awards and honors

File:Dr Shahidulla's tomb.jpg campus]]

Shahidullah was made Professor Emeritus by the University of Dhaka (1967) for his lifetime contribution in research on language and literature. He was also awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1967 for his academic contribution to language and literature. In 1980, the Government of Bangladesh awarded him the Independence Award posthumously.

Eponyms

Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah Hall
Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah Academic Building, Rajshahi University
Chandraketugarh Sahidullah Smriti Mahavidyalaya

References

External links

{{citation|author=Khondkar Serajul Huq|chapter=Muslim Sahitya-Samaj|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Muslim_Sahitya-Samaj|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh|editor=Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal|publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh|year=2012|edition=Second}}

Category:1885 births

Category:1969 deaths

Category:Bengali educators

Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni

Category:Translators of Omar Khayyám

Category:Linguists from Bengal

Category:20th-century Indian linguists

Category:Linguists from Pakistan

Category:Academic staff of the University of Dhaka

Category:University of Calcutta alumni

Category:University of Paris alumni

Category:Recipients of the Pride of Performance