Biographies - Shaykh Shah Jalal

Shah Jalal is one of the most revered legendary Islamic heroes of
Bangladesh and one of the key founding fathers of Islamin the country.
Hewas a great saint and a great warrior. Along withhis disciples, he
made a unique contribution in liberating the people of Sylhet region.
His full full name is Shaykh-ul Mashaek Mokhdum Shaykh Shah Jalal
Mozorrodh Bin Muhammed. His father was the contemporary of Maulana
Jalaluddin Rumi.Losing his parents early in his life he was broughtup
by his maternal uncle who was also a pious saint. After completing his
education, his uncle gave him a handful of earth and told him to
travel to a land, in Hindustan, where earth of the same colour can
befound. There he should settle down and establishthe religion of
Islam.
In the course of his journey he met Khwaja Gharibnawaz Moinuddin Hasan
Chisty and Shaykh Nizam ud din Auliya. Aftera while he reached Sylhet,
Bengal where he found a Shaykh, Burhan ud din was being persecuted by
Raja Gaur Govinda, the king of the Sylhet. Shaykh Shah Jalal and his
travelling party of 300 plus auliyas joinedthe army which had beensent
by the Sultan of Gauragainst the King. Alhumdulillah, they were able
to defeat the King despite two previous failed attempts.
After the conquest Shaykh Shah Jalal found a match for the earth his
uncle had given him and he settled in Sylhet and remained there until
his death. He and his disciples travelled as far as Mymensingh and
Dhaka to preach the message of Islam.
Ibn Battutah who met Shaykh Shah Jalal in Sylhet says of him:
'he was numbered among the principal saints, and was one of the most
singular of men.He had done many noteworthy acts, and wrought many
celebrated miracles. He used to remain standing (in prayer) all night.
The inhabitants of these mountains received Islamfrom his hands, and
it was for this reason that he stayed among them.'
Ibn Battutah also narrates several miracles of the saint, and reports
the date of his death as 1347.
May Allah swt accept the efforts of Shaykh Shah Jalal for the cause of
Islam, Ameen.