Amir Kulal
Amir Kulāl | |
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امیر کلال | |
Dīn 1278 | |
| Died | 1370 (aged 91–92) Sokhar, present-day Uzbekistan |
| Nationality | Persian |
| Part of a series on Islam Sufism |
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Amir Kulāl (1278–1370),
Kulal had a number of students who later became prominent figures in history, including
Family lineage and Kulal tribe
Amir Kulal's father, Amir Saif ud-Dīn Hamza, was a direct descendant of
The Kulal tribe settled in the area of modern-day
The tribe quickly established a small industrial base at the central market of Vabkent and built
Despite a history of
- The tribe was famous as being entirely composed of descendants of Muhammad, gaining them considerable respect from the neighboring tribes; this was a considerable advantage in a Muslim dominated country.
- The city was surrounded by a terrain of gardens and greenery criss-crossed by numerous rivers and streams at one side and an endless desert at the other, which was barren and uninhabited. This, coupled with the lack of substantial material value in the small city, was a big enough deterrent for any invading army which would have to travel at least one day to reach the city which lied at the boundary of the Kyzyl Kumdesert.
- The social system was devised into three sections—the political system, monetary system, and publicity system. Their political system was simple. The most learned of the tribe was chosen as the head. The goal of the head, other than being the qazi and administrator was to represent the tribe and politically maneuver through times of war. Also, the post was not hereditary. No hereditary claim to the "throne" meant there wasn't one family in the tribe which would grow up to have amassed huge portions of tribe wealth in a couple of generations, in case the head turned out to be corrupt. Also, this avoided any mutual tussles between heirs of any deceased chieftain, as there was nothing to fight for. Their monetary system was even more advanced (for their time) than the political system. All of the mills and manufacturing plants were owned in essence by the community. Anyone willing and skilled was allowed to operate and earn a living as long as he kept the structure maintained and donated for construction of newer structures. The system worked superbly well and at least at a smaller scale of a couple of thousand individuals proved could be sustained for a number of centuries. Strict codes of intermarriages within the tribe, relatively small birthrates (compared to the one prevalent at the times), single marriages and continuous outward migration meant the population stayed nearly constant throughout the time period.
By the time of Amir Kulal wrestling had become a Kulal trademark sport. The tribe held regular contests both at Vabkent and Bukhara in which outsiders also competed. The Kulal youth were almost always successful, instilling the idea of the Kulal tribe as superior and fierce warriors.[7]
The full name of Amir Kulal is as follows:
Amir Kulal ibn Hamzah ibn Ibraheem ibn Muhammad ibn (Muhammad) Hasan ibn Abdullah AlShaheed ibn Jafar ibn Husain ibn Ali ibn Hasan AlQayem ibn (Muhammad) Husain ibn (Ahmad) Husain ibn (Muhammad) Ali AlDaynori ibn Moussa AbuSobha Moussa AlThani ibn Ibraheem AlMurtdha ibn Moussa AlKadhim ibn Jafar AlSadiq ibn Muhammad AlBaqir ibn Ali Zainualabdeen ibn AlHusain AlSebit, son of Fatimah ibnt Muhammad, ibn AlImam Ali ibn AbiTalib AlHashemi AlQurashi[citation needed]
Early life
Shams ud-Dīn Amir Kulal was born at Bukhara. His father Saif ud-Dīn Hamza was head of the Kulal tribe and a renowned scholar. As head of the tribe, Saif ud-Dīn Hamza was titled Amir-i-Kulal (Leader of Kulal tribe). Shams ud-Dīn was educated in his childhood and early in his life took the position of head of the madrasa at Vabkent. He was also known as a great wrestler. By the time he became the head of Kulal tribe his fame as a scholar and religious figure had spread through the surrounding region with many noble and powerful families sending their children to study under him, most notably from the Barlas Tribe.
Amir-i-Kulal
Shams ud-Dīn Kulal was elected as tribe's head after his father's death. Although all the heads of Kulal were titled Amir-i-Kulal, it was Shams ud-Dīn whose name has become synonymous with the title-name. Today, he is mostly remembered as Amir Kulal, rather than his birth name.
Kulal continued to teach at the madrasa, even when he was head of the tribe. One of his most famous disciples was
Amir Kulal also had a sizable following of spiritual protégés. Of these the most prominent was Turghai who had previously been influenced by Amir Kulal's grandfather. After Turghai's death his son Timur held Amir Kulal in the same esteem, holding him as his spiritual guide.
Around the year 1340, Ibn Battuta made a day stop at Vabkent who later described the city as beautiful with many rivers and gardens. He was Amir's guest at the city and was guided towards Bukhara, then at a day's travel from Vabkent.
In the year 1357, Timur approached Amir Kulal for his advice on strategic maneuvers for attacking Uzbeks. It was under his advice that Timur changed his attack plan.
Amir Kulal died in 770/1370 and was buried in Sukhar (Sokhar) near Bukhara. Sometimes Amir Kulal's tomb is confused with the tomb of his grandfather (also Shams ud-Dīn Kulal). It is Shams ud-Dīn Kulal (Amir Kulal's grandfather) who is buried at
None of the books written by Amir Kulal still exist, although some excerpts and essays have survived in the family library. Three copies of a biography of Amir Kulal "Maqamat-i-Amir Kulal" written by his great-grandson Shihab ul-
Descendants
After Amir Kulal's death his descendants, propagated from his four sons (Burhanudeen, Shah, Hamzah, and Omar), continued to associate with the Timurid and then Mughal dynasty kings and princes as their friends and teachers. Amir Kulal's grandson Amir Kalan (Muhammad ibn Shah ibn Amir Kulal) was entrusted with the education of young
Shaykhan family
The Shaykhan
in modern Uzbekistan.The generations following Amir Kulal lived in Bukhara for more than a century. Some notable descendants included: Amir Hamzah Ibn Amir Kulal (d800H), known as Baba Mir, a leading Naqshbandi Sufi saint with large following of spiritual protégés; Amir Hasan Zaman Ibn Amir Hamzah (d 825H), buried in Sokhar near Bukhara. Amir Masud Zaman Ibn Amir Hasan Zaman (d 875H), buried in Samarkand; and Amir Muhammad Arifullah Ibn Amir Masud Zaman (847-909H), fourth in descent from Amir Kulal, a prominent Naqshbandi
Emperor Babur, fifth in descent from Amir Timur and founder of the Timurid dynasty which ruled northern India for nearly four centuries, was mindful of his Central Asian origin and, following in the steps of Timur, gave extensive patronage to descendants of Amir Kulal.
Shaykh Sayyid Zain ud-
Shaykh Zain ud-
Amir Shaykh Muhammad Zaman Sikandrabadi Ibn Amir Shah Sajawal was a leading noble of Sikandrabad (Bulandshahr / India). He lived in the reign of emperor Muhammad Shah (1719-1748AD) and was awarded with an estate at Akbarpur, Salarpur near Delhi. This was a time when the Mughal empire was under severe decline. Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali had sacked Delhi and many noble Muslim families were facing severe economic decline and disorder. However, Amir Shaykh Muhammad Zaman Sikandrabadi's descendants preserved the family traditions of Sufism and were notable sadaats (descendants of Muhammad) of Chehel Amiran (later Koocha Chelan) in Delhi.
During the later Mughal period, the family continued to produce eminent men of learning who distinguished themselves in various walks of life. Shaykh Samad Ali ibn Amir Shaykh Mohammad Zaman an accomplished religious scholar and graduate of Rahimiya college (Delhi), a centre of Islamic Renaissance in the subcontinent under Shah Abdul Aziz Ibn Shah Waliullah (1746-1828 AD). Shaykh Mohammad Ali Ibn Shaykh Samad Ali a prominent Naqshbandi Sufi saint of Sikandarabad (Bulandshahr) India. Shaykh Karamat Hussain Ibn Shaykh Mohammad Ali (d. 1898AD) was Kotwal (Chief of Police) in Gwalior the capital of Gwalior State. Another elder of the family Shaykh Nabi Buksh a tutor to Mughal princes was awarded an estate near Delhi in the reign of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah (1837-1857).
During the traumatic year of 1857 AD when the War of Independence started, the family played a significant role against the British. Many died, others fled Delhi and took refuge in small towns / villages namely lncholi, Hapur, Danpur, Aounla, Sambhal, Amroha, Badarpur, Malyana and Jalali. Shaykh Karamat Hussain along with his entire family including his eldest son Shaykh Altaf Hussain (d. 1956AD) and buried in grave yard Bibi Pak Daman, Lahore, Pakistan who was barely seven years old proceeded to Sikandarabad but feeling unsafe due to close proximity of Bulandshahr settled in his ancestor's maternal town Dibai. Shaykh Karamat Hussain died in 1898 and was buried in family graveyard Gulabi Bagh (Dibai). The family lived in Mohalla Shaykhan (Dibai) and later also in Sikandarabad till 1947 AD when on founding of Pakistan migrated to Karachi.
In memory of their ancestor Amir Kulal, the family's farm located near the village Sarhali Kalan, 37 kilometers south of Lahore, Pakistan, is named Kulal Bagh.[10]
Gallery
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Major Mohammad Ahmed, grandson of Shaykh Altaf Hussain 18th in direct descent from Amir Kulal being awarded Military Cross by Quaid-e-Azam at DACCA (Former East Pakistan) 1948 -
Colonel Salman Ahmed, great-grandson of Shaykh Altaf Hussain 19th in direct descent from Amir Kulal being awarded Sitara-e-Basalat by the Vice Chief of Army Staff at Rawalpindi, 1985 -
Journey of Shaykhan Family from Hejaz to Mehran -
Genealogy of Shaykhan Family -
Comprehensive Genealogy of Shaykhan Family -
Descendants (1894 photo) -
Descendants (1933 photo)
See also
- Sufism
- Naqshbandi
- Islam in Uzbekistan
- Amir Timur
- Vabkent
- History of Uzbekistan
References
- ^ Richard Foltz (1996). "The Tajiks of Uzbekistan". Central Asian Survey. 15 (2): 213–216. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02634939608400946
- ^ Perry, John, "Tajik i. The Ethnonymn: Origins and Application,"Encyclopædia Iranica, Excerpt 1: "In other contexts, Sanskrit tājika (also tāyika) means 'Persian(s),' and in later Indo-Muslim usage, tājik is of course the Turco-Persian word for 'Iranian, Persian'." Excerpt 2: "An intriguing Sogdian occurrence of the adjective tājīgāne (arguably to be pronounced as tāžīgāne) in a Manichaean hymnal from Turfan, of about the year 1000, may supply the missing link between Middle Persian tāzīg 'Arab' and Turkic/New Persian tāzik, tāžik 'Persian'.". Excerpt 3: "The phonetic forms and socio-historical motivations of the words cited above as deriving or meaning "Tajik" require some discussion. First, it should be understood that the Persian words (a) tāzi 'Arabian, Arabic, Arab' and (b) tāzik, tāžik, tājik 'Persian, Iranian, Tajik,' though originating as doublets (or cognates) of the same word, are completely separate in form and meaning throughout New Persian (and Islamic Turkic and Indic) literature.", online edition, 2009, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tajik-i-the-ethnonym-origins-and-application (accessed on 20 July 2009)
- ^ "Seyyid Emir Külal Hazretleri Kimdir?". Türk Haber Saati (in Turkish). 2020-10-27. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
- ^ English Dari Dictionary (page 139), Peace Corps (1979),https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED192577.pdf
- ^ Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa
- ^ "Amir Kulal - WikiMir". Archived from the original on January 26, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ISBN 9780375761379.
- ^ "Press-Service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan". Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
- ISBN 9788173917417.
- ISBN 9780198215387.
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