Abdul Khaleque (scholar)

Abdul Khaleque was a social reformer, Islamic preacher, educator, philosopher, Sufi personality, politician, and writer. He was born in 1892 in the village of Chhatura, in the Tipperah District of Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Akhaura Upazila, Brahmanbaria District, Bangladesh).

Pir Mawlānā Abdul Khaleque Chhaturavi
Member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly for Brahmanbaria South-East Muslim
In office 1954–1955
Governor	Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman Iskander Mirza Muhammad Shahabuddin
Chief Minister	A.K. Fazlul Huq Abu Hussain Sarkar
Preceded by	constituency created
Personal details
Born	1892 Tipperah District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	2 April 1955(1955-04-02) (aged 62–63) Dacca, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
Resting place	Chhatura
Citizenship	Pakistan
Political party	Independent
Children	Two sons
Residence	Bakshi Bazar, Dhaka
Alma mater	Comilla Hossamia Madrasa Ishwar Pathshala Comilla Victoria Government College University of Dhaka
Occupation	Professor, Translator, Islamic scholar
Personal life
Education	Jamiyat-e-Ula Bachelor of Arts Master of Arts
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Order	Chhatura Sharif
Jurisprudence	Hanafi
Muslim leader
Disciple of	Sadr Uddin Ahmad Shaheed, Abu Bakr Siddique
Influenced Burhanuddin

Career

He began his career as a Persian professor at Feni Government College. Later, he served as a professor and administrator at Presidency College, Kolkata, Lady Brabourne College, and Dhaka Eden Girls' College. Between 1925 and 1949, he worked at various educational institutions.^{[citation needed]}

Mawlana Khaleque was also the chief disciple of Mawlana Abu Bakr Siddique of Furfura Sharif and actively preached Islam across different regions of the Indian subcontinent.^{[citation needed]}

He was master of Noor Muhammad Nizampuri. After Pakistan's independence in 1947, the Taleemat-e-Islami Board was formed to adapt Islamic legal structure to the first Pakistani constitution. He was a member of it.^[1]

In the Legislative Assembly election of 1954, he contested as an independent candidate and defeated opponents from both the United Front and the Pakistan Muslim League to secure a seat in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly.^[2]

Literary works

Mawlana Abdul Khaleq authored many books, including the renowned Sirajus Salikin and Sayyidul Mursalin. He translated Munabbihat into Bengali and wrote Guncha-e-Farsi and Durratul Adab, which were once part of the Kolkata Education Board curriculum.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

He had two sons. One, Abdul Quddus, retired as a Brigadier from the Bangladesh Army, while the other was Mosabber Hossain Kawsar.^[3] His grandson Jahid Quddus was the chairman of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.^[4]

Death and legacy

He died on 2 April 1955, at his residence in Bakshi Bazar, Dhaka. After his death, his shrine was established in chhaturaura, which is now known as the Chhatura Darbar Sharif Complex.^{[citation needed]}

According to legends, water from of his residence mixed with the pond situated near his shrine is believed to have healing properties.^[5]