Baba Adam Shahid

Baba Adam Shahid (Bengali: বাবা আদম শহীদ, romanized: Baba Adom Shohīd) was a 15th-century Muslim figure in Bengal.

Baba Adam Shahid
Front view of Baba Adam's Mosque
Died	Bikrampur, Bengal Sultanate (now Munshiganj, Bangladesh)
Resting place	Kazi Qasba, Rampal Union, Munshiganj, Bangladesh
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Muslim leader
Period in office	15th century
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)	آدم Ādam
Epithet (Laqab)	Bābā بابا
Toponymic (Nisba)	al-Makkī المكي al-Shahīd الشهيد

Biography

Baba Adam was a fakir who resided in Mecca. A Muslim villager from Kanaichang, located in the kingdom of Vikramapura (in present-day Munshiganj District, Bangladesh]), sought refuge in Mecca after facing religious persecution. The villager had attempted to perform the ritual sacrifice of a cow to commemorate his son’s aqiqah, a customary Islamic practice. This act, however, provoked the ire of the local ruler, Raja Vallalasena. As a Hindu monarch from the Baidya caste, he regarded the cow as a sacred animal. To preserve the sanctity of the land, he interrupted the Muslim villager from the sacrifice.^[1]

The villager fled to Mecca and his account of religious intolerance compelled Baba Adam to travel to Vikramapura, accompanied by a following which numbered 7000 Muslims. His mission was not only to protect religious freedom but also to confront the reported injustice. In response, Raja Vallalasena mobilised his forces to resist Baba Adam’s advance. During a critical moment in the confrontation, Baba Adam is said to have temporarily withdrawn from the battlefield in Kanaichang to a nearby cave in order to perform the afternoon prayer of Asr. There, he was discovered by the Raja, who struck him down. Baba Adam's death was regarded by his companions as martyrdom, earning him the posthumous title of Shahid (martyr). His legacy continues to be honored in the region through oral tradition and local devotion.^[2]

Legacy

Adam was buried in a tomb; now situated in the courtyard of a mosque constructed by Jalaluddin Fateh Shah's officer Malik Kafur in 888 AH (1483-1484 AD). The mosque is known as Baba Adam's Mosque and is a protected monument visited by many tourists.^[3]

Known in Hindu literature as "Bayadumba the Mleccha" (Sanskrit: म्लेच्छ बायादुम्ब), Adam's story is mentioned in the Vallalacharita. This book was written by a 16th-century Shaivist commentator by the name of Ananda Bhatta at the request of Sri Buddhimanta Khan, the Raja of Nabadwip.^[4]