Wajihullah

Wajihullah was born into a Bengali Muslim family from the island of Sandwip in undivided Noakhali District, modern-day Bangladesh.[2] After completing his education in his home country in institutions like Hajiganj Boro Masjid,[3] he enrolled at the Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamic university from which the Deobandi movement emerged from.[4]

He studied Hadith under Ustadh Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, who was the first student of the university when it first opened. One of Wajihullah's classmates was Anwar Shah Kashmiri.[5] It is narrated that when he was a student, these two classmates used to compete to lose each other in merit. If Kashmiri was first in one test, Wajihullah would be first in the other test. Finally, a Sahih Bukhari Sharif memorisation competition was organised to test the talents of the two classmates. In this, Wajihullah memorized a complete Para in one night while Kashmiri did some less. His extremely fast talent in memorising earned him the Urdu nickname of Jinn Ka Baccha (son of a genie).[6]

After returning to Bengal, he began teaching at the Noakhali Ahmadiyyah Madrasah (unrelated to the Ahmadiyya movement) for a short while before dedicating the rest of his life to Waz Naseeha public lectures.[7] But Wajihullah did not return to the country and preach the education he gained in Deoband. He was supposedly united with the superstitions and innovations prevalent in the society such as Mawlid. Not only that, he emerged as a force to be reckoned with. At that time, Mard-e-Mujahid Khabirul Haq was a strong opponent of all innovations and superstitions. He along with the Ahl-e-Haq group engaged in a Munazra (formal debate) with Wajihullah. The Ahl-e-Haqq won the debate but Wajihullah did not give up his opinion and supposedly spent his whole life like this. When Wajihullah's wife passed away, Khabirul Haq attended the funeral. Wajihullah called out Khabirul Haq's name to lead the janaza prayer. His announcement caused a stir in the presence of numerous scholars in favour of Mawlid. A rumour began among the devotees that Wajihullah is a man who has been arguing with himself all his life. Wajihullah then said his famous quote:

Nameo Hoq Kajeo Hoq Tar Naam Allama Khabirul Hoq

— Haqq by name, Haqq by work, his name is the knowledgeable Khabirul Haq

In reaction, the heads of the pro-Mawlid scholars bowed down in sadness on that day due to such an announcement of Sandwipi's, and their heads have not been able to stand up till today.[8]

Wajihullah died around 1920 CE. He continues to be remembered today, as one of the first educated Muslims of the island. A biography-writing competition was held in November 2017 with one of the choices being Wajihullah Sandwipi Huzur.[9]