Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy
Professor, translator and writer
Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy (Arabic: عبيد الله العبيدي السهروردي, Bengali: ওবায়দুল্লাহ আল ওবায়দী সোহরাওয়ার্দী; 1832 – 9 February 1885) was a Bengali Islamic scholar, educationist and writer from Midnapore. He is regarded as the Father of modern Islamic education in Bengal and was awarded with the title of Bahr ul Ulum, meaning: sea of knowledge by the British.
Early life
Suhrawardy was born in 1832, in the village of Chitwa in Midnapore district, Bengal Presidency. He belonged to the noble Bengali Muslim Suhrawardy family who had arrived to Hussain Shahi Sultanate of Bengal in the 15th century, and were bestowed with the Jaagirdaari of Ghoramara. Suhrawardy was a direct descendant of the Sufi author Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi, who was in turn a descendant of Abu Bakr, the first Rashidun caliph.
Suhrawardy's father, Shah Aminuddin Suhrawardy, was the final Pir of the Suhrawardy family and is buried in a mazar in Hooghly. Two of his brothers were lawyers and subordinate judges (the highest rank available under British rule at the time). His siblings were Ruhul Amin Suhrawardy, Maulvi Mubarak Ali Suhrawardy (alias Mohammad Ali), Abdul Ali Suhrawardy and Umme Kulsum Suhrawardy.
Education
Suhrawardy was homeschooled, and educated in Islamic studies, Arabic and Persian. He also learnt English.
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