Sadeq Ali


Muhammad Sadeq Ali Munsef, born as Gaur Kishore Sen, was a prominent Dobhashi writer, poet and district judge from 19th century Bengal. He is considered to be the most well-known writer to have used the Sylheti Nagri script and this is due to his magnum opus, Halat-un-Nabi, which gained immense popularity in the Sylhet region and would later be transcribed in the Bengali script.

Early life

Gour Kishore Sen was born around 1800, being raised in a very traditional Bengali Hindu home in Daulatpur, Longla Pargana close to the town of Kulaura in South Sylhet. His father, Ram Gobind Sen, and his mother both died while he was very young and so he was raised by his paternal uncle, Ram Dulal Sen. Dulal also died during his nephew's childhood. This led to him pondering about the meaning of life and death. He grew an interest in the Arabic and Persian languages, and so he studied under Abul Fazl, a detective of the Hingazia thana. In 1823, he became a local judge for the Hingazia thana for 7 years. After researching about various religions, he later became a Sunni Muslim, leaving behind his Hindu traditions and his career as a judge. Ali mentions in his book, Hashor Michhil, that this took place in Asharh 1236 BS. He changed his name to Sadeq Ali, or Sadoq Ali in Sylheti.

Career

Sadeq Ali decided to take a reformist stance against the common Sylheti Muslim literature which had used religious syncretism with Hinduism, in particular Vaishnavism, and Sufi Baul elements. Sadeq Ali then published his Mahabbatnama based on the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha. He also wrote Hashor Michhil, which also remains in circulation, continuing to be sold in shops in both Sylheti Nagri and Bengali scripts. as well as Radd al-Hind, Kashf al-Bid'ah, Pandenama, Dafeh al-Hujat, Hushiarnama and Rahasatul Islam.
Sadeq Ali later composed another puthi about the prophetic biography called Halat-un-Nabi in 1855, focusing more on scripture rather than more popular folk beliefs. It became a household item in every Bengali Muslim homestead in Greater Sylhet and Cachar, making it the most popular and widely printed book in the Sylheti Nagri script. Sadeq Ali then wrote a puthi titled Radd-i-Kufr detailing the problems with syncretism in 1874.

Legacy

Long after Sadeq Ali's death in 1862, the Bangladesh Liberation War took place in 1971. A fire took place in Bandar Bazar, Sylhet town destroying the Islamia Press, which was the largest Sylheti Nagri printing press. However, Bengali script versions of the Halat-un-Nabi puthi continued to be in production and circulation.