Muhammad Shahidullah

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Muhammad Shahidullah: biography

July 10, 1885 – July 13, 1969

Muhammad Shahidullah (Muhômmod Shohidullah), popularly known as Dr Muhammad Shahidullah (July 10, 1885 – July 13, 1969) was a famous Bengali educationist, writer philologist and linguist. A dormitory in the University of Dhaka named after him (Shahidullah Hall).

Early life

He was born in the village Peyara, 24 Pargana, West Bengal (now in India). His father Mafizuddin Ahmed was a warden of a shrine.

Family

Dr Muhammad Shahidullah has seven sons and two daughters. His third son A.K.M. Zakiyullah established a school named ‘Dr. Shahidullah Gyanpith’ in Hazi Osman Goni Road, Alu bazaar (Old Dhaka) and a research library called’ Dr. Shahidullah Memorial Library and Language Research Center’ in Senpara Parbata, Mirpur-10, Dhaka. One of his son Dr Abul Bayan M. Naqiyyullah (M.S) also studied at George Washington University in Washington, DC and settled in Cairo, Egypt, after serving as a pathologist in Saudi Arabia. He married an Egyptian woman and has two sons and three daughters. His other son Murtaja Baseer considered as one of the most stylish and foremost painters in Bangladesh.

Education

Muhammad Shahidullah passed his school finals (known as Entrance examination at that time) in 1904 from Howrah Zila School. In 1906 he passed the FA exam (equivalent to HSC) from Presidency College, Kolkata. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in Sanskrit in 1910 from City College, Kolkata, and Master of Arts in 1912 in Comparative Philology from the University of Calcutta. He also received a PhD from Sorbonne University.

Dr Shahidullah’s tomb on Dhaka University campus.

Dr Shahidullah's tomb in Dhaka University campus

Noteworthy books

Sindabad Saodagarer Galpa (The Stories of the Merchant Sindbad, 1922)
Bhasa O Sahitya (Language and Literature, essays, 1931)
Bangala Byakaran (Bangla Grammar, 1936)
Diwan-i-Hafiz (Poems of Hafiz, translation, 1938)
Shikwah O Jawab-i-Shikwah (Questions and Their Answers, translation from Iqbal, 1942)
Rubaiyat-i-Omar Khaiyam (Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, translation, 1942)
Essays on Islam (1945)
Amader Samasya (Our Problems, essays, 1949)
Padmavati (Volume I ed, 1950)
Bangla Sahityer Katha (History of Bangla Literature, Volume I in 1953, Volume II in 1965)
Vidyapati Shatak (Collection of Vidyapati’s Songs, text analysis, 1954)
Bangla Adab Ki Tarikh (History of Bangla Literature, essays, in Urdu, 1957)
Bangla Sahityer Itihas (History of Bangla Literature, 1957)
Bangala Bhasar Itibrtta (History of Bangla Language, 1959)
Qur’an Sharif (The Qur’an, 1963)
Amarkabya (Unforgettable Poetical Works, 1963)
Sekaler Rupkatha (Fairy Tales of Ancient Time, 1965)