Baba Adam Shahid

Baba
Adam Shahid
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
Muslim leader
Period in office	15th century

Baba Adam Shahid (Bengali: বাবা আদম শহীদ, romanized: Baba Adom Shohīd, Arabic: بابا آدم شهيد, romanized: Bābā Ādam Shahīd) was a 15th-century Muslim figure in Bengal.

Biography

Baba Adam was living in Makkah as a faqir. One day, a Muslim village from Kanachang (in Vikramapura) came to him and informed him about the oppression of Vallalasena, a Baidya who ruled the kingdom of Vikramapura. The villager had sacrificed a cow to celebrate his son's aqiqah and for this he was interrupted by Hindu King Vallalasena who viewed cows as sacred, to preserve the sanctity of the land. For this, he fled the country and went to Makkah. Hearing this story, Adam went to Vikramapura with 7,000 followers. Vallalasena decided to take action against the juggernaut. Adam briefly left the battlefield and retreated to a nearby cave so that he could perform the Asr prayer. The Raja found him and killed him with his sword, thus Adam was seen martyred by his followers; earning him the title of Shahid.

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

References

^ Begum, Ayesha (2012). "Baba Adam's Mosque and Tomb". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
^ Abdul Karim (2012). "Baba Adam Shahid". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 28 December 2024.

[1] Begum, Ayesha (2012). "Baba Adam's Mosque and Tomb". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 28 December 2024.

[a-2] Abdul Karim (2012). "Baba Adam Shahid". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 28 December 2024.

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