Haji Shariatullah and the Faraizi Movement

O Level Pakistan Studies History · Cultural and historical background to the Pakistan Movement: Mughal decline and the religious thinkers. A short explanation of the idea, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid, a worked example and practice questions with answers.

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The idea

In the early 19th century most Muslims of East Bengal were poor peasants. They worked land owned by Hindu zamindars and British indigo planters, who treated them harshly. Many had also picked up Hindu customs.

Haji Shariatullah (1781 to 1840) spent many years in Makkah and came home wanting to remove un-Islamic practices. He told Muslims to carry out the faraiz, the obligatory duties of Islam, which gave the Faraizi Movement its name.

His son Dudu Miyan made the movement more organised and more political. He set up local agents and led the peasants in refusing illegal taxes. The movement gave poor Bengali Muslims unity and a sense of identity.

Rules to remember

Common mistake

Faraizi does not come from Faridpur, the home district of Haji Shariatullah. It comes from faraiz, the religious duties.

Worked example

How do you tell the work of Haji Shariatullah from the work of Dudu Miyan in a question?

  1. Haji Shariatullah was the founder. His work was mainly religious: the faraiz, removing un-Islamic customs, Dar-ul-Harb.
  2. Dudu Miyan was his son and led after 1840.
  3. His work was organisation and resistance: local agents in the villages and refusal to pay illegal taxes to landlords.

Answer: Religious teaching points to Haji Shariatullah; organising the peasants and resisting taxes points to Dudu Miyan.

Practice questions

Try each one, then open the answer.

1. Why did Haji Shariatullah say Friday and Eid congregational prayers should not be held?

  1. A
    he did not count these prayers among the faraiz
  2. B
    he regarded British India as Dar-ul-Harb
  3. C
    the British had banned all congregational prayers
  4. D
    he wanted prayers held only at the shrines of pirs
Show answer

Answer: B. He argued that these prayers required a land under Muslim rule; under the British, India was Dar-ul-Harb. The British had not banned prayer.

2. Which statement best describes many Bengali Muslims when Haji Shariatullah returned from Arabia?

  1. A
    they owned most of the land in Bengal as zamindars
  2. B
    most were poor peasants, many following Hindu customs
  3. C
    they held most of the Company's senior posts in Calcutta
  4. D
    they had moved to Calcutta and prospered as traders
Show answer

Answer: B. Under the Permanent Settlement most zamindars were Hindus; Muslim peasants were poor and many followed local customs he saw as un-Islamic.

3. Why is the Faraizi Movement considered important?

  1. A
    it gave poor Bengali Muslims unity and a religious identity
  2. B
    it won separate electorates for the Muslims of Bengal in 1909
  3. C
    it drove the East India Company out of eastern Bengal
  4. D
    it founded the first Muslim college in the city of Calcutta
Show answer

Answer: A. Its lasting effect was social and religious: peasants gained confidence and a shared identity, although it did not change British rule.

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