Syed Amjad Hussain, a 19-year-old author of two books on Bihar’s lost love of Urdu, is documenting 50 Sufi saints from the 12th century to contemporary times to correct misconceptions about Sufism.
History has been unkind to certain narratives. One such forgotten or misunderstood chronicle is that of the Sufi saints, whose contributions to resisting oppression have largely been lost to time. It is this absence that inspired Syed Amjad Hussain, a 19-year-old writer and descendant of Sufi saints, to document his past.
Hussain, who is in his last year of graduation from the Maulana Azad University of Technology in West Bengal, is on a mission to revive the overlooked history of Sufism in Bihar. He is attempting to fill the gap, placing the saints within the broader context of Bihar’s socio-political history.
His upcoming book, published by Author’s Tree in Chhattisgarh, documents about 50 Sufi saints who have lived in Bihar from 1180 to contemporary times, highlighting their resistance to oppression and their contributions to society. Hussain sought out manuscripts in the Khuda Baksh Oriental Library in Patna and visited Sufi shrines across Bihar. His research involved first-hand reporting and consultations with scholars like Syed Hasan Askari and Syed Shah Shamim Munemi.
“His book will benefit society in the long run,” said Mohammed Umar Ashraf, editor at The Heritage Times, who has worked to revive the memory of Urdu poets and Sufi saints of Bihar. “Not only is he writing books, but his articles are also helping in citation and research.”
For Hussain, this work is personal. His great-grandfather Hafiz Syed Abdul Aziz was a saint seer.
“You have to record the history of your people,” he said. “I am just recording my past.”
Born in Jamuara village in Sheikhpura district of Bihar, Hussain is weaving together a rich chronicle of Sufi existence in the state. His journey begins with Imam Taj Faqih, a resident of Jerusalem, believed to be the first scholar and Sufi saint to arrive in Bihar. Taj Faqih fought against the king of Maner, a town near Patna, and is remembered by both Muslims and Hindus who pay homage to him even today.
“The war was to put an end to the cruelties of the king,” Hussain said.
Hussain’s work also ventures beyond the realm of Sufism. One of his other books is a biography of a Bihari creative writer Akhtar Orenvi, who promoted Azeemabadi Urdu, a form that emphasised indigenous words. This book was published by Notion Press on July 14, 2023, with the title Akhtar Orenvi: Bihar Mein Urdu Sahitya Ke Nirmata. It is available on online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.
Another work, a collection of articles, documents the contributions of Muslim leaders, thinkers, and artists in shaping Bihar. Tracing his lineage back to the Jajneri tradition of Sufism, which migrated from Baghdad to Uttar Pradesh and then to Bihar, Hussain noted that the line of Sufi saints had paused for the past two generations.
His grandfather Syed Aashique Hussain became a doctor rather than a seer, while his father, Syed Ahmad Hussain pursued business involving borewells and trucks, though neither abandoned the spiritual traditions of Sufism. The latter was also the founder of a girls’ madrasa, Madrasatul Banat Azizul Oloom, located in Jamuara, Sheikhpura district. The madrasa houses a large library with books in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic.
Hussain reflected on the reasons for this decline: “It could be true that people became more materialistic than what they were earlier.” But, he insisted that his grandfather remained committed to serving people, though through medicine rather than mysticism.
In discussing Sufism, Hussain delved into the esoteric teachings of the saints.
Not everyone could become a Sufi saint. People can belong to the Sufi tradition. But in order to be a saint, they have to have the soul which beats with and for the rhythms of the hearts of the people on whose atrocities have been committed
he said.
For Umar, the decline of Sufi traditions in India is also tied to larger socio-political changes. The shift away from Persian as the state language and the loss of state patronage impacted the Sufis and their interactions with society. The education system and language underwent changes, further disrupting it.
Hussain’s commitment to reviving history also led him to write in Hindi, a language that could bring these forgotten narratives to a wider audience.
“Hussain’s writing in Hindi will resonate with the Hindi-speaking readers, which would do to Sufism what once writing in Persian did,” said Ashraf, who runs a page titled Lost Muslim Heritage of Bihar, published in the Heritage Times on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
“What attracted me the most about Hussain’s book,” said Mithlesh Kaushik, the founder of Author’s Tree, “is the topic he has chosen and that it’s his young age in which he is writing the book.”
As Hussain continues his work, his goal is clear: to ensure that Sufism and the legacy of his ancestors are not forgotten. “For those who do not have a past cannot necessarily have a future,” he said.
The lead image on top depicts 19-year-old author Syed Amjad Hussain. (Picture courtesy Syed Amjad Hussain)
Kumar Gaurav is a multilingual audio-visual journalist from Bihar.
