Ibrahim Malik

Ibrahm Malik (or Ibrahim Malik Bayyu, Ibrahim Malick) (born near Kamta, in Afghanistan) is the progenitor of the Malik Muslim community of Bihar, India.

Ancestry

His ancestors had migrated to the region from Baghdad to escape from persecution at the hands of the Abbasids. Ibrahim Malick came to India in 740 Hijri (1339 AD), where he served as a general in Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq's army. After several successful battles and campaigns he received the title of Mallick Biya from the Sultan Tughlaq, and was later appointed the Governor of the district of Bihar by the Sultan's son.^{[citation needed]}

Arrival in India

Ibrahim Malick settled in Bihar Shareef (India) with his family, and ruled over the region until his assassination on Monday, 13th Zul-Hijjah, 753 Hijri (1353 AD). Ibrahim Malick`s mazaar (tomb) is over a hill known as Peer Pahari in Bihar Shareef. Descendants of Ibrahim Malick include the Maliksfrom Bihar, India, now scattered throughout the region, including Karachi (Pakistan), Bihar, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada, Aurangabad, Patna, Monghyr, Jamui, Shekhpura, Nalanda. There is a fairly large community in the US, UK, other countries of Europe, Canada as well.

At the time of Sultan Tughlaq (1290 AD-1351 AD), even though the State of Bihar was under the control of Delhi, for all practical purposes, its rulers were autonomous. The Sultan received numerous complaints against the Raja Bithal, the Governor (Subedar) of Bihar, who was not only a tyrant but also a rebel against the Sultan of Delhi.

The Sultan sent his general, Ibrahim Malick, to punish Raja Bithal. After a fierce battle, the Raja was killed and his army was defeated. The conquest of Bihar was a remarkable achievement, and on this occasion, the Sultan conferred upon Ibrahim Malick the title of Madarul Mulk Maliks Saif wa Daulat (Administrator and King of Sword and Wealth). It is recorded that the Sultan was so jubilant by this victory, that in his court he himself came down to receive and greet Ibrahim Malick. After an exchange of greetings, Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq said to Ibrahim Malick in Persian (the official language at the time) “Maliks Biya, Be-nashin” meaning “O King come and sit next to me” and led Ibrahim Malick to his seat. The Sultan bestowed this great honor upon him. Since then, he was called “Maliks Biya.” The Sultan appointed Ibrahim Malick as the governor of the state of Bihar. He chose to settle with his family and relatives in Bihar Shareef.

Ibrahim MalikBiya was a distinguished military general, and an eminent Sufi (saint) as well. He was a descendent of Ali Karram Aallaho Waj-ha-hoo and when the Abbasyds persecuted his ancestors, they escaped to Ghazni. He was born and raised in Batnagar, which is three miles east of Ghazni (Afghanistan).^{[citation needed]}

Ibrahim Malick received his education and military training in Ghazni and then he came to Delhi to serve under the tutelage of Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq, who was famous for his magnificent patronage of intellectuals, scholars, and talented military generals of his time. Besides Syed Ibrahim Malick, Ibn Batuta, the famous traveler and pioneer explorer, and other people like him came from all over the world to serve the Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq.^{[citation needed]}

In Bihar, Ibrahim Malik Biya led many expeditions such as Chhai Champa and Parmangarh, Deora and Khatangi, and defeated Raja Baithal and was appointed Governor of Bihar by Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq. Ibrahim Malick also served as Governor of Bihar and general for a few years from 1351-1353 AD/751-753 AH, during the reign of Sultan Firoze Shah Tughlaq, son of Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq. During his reign, he fought his last pitched battles with Raja Hans Kumar and conquered the Fort of Rohtas.^{[citation needed]}

Assassination

When the fighting finally stopped, Ibrahim Malick established law and order in the region. After peace prevailed, one night Syed Ibrahim Malik Biya left the fort, when a group of enemy soldiers, hiding in the darkness outside the fort, perpetrated a sneak attack on this general from behind and killed him.^{[citation needed]} Ibrahim Malick died on Sunday, 13th Dul Hajj 753 AH corresponding to 20 January 1353 AD. His body was brought to Bihar Shareef for burial, where he had lived nearly his entire life with his family, relatives, and kinsmen.^{[citation needed]}

Commemoration

The tomb of Ibrahim Malick is located in Bihar Shareef, at the hilltop of Pir Pahari, one mile west of the town. The mausoleum is an extraordinary structure of a rare quality of bricks, which have withstood the ravages of time and the unrelenting devastation of weather for the last 600 years.^{[citation needed]}

After 600 years, the structure stands as if it were built in recent days. Besides Syed Ibrahim MalikBiya’s tomb, there are 10 graves of his sons and grandson inside the dome. The tombs of other family members and companions of Syed Ibrahim Malik Biya are lying on the east, west and south sides of the mausoleum.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the high respect and reverence given to the tomb of Syed Ibrahim MalikBiya for generations, no one is buried on the north side of the dome. The south side of the burial place is still reserved only for the Maliks clan members who wish to be buried on Pir Pahari.

Legacy

The descendants of the eight children of Ibrahim Malik Biya multiplied over 600 years and constituted a significant portion of the Muslim community in Bihar. The Muslim population of Bihar was around 13% before the partition of India in 1947. At that time, Maliks constituted about 25% of the Muslim population of Bihar, mostly concentrated in the villages and towns in the Districts of Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada, Arrah, Jamui, shekhpura and Munger.^{[citation needed]}

After the division of India, a great number of Malik families migrated to Pakistan and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) and some of these villages may not have now a single Maliks family there. However, the names of these villages are still of historical importance and for the purpose of record and identification of the Maliks whose forefathers hailed from these villages.^{[citation needed]}

The poet Raees Ahmad Chishti produced the work Nazraana-e-Aqeedatt about Ibrahim Malick. It has been translated into Hindi by journalist and poet Muslim Saleem.

Ancestry

His ancestry, as published by the Malick community of the United States:^[1]

• Syed Ibrahim, son of
• Syed Abu Bakar, son of
• Syed Abul Qasim Abdullah, son of
• Syed Mohammad Farooque, son of
• Syed Abul Mansoor Abdusalam, son of
• Syed Abdul Wahab, son of
• Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, son of
• Syed Abu Saleh Musa (Jangi Dost), son of
• Syed Abu Abdi'llah, son of
• Shaikh Syed Yahya Az-Zahid, son of
• Syed Muhammad, son of
• Syed Dawood, son of
• Syed Musa, son of
• Syed Abdu'llah, son of
• Syed Musa Al-Jawn, son of
• Syed Abdu'llah Al-Mahd (aka al-Mujall), son of
• Syed Hassan Al-Muthanna, son of
• Hazrat Abu Muhammad Imam Hassan, son of
• Hazrat Ali Karrama'llah Wajhahu, son of
• Abu Talib (Uncle of Islamic prophet Muhammad)

Sources

Template:Check sources

• Articles on mysticism of Ibn Arabi from Ibn Arabi Society
• Mysticism in Islam a lecture by William Chittick
• Sufism From a site dedicated to various esoteric systems

External links

• MallickTanzeem.com, including Nazraana-e-Aqeedatt
• Excerpts from The Conference of the Birds by Fariduddin-al-Attar
• Excerpts by Abdul Qadir Jilani
• [1] excerpts by Ibn Arabi
• Fusus al Hikm
• KhojaKhabarNews.com
• www.mallicktanzeem.org

References

1. ^ "Genealogy of Syed Ibrahim", Malick/Mallick Community USA.^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name	Ibrahim Malik
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	1353
Place of death