quest for the unknown, mastery over dispensation of justice, deep rooted faith in destiny
and an undying zeal and passion for spreading Islam as the Raison d' etre for life. Hence,
when Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty decided to conquer India, Ansaris joined him in making his dream come true.
Here it would be of interest to write a few words about Babar.
He was the son of Sheikh Umar Mirza, ruler of Farghana, and was born in 1483 CE.
Not content with ruling over the small kingdom of Farghana, he attacked Samarkand. In
the attempt to capture Samarkand he even lost Farghana.
his loyal band of soldiers as written in the Tuzk-e-Babri makes absorbing reading. It was
during this Period that he came to Kabul and captured it. He had also heard of the rich
land called Hindustan and remembered his grandfather Taimoor's invasion of Hind.
He
focussed his attention on it, and found an opportunity when Daulat Khan, governor of
Punjab, invited him to attack and promised to help him against Ibrahim Lodi. This led to
the famous First Battle of Panipat, fought in 1526 CE.
Even though the battle lasted for only a few hours, Ibrahim Lodhi was killed and Babur
emerged victorious, thereafter conquering most of India.
The generations of the following descendants of Khawaja Abdullah Ansari came to India
during different times and led to formation of the following branches of the family in
India:
Khwaja Jabir - Ancestor - Ansaris of Farangi Mahal.
Khwaja Abdurrahman - Ancestor - Ansaris of Yusufpur.
Khawja Hashim Buzurg -Ancestor - Ansaris of Aligarh.
Qazi Mohd Yusuf-Ancestor - Ansaris of Saharanpur
Qazi Mohd Naimat- Ancestor - Ansaris of Kakori.
Descendants of Khwaja Abdurrahman, the ancestor of Ansaris of Yusufpur, came to
India in two groups, as follows:
Khwaja Alauddin and Khwaja Badruddin came to India during the period of Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughlaq (reigned 1325–51) and settled in Dehli. Of these two, Khwaja
Badruddin accompanied Amir Syed Masood Ghazi and came to the area to subdue Raja
Mandehta. A brief narration of the events that led to this move of Ansaris to the general
area of Mohammedabad, some two hundred years prior to the arrival of the second batch,
is as follows:
In 1330 CE, when Sultan Mohammed Sani bin Tughlaq became King and ascended the
throne of Delhi, he appointed Syed Masud as his Minister (Moqarrib). Mohammed bin
Tughlaq left for Deccan after appointing Firoz Shah Tughlaq, his cousin, as his deputy at
Delhi. At that time Raj Mandhata was the ruler of Kashtut (Kathaut), a place near
Ghazipur (Now Ghauspur or Ghaus-ul-Azampur.). The Raja was hostile to the Delhi
kingdom. Syed Masud Al-Husaini, along with his seven sons and 40 comrades left Delhi
and came to Ghazipur as per the command of King Firoz Shah. The mission was to
rescue a young unmarried girl from the captivity of Raja Mandhata. A fierce battle took
place and the Raja was defeated. Syed Masud was appointed as ruler and administrator of
the place. He was honoured with the title of 'Ghazi' by the king Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Syed
Masud founded a new city in 1330 AD. It was called Ghazipur. He died on 31.03.1366
CE and was buried in Ghazipur. His grave is in Mohalla Harishankari. His son, Syed
Raje, who was killed while fighting the army of Raja's nephew in 1330 C.E, is also
buried there. In Ghazipur, a neighbourhood is known as "Syedwara" and a riverbank is
called Masudi Ghat. He had seven sons and distributed the areas under his control among
his sons for administrative convenience and settled himself in Ghazipur city. His
descendants were later called 'Syeds of Ghazipur' as described in the research work of S.
M. Taqi Husaini's genealogical tree of Syed Masud Al-Husaini.
Khwaja Badruddin, an ancestor of Ansaris of Yusufpur, accompanied Syed Masud Al-
Husaini and fought the battle. However, after staying in the area for some time, he
returned to Dehli.
Khwaja Mobin titled Abul-Hameed Saaduddin Zainuddin alias Mitthan along with his
brothers Khwaja Najmuddin Siraj and Khwaja Muhammad Hayat alias Haji Kamil came
to Panipat with Babur in 1526 CE. Khwaja Najmuddin Siraj and his brothers were among
Babur's court. Ghazipur Gazetteer page 99 mixed the two arrivals by stating that "the first
was appointed Qazi of the pargana by Muhammad bin Tughlaq". Khwaja Najmuddin
Siraj actually came to India in the period of Babar, and not in the reign of Muhammad bin
Tughlaq.
Why and how Khwaja Najmuddin Siraj was appointed Qazi (equivalent to Chief Justice)
of Mohammedabad Ghazipur Siraj by Humayun In 1540 CE needs to be explained in
some detail.
Sheikh Jamal Ahmed Makki was a great scholar and spiritual luminary during the
Mughal period. He resided in Rasoolpur Jamal of Mohammedabad Pargana and his
lineage went up to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (RA). He was a venerated religious scholar,
spiritual guide and Master. His disciples ran in to thousands. He was also held in high
esteem by the Mughals. His presence and teachings were the main reason for rapid spread
of Islam in the area during the reign of the first three Mughal emperors, Babar, Humayun
and Akbar. He was thought of as a beacon of light in the darkness prevailing around.
Sheikh Jamal was a disciple of Sheikh Abdul Quddoos Gangohi. After learning all that
was to know about the visible branches of Islamic education, he strove to find his guide
to take him to the zenith of spiritual accomplishment. One night he dreamt that to do so,
he must become a disciple of Sheikh Muhammad Mallanwi. Thus, he asked his father to
take him to Sheikh Mallanwi. His father took him to Dehli where Sheikh Mallanwi
resided. The revered Sheikh, having already received the divine message, was waiting for
him, and received him with open arms. One day the Sheikh told Sheikh Jamal that his
time to depart from the world had come. He instructed him to join the army of Humayun
and go and settle where ever he liked and spread the message of Islam.
Sheikh Jamal chose Ghazipur as the place to settle, joined Humayun's army and left on
the expedition to subdue Nasir Khan Lohani, the ruler of Ghazipur. Passing through
Ghazipur he reached Muhammadabad Parhar Bari. He liked the place and requested the
king to let him stay at that place. The King allowed him to do so.
At that time, the area was surrounded by jungle and was inhabited by aboriginal tribes
such as Seori, Cheero and Rajbhar. As per the history of Rasoolpur Jamal, some of these
tribes accepted Islam and lived peacefully. However, a number of them continued in their
old ways. They used to rob the travellers passing by, and, on resistance, killed them. It
was a time of great uncertainty and chaos. Sheikh Jamal tried to convince them to mend
their ways; but to no avail. Finally, and as a last resort, he wrote a letter to the King
Humayun as follows:
"This area now known as Mohammedabad Parhar Bari parganah is steeped in
ignorance and infidelity. There is nobody here who could make these inhabitants follow
the right path without the use of sword. To rectify this situation we need a strong and
powerful ruler who can crush them".
On receipt of Sheikh Jamal's letter, the King despatched Khwaja Najmuddin Siraj Ansari
as the Qazi of the area and Mirza Adil Baig as Minister of Finance. After a bloody battle,
they were successful in crushing the miscreants. The King rewarded the two with official
letters of appointment and Jageers (Large tracts of land). These two distinguished souls
established a number of places such as Adilabad and Qazipur Siraj. Simultaneously,
Jamalpur was named after Sheikh Jamal.
Thus, the descendants of Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, having arrived in two batches, first
during the reign of Muhammed bin Tughlaq, and then with the army of the Mughal King
Zaheeruddin Babar, finally settled in the area generally called Mohammedabad and
initiated the process of spreading Islam and establishing themselves as the icons of
religion, knowledge, justice and medicine in and around that part of India. Wilton
Oldham, in his Memoirs acknowledges the superior mental capabilities and
accomplishments of Ansaris in the following words:
"The Sadeekee Sheikhs of Puhetia in the Ghazeepoor, and the Ansaree Sheikhs of
Yusoofpoor in the Mahomedabad Pergunnah, surpass even their neighbours the Syuds in
mental energy and ability. A great number of the villages of the Sheikhs have passed
away from their possession".
Historical & Statistical Memoir of the Ghazeepoor District, Wilton Oldham, Northwest
Provinces, India 1870
Khwaja Najmuddin Siraj, who was Qazi of the entire area called Qazipur Siraj, had no
son. At the same time, his brother Khwaja Mobin alias Mitthan had married a lady from
the Ansari family that had arrived with the first batch and had settled at Saiket,
Shikohabad. He was blessed with a son who was named Khwaja Hameeduddin Saadullah
Alias Qazi Yusuf. Qazi Najmuddin Siraj married his daughter Fatima Bibi to Qazi Yusuf.
After the death of Khwaja Najmuddin Siraj, Qazi Yusuf was appointed Qazi by Akbar in
968H/1568CE. Qazi Yusuf is known as the ancestor of Ansaris of Yusufpur. His son
Qazi Ahmed enhanced the area to the level of parganah and named it Yusufpur after his
father in 1593.
Another significant event that merits record was the death of Fatima Bibi, daughter of
Qazi Najmuddin Siraj and wife of Qazi Yusuf. After her death, Qazi Yusuf proposed to
marry a daughter of Sheikh Jamal, as it was a matter of great honour to be son-in-law of
the most revered spiritual luminary. Keeping in view the lineage of Qazi Yusuf, Sheikh
Jamal kindly accepted the proposal and thus his daughter Aisha Bibi was married to Qazi
Yusuf, binding the two Sheikh families through matrimony.
Having established Yusufpur, Ansaris continued to excel in the fields they were known
for, i.e. serving the cause of Islam, medicine and justice.
They produced outstanding
luminaries in all of these fields such as Hakeem Nabeena Ansari, perhaps the most
renowned physician of India of his times, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, President of
Congress, Khilafat Movement and Muslim League, Qazi Malik Ansari, Qazi Subhanullah
Ansari, Qazi Khurshid-ul-Haq Ansari and Qazi Farid-ul-Haq Ansari, etc.
Amongst the current prominent figures of the Ansaris of Yusufpur, Mohammed Hamid
Ansari, Vice President of India and Ex-Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University
are noteworthy.
Found useful informtion about arrival of descendants of Abu Ayyub Ansari from Herat to India from time to time. Unfortunately I could not find any information about the descendants who arrived Pnipat after the attack of Genges Khan in twlft/thirteenth century. I belong to that clan
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