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Azan Faqir (Arabic: أذان فقير),(Assamese : আজান ফকীৰ) born Shah Miran, also known as Ajan Pir, Hazrat Shah Miran, and Shah Milan (presumably from Miran), was a Sufi,[1] poet, Muslim preacher and saint from the 17th century[2] who came from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh to settle in the Sibsagar area of Assam in the north-eastern part of India, where he helped to unify the people of the Brahmaputra valley,[3] and to reform, reinforce and stabilise Islam in the region of Assam.[citation needed][4] The nickname Azan came from his habit of calling azan.[5]
According to one version[which?][citation needed] his name was "Hazarat Shah Syed Mainuddin". He is known for his Zikr and Zari, two forms of devotional songs, that draw from local musical traditions and have striking similarities with borgeets of Srimanta Sankardeva, the 16th-century saint-scholar from Assam. In addition, the late renowned author and Sahitya Akademi award winner Syed Abdul Malik states that Azan Fakir was a preacher with profound mastery over the Qur’an, the Hadith and Islamic philosophy.[6]

Career
editAzan Fakir was a disciple of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya. He came to Assam accompanied by his brother Shah Navi. He married the daughter of a Muslim named Syed Usman Gani of Khandokar village in Rangpur, Assam. [7]
The conspiracy
editIn course of time his influence spread, he acquired a good number of followers and earned the enmity of an Ahom official, Rupai Baruah Dadhora (Rupai Phuke-mit), who by conspiracy convinced the Ahom king that Azan Fakir was a Mughal spy and had orders passed for plucking out the Pir's eyes.[8] The Pir, according to some songs, had two earthen pots brought into which he let his "two eyes drop".He then asked the soldiers to throw the pots into the nearby Dikhow River instead of taking them to the King.[citation needed]
Aftermath
editThe king was alarmed and for atonement made land grants to Ajan Fakir at Soraguri Chapari, near Sibsagar and had a matha built for him.[citation needed] This place on the bank of Brahmaputra has become a holy place with Ajan Pir's Dargah where an annual urs is held. His dargah is at Saraguri Chapari near Sibsagar town.[6]
Works
editAzan Fakir composed 160 zikir and zari but 90 only recovered.
See also
edit- Ajan Faquir Saheb, a 2008 Assamese-language film about him....
- Islam in Assam
- Jari Gan
References
edit- ↑ Committee, Brahmaputra Beckons Publication (1982). The Brahmaputra Beckons. Brahmaputra Beckons Publication Committee. p. 39. ASIN B0000CQAKG. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ↑ Sarma, Satyendranath (1989). A Socio-economic & Cultural History of Medieval Assam, 1200 A.D.-1800 A.D. Pratima Devi. p. 230. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ↑ B. Datta-Ray, B. (1978). Social and Economic Profile of North-east India. B. R. Pub. Corp. p. 343. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ↑ "Ajan Peer Dargah | Sivasagar | Government Of Assam, India". sivasagar.assam.gov.in. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ↑ Tamizi, Mohammad Yahya (1992). Sufi Movements in Eastern India. Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli. p. 96. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- 1 2 "Sufi saint Ajan Fakir made Assam a symbol of the syncretic religious traditions". www.awazthevoice.in. Archived from the original on 1 June 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ↑ Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.
- ↑ "Assam: Historical Azan Pir Dargah affected by flood in Disangmukh". India Today NE (in Hindi). 30 August 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- Bora, Utpala (May 2006). "Zikir and Zari: Sufi songs of Assam". Posoowa. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
- Jogesh, Das, Folklore Of Assam, National Book Trust, India, pp. 111–2
- Radiance Viewsweekly. XLVI (11). 15 June 2008.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Malik, Abdul (1990). Ajan Fakir. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-7201-040-9.
- Nofil, Zafri Mudasser (2021). The Identity Quotient: The Story of the Assamese Muslims. Har-Anand Publications Pvt Limited. pp. 110–20, 120–27. ISBN 978-93-88409-87-2.
- Deka, Dipanjali (10 August 2022). "Reading Resemblances and Fluidity Between the Zikir Songs of Azan Fakir and Other Song Genres in Assam". ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. 3 (2): 152–159. doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.155. ISSN 2582-7472.
- Hussain, Abul (2021). "Sufi Songs of Assam: Zikir and Zari". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3867058. ISSN 1556-5068.
- Imdad Ullah, Tufail; Kalita, Garima (4 December 2025). "Cultural and Literary Dimensions of Zikir: The Assamese Tradition of Devotional Chanting". Advanced International Journal for Research. 6 (6). doi:10.63363/aijfr.2025.v06i06.2252. ISSN 3048-7641.
External links
edit
Media related to Azan Pir Dargah at Wikimedia Commons
- AZAN FAKIROR ZIKIR - Hafeza Begum Chowdhury & Group║BackPack Studio™ (Season 6)║Folk Music - Assam (Video). Anahad Foundation. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2025 – via YouTube.