History of Madrasa Azizia & Its Founder Bibi Soghra: A Towering Philanthropist Vanished Into History скачать в хорошем качестве

History of Madrasa Azizia & Its Founder Bibi Soghra: A Towering Philanthropist Vanished Into History

Bibi Soghra was a renowned philanthropist of Biharsharif, a historical city in the Nalanda district of Bihar state. She was born into a wealthy family of Abdul Samad around 1815 in a small village of Hasauri in the Munger district, now in Sheikhpura. She completed her early education in the local Madrasa. Later on, she earned a degree in Urdu, Hindi, Arabi, Farsi, and English. Bibi Soghra was a beautiful girl. Upon completion of her education, she was married to Moulvi Abdul Aziz, son of a major zamindaar Fazal Imam of Bihar Sharif at the age of 21. Abdul Aziz was a genius child of his parents Fazal Imam and Bibi Zahooran. He was a government employee under the British Rule. But during India’s First War of Independence in 1857, he resigned from the service and along with many others joined the war of Independence against the British. After the death of her husband, Bibi Soghra was left alone. To overcome the loneliness, she decided to keep herself busy with charity work. As she became the sole owner of the entire property, she set up the Soghra Waqf Estate in 1896 and took over the charge as a Motawalli (manager) of the Waqf. As per the registration record, the total property of Soghra Waqf Estate was 28,500 bigha spread in different districts of Bihar like Patna, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Nalanda, Nawada, Gaya, Sheikhpura (Barbigha) and Bhagalpur. The Soghra Waqf Estate is believed to be one of the wealthiest Estates in Bihar. Most of the properties were in the landed form spread in thousands of villages and districts. Over the time, the Waqf had lost more than 3,000 bigha of land due to mismanagement, personal interests of mutawallis, fake sales, and disputes. Thus, the Waqf gradually failed to fulfill the dream of Bibi Soghra. Nevertheless, the Estate still has heritage houses in Muzaffarpur and Biharsharif. Even today, the Estate has sufficient valid documents of its properties, but due to a lack of complete information about the identity of towns, villages, or areas, the Estate has no possession of these properties. The Govt of Bihar also acquired some properties for its various projects in different districts and the matter is under scrutiny. There are many educational and welfare institutions still functioning under the Soghra Waqf Estate. 1. The oldest Madrasa Azizia Biharsharif was established in 1896 in Patna. Madrasa Azizia is a well-known center of education having hostel facilities for students and teachers. 2. Soghra High School situated at Kaaghzi Mohalla was established in 1917 and is still operational. Earlier the school was known as Soghra Growing English High School. This is a minority-affiliated and second-best school in the town. 3. Soghra College was established in 1978 under articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution of India. It is spread over eight-acre of land. In 1981, the college was recognized and undertaken by Magadh University. It is a government-approved minority college; now comes under the Patliputra University, Patna. 4. A large dormitory near Jama Masjid in Khuradi Mohalla. It is well maintained and functioning even today. 5. Bibi Soghra herself took care of the maintenance and proper functioning of at least five mosques which are mentioned in the Waqfnama are: i. Shahi Jama Masjid, Biharsharif, Pul par ii. Jama Masjid, Murarapur, Biharsharif iii. Bukhari Masjid, Kaaghzi Mohalla, Biharsharif iv. Mohini Masjid, Mohini, Nalanda v. Jama Masjid, Hasauri, Sheikhpura The main purpose of setting up a Waqf and endowing her entire property to it was to serve society. And to continue the legacy of legendry Bibi Soghra, the Estate continues to provide medical and healthcare aid to the needy, financial support to students and scholars, and maintenance of hospitals and madrasas. According to Waqfnama, among all the institutions that receive funds from the Estate, Madrasa Azizia gets the lion’s share of 40% of the total annual income of the Estate for the propagation of religious education. It is probably because Madrasa Azizia is the oldest and a well-known center of education having hostel facilities for a large number of students and teachers and a mosque in the campus. Also, the motawalli does not have any rights to draw a salary from the Estate, but he only gets some percentage for his services which is stipulated in the Waqfnama. Though the motawalli has full authority over the daily affairs of the Estate and nothing can be done without his permission. But in the letter and spirit of the Waqfnama, the motawalli has no rights to waive off rent dues of tenants and borrowers in any other form in full or partial. This is believed to be the golden age which lasted for over 12 years, but began to fade with her death in 1908 at the age of 97. She is buried alongside her husband in the courtyard of Jama Masjid, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda. #BibiSoghra #MadrasaAzizia #BiharSharif #Nalanda #BiharHeritage #WomenInHistory #WaqfEstate #ForgottenHeroes #SoghraCollege