History of Ibrahim Mallick Baya (Ra)

At the time of Sultan Mohammad 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, Syed Ibrahim, 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 Syed Ibrahim the title of “Madarul Mulk Mallick 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 Syed Ibrahim. After an exchange of greetings, Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq said to Syed Ibrahim in Persian (the official language at the time) “Mallick Biya, Be-nashin” meaning “O King come and sit next to me” and led Syed Ibrahim to his seat. The Sultan bestowed this great honor upon him. Since then, he was called “Mallick Biya.” The Sultan appointed Syed Ibrahim as the governor of the state of Bihar. He chose to settle with his family and relatives in Biharsharif.
Syed Ibrahim (Mallick Biya) was a distinguished military general, and, surprisingly enough, an eminent Sufi (saint) as well. He was a descendent of Hazrat Ali Karram Aallaho Waj-ha-hoo (KAW) 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, the historically famous province of Afghanistan. He 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, 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. In Bihar, Mallick 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. Syed Ibrahim also served as Governor of Bihar and general for a few years from1351-1353 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. When the fighting finally stopped, Syed Ibrahim established law and order in the region. After peace prevailed, one night Mallick Biya left the fort, when a group of enemy soldiers, hiding in the darkness outside the fort, perpetrated a sneak attack on this valiant general from behind and killed him. Thus, the life of a great warrior, and great Muslim came to an abrupt end (Inna Lillahe wa Inna Alaihe Raje-woon). He died on Sunday, 13th Dul Hajj 753 AH corresponding to 20th January 1353 AD. His body was brought to Biharsharif for burial, where he had lived nearly his entire life with his family, relatives, and kinsmen.
The tomb of Syed Ibrahim is located in Biharsharif, 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. Even the inexorable erosion process, ruthless and immutable, marvelously spared the tomb from decay. After 600 years, the structure stands as if it were built in recent days. Besides Mallick Biya’s tomb, there are 10 graves of his sons and grandson inside the dome. The tombs of other family members and companions of Mallick Biya are lying on the east, west and south sides of the mausoleum. Due to the high respect and reverence given to the tomb of Mallick Biya 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 Mallick clan members who wish to be buried on Pir Pahari.
The descendants of the eight children of Mallick 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, Mallicks 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.
After the division of India, a great number of Mallick families migrated to Pakistan and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) and some of these villages may not have now a single Mallick family there. However, the names of these villages are still of historical importance and for the purpose of record and identification of the Mallicks whose forefathers hailed from these villages. In recent years, a number of Mallicks have migrated and settled to the USA, Canada, European countries and to the Middle East for higher education and for economic reasons.
Reference from: Mallick fraternity is appreciative to Mr. Muhammad Hussain Imam (1516 Coat Ridge Road, Herndon, VA 20170-2726, USA) who has been compiling a very comprehensive book “The History of the Mallick Family”. This brief introduction is taken from his book.
Genealogy of Syed Ibrahim Mallick Bayyo (RA)
Syed Ibrahim was the 7th descendent of Hazrat Abdul Qadir Gilani Hassani wal Hussaini Rahmatullah Alaih (RA). who was the direct descendent of Hazrat Ali Karramallaho Waj-ha-hoo (KAW). Hazrat Ali (KAW) was the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad Sallal Laho Alaihe Wassalam (SAW). Hassani wal Hussaini means that Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (RA) belonged to the progeny of Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain, the two sons of Hazrat Ali (KAW) from both the paternal and maternal sides.
Syed Ibrahim's genealogy up to Abu Talib is as follow:
1 Syed Ibrahim son of
2 Syed Abu Bakar son of
3 Syed Abul Qasim Abdullah son of
4 Syed Mohammad Farooque son of
5 Syed Abul Mansoor Abdusalam son of
6 Syed Abdul Wahab son of
7 Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani son of
8 Syed Abu Saleh Musa (Jangi Dost) son of
9 Syed Abu Abdi'llah son of
10 Shaikh Syed Yahya Az-Zahid son of
11 Syed Muhammad son of
12 Syed Dawood son of
13 Syed Musa son of
14 Syed Abdu'llah son of
15 Syed Musa Al-Jawn son of
16 Syed Abdu'llah Al-Mahd (aka al-Mujall) son of
17 Syed Hassan Al-Muthanna son of
18 Hazrat Abu Muhammad Imam Hassan (RA) son of
19 Hazrat Ali Karrama'llah Wajhah son of
20 Abu Talib (Uncle of Prophet SAW)
Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (RA) was born in the Iranian District of Gilan (or Jilan), south of the Caspian Sea, in 470 AH corresponding to 1077 AD and died in 561 AH corresponding to 1166 AD. He was the grandson of Shaikh Abdullah as-Sawama'i az-Zahid from his maternal side. Abdullah az-Zahid was one of the leading Shaikhs of Jilan and a great ascetic of his time. Shaikh Abdul Qadir's mother was Umm al-Khair (mother of goodness) Amat al-Jabbar (maidservant of the All Compelling One) Fatima (RA), who was the descendent of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), the youngest son of Hazrat Ali and Sayyedah Fatima Zehra (RA). Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (RA) has many other surnames, titles and honorific appellations conferred upon him. He is known as Al-Ghawth al-A'zam Sultan al-Awliya Sayyidunna al-Shaik Abu Muhamd Muhiuddin Abdul Qadir Jilani (RA) al-Hasani wal-Hussaini. Also added to his surnames is al-Quraishi al-Hashimi al-Alawi al-Hasani al-Jili al-Hanbali
Mallick are descendants of Ibrahim Mallick Baya or Bayyo was a eminent military general and a famous Sufi/ Sant of the 14th Century A.D. He was the 7th descendent of Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani (Rahmatullah Allaih, RA). He conquered the state of Bihar and was appointed Governor of Bihar by Sultan Mohammad son of Tughlaq. He was given the coveted title of Mallick by the Sultan and became famous as Mallick Biya. On account of this honor, his descendents carried this title and today 600 years later are still distinctly connected with him and recognized as the Mallicks of Bihar. Marathon of Mallicks is the State of Bihar and Jharkhand (Capital, Patna and Ranchi) is located in the eastern part of India. In the east, it borders the State of West Bengal (capital, Calcutta), in the west, it borders with the State of Utter Pradesh, also known as U.P. (capital, Lucknow), in the south, with the State of Orissa (capital, Katak), and in the north, with the Kingdom of Nepal (capital, Kathmandu) and the Kingdom of Bhutan.