Azizur Rahman was born in 1862, to a Bengali Muslim family in the village of Babunagar in Fatikchhari, Chittagong District. The family traced their ancestry to Caliph Abu Bakr. In his childhood, he was noted for his cleanliness and humbleness and was nicknamed Sufi Saheb.[citation needed]
His education began in Babunagar and he later enrolled at the Mohsinia Madrasa in Chittagong. Whilst studying for Jamat-e-Ula, he was introduced to Abdul Wahid Bengali. He was inspired after hearing Bengali's recitation of the Quran, and began regularly reciting the Quran to him. Abdul Wahid subsequently took him to Abdus Samad Pandit for religious homeschooling. Ultimately, Azizur Rahman gained the highest mark in his Jamat-e-Ula exam.[1][2]
Career
In response to topping the Jamat-e-Ula exams, the Mohsinia Madrasa staff requested Azizur Rahman to remain in the madrasa as a teacher. However, he did not take up this role as he did not want a job dependent upon the British government.[3] Instead, he joined the anti-colonial Deobandi movement under his mentor Abdul Wahid Bengali. The two joined Habibullah Qurayshi and Abdul Hamid Madarshahi to establish Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam in Hathazari. Two to three years after its establishment, Azizur Rahman began teaching at the institution and remained in this role for ten to fifteen years.[4]
Azizur Rahman noticed the lack of religious education facilities in Fatikchhari. As a solution, he established Al-Jamia al-Arabia Nasirul Islam in Nazirhat Bazar. A few years later, he entrusted the madrasa to Nur Ahmad and left for his ancestral village in Babunagar. His plan was to establish a madrasa in Babunagar.[citation needed]
