বাংলা 
English 
Hazrat Shah Paran (R) was a renowned Sufi saint of the Suhrawardiya and Jalalia orders. It is said that he was the nephew of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R) and was born in Yemen. He took part in the Sylhet expedition (1303 AD) along with Shah Jalal (R) and devoted himself to preaching Islam in various places of Sylhet. Setting up a khanqah at Khadim Nagar in the Dakshinbag pargana, about 7 km from Sylhet city, he began his spiritual pursuit. Shah Paran's role in preaching Islam and establishing Muslim rule in the Sylhet region was significant.
To this day many people gather every day to pay a visit to his mazar. His urs is held on the 4th, 5th and 6th of the month of Rabiul Awal. His mazar is carefully preserved on top of a high mound, paved with brick and enclosed by walls. To the north of the mazar stands an ancient tree whose branches and twigs spread over the whole shrine. The tree is called the “Ashagach” (tree of hope). From the tree's leaves one can tell that it is formed of a combination of a fig tree, a mango tree and some other kind of tree. People devoutly eat the fig's seeds for the cure of disease. The mangoes too are eaten with great reverence as tabarak. Beside the mazar stands an ancient mosque, which was modernised in 1989–91. About 1,500 Muslims can now say prayers here together.
Shah Paran's mazar is a holy pilgrimage or spiritual monument of Sylhet city. It is the tomb of Shah Paran, one of the companions and followers of Shah Jalal, the preacher of Islam who came to Bangladesh from the Middle East in 1303 AD. It is located in the Khadim Nagar area to the east of Sylhet city. Shah Paran's mazar is about 8 kilometres from Shah Jalal's dargah. Like Shah Jalal's dargah, this mazar too draws huge numbers of visitors. Historian Muminul Haque and many others have written that the Muslim faith and culture were preached and spread through Shah Paran across the Sylhet division and various parts of India.
A Tour of the Shrine
To the east of Sylhet city, in the Khadimnagar area, Shah Paran's grave lies under a giant tree on a mound. To climb up and down the mazar mound, there are stairways on the north and south of the shrine's courtyard. They look about 8 to 10 feet high. It is heard by word of mouth that this stairway was built in the Mughal period. On the west of the mazar stands a mosque with three domes, built in the architectural craftsmanship of the Mughal emperors. About five hundred Muslims say their prayers together in this mosque. About 15/20 feet to the south-west of the mazar mound there is a covered dalan room with a veranda for female tourists. A little to the south-east of that shed another room can be seen. This room is mainly used as a resting place for foreign tourists. Beside this room there is a pond, which is used for ablution and bathing.
A Brief Introduction
Shah Paran's ancestors were mostly residents of the city of Bukhara. His forefather four generations above, Shah Jamal Uddin, left Bukhara to preach religion, first coming to Samarkand and later settling in Turkestan. Through lineage, Shah Paran's father Mohammed too was known as a renowned religious personality. His mother was a sister of Shah Jalal in kinship. Accordingly, he (Shah Paran) is Shah Jalal's nephew. When Shah Paran was 11 years old he lost his father. Later he was initiated into religious learning under his relative, the renowned dervish Syed Ahmed Kabir. From there, for the attainment of spiritual initiation, remembering the famous Neshapur dervish Pagla Amin, he was initiated into spiritual learning. When Shah Jalal set out on his journey for Bangladesh, he (Shah Paran) received the news and, hoping to have the company of his uncle, came to Hindustan and joined him. After the conquest of Sylhet, at Shah Jalal's command he devoted himself to the work of preaching Islam. Shah Paran preached Islam at Nabinagar, Habiganj and various other places of Sylhet. Later, when a miraculous incident came to light, at Shah Jalal's command he (Shah Paran) came to the Khadem Nagar area of the Dakshinkachh pargana, six miles from Sylhet city, and settled there for the purpose of preaching religion, and there he preached Islam until the last moments of his life, finally lying in eternal sleep on the present mazar mound.
The Miraculous Incident
When Shah Jalal came to Sylhet, travelling from Delhi, he brought with him a pair of pigeons (called “kaitor” in the Sylheti accent) given by Nizamuddin Auliya. After the pair of pigeons was brought to Sylhet their numbers began to grow, and as Shah Jalal's pigeons they became famous as the Jalali Kaitor. Out of religious feeling no one hunted these pigeons. Shah Paran, disregarding this, ate one pigeon each day. Seeing the number of pigeons dwindle, Shah Jalal investigated, and learning the real story he grew angry. When Shah Paran learnt of this, he took out the crops of the pigeons he had kept hidden, threw them into the air and said: “By God's command, become pigeons and go to Shah Jalal.” At once the crops turned into a flock of pigeons and reached Shah Jalal. Shah Jalal called his nephew and said: “Seeing your miraculous power I am pleased. But revealing a keramat so publicly in this way is not right. Not every person's power of understanding is the same. By revealing a keramat like this, people may fall into wrong interpretations.” He then ordered Shah Paran to preach Islam in the Khadim Nagar area and sent him there. Shah Paran kept himself engaged in preaching Islam in Khadim Nagar until the last moments of his life, and it is there that he lies in eternal sleep.
How to Get There from Kushtia:-
There is no direct vehicle from Kushtia to Sylhet. From Kushtia one can come to Dhaka or Tangail by bus and from there travel on by many means. Coming from Kushtia to Dhaka by train or bus, you will find many vehicles to Sylhet. One can go by air, by rail and by road. Getting off at Sylhet railway station or at the Kadamtoli bus stand, you can reach Shah Paran (R)'s mazar by CNG or auto-rickshaw.
Where to Stay
Sylhet has many hotels to stay in; you will find hotels of any kind according to your needs and means. A few well-known hotels are Hotel Hill Town, Gulshan, Darga Gate, Surma, Kaykobad and so on. In the Lala Bazar area there are many decent rest houses at low rates. At Hotel Anurag a single room costs 400 taka (two people can stay comfortably), and a three-bed room 500 taka (four people can stay normally). For overnight stays there are residential hotels of various standards on the Mazar/Dargah Road. Room rates range from 500 taka to 5,000 taka.
- Hotel Rose View in the city's Shahjalal Uposhohor (Hotel Rose View) (0821-721439)
- Hotel Star Pacific at Darga Gate (Hotel Star Pacific) (0821-727945)
- Hotel Hilltown on VIP Road (0821-716077)
- Hotel Metro International in Bandar Bazar (0821-721143)
- Hotel Fortune Garden in Naiyorpul (0821-715590)
- Hotel Dallas on Jail Road (0821-720945)
- Hotel Garden Inn on Link Road (0821-814507)
- Hotel Polash in Amberkhana (0821-718309)
- Hotel Dargagate in the Dargah area (0821-717066)
- Hotel Urmi (0821-714563)
- Hotel Moon Light in Zindabazar (0821-714850)
- Gulshan Centre in Taltala (0821-710018), etc.
Where to Eat
For eating, Zindabazar in Sylhet has quite a few good restaurants. The hotels are Panch Bhai, Panshi and Palki. They serve about 29 kinds of bhorta.
