Shah Paran's birth name is unknown though it has been suggested that his name was Farhan which later got corrupted into Poran, meaning "soul". Poran is used as a term of endearment in the Bengali language. Others suggest that Shah Paran was a corruption of Shah Piran meaning "king of pirs".
He was born in Hadramaut, Yemen in the 13th century. His father's name was Muhammad who died when Paran was 11 years old. Paran studied under his grandfather Syed Ahmad Kabir Suhrawardi and later with Amin, a dervish from Neshapur. He decided to accompany Shah Jalal, his maternal uncle, in his expedition across the Indian subcontinent to propagate the religion of Islam.[3] In 1303, Paran took part in the final battle of the Conquest of Sylhet under Shah Jalal's leadership against Raja Gour Govinda.
Some time after, Paran was said to have consumed one of the Jalali Kobutor, the pigeons that Jalal received as a gift from Nizamuddin AuliyainDelhi. As a result, Paran was banished outside of Sylhet town.[4] He established a khanqah on top of a hill in modern-day Khadim Nagar, Dakshingarh which came to be known as Shah Paran's hill.[5]
Paran died unmarried and with no descendants. He was buried near his khanqah. A dargah complex was built with a neighbouring mosque, eidgah, langar khana, female prayer space and pond. For centuries, large numbers of devotees have visited his tomb, a practice which continues to the present time.[6] On the 4th, 5th and 6th day of Rabi-ul-Awal, the Urs of Shah Paran takes place.[7]
^Ahmed, Abdul-Azim; Ali, Mansur (2019). In Search of Sylhet – The Fultoli Tradition in Britain (Thesis). Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Cardiff: Cardiff University.
^"Hazrat Shah Paran bridge to be opened in February". The New Nation. United News of Bangladesh. 25 December 2005. p. 2. The Hazrat Shah Paran bridge, which is being constructed across the river Surma
