History portrays man in society since his creation and stepping to this earth. It is not merely the record of the tales and anecdotes of human race, but its ultimate objective is to teach how to lead a decent life in this world shunning from all the ugliness though its materialization in all times is not smooth to achieve. A study of history may come to show the ways of toppling the impediments to reach the ultimate goal. Hence for the interest of a nation or a state the preservation of archival materials must be given top priority. Otherwise, the posterity could scarcely estimate the predecessors for their achievements or failures. So, scanning all the available materials in the methodical way historiography or history-writing emerged as a separate discipline in the vista of knowledge in the modern times. As the history of the Muslims is rich and multidimensional in outlook so also the approach and method are scientific and well balanced. Realizing the importance of this discipline, Muslim historiography is introduced in the graduate and post-graduate studies of the Dept. of Islamic History and Culture, History and other related subjects of the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences of the various public and private Universities of Bangladesh. Other foreign Universities may think to introduce the subject mentioned above. Pertinently, it may be mentioned here the subjects of study in the book spread over the times of the Prophet Muhammad (SAAS), the Righteous Caliphs, the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Persians and the Dynastic Rules of the Sultanate and the Mughal periods of Indian sub-Continent.
Title
মুসলিম হিস্টোরিওগ্রাফি: দ্য ক্যালিফটে এন্ড ইন্ডিয়ান সাব-কন্টিনেন্ট
A K M Yaqub Ali of noble parent Alhajj Md. Bastullah Shaikh (late) and Fatema (late) was born in a reputed Muslim family of the village Hatdhuma under Nandigram P.S. of Bogra District on August 1, 1939. He did his M. A. in Islamic History and Culture from the University of Rajshahi in 1962 and joined his Alma Mater as a young teacher in 1963. In the meantime, he did another M. A. in Arabic from the University of Dacca. As a first UGC Fellow, he earned the Ph.D degree on “Aspects of Society and Culture of the Barind , 1200-1576 A. D.” under the guidance of his respected teacher Professor Safiuddin Joarder M. A. (Michigan), Ph.D (Harvard) (now late) from the University of Rajshahi in 1982. For more than four decades rendering his valuable service to the University as a teacher and researcher, he retired as a Professor from the University on July 31, 2004. During the tenure of his teaching in the University besides the chairmanship, he had been the elected member of the First Senate and the elected Dean of the Faculty of Arts (1997-1999). He is an orientalist, an numismatist, an epigraphist and above all a successful researcher. In recognition of his research acumen and scholarly contribution to the vista of knowledge as per the University Ordinance, the University of Rajshahi honored him with Professor Emeritus and from August 5, 2005, he is shouldering his responsibilities in the Department till now. Dr. Ali is an author of more than a dozen text and research-oriented books both in English and Bengali on his own subject and other related disciplines of the Universities of Bangladesh and for the interested readers. He has published to his credit more than sixty research articles in English and thirty in Bengali in the esteemed Research Journals of home and abroad. Since 1991 under his supervision, twenty three Fellows received Ph.D and seven Fellows M.Phil degrees, and seven research students of Master’s class obtained First class. All of them are well established in life. Of the organizations, he is a member of the Board of Trustees and a Fellow of the International Centre for Study of Bengal Art, Dhaka, and Life member of Bangla Academy, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Itihas Parisdad, Itihas Academy, Bangladesh Arts Foundation (Dhaka) and Pacchimbanga Itihas Sangsod (Kolkata). In recognition of his scholarly contribution to the domain of knowledge his biographical sketch was published in the ‘Men of Achievements’ 15th edition, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge and in the ‘Five Thousand Personalities of the World’ 6th edition, American Biographical Institute, USA. Married and father of two sons and two daughters, all of them are well established in life. But alas! The main spring of inspiration Rahima Yaqub companying him for thirty-four years left the world of eternity on March 2, 1996. May Allah elevate her in the Paradise.