The Pirzada (Peerzada) family
Current region Turkey
 Iran
 Afghanistan
 Pakistan
 India
 Bangladesh
EtymologyPersian for "Son of a saint"

Pirzada is historically described as official custodians of Sufi mausoleums and shrines in Muslim lands, with their earliest mentions being in Baghdad, Iraq, during the period of the Ilkhanate, Timurids and Mamluks. Often a Pirzada was a descendant of those buried within the tomb they were assigned to, hence most of the Pirzadas are successor to Saint buried in the tomb.

The word Pirzada comes from a Persian word, Pir (Persian: پیر) which means elder[1] and the suffix zada means; son of. It also serves as surname for their ascendants in many Indo-Aryan cultures and their accompanying languages, with Pirzada translating into "the son of a saint" in Persian. Today, predominantly-Muslim families bearing the name can be found in various regions around the world, including Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Much of their lineage can be traced to the central Asian plateaus, consisting of the Soviet Union's former republics, such as Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Chechnya, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Much of the modern-day Pirzada diaspora derives from the mass migration of the community from Central Asia towards several different areas immediately at a date that is estimated to be sometime during the 15th century.

Diaspora

Pirzadas of Turkey

The origins of Pirzadas as they lay in Central Asia also translated into their presence in the realms of the former Ottoman Empire. As late as 1710, Ottoman census records indicate Pirzadas residing in Turkish municipalities such Istanbul, Denizli, Bursa, and Tokat, with their professions revolving around textiles, finance, and military service. Cüneyt Pirzada held the rank of Binbaşı, or Major, in the Kapıkulu Süvarileri, or Six Divisions of Cavalry of the Ottoman Empire, as per records from 1741. The Pirzadas of Turkey also practiced carpet-weaving in much the same fashion as their counterparts in the Indian subcontinent, with Ottoman tax receipts displaying a thriving artisan practice in Tokat as late as 1874.

Pirzadas of Iran

Pirzadas were first recorded in modern-day Persia during the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1785 to 1925. Census records indicate their first presence being in the village of Urmia, close to the border with Azerbaijan, in the year 1783, although they had been a mainstay in the region for close to a century prior. Originally a farming community, Pirzadas eventually began to emerge as an astute family of financial bankers in the cities of Tehran and Qom, with tax records indicating their roles as facilitators of mercantile trade and credit among officials of the Qajar dynasty and foreigners wishing to ship their wares to Persia. Some Pirzadas eventually harnessed their financial backgrounds for the purpose of the Qajar themselves, with an upwards of six generations of the family serving as civil servants and bureaucrats for the government till the last-recorded instance of 1911. In addition, Pirzadas combined their expertise in textiles and finance in order to benefit from Isfahan's status as the artisan hub of Islamic crafts and goods, as the family not only wove, but handled the business behind their own autonomous carpeting businesses.

Pirzadas of Afghanistan

The Pirzadas of Afghanistan were relatively few in number: the community never expanded beyond a few dozen patrons of a single family, although a minority of them are found in the city of Ghazni.

Pirzadas of Bangladesh

The Pirzadas in Bangladesh are a diverse group, descending from various different Sufi pirs. The Pirzada is considered to be the one who is nominated by the Sufi to the gaddi nasheen.[2] Among the notable historic personalities who were known by the title of Pirzada are Pirzada Muhammad Ahmadullah, a Sufi saint of Rajshahi, and the Pirzada of Sylhet who lead the Muharram Rebellion in 1782.[3]

Pirzadas of India

The earliest recorded instance of the surname lays in a Mughal court official named Nur-ud-din Pirzada, who served at the Serai Nurmahal in the city of Nurmahal in Punjab, in 1693. By the time the Indian subcontinent was fully under control of the British Empire, Ehsan Pirzada ran a carpet-weaving guild in Amritsar that wove rugs for use by members of the British Royal Family, and Anglo aristocrats that resided in the British Raj, such as Sir John Lawrence, the first British governor of the Punjab province, United India.

Pirzadas of Kashmir

Pirzada/Peerzada or Pir/Peer as a last name is used by both Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims in the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[4][5]

The origins of Pirzadas in Kashmir can be traced back to Middle East. While the Hindu Peerzadas of Kashmir are local Brahmins who were awarded the title by Muslim rulers for their scholarly nature; most of the Muslim Pirzada/Peerzadas in Kashmir belong to the Syed caste, who moved to the Indian Himalayas from Iran[6] and Central Asia[7][8] in the 14th century to spread Islamic religious preachings.[9][10][11]

Demographics

Religion

Pirzadas are affiliated with sayeds or Pirs family, although there does exist a diversity in regards to the sects and subdivisions of the faith. By religion, are almost entirely Muslim. Almost 70% Pirzadas found around the world are Sunni Muslims. Peerzadas in Pakistan and Northern India sympathize with the Sunni branch of Islam, while almost all of the remaining 30% minority within them who actively profess faith in the Aga Khan and subsequently the practices of the Shia Muslim. A small minuscule minority of Peerzadas in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India are Hindu Brahmin.[5][4]

Ethnicity

At their core, every individual belonging to the Pirzada family comes from an Hashmi bloodline originating in Mekkah. They originally belong to the Banu Hashim tribe of Prophet Muhammad, which is predominately found in Saudi Arabia. They are descendants of Muslim Bin Aqeel (the first martyr of karbala in kofa). They are found in the footprints of mass migration from Saudi Arabia after the tragedy of Karbala to countries in the Soviet Union, Iran, Turkey Afghanistan, sub-continent, etc.

List of notable Pirzadas

References

  1. ↑ Newby, Gordon (2002). A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (1st ed.). Oxford: One World. p. 173. ISBN 1-85168-295-3.
  2. ↑ Islam, Sirajul (2012). "Ideas and Institutions". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  3. ↑ Lindsay, Robert. "Anecdotes of an Indian life: Chapter VII". Lives of the Lindsays, or, A memoir of the House of Crawford and Balcarres. Vol. 4 – via National Library of Scotland.
  4. 1 2 Kaul, Upendra (4 September 2020). "My name is Khan, and I'm Kaul". Greater Kashmir. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023. It is hard to believe that surnames – Peer, Wali or Khan, are common Hindu surnames. At the same time a Muslim carrying his last name as Rishi or Pandit…… sounds incredible, but it is a common feature in Kashmir.
  5. 1 2 Anwar, Tarique; Bhat, Rajesh (23 February 2008). "Kashmiryat in Kashmiri surnames". Two Circles. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2023. Ever heard a Hindu by the surname Peer, Wali or Khan? Or imagine a Muslim carrying his last name as Rishi or Pandit…… Sounds incredible but it is a common feature in Kashmir, where unlike in other parts of the country, Muslims and Hindus have been sharing the same surnames since ages.
  6. ↑ Rafiabadi, Hamid Naseem (2003). World Religions and Islam: A Critical Study. Sarup & Sons. p. 102. ISBN 978-81-7625-414-4. Retrieved 5 September 2023. It is said that Sayid Ali Hamadani brought a large group of 700 people with him to Kashmir. However, they did not become a burden on Kashmir. Because they brought with them Iranian arts and crafts and made them well established in Kash-mir. Several industries of Hamadan and Iran became well introduced in Kashmir.
  7. ↑ Masoodi, Tabia (7 June 2022). "'We Take It Lightly'—But Caste Discrimination Ruins Lives In Kashmir". Kashmir Observer. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2023. It's believed that Syeds came into Kashmir from Central Asia in the early 14th century and spread Islam in the region.
  8. ↑ Bhat, Adnan (11 December 2017). "Caste Away for Love: How Caste Bias Works in Kashmir". The Wire. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2023. It is believed that Syeds came into Kashmir from Central Asia in the early 14th century and spread Islam in the region.
  9. ↑ Mukhtar, Umar (7 April 2018). "Muslim Untouchables". Kashmir Life. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2023. In the hierarchy, Dabla puts the peers on the top with various sub-categories including Syed, Geelani, Jeelani, Andrabi, Qadri, Hamdani, Bhukhari, Shah and others.
  10. ↑ Rehman, Farkhanda (13 January 2022). "Casteism: An overt secret of every society". Rising Kashmir. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023. According to the book, Kashmiri Syed/Pir castes (Geelani, Shah, Jeelani, Bukhari, Qadri, Hamdani, Andrabi, etc.) are considered to be of top order and equivalent to Hindu Brahmins/ Kshatriyas.
  11. ↑ Bazaz, Rabiya Yaseen; Akram, Mohammad (2021). "Exploring gender and caste intersectionality among muslims: a sociological study". International Journal of Education Culture and Society. p. 198. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023. She acknowledges that she got benefitted by a strong support of cul- tural and social capital prevailing at family level. The traditional association of Sayyids with knowledge appears well in Nida Sayyid's case. Sinha (2003) says that Sayyids subgroups in Kashmir are Saadat-e-Hamadaniya (Peerzada), Mantaqi, Baihaqi, Rizvi, Mosavi, Shirazi, Andrabi and Bukhari. Hence, Sayyids, as a caste-like group belong to upper strata and the women coming from this caste-like group get the benefits of cultural and social capital getting converted as caste capital.
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