Sheikh Abdullah was born in a village in the Poonch district of Kashmir. His grandfather Mehta Mast Ram was the Lambardar of the village. His father’s name was Mehta Gurmukh Singh and his own name before conversion was Thakurdas. He embraced Islam in 1891 while at Lahore. He was married to Waheed Jahan, the youngest daughter of Mirza Mohammad Ibrahim of Delhi in 1902 at Aligarh. He was survived by five daughters and one son. One of his daughters, Mumtaz Jahan (Mrs. Haider), served over thirty years as Principal of the Women’s College at Aligarh of which he was the founder.
Education
He received his early education at the village school. He had to leave his home for English education. He first went to Jammu and then to Lahore. After passing the Matriculation Examinations in 1891 from Lahore, he preceded to Aligarh for higher education. While at Aligarh, he attracted the attention of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who was always very kind to him. It was under his influence Sheikh Abdullah began to take interest in the social resurgence of the Muslims. After taking the degrees of BA and LLB, he established himself at Aligarh permanently and started his career as a lawyer but at the same time he nurtured in his heart the desire to improve the lot of the womenfolk.
Welfare of Women
Because of his interest in women’s welfare Sheikh Abdullah was made the Secretary of the Women’s section of the All India Muslim Educational Conference in 1902. He organized the work of the Conference very ably. In 1904, he started a monthly journal for women, the Khatoon, which aimed at creating a suitable atmosphere for women’s education. Through the columns of this journal, he pleaded for better facilities for women’s education and for the improvement of their lot. The journal served the cause of women’s education for a decade. He stopped its publication only when he was convinced that the cause for which he had fought single-handedly had been taken up by others in different parts of the country and there was no need of the journal under his editorship.
Muslim University Women’s College
He next devoted himself whole-heartedly to the development of the Girls’ School which he had started as far back as 1906. He succeeded in getting financial assistance from Begum Sultan Jahan, the ruler of Bhopal. This was followed by a grant from the government. In 1914, the opening ceremony of the School Boarding House was performed by the Begum of Bhopal and a Ladies Conference was also held in the school Premises which was a grand success. Thus in a short time Sheikh Abdullah succeeded in creating an awakening among the people regarding women’s education. His success was due largely to the cooperation and help which he received from his wife in running the school. She served the school as Honorary Superintendent of the Boarding House for 25 years from 1914 to 1939. All through her life she nursed the institution with care and patience and hundreds of girls from all over India found in her a true guide and mother. Thus it was through their joint care and supervision that the small institution expanded into a Degree College (now known as Muslim University Women’s College).
Sheikh Abdullah served the Muslim University in various capacities. He was a member of the University Court from 1920 till his death and a member of the Executive Council from 1920 to 1928 and also served as Honorary Treasurer of the University for many terms.