The people called him Pure and gave thanks for teaching children literacy and crafts and wise songs. Our hero earned and attention from the villains. They were generous with the hired assassins for the teacher.
Today he is called one of the enlighteners of Bashkiria. He chose the path of a wanderer and a friend of ordinary people. For important officials, such behavior was incomprehensible and suspicious, however, they failed to force our hero to turn off his path.
Childhood
In the village of Tuxanbaevo in the Orenburg province, Kamaletdin Iskuzhin lived. He was a wise man who knew the Quran well. Fellow villagers elected him imam. A respected man took Bibiummulgulsum as his wife. According to some sources, she, unlike her husband, did not come from the Bashkirs, but from the Kazakhs. In 1831 their son was born, who was named Miftakhetdin.
Miftakhetdin Akmullah Museum in Tuxanbaevo Village
The family was revered by science. From an early age, his father taught his heir to read and write, he gave it to a local school. Having received primary education, the boy had to continue his studies in order to become a priest, continuing the work of his parent. The nearest madrassas were in the neighboring villages of Menouztamak and Anyasovo. The teenager managed to take courses in these two educational institutions.
Youth
During study, our hero showed a special interest in calligraphy and philosophy. He was offered the place of shakird - a student who would later be able to enter the circle of the highest Islamic clergy. Miftakhetdin was less interested in a career than knowledge, he agreed. Among his mentors was Shamsetdin Zaki. This famous poet preached Sufism and instilled in young people a love of classical Arabic poetry, which he equaled in his work.
After graduation, a connoisseur of the Koran began to earn a living by giving lessons. Earnings from this craft were small due to the age of the teacher, because he had to take up work that did not really correspond to his origin and level of education. The young man mastered the profession of a carpenter, carpenter, blacksmith, became a jack of all trades. In his free time, he composed poems and songs. His works were close to folklore, therefore he was often invited to the traditional competitions of akyns.
Wanderings
While Miftakhetdin was young, his love for frequent changes of residence was forgiven. He seemed to be looking for a place with the most favorable conditions. The fact that the guy chose for himself the difficult fate of a wandering preacher and enlightener became clear in 1856. He left his father's house and went on a journey. He took with him only books and carpentry tools. The father was very offended by his son for such impudence, to which he replied with no less offensive poetic lines.
The young man’s personal life was unsettled, so he could freely move from village to village. The traveler asked for a stint only for the winter period, when the road became dangerous. Its route ran through the villages of Bashkortostan and Kazakhstan. Wherever this eccentric was, he taught children literacy and crafts, in which he himself had already become a top-class specialist. He could be met at festivals, where he competed with performers of tales, offering his listeners his improvisations on relevant topics. For his selflessness and noble work, he was awarded the name Akmulla, which translates as "white / pure priest."
Miftakhetdin Akmulla
Suspicious type
On the way, our hero met Zaynulla Rasulev. This Muslim philosopher had serious disagreements with the clergy. He was later accused of heresy and sent to jail. A friend of his criticism of the existing order made a contribution to the variety of themes of Miftakhetdin's poetry. The poet increasingly mentioned in his works the vices of those who should preach Islam. The humanistic ideas that Akmulla adhered to required the exposure of persons who offended ordinary people.
The nobles could not ignore the agitation that the talented rebel cultivated. From criticism shortly before trying to raise a rebellion. In 1867, Bai Isyangilde Batysh wrote a denunciation to the wanderer. He complained that Akmullah was evading military service. The deserter was detained and sent to Trinity Prison. The judges hesitated with the verdict, allowing the poet's friends to make a deposit for him. Miftakhetdin was released in 1871.
