The people called him Clean and gave them gratitude for teaching children to read and write and crafts and wise songs. Earned our hero and attention from the villains. They were generous with assassins for the teacher.
Today he is called one of the enlighteners of Bashkiria. He chose for himself the path of a wanderer and a friend of the common people. For important officials, such behavior was incomprehensible and suspicious, however, they failed to force our hero to turn from his path.
Childhood
Kamaletdin Iskuzhin lived in the village of Tuksanbaevo in the Orenburg province. He was a wise man who knew the Quran well. His fellow villagers elected him as imam. The respected man took Bibiummulgulsum as his wife. According to some sources, she, unlike her husband, did not come from Bashkirs, but from Kazakhs. In 1831, their son was born, who was named Miftakhetdin.
An admiration for science reigned in the family. From an early age, his father taught his heir to read and write, sent him to a local school. Having received his primary education, the boy had to continue his studies in order to become a priest, continuing the work of his parent. The nearest madrasahs were in the neighboring villages of Meneuztamak and Anyasovo. The teenager managed to take courses in these two educational institutions.
Youth
During his studies, 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 career than knowledge, he agreed. Among his mentors was Shamsetdin Zaki. This famous poet preached Sufism and instilled in young people a love for classical Arabic poetry, which he was equal to in his work.
After completing his studies, the Qur'anic scholar began to earn his living by giving lessons. The income from this craft was small due to the age of the teacher, so he had to take on a job that did not really correspond to his origin and level of education. The young man mastered the professions of a carpenter, carpenter, blacksmith, became a jack of all trades. In his spare time, he composed poetry and songs. His works were close to folklore, so he was often invited to traditional akyns competitions.
Wanderings
While Miftakhetdin was young, his love for frequent changes of residence was said goodbye. It seemed that he was looking for a place with the most favorable conditions. The fact that the guy chose for himself the difficult fate of an itinerant 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 insolence, 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 stay only for the winter period, when the road became dangerous. His route ran through the villages of Bashkortostan and Kazakhstan. Everywhere this eccentric went, he taught children to read and write and crafts, in which he himself had already become a top-class specialist. He could be met at holidays, where he competed with the performers of legends, offering listeners his improvisations on topical topics. For his unselfishness and noble work, he was awarded the name Akmulla, which translates as “white / pure priest”.
Suspicious type
On the way, our hero met Zainulla Rasulev. This Muslim philosopher had serious disagreements with the clergy. Later he was accused of heresy and sent to jail. A friend, by his criticism of the existing order, contributed to the variety of themes in Miftakhetdin's poetry. The poet more and more often mentioned in his works the vices of those who should preach Islam. The humanistic ideas that Akmulla adhered to demanded the exposure of those who offend the common people.
The nobles could not ignore the agitation that the talented rebel was raising. From criticism not long before trying to raise an uprising. In 1867, Bay Isyangilde Batysh wrote a denunciation against the wanderer. He complained that Akmulla was evading military service. The deserter was detained and sent to the Trinity prison. The judges hesitated with the verdict, allowing the poet's friends to post bail for him. Miftakhetdin was released in 1871.
The fight between good and evil
Our hero considered the unfair arrest as a stain on his biography. To wash it off, he went to St. Petersburg. The first persons of the state accepted him and listened to him. The result of the search for the truth was an acquittal. Making a long and difficult voyage, the wanderer met a lot of interesting people, found many friends and like-minded people. They helped him in 1892 to publish a book of his own works in Kazan.
In October 1854, the middle-aged Akmulla stayed in Ufa for a long time. His comrades did not want to let him go, but the philosopher, accustomed to wanderings, got on his cart and left. He went to his native place. A day later, terrible news came - the body of the traveler was found near the Syrostan station, robbers stabbed him to death. The villains were soon caught. During interrogation, they confessed that they were hired by Isyangilde Batysh to track down and kill his longtime enemy. When the criminals finished with their victim, they became curious about what he was carrying in his cart. They did not find anything of value there. So the life of a great man was cut short.
