Sharfuddin Abu Tawwamah (R)  medieval scholar, sufi saint and an Islamic philosopher. Born in Bukhara and educated in Khurasan, he attained great reputation as a Hanafi jurist and traditionalist (muhaddis) and was well versed in Chemistry, natural sciences and magic. He came and settled in Sonargaon towards the end of the thirteenth century AD. The exact date of his coming to Sonargaon is not known. During the reign of Sultan ghiyasuddin balban (1266-1287) he came to Delhi, from where he proceeded to Bengal. It is assumed that he might have come to Sonargaon sometime between 1282 and 1287 AD. Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri, who later became a famous saint in Bihar, accompanied Abu Tawwamah to Sonargaon as his disciple.

At Sonargaon Abu Tawwamah established his khanqah and founded a madrasa wherein all branches of Islamic learning as well as secular sciences were taught. Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri studied under him at Sonargaon for 22 years.

Abu Tawwamah compiled a book on Tasawwaf (Islamic mysticism) entitled Maqamat but it has not come down to posterity. Nam-i-Haq, a Persian work on fiqh was either written by him or compiled by one of his disciples on the basis of his teachings. There are 180 verses in it. It was first published from Bombay in 1885 and subsequently from Kanpur in 1913. In his Manakkibul A'sfia, Shah Shuhaib, a contemporary of Abu Tawwamah, has profusely praised him. The fame of Abu Tawwamah spread in the Muslim world including the Indian subcontinent, Arabia and Iran.

He died at Sonargaon in 1300 AD and lies buried in the graveyard at the Dargahbari premises in Mograpara, near the site of his khanqah and madrasa. [Muazzam Hussain Khan]