Shamez Uddin Ahmed

Mullah Mu'hammad Shamez-ud'din Ahmed (Bengali: মোল্লা শামেজ উদ্দিন আহমেদ, Arabic, Urdu:شمݥالدين أحمد in British India, 1913 – 1968 in East Pakistan) was the hereditary Qadi of Natore, seated at Singra Upazila in the erstwhile Indian Empire (and then East Pakistan, and finally present day Bangladesh).

His paternal line was descended from Mullah Shah Badakhshi and were known as Mullahbari Kazi family, his father, a landowner in Shercole, maintained residences in the Bombay Presidency (near the present day Indian city of Mumbai) and in Darjeeling (then part of Nepal).

[1] The title Mullah (Arabic: ملا) used by the family was used to show respect to educated Muslim leaders of the clergy.

[2][3] The rulers of Muslim India used the institution of the Qadi (Arabic: قاضي), who was given the responsibility for total administrative, judicial and fiscal control over a territory or a town.

In most cases, the kazi (qadi) would pass on the title and position to his son, descendant or a very close relative.