Majeed: The Pivotal Character in Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah

Majeed is the pivotal character in Syed Waliullah’s novel Tree Without Roots. Hailing from a barren land called Noakhali, Majeed with a meagre knowledge of Koran and Hadith leaves his native land finds an occupation of an Imam somewhere at the foot of Garo Hills just to earn the day’s bread.

Somehow, he does not find things quite manageable there and he enters the affluent Mahabbatpur village dramatically. He meets a congregation of villagers near the house of Merchant Khaleque and tells them that he had been well in the Garo Hills but the ascetic Modasser Pir has visited him in his dream and has asked him to come to Mahabbatpur and to look after his tomb.

He then identifies an old and broken grave of some yet unknown person as the tomb of Modasser Pir and covers it with a piece of red cloth. Thus he begins his business around the tomb. In almost no time he acquires landed property and honour.

He then marries a strongly built widow about the village called Rahima. He gained immense power over the people of the area with the help of Merchant Khaleque. He controls the religious affairs of the life of all the villagers by virtue of the tomb which he turns into a shrine.