MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENTS

1.SHEIKH AHMED SIRHINDI / MUJADDID ALF SANI (1564-1626)

 The first great reformer of india,was born in sarhind on june26,1564.

 Belonged to a devout muslim family that claimed descent from hazrat umer farooq (R.A).
 His greatest contribution was to counter the unorthodox sufism and mystic beliefs.
 He organized the naqshbandiya order to reform the society and spread the shariah among the
people.
 He wrote many books,including ittiba -al-nubuwwah,in this he quoted imam ghazali justifying
the need for prophethood and explaining the inadequancies of human intellect.
 He was highly critical of the philosophy of wahdat ul wajood,against which he gave his
philosophy of wahdat ush shahood.
 He set upon himself the task of purifying the muslim societyand his aim was to get rid of
accretions of hindu pantheism.
 He was a champion of islamic revival in india opposing the heterodoxies prevelent in the time of
mughal emperor akbar.
 According to him mysticism without shariah was misleading.
 He stressed the importance of namaz and fasting
 He was imprisoned at gwalior fort for 2 years by jahangir,until emperor realized his mistake .
 He releazed him and retracted all un islamic laws implemented by akbar.

2.SHAH WALIULLAH (1703-1762)

 First reformer to appear during the muslim decline.

 He was both an alim and sufi,and had made it his life’s mission to reverse the trend of muslim
decline.
 He realized that muslim community had to be emancipated both militarily and morally.
 Militarily and politically the maratha’s power was the threat.
 To this end he wrote to ahmad shah durrani to remind him his duty as muslim king to liberate
the muslim community,and as a result marathas were defeated in the third battle of panipat in
1761.
 Moral reform of the society :
 He was one of the few ulema who realized that war was the lesser jihad and the greater jihad
was against the temptations facing one’s own soul.
 Therefore , the greater and longer part of his mission was to effect a moral reform of his
community.
 Guiding principles of reform:
 His guiding principles of reform were adl and tawazun,justice and balance;therefore he was in
favour of an equitable distribution of wealth in society.
 The concentration of wealth in one class lead to wasteful spending at one level and extreme
deprivation at the other.
 He found it objectionable for anyone to be burden on society.
 He want every individual to be productive and yet laid great stress on moral constraints.
 Wealth he said should be acquired only by honest and ethical means.
  Forbade the adoption of hindu customs:
 He believed a beleaquered minority needed to assert its distinctive identity.
 Participating in diwali and lighting lamps and fireworks on the muslims festival of shab e barat
were to be avoided.
 There were many customs taken from the hindus ,such as sehra and music during marriages
and even on minor occasions,that led muslims to extravagance and ultimately ,to debt.
 Importance of fiqh:
 He gave central importance to fiqh or jurisprudence.
 He felt that t deviation from islamic norms had led the muslim community into decline.
 This deviation he attributed to the lack of direct access to the meaning of holy quran .
 He took a bold step of translating the holy quran into persian.
 By translating the holy quran ,he sought to curb the influence of the ulema as a class,and for this
reason he also favoured ijtihad over taqlid.
 Conciliation between sects and approaches:
 He realized the necessity of muslim solidarity,and was able to achieve this because he had
huministic concepts of worship.
 Ishtiaq husain qureshi has pointed out that shah waliullah believed what god has revealed is
beneficial for mankind.
 God is not a tyrant revelling in getting himself obeyed ;such a conception is unworthy and
erroneous. In his great mercy He has shown the way which leads to mundane and spirtual
wellbeing and progress!(ishtiaq husain qureshi,the muslim community of indo-pak
subcontinent,karachi)
 Detailed the benefits to be gained from obligations like prayer,zakat and fasting:
 Although he was a zealous guardian of muslim identity, he said that force cannot compel people
to accept islam.
 The mujtahid should persuade people to accept islam by such means that they should freely
adopt it and stand by it even when the mujtahid was in no position to impose his belief.
 Reconciliation of 2 strands of sufism:
 He tried to reconcile both strands of sufism.he said that both wahdat ul wajood of ibn e arabi
and wahdat ush shahood of mujaddid alf sani were correct and there were no meaningful
differences between them.
 Further he added that all sufis orders consist of tariqat(spirtual path) and all tariqat is
subordinate to shariat(religious laws)
 He further tried to reconcile the sunnis and shias.
 Book:his philosophy of life is contained in his most famous book hujjat ullah al baligha.
 Conclusion:
 because of his learning and piety he commanded the respect of kings.
 It is not merely that ahmad shah durrani responded to his request to face the marathas on bthe
field of panipat .
 What is imp is that he heeded shah waliullas warning against tyrannising and terrorising muslims
as has been his habit in all his earlier expeditions.

3.SYED AHMED BAREVLI (1786-1831)

 Introduction
 He was a revolutionary islamic activist and the founder of mujahideen movement.
 Jihad Movement of Syed Ahmad is inevitable and significant component of History of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
 Due to his sincerity and commitment with the cause of Islam, Syed Ahmad received great
respect and love of the people of this region during his stay in this region of Pakistan and is still
remembered with respect and reverence.
 Dr. Jehanzeb Khalil, who belongs to the area of struggle of Syed Ahmad, observes in his doctoral
research on Mujahideen Movement: “the purpose behind his struggle was not worldly gain,
fame and popularity, but the purpose was to submit to the will of Allah and to follow the
Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH).
 Early life
 Syed Ahmad was born on November 29, 1786 AD at Rai Bareli, a small town near famous cities
of Lukhnow and Allahbad.
 Syed Ahmad possessed outstanding mental and physical capabilities. Formal system of religious
education failed to attract him. Due to his nature and temperament famous scholar of that time
“Shah Abdul Aziz concluded that Syed Ahmed would learn little through formal education and
that his knowledge would come through spiritual means”.
 He was greatly impressed by the teachings and doctrines of Shah Waliullah regarding
reformation and emancipation of Muslim society.
 Shah Wiliullah’s ideas emphasizing establishment of Islamic state and sprit of Jihad had greatly
influenced Syed Ahmad Shaheed and he sincerely played the role of executor of the philosophy
of Islamic revivalism which had been propounded by Shah Waliullah and his son Shah Abdul Aziz
 Preperation for jihad:
 Syed Ahmad sincerely desired to see the restoration of supremacy of Islam. When he analyzed
the causes of dominance of no-Muslim forces in India, he came to the conclusion that basis of
the situation was the absence of the spirit of Jihad and the spirit of sacrifice for the cause of
Islam. “The sub-continent had already been declared Dar-ul-Harb by Shah Abdul Aziz; therefore,
it was religious obligation upon every Muslim to wage Jihad against the non-Muslim foreign
forces”
 In 1821 AD he left for Hajj along with his 753 companions.17 Muslims of India had forgotten
their responsibility to perform Hajj, which is obligatory for every Muslim who can afford it. In
this perspective Syed Ahmad had decided to revive the performance of Hajj. After Hajj, he took
the oath of Jihad from his companions at the place of Haqba in Mina, where Holy Prophet
(PBUH) had taken the oath of allegiance from Ansars of Madina.18 When he returned from Haj
after three years, he devoted himself to two major tasks: reformation of Muslim society and
“preparing his followers for Hijrat (migration) to trans-Indus tribal areas (North West Frontier)
for Jihad.”
 Selection of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as Battle Field
 Syed Ahmad had chosen the area of present Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as his center for waging Jihad
because of the warrior nature of the Pashtoons and their bravery, love and devotion for Islam;
qualities unparalleled anywhere in the sub continent. He was deeply concerned over decline of
Muslims in India. In a letter to Shah Salaiman of Chitral he writes that “I am greatly grieved over
this situation and these feelings have urged me for migration and Jihad”.20 Although whole
 Muslim population was under the domination of nonMuslims; British in the East and Sikhs in the
west, but condition of Muslims under the rule of Sikhs was worst. “Syed Ahmad used to say that
when a Muslim state has been occupied by Non-Muslims, then Jihad becomes obligatory, both
for the Islamic Ummah (Muslims)”.
 Keeping in view whole struggle of Syed Ahmad Shaheed we can summarize that there were
three major aims of his movement: 1. Establishment of Islamic state. 2. Reformation and
purification of society from un-Islamic traditions and practices. 3. Restoration of Jihad and raise
awareness of Jihad amongst Muslims of the region. 4. To free the Muslims of Punjab from the
clutches of Sikhs.
 Balakot Fight and Martyrdom of Syed Ahmed
 Being greatly disappointed with the treachery and betrayal of the Khans of Peshawar, Syed
Ahmad and his followers decided to leave the area and “concentrate their efforts against the
Sikhs in Hazara and Kashmir”.59 So after relinquishing the Panjtar base, Syed Ahmad migrated
to Hazara. He stationed at Balakot, a small town in Kaghan valley of Hazara, considering it safe
for Mujahideen. The Mujahideen were attacked by the Sikh army under the command of
General Sher Singh
 The Mujahideen were defeated in the battle in which Syed Ahmed Shaheed, Shah Ismail
Shaheed and many other followers of Syed Sahib embraced martyrdom while fighting for the
cause of Islam. With the death of Syed Ahmed the Jihad movement could not be carried out
with the old enthusiasm
 Conclusion
 Although Jihad Movement was a sincere effort for the restoration of Islamic glory in the Sub-
Continent yet it could not achieve its immediate objectives due to various factors. Lack of funds,
equipment and proper training of Mujahideen was a major factor. On the other hand Sikh Army
was well equipped and large in number. On the other hand Sikh army possessed modern
weapons, was well organized and had been given quality training by the British and the French
officers
 Selfishness and consequent deception of Pathan Chiefs especially betrayal of Sardar Yaar
Mohammad Khan and Sultan Mohammad Khan also jeopardized the movement.
 Although Jihad Movement of Syed Ahmad Shaheed remained unsuccessful to finish Sikh rule in
Punjab but it affected the Muslims’ frame of mind on a large scale. Mujahideen fought for the
cause of Islam even without proper training and sufficient equipment
 Sacrifices of Syed Ahmad Shaheed and his companions inspired the Muslims to think about the
renaissance of Islam which ultimately led to the establishment of Pakistan. REFERE