camp and army, he was soon noticed by _ did not criticize Jehangit personally, as he had strongly crit e ‘Akbar before him. Although Jehangir was a much more orthodox “ Muslim than Akbar, he still insisted on full prostration by all his subjects. Sheikh Ahmed refused to prostrate before him, saying that a Muslim should only prostrate himself before God. Sheikh was imprisoned at Gwalior Fort for two years until the emperor realized what a serious mistake he had made. Jehangir then not only released Sheikh Ahmed but re led him to Agra and asked his son, Shah Jehan, to be his disciple. Jehangit cancelled all the un-Islamic orders given by Akbar and also granted Sheikh Ahmed a special audience after maghrib prayers, Sheikh Ahmed’s greatest contribution was undoubtedly countering unorthodox Sufism and mystic belief. However, he did not feel the need to be revolutionary in other areas and emphasized the benefits of orthodox Islam, He organized the Naqshbandiya Mujadidiya Order so that they could reform society and spread the shariah amongst the people. He wrote many books on a scholarly level, including his famous works, [sbat-ul-Nabat and Risal-e-Naboowat, in which he emphasized the finality of the prophethood and clearly stated that any deviance from this point was un-Islamic. His greatest work on Islamic philosophy was the Tauheed-i-Shuhudi. Until the end of his long life, Sheikh Ahmed continued his preaching on Islam and urged people to adhere to the accepted and clearly laid down path. He repeatedly stressed this theme until he passed away in 1624. . creeao--! reehgruie oD ‘A J hah \ aliu _ Shah Waliullah was born in the cyntral stat nes 03, j he reigar.o to a respected religious family with histhe decline in’ rs, Muhammad Shah, i f the last Mughal emper® aha s Bil it a new building within the city t the problems facing the Valiullah had spent his time in Madinah thinking about and realized that there was an urgent need for ity within the Mughal empire sration, The Muslims in the subcontinent had degenerated from a powerful and sd community to @ helpless and disorganized crowd. If the decline was to be “Shah Waliullah decided it could not be done ‘without strong leadership at Delhi. The h i in identifying the causes of the decline of the Muslims ah believed that many of the act them. Shah Waliul Pe ste M slims faced was due to their ignorance about Islam and the Holy Quran. He Rete on Quranic teachings would not only improve their knowledge, it would i an, differences and create a feeling of solidarity. As Arabic was not widely understood, the average Muslim derived his/her knowledge from the teachings of Muslim jurists aes Shah Waliullah recognized that the tenets of Islam could not be followed ee sie the Holy Quran itself was understood. In order to spread the Eoin, he translated the Holy Quran into Persian, the main language of educated Re el > jucat cn oat shah Waliullah 's action attracted fierce criticism from the ulema, but his enough to withstand the critics. Thi say conti at the time, Later, his sons, Shah Abdul Qadi itieranslited work was widely Votes Quran Ui idir and Shah Abdul Aziz, translated the Holy Shah Waliullah urged the Muslim si is of the i Prophet fata and to concentrate ret he ail pe i Een he example ota anxious that the Muslims should stop dividi pone onan i _within the Muslim community ae themselves into sectarian groups Ane eR eartictarihe Suerte ee se ps.as the conflicts in on ea ie Sane and the Shits, 0 Shah ar i lief of some Sunni . aliullah pee ‘Was continued by ea a were not nea ee ct s son, Mica, is tradition of cal fe eiag a is teaching, In fact, some enemies of Shah Abdul n Wali 2 towards training ie eal therefore, intellectual and éducati and history, He him: undertake research and writ Sdncatinnalas tks ‘Were Hin self participated wholeh le on various Mujjatullah-u-Balighah and holeheartedly in such ae lat-ul-Akhfa . In the entals of ullahits entirety without the support of a healthy society. It SH for ‘this purpose that he laid down the principle that anti-soci “attitudes incur thé’displeasure of God. For the same reason he | also felt that it is impossible to correct a society without correcting it of un-Islamic practices. Apart from these efforts on the purely theoretical and spiritual side, Shah Waliullah was also concerned about the prevalent-economic.sysiem. He laid great_ “empinasis-on ad and that is, social jus and | equilion hah Waliullah stressed that the labour of the id be justly rewarded and that that onomy. He tem of trading | peasant and the craftsman shoul should form the backbone of a more egalitarian ec urged traders and businessmen to adopt a fairer sys! and making money. " During his lifetime, the Mughal empire was visibly crumbling and had been on the decline since the death of Aurangzeb. The | Marathas in the south and the Sikhs in the north were threatening to overwhelm Delhi and finish the once mighty Mughal empire. Shah Waliullah wrote to all the Muslim nobles and rulers and urged them to unite. It was partly at his request that Ahmed Shah Durrani of Persia proceeded to Delhi and crushed the Marathas at ~the Battle of Panipat in 1761. Shah Waliullah was, however, disappointed that Ahmed Shah Durrani did not remain to take over Delhi from the Mughals as he believed that only a new and f energetic dynasty could save the Muslims from non-Muslim rule. Shah Waliullah was responsible for awakening in the community the desire to win back some of its moral fervour and aii its purity. To rescue a community's conscience, belief and faith from the destruction of the 18th century was no small hah Waliullah achieved even more: a lasting _contribntio to the field of Muslim thought. He was laid to rest in 4762, appy to have lived to have seen the defeat of the Marathas by Ahmed Shah Durrani but disappointed that Ahmed Shah did not _ stay to begin a fresh new chapter in Muslim rule. His work was ES ably continued by his sons and followers and many future Isl ni and thinkers were inspired by his example. Underlah, realized that although r, even in Delhi, lay in the — de the subcontinent ) still lived ed a J gon-Muslim rule should be selene ead fe be resisted secretly so as not to attract British ple who would be. 0 ily of Hasni Syeds, distantly related to the family of Shah Sean iu, or Syed Ahmed Shaheed, as he became known, Wit) born near swn of Rae Bareli, His father died while he was still young and after = | employment Delhi, Syed Ahmed decided he needed further education. In Famoiled in the famous Madrassa of Shah Waliullah in Delhi. Syed Ahmed eration of Muslims who were dismayed at the end of the Mughal empire ‘chaos and violence which was almost inevitably to follow. He was a ah Abdul Aziz, but it was soon obvious that Syed Ahmed was not scholar, despite his piety. Madrassa and joined a Pathan military force led by Amir event still required a leader and peo juropean weaponry, including the use of artillery. There is a Shah Al Aziz himself encouraged Syed Ahmed to acquite ; the fact th i i, S : ao Ny fact that on his return to Delhi, aed was c iS gi , Ahmed. In all his talks, emphasis was us cause, but Syed Ahmed still did not iz, and many of the graduates and stuuenis of 1jab, there ‘Ahmed visited towns throughout movement. He was both sides. Syed “Gnder Muslim rule to gather support for his move joined by many notable Muslim leaders. The initial force of a few hundred men led by Syed ‘Ahmed could not reach the area directly from Delhi for obvious reasons and so had to proceed through the long and difficult route through Rajasthan, Sindh and Balochistan until they reached Kabul. Apart from the obvious need to avoid the Sikh forces at this stage, Syed Ahmed also collected support and troops along the way. In many areas the population was more enthusiastic than their rulers: the mirs of Sindh were reluctant to fight with the Sikhs as was Bahawalpur, while Afghanistan was torn by internal differences. In spite of this, many men from these areas joined Syed Ahmed’s forces. ‘Tn 1826, the mujahideen, or Muslim ess encouraged other Pathan tribes to join Syed Ahmed. The Sikhs were now seriously concerned by this threat, They tried to spread dissent ongst the tribes supporting Syed Ahmed by calling his army and a slamic.The approach to Islam d Ahmed was a combination of the teachings of Shah Waliullah and Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab in ‘Anas Islamic thought under Sheikh Wahab, the of th i Movement, during his long stay in Arabi Any minor differences in doctrine were emphasized S the Sikhs ia evi lence the mujahideen were not true Muslims. Syed Ahmed set up his headquarters at Nowshera in December -1826, and initial skirmishes with the Sikh forces. " 3 satanic with th le Sik orces left the en with the advantage. The mai: - Maslin Miami ane “ problem was that the : ht communiti _-Misagreed amongst themselves over milit soa Sa : i itary tactics. Syed A \ ae y all the communities as the i i swelled to 80 000 merth these acts of 8 A involved in the intrigues. ? Paes acsaplote victory, Peshawar was again safe for Syed iliati ith some Pathan Abmed’ . In an effort at reconciliation wit i Be et sin brother of Yar Muhammad as. Sultan Muhammad Khan, | luhammad. Syed Ahmed realized that his strength was being SERRE cain fellow Muslims, as the Sikhs had intended, headquarters were moved to Balakot. The new targets ‘for liberation were Kashmir and Hazara. The Sikhs were informed by traitors of an undefended approach to Balakot and so launched a sudden attack. The army of Syed Ahmed fought bravely but was outnumbered and caught unawares. Syed Ahmed and his chief Officer, Shah Ismail, were both killed..This marked an effective end to the threat posed by the Jihad Movement. * (pbk The campaign failed for a variety of reasons. Although the © Mustims wanted to be libe¥atéd from the Sikhs, the mujahideen of Syed Ahmed was not trained in the art of political --ompromise and government? The Pathan tribesmen did not take é 4 by Syed Ahmed caused resentment, as.the tribesmen had never : dMbsoyscw/> = Paid any form of taxisSmall doctrinal differences between. the army Were seen suspiciously by the! i igid form of Islami i ates, deviation as heretical), I Eee Sikhs, on the other han Were t i on the d,) ough and organized. had ae united under the control of a Political a lt en ujit Singh, and Were Tespected even by the Britis]not a scholar but was _ mystic. He inspired the deepest loyalty and affection in his followers, and his camp was an object of duty and piety. He managed to draw many Jearned ulema to his camp as well as sons from rich families. It was through the army's disregard for worldly wealth that many others were impressed enough to help or join. (the Sikhs celebrated the victory at Balakot with great jubilation as they realized that a major threat had been removed, It must also be said to the credit of the mujahideen army that they did not surrender. The Jihad Movement was subsequently led by Velayat Ali and continued to be a threat to Sikh and, later, British rule, The « » “remnants of the army continued thei struggle from the hills of the Frontier Province ‘and in 1863 the British were forced to send eight regiments to deal with the threat. With hindsight, the Jihad \ Movement was, in fact, a brave and determined struggle against oppression and was an invaluable example to the Pakistan Movement of the desire of Muslims for their own homeland. The “movement failed not through a lack of belief or enthusiasm, but through disorganization, limited funds and poor military training. In many ways, the movement of Syed Ahmed was too far ahead of its time and many people were not yet ready for either independence or Islamic government. However, Syed Ahmed’s efforts were not in vain and served as an example to future Muslim Islam (70 The 19th century also witnessed a Muslim revival in the _ of Bengal. The main leaders were those who had taken. of the improved travel facilities to Arabia. TheJims in Bengal was der of the Mu ahmed Barelvi inpiletsv® “Mie Mithar itu Mir. He had visited 1822 and was popularly asain Mi family. He preached _ ¥ , sf the Mughal roy: : Makkah with meme ju nites and rituals. One of his more complete rejection Of Piha Hindu landlord who tried to impose a famou: gles was with a Hindu nae ea Tort k of the fa oat : ‘uishing marl ee oe en or ee more BrOuGe Tt Muslims. Islam in Bengal seems to have been more ce 50 id economic unrest, which le ie comment t at a breeds prophets, while Bengal breeds social reformers’. Tit became known as the ‘Hajis’. Eventually, he came into with the British, who were keen to stamp out any threat to Co “Sir Syed was bom in Delhi on 17 October 1817 to an old and prominent family of the city. He was educated along orthodox lines and entered service with the British East India Company. In 1839, after completing his education, he rose to the position of a judge in the East India Company. He went on to become a judge in Delhi in 1846. In the same year, he wrote his famous work Athar-ul-Sanadeed. In.1854, he was transferred to Bijnaur_as the chief judge where he was working when, in 1857, an anti-British rebellion broke out. Known now as the War of Independence and as the Indian Mutiny to the British, the struggle erupted suddenly and violently. It was during this time that Sir Syed Proved his worth to the British, as he risked his life fo uprising in Bijnaur to give up as he felt fight ae. British at this stage was futile, ‘Taking th ‘ i‘ation and scientific knowledge. ‘These particularly included educ i us nce, he took a considerable Immediately after the War of Independe risk by writing a small pamphlet on the causes of the uprising and sent it to British Members of Parliament and senior British officials. The pamphlet was titled Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt. ‘This work was not sold but was circulated among British officials Jocally and in England. Although some British officials resented the work, others appreciated Sir Syed’s honesty in partly blaming the British for having ignored Muslim sentiments. : Sir Syed also felt that apart from trying to bring about somé sort of better understanding between the British and the Muslims, he had to alleviate the hardships the Muslims were suffering as @ result of being seen as untrustworthy by the British. In his next book, entitled The Loyal Mohemmedans of India, he defended the Muslims from the British charge that the Muslims had been guilty of sedition and disloyalty. In this work, he named various Muslims who had been loyal to the British government and stated that he wanted the British to end their discrimination and hostility towards the Muslim community. Sir Syed was also fully aware of the deep-seated hostility that many Muslims felt towards British rule and wrote Tabyin-ul-Kalam, a sympathetic commentary on the Bible. Due to a jackof resources, the work was not completed but it was to show the similarities between Islam and Christianity. Later, on a visit to + England, he was to realize that ignorance was just as prevalent the British side when he read an Englishman's account of of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Despite being short of immediately wrote a rebuttal to the book and had it