Lecture 1

Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi

 Reformer of the first millennium is Hazrat Umair bin Abdul Aziz (Umar II).

 The advent of Islam in the subcontinent with the arrival of Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 AD.

 Four casts of Hindus: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras

 Islam in Spain went with Ṭariq ibn Ziyad in 711-718.

 Queen Elizabeth I was a contemporary of Akbar.

 Both Shakespeare and Sirhindi were born in 1564.

 Aurangzeb reinstated jizya in 1679.

 Sirhindi was Imprisoned in the Fort of Gwalior for not prostrating in the Court of Jahangir.

 Naqshbandiyah sub-order Mujaddidia focuses on Tauhid.

 More than 500 letters in Maktubat-e-Imam Rabbani.

The saints of the Bhakti movement rejected the difference of caste and Uati’. An important factor that
led to the popularity of the Bhakti movement was that most of the promoters of this movement attempted
to reconcile the differences between the Hindus and the Muslims by stressing that Rama and Rahim were
one and the same. They condemned the hatred of the fanatic Pandits and Mullas alike. For the Hindus, the
effort was initiated by the Hindu saints of the Bhakti movement and for the Muslims by the Sufi Saints.
Kabir Das was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti
movement and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
Din-e-Elahi is an elite eclectic religious movement, formulated by the Mughal emperor Jalal al-Din
Akbar in the late 16th century AD. The soul was encouraged to purify itself through the yearning for God
(a tenet of Ṣufism, Islamic mysticism), celibacy was condoned (as in Catholicism), and the slaughter of
animals was forbidden (as in Jainism). This religion was generally regarded by Akbar’s contemporaries as
an innovation or a heretical doctrine. Kind was called Zill-e-Elahi (Shadow of God).
 Lecture 2
Shah Wali Ullah

 Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Aurangzeb died in 1707.

 The clash between Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb on succession

 Chaos after Aurangzeb because of war of succession

 His father saw the dream of a son.

 Doors of ijtihad were closed in Sunni Fiqh (jurisprudence).

 He is also referred to as a crusader.

 Shah Wali Ullah saw a vision or dream where the Prophet ordered him to return to the
subcontinent.

 Strengthening of Hindu nationalism and dominance of Hindus because of the rise of Marathas

 He was called Shah Wali Ullah because of his piety.

 The introduced idea of tatbiq; though Islamic ideals are unchanged, their interpretation can
different in different times and places.

 Islam should be presented in a rational way.

 Asked for help from Najib ud Dola, Rehmat Khan, and Shuja ud Daula to crush Maratha’s power.
They were not powerful enough. So, a letter was to Ahmad Shah Abdali, also known as Ahmad
Shah Durrani.

 The First Battle of Panipat was between Babar and Lodhi in 1526. The Second Battle of Panipat
was between Akbar and Hemu, Hindu emperor of north India, in 1556. The Third Battle of
Panipat was between Ahmad Shah Abdali and Marathas in 1661.

 Translation of Quran from 1737-1738. Criticized by contemporary ulemas who threatened him
with death.

 Hujatullah al Baliga: Causes of social and religious decay of Muslims; the importance of
application of ijtihad; intellectual and scholastic requirement of a mujahid priest.

 He refused to denounce Shias as heretics in his books.

 Book Fuyuz al Haramain depicted a dream where he was chosen as the intermediary to establish a
new order in his time.

 He wrote more than 50 books (the exact number is contested).

 Lecture 3
Syed Ahmed Shaheed

 Mughal emperor Jahangir extended his hospitality to the English traders to the region of Bengal
and later completely waived customs duties for their trade.

 Preaching Christianity was used as a tool of East India Company to spread its influence.

 Sent to Amir of Tonk by Shah Abdul Aziz.

 When Shah Abdul Aziz declared Tonk as Dar-ul-Harb after its fall to the British, Ahmed
Shaheed left the Tonk army. Ahmed Shaheed took the oath of the alliance at the hands of Shah
Abdul Aziz and entered the fold of Naqshbandi order.

 Shah Ismail Shaheed and Maulana Abdul Haye helped him with the writing of Sirat-e-Mustaqim.

 Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, born in 1703, was a student of Sheikh Abu Tahir bin Ibrahim.
Ahmed Shaheed was impressed by Wahhab during his visit to Makkah for Haj.

 He went on preaching for jihad and directed Shah Ismail Shaheed and Maulana Abdul Haye to
bring 6000 followers to march Baraily. In December 1826, he established his headquarter in
Nowshera.

 Yar Muhammad was given a political bribe to betray Ahmed Shaheed.

 After the death of Yar Muhammad, Ahmed Shaheed set out for Kashmir and Peshawar. Peshawar
was saved by General Ventura and handed it over to Sultan Muhammad Khan (brother of Yar
Muhammad).

 Ahmed Shaheed then reached Hazara Hills and attacked Sikh forces under command of Hari
Singh and General Allard. This assault was repulsed but later he made another assault which was
successful. Sultan Muhammad Khan (Brother of Yar Muhammad Khan) was arrested and later
pardoned.

 He assembled all Sardars and Khans to take an oath of allegiance and accept him as Caliph. He
promoted Islamic values and imposed strict Sharia rules which reduced tribal influence. He
withdrew from Peshawar in favor of Sultan Muhammad (in 1830 or 1831) who promised to pay a
fixed amount and himself shifted to Balakot.
 Lecture 4
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

 Queen Victoria was Queen of England, and Bahadur Shan Zafar was Mughal ruler at the time.

 He received education in the holy Quran, Persian, Arabic, History, Mathematics, and Medicine.

 Qualified for Munsif (sub-judge)

 He transferred to Delhi after his brother’s death. Assar-us-Sanadid was written in Delhi.

 History of Muslim Rule in India, Ain-i-Akbari by Abu Al-Fazal, History of Bijnor were written
during his posting in Bijnor in 1855.

 Edinburg conferred a degree of LL.D to Sir Syed.

 Persian was replaced by English as an official language, which exacerbated the plight of
Muslims.

 Aligarh Movement is referred as Muslims Renaissance.

 He promoted learning of English language.

 He accompanied his son to English who had won scholarship to study in England.

 He founded Muhammadan Educational Conference, and its sub-committees were also established
in various parts of country. The main purpose was to cultivate the spirits of action and self-help
among the Muslims and to discuss modern techniques for the development in the field of
education.

 The pioneer of two nation theory, Sir Syed used the term ‘two nations’ in 1868 for the first time.

 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan narrates, “During these days when Hindi-Urdu controversy was going on
in Banaras, one day I met Shakespeare who was posted as Divisional Commissioner. I was saying
something about the education of the Muslims, and Shakespeare was listening with an expression
of amazement, when at length he said, ‘This is the first occasion when I have heard you speak
about the progress of Muslims alone. Before you were always keen about the Welfare of your
countrymen in general’ I said now I am convinced that both communities will not join
wholeheartedly”.