KEY QUESTION # 1:

How successful were the religious thinkers in spreading

Islam in the sub-continent during the 18th and 19th
centuries?

Grade 8

By Ma’am Laley Erum

Shah Wali Ullah (Early ages (not required) Pilgrimage to Makkah (only basic
 Shah WaliUllah was born in the 21st of February. information required)
1703 CE, in the town of Phulat in Muzaffarnagar,
Uttar Pradesh, India.
 In 1143 H.E. the 23 year old Shah
 His father, Shah Abdur Rahman was a great
WaliUllah decided to perform the
scholar.
pilgrimage to Makkah.
 He attained a certificate of Proficiency
in Hadith from the famous scholar,
Shaikh Abu Tahir Bin Ibrahim of
 His father took special pain in the education and the Medina.
training of his son.  When he was in Arabia, the Marhatta
turmoil was at its peak and his friends
 Shah WaliUllah was introduced to Islamic education
advised him to stay in Arabia.
at the age of five and completed the recitation of the  he left Arabia in 1145 AH and reached
Qur'an by the age of seven Delhi on 14 Rajab 1145 AH.
 At the special age of 15, Hazrat Shah WaliUllah had
completed his education and then became a disciple
of his father who gave him spiritual training.
 When he was 17, his father died, for 12 years he
taught in the fashion of his father.
 Work of Shah WaliUllah
Reformist movement
 In the 18th century, Islam in the Sub-continent was faced with menacing problems.
 Sectarian conflict, low moral tone of the society, poor understanding of the Holy Quran,
and general ignorance of Islam were just some of the issues which gave rise to fear that
political collapse would be accompanied by religious disintegration.
 Shah WaliUllah devoted most of his time in writing books and preaching in public
meetings.
 His famous book “Al-Tafheematul llahia” minutely pen points all the various defects,
shortcomings and vices, which had taken roots in various sections of the Muslims.
 His aim, metaphorically speaking, was to destroy the rotten moral buildings and to
reconstruct a new mansion over it.
 He bluntly wrote in one of his writings “I have arrived to destroy every old in region at
present.
 Quran Translation into Persian Language (important)
And other literary works

 Apart from the Holy Quran, Shah

 The most monumental task he WaliUllah also wrote authentic
performed was to translate the Quran books on Hadith, the principles of
from Arabic to Persian which was the Hadith, Tafseer and on mystical
subjects.
language spoken by the Muslims at that
 But the most popular book of
time in India. “Hujatul Baligdh”. This book
 His aim was that educated Muslims may explains how Islam was found
have access to the Quran. Later on, the suitable for all races, cultures and
Quran is translated to many language people of the world and how
successfully it solves social, moral,
economic and political problems of
human beings.
 The times of Shah Waliullah (very Important) Service to Mankind (very Important)

 After returning from Mecca and

 Shah WaliUllah lived during the times that can best be Medina, the miserable condition of
described as declining of the Mughal dynasty in India. Indian Muslims inspired him to
 The descendants of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb improve their character, buck up
were using the wealth amassed by their forefathers on their morale, inculcate the feeling
entertainment, dance, music and wasteful of selflessness and love for their
constructions. fellows.
 The kingdom was reeling under the severe spells of  He overhauled the existing
droughts, poverty, hunger, hopelessness, indifference education system, separated the
and cruelty at the hands of their rulers. faith from unlawful invented
 The character of the people were alleged to have fallen traditions (bidaat), unnecessary
to the lowest levels of "civilized" behavior. and unwanted suspicions
 Muslims were engulfed in wrongful and unnecessary regarding Islam and its holy
traditions. books. He presented what he
considered pure and pristine
 Leave alone the common men; even scholars were
Islam to the people
ignorant of the meanings and teachings of the Qur'an,
hadith and theology.
 His targets and advices:
 Through his father’s Madrassa he started educating and training the children who were to
become the future powers.
 Wrote various books which targeted the learned class of the society thus giving them a
chance to choose between right and wrong.
 To the Mughal rulers, to give up their corrupt and inefficient practices.
 To the Soldiers - to inculcate within themselves the spirit of Jihad which they have
forgotten.
 To the Artisans, workers and peasants, reminding them that the economic prosperity of
the state depends on their hard work and that they should stand up and raise their voice
against the exploitations at the hands of the corrupt Jagirdars and Zamindars.
 The Emperor, to teach a lesson to those who were threatening the Mughal Empire and
also not to give jagirs to mansabdars unnecessary powers, who were not loyal to the
state.
 Masses (The common people), to be conscious of their duties and not to indulge in the
accumulation of wealth.
 He wrote to Ahmad Shah Abdali to come and help the Mughals against the Maratha. His
efforts resulted in Maratha defeat at the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the third battle of
Panipat in 1761 A.D.
 Importance:
 Shah WaliUllah was one of the first thinkers to state that the decline of
Mughal Empire and the vulnerable position of the Muslims were due to a
neglect of the principles of Islam.
 He showed how this regeneration might take place. The Madrassa continued
to play a vital role in teaching Islamic principles and researching Islamic
thought.
 He believed that Muslims could prosper if they followed proper Islamic
customs and did not indulge in social evils.
 His writing gave large number of Muslims a chance to study their religion and
understand its teachings.
 He gave Muslims inspiration to lead a pure simple Life.
 He showed that Muslims had to concentrate more on basic principle rather
than finding the difference which would lead them in the conflict among
them.
 He tried to oppose Maratha and unite the Muslim againt a common enemy.
 Many future leaders were inspired by his teachings. And fight for the good
of Muslim community.
 Q: Why did Shah WaliUllah have such an important influence on the revival of Islam
in the subcontinent? [7] (N2005/Q/1b)

■ Marking Scheme:
■ Muslims had deteriorated into being a helpless and disorganized group of people and if they were to
regain their power then strong leadership was required.
■ He believed they were ignorant about Islam and the teachings of the Holy Quran. So he felt that by
translating the Holy Quran into Persian would enable more people to read it.
■ A number of social evils had corrupted the Islamic society. He wanted to transform the society in the
light of Islamic teachings.
■ He wanted the rulers to enforce Islamic laws e.g. Islam condemns social injustice and protects the
rights of peasants and workers.
■ He urged the rich Muslims to lead pure life and stay away from luxury and extravagance. He also
urged the traders to follow Islamic laws in their dealings.
■ He wanted to eradicate the sectarian differences that were undermining the foundations of Muslim
unity
 SYED AHMED SHAHEED BARELVI
Introduction/Early ages (not required) Beliefs:

 Syed Ahmad was born in a small  He believed that Muslims

town of Rai Bareli near Lucknow. could achieve their freedom
 He moved in Delhi in 1806 and by having arm struggle against
Studied in Madrassa Rahimya the British and Sikhs.
for two years.  He believed that the evil in
 In 1810 in joined a Pathan the Islamic Society had to be
Military Leader and learned to cured.
use European weaponry.  He called for Jihad Movement
 In 1817 He returned to Delhi to over throw the non-Muslim
trying to make Islam to its force which was oppressing
original purity. them.
 In 1821 He went for Hajj and  Only then Islam could be
returned from Arabia in 1823 rescued from the evil customs
ready for action. of other societies.
 Work:
 At this time Punjab and NWFP was in the control of Sikh and Muslims were unable to live
according to their faith. He traveled many hundred miles to raise a mujahedeen force.
 In 1826 Syed Ahmad established his headquarters near Peshawar and sent a messenger
asking Ranjit Singh the ruler to allow Muslims follow their religion but the request was turn
down so he had no choice but to attack at Okara on 21 December 1826 and after that
Hazara and defeat the Sikhs.
 He was successful military leader and the mujahedeen force soon reached 80,000 men, but
there was a major problem as the force had people from different area they quarreled on
how the camping should run.
 Sikhs tried to exploit the army by calling it un-Islamic but it was consider jihad by Muslim
leaders. When Syed Ahmad was about to attack the fort of Attock he encountered the
army of Sikh of 35000 men’s.
 What he did not know was that Yar Muhammad Khan a Pathan chief was bribed by the Sikh
and even his servant tried to poison him. Yar Muhammad deserted him on the battle field
along his men and thus this creates chaos and lead to defeat.
 Syed Ahmad had no choice but to move his headquarters to safety of Panjtar near Kashmir
but was again betrayed when a person in his army told the British a secret way to attack
them.
 In battle of Balakot 1831 a surprise attack was led by Sikh and Six hundred Muslims were
killed along with Syed Ahmed.
 Importance:
 The Defeat of the mujahedeen in the Battle of Balakot was a serious
setback for the Jihad movement still it survived.
 The movement continued on the hills of NWFP until 1863 when the
British sent large force to deal with it still it survived through
determination of its followers.
 The work of Syed Ahmad was important because it was the first arm
struggle of a movement to free Muslims from non-Muslim rule.
 It was not a movement for a leader but it was to achieve religious
freedom.
 Jihad of Syed Ahmad inspired many Muslims.
 It is the fore-runner of Pakistan movement as the aim of this
movement was to safe-guard Muslim interest and achieves a homeland
where they can practice their Religion, Culture and Freedoms.
Why did Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi conduct a Jihad against Sikhs in the early nineteenth
century? [7] (Past Paper, November 2000: Q1/b)

 Freedom is the right of every human being particularly from cruel and oppressive rulers. Muslims
peasants were leading oppressed lives under the exploitation of Hindu landlords and tax collectors.
They were humiliated and ill-treated. Their properties, lives and dignity were not safe from the hands
of Hindus and Sikhs. Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi (SASB) wanted to restore their pride, respect
and living conditions. That is why he started Jihad to win freedom for the Muslims so that they could
lead lives according to their own wishes.
 In the Sikh regime under Ranjit Singh in Punjab, Muslims had restrictions in practicing their faith -
even the call to prayers was banned in some places. This was not tolerable! Muslim culture, values
and religion were in danger. Syed Ahmed believed that an independent state was necessary for
having religious liberty. Therefore, he started armed struggle (Jihad) to get rid of the Sikh rulers.
 SASB wanted to restore the supremacy of Islamic ideology and to establish a system that was to be
based of Islamic principles. He, therefore, revived the desire of Jihad in the Muslims of India, made
an army of volunteers and gave them military training. Jihad is obligatory part of Muslim faith.
A martyr has been promised very prestigious position in the Hereafter.
 HAJI SHARIATULLAH
Introduction/Early ages (not required) Beliefs:

 He believed that the miserable condition

of the Muslims in India led to the country
 He was born in 1781 in
being Dar-Ul-Harb (Country under
Faridpur district in east Foreign Rule).
Bengal.  He told that Friday prayer and Eid prayer
 He belonged to a very poor cannot be offered here.
family.  He also believed that Muslim community
had moved away from Islamic practice.
 In 1799 He went to Arabia
 He wanted them to return to what he
on pilgrimage and stayed thought was the proper observation of
there for nineteen years. Islamic duties called Faraizi.
 He was greatly influenced by  This was why he started his movement
the teaching of Sheikh was called Faraizi Movement.
 The Faraizi Movement supported the idea
Muhammad Abdul Wahab.
of Jihad against the non-Muslims who
were undermining the true principles of
Islam.
 Work:
 He started Faraizi movement to restore the Pride of the Muslims and
remove what he thought were the Hindu practices.
 Emphasis was placed on praying for past sins and promising to lead a
righteous life in the future which had crept into their worship.
 The success of this movement caused British and Hindu Landlord’s and they
did not want Haji ShariatUllah to create difficulty for them by uniting a
desire to improve their lives and purify their religion so they drove Haji out
of the reign to Nawabganj in Dhaka where he died in 1840.
 His work however was carried by his son Mohsin-ud-Din who continued to
improve the position of Muslim in East Bengal and introduced important
economic measures.
 He divides East Bengal into circle under control of each Khalifa to carry
out religious activities.
 He helped the peasants to oppose land taxes and he threatened to declare
Jihad against the British so he was captured and put in prison where he
died in 1860.
 Importance:

 Work of Haji ShariatUllah was important to Faraizi Movement because

it gave encouragement to Muslims at a time when they demoralized by
oppression suffered from Hindus and British.
 It also brought about a spiritual revival which led to a revival in Islamic
religion in East Bengal.
 Hindu influences were removed from Islamic practices.
 It might be said that some seeds for the Pakistan Movement were sown
by the Faraizi Movement.
 COMPARISIONS OF RELIGIOUS THINKERS

 Islam was widely spread in subcontinent by Shah WaliUllah, Syed Ahmed Shaheed Bareli
and Haji ShariatUllah.
 Shah WaliUllah was a religious scholar.
 He taught Islamic teachings in the Madrassa Rahimya.
 This produced a number of scholars in the sub-continent and therefore increased spread
of Islam.
 Shah WaliUllah also translated the Quran in Persian.
 Arabic was not very much understood in the sub-continent so translating Quran revived
Quranic teachings in the subcontinent because Muslims and also other people could
understand Quranic teachings.
 Shah WaliUllah also wrote to all Muslim leaders in the subcontinent to unite and defeat
the Marathas it was partly due to his persuade that Ahmed Durrani came to subcontinent
and defeated the Marathas.
 Thus by writing letters he decreased the non-Muslim influence of Marathas and united
Muslim leaders which revived Islam in subcontinent.
 Shah WaliUllah wrote several books about 51. These books were extremely popular.
 These not only converted many people to Islam and increase understanding of religion for
Muslims of Islam but also united the different Muslim sectarian such as the Shias and
Sunnis.
 Syed Ahmed Shaheed Bareli also played part in reviving Islam.
 He started the Jihad Movement.
 The Jihad Movement was a Movement started by Muslims to defeat the non-Muslim
oppressors.
 The Movement united all the different Muslim against one common enemy.
 This showed the power of the Muslims and united the Muslim community which spread
Islam.
 Haji ShariatUllah started the Faraizi Movement.
 It indicated that Muslims should return to their religious teaching and perform their
religious obligations.
 This particularly became popular in Bengal and Muslims were revived back to their
religious teachings. His movement also united the Muslims of Bengal.
However there were failures
 Shah WaliUllah was not able to bring Muslim power back to subcontinent and Muslims
were still being oppressed by Marathas who prevented them from obeying there
religions law.
 Syed Ahmed eventually failed to defeat the British and the oppressing Sikhs and
Muslims once again returned to their torturing lives.
 Haji ShariatUllah could only bring rejuvenation in Bengal and so could not reach the
entire subcontinent.
 The failure of the Jihad Movements discouraged Muslims to rise up against the enemy
which weakened Islam.
 Conclusion

Although every religious thinker was quite successful in

spreading the message amongst the people, Shah WaliUllah
through writings, Syed Ahmed Shaheed Bareli through his
Jihad Movement and Haji ShariatUllah through his Faraizi
movement, yet in my opinion Shah WaliUllah was most
successful as his work was ever lasting and sowed a seed for
the later "Pakistan Movement".
 COMPARISION OF THEIR WORK

 There were many Muslims reformers at that time.

 Shah WaliUllah believed that the Muslims were not able to understand
Islam because they weren’t able to understand the Holy Quran because it
was in Arabic.
 He translated Holy Quran from Arabic to Persian. Later it was translated to
Urdu by his sons. He wrote 51 books - Hujjatullah-ul Baligha and Izalat al
Akhfa and the account on the four Caliphs of Islam to decrease differences
between Sunnis and Shias.
 Another reformer was Syed Ahmed Shaheed Bareli. He was a man of action.
He was a great Muslim warrior.
 He gathered an army of mujahedeen to fight against the Sikhs and Ranjit
Singh’s forces. He did Jihad against the Ranjit Singh army at many times.
 Although many people left him he still continued the fight against the Sikhs.
He fought the Battle of Balakot in 1831.
 It was the first example of a movement formed to free Muslims from non-
Muslims leaders. It was a uniting force for the Muslims and inspiration for
future Muslims.
 Another reformer was Haji ShariatUllah.
 He believed that the country was now Dar-Ul Harb where non-
Muslims ruled.
 He also believed that the Muslims had moved away from true
Islamic practice so he started a movement called the Faraizi
Movement.
 It supported the idea of Jihad Movement.
 The Faraizi Movement was started to restore the pride of
Muslims and remove non-Muslim practices in Islam.
 This Movement encouraged the Muslims. It brought a spiritual
revival.
 It also had much economic impact.
 The Bengal peasants became united in opposition to the British
and became aware of their rights and unity became to grow
between them and they realised their rights that should have
been given.
Conclusion:
I think Shah WaliUllah was the most important
reformer because he was one of the first
persons to realise the main thing of Muslims
problems. He did the major thing of
translating Holy Quran to Persian so that more
people could understand it.
Past Paper Questions
Source: As the morale and commitment of Muslims increased it was
inevitable that with the right leadership some Muslims would take part in
more agitation against the British. It was clear that the Muslim identity in
India would continue to gain strength. One such man was Titu Mir.
Q Who was Titu Mir? [4] (N2011Q/1a)

■ Examiner Comments: In part (a), the short answer question on Titu Mir
was rarely answered for full marks
■ Marking Scheme: Candidates might refer to: A disciple of Syed Ahmed,
horrified by sufferings of Muslim farmers in West Bengal during
1830s, organized a stand against Zamindars, set up his own rule near
Calcutta with small army, provoked British and killed in battle 1831.
Source: By the end of Aurangzeb’s reign the authority of the Mughal emperors was
declining. Hindus were not happy with his reign and after his death, Muslim power and
influence over India, which had been so strong, began to disintegrate. At this time Shah
WaliUllah was growing up.
(a)Describe the achievements of Shah WaliUllah in reviving Islam. [4] (J2011/Q/1a)

■ Examiner Comments: In part (a), the short answer question was well answered with
most candidates gaining 3 or 4 marks on the achievements of Shah WaliUllah in
reviving Islam.
■ Marking Scheme: Candidates might refer to: Promoted his message through
writings, translated the Holy Quran into Persian which would enable more people
read it, emphasized traditional values of their faith, stressed the importance of
following teachings of Quran, future developments built upon his teachings
Q Why were there attempts to revive Islam in the sub-continent during the eighteenth
and early nineteenth centuries? [7] (N2007/Q/1b)

■ Marking Scheme:
■ Explains reasons.
– SWU believed that Muslims were ignorant about Islam and the teachings of the Holy
Quran. Therefore an emphasis on Quranic teachings would not only improve their
knowledge but produce a feeling of solidarity. He also believed that Muslims’ knowledge
of Islam was difficult to gain and so he felt that by translating the Holy Quran into Persian
would enable more people read it.
– Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barailvi wanted a jihad (Holy War) to restore the Muslim faith. The
Punjab was under Sikh rule and the Punjabi Muslims found it difficult to practice their
religion and were humiliated by the Sikhs.
– Haji Shariat Ullah wanted to spread Islam through the Faraizi Movement which insisted
that Muslims should perform their faraiz (religious obligations). This alarmed the Hindu
landlords who were unhappy with the Muslim practices.