Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a 16th-17th century Islamic scholar and reformer born in India. He worked to purify Muslim society and oppose religious innovations and the intermixing of Hindu and Muslim cultures that had occurred under Mughal Emperor Akbar. Sirhindi denounced Akbar's Din-e-Elahi and emphasized Islamic principles. He had a great influence on the revival of Islam in India and emphasis on distinguishing Islam from other faiths. Sirhindi's writings and teachings continue to be influential today in emphasizing the importance of following the Quran and Sunnah.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a 16th-17th century Islamic scholar and reformer born in India. He worked to purify Muslim society and oppose religious innovations and the intermixing of Hindu and Muslim cultures that had occurred under Mughal Emperor Akbar. Sirhindi denounced Akbar's Din-e-Elahi and emphasized Islamic principles. He had a great influence on the revival of Islam in India and emphasis on distinguishing Islam from other faiths. Sirhindi's writings and teachings continue to be influential today in emphasizing the importance of following the Quran and Sunnah.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a 16th-17th century Islamic scholar and reformer born in India. He worked to purify Muslim society and oppose religious innovations and the intermixing of Hindu and Muslim cultures that had occurred under Mughal Emperor Akbar. Sirhindi denounced Akbar's Din-e-Elahi and emphasized Islamic principles. He had a great influence on the revival of Islam in India and emphasis on distinguishing Islam from other faiths. Sirhindi's writings and teachings continue to be influential today in emphasizing the importance of following the Quran and Sunnah.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a 16th-17th century Islamic scholar and reformer born in India. He worked to purify Muslim society and oppose religious innovations and the intermixing of Hindu and Muslim cultures that had occurred under Mughal Emperor Akbar. Sirhindi denounced Akbar's Din-e-Elahi and emphasized Islamic principles. He had a great influence on the revival of Islam in India and emphasis on distinguishing Islam from other faiths. Sirhindi's writings and teachings continue to be influential today in emphasizing the importance of following the Quran and Sunnah.
• Mujadid Alif Sani/Thani ( the reformist of the second millennium)
• Real name: Badar-ud-Din • Born: June 26, 1564 • Place of birth: Sirhind • Died: December 10, 1624 • Father: Abdul Ahad • Naqshbandiyah, (sub-order Mujaddidia) • Descendent of Hazarat UMER (R.A) • Referred as "Farooqi". • Disciple of Hazrat Khawaja Baqi Billa
Need of Reforms /Vices of the society
Religious Din-e-Elahi (Deen- e – Illahi) (Deen-i- Illahi) Concept of Wahadat-ul-Wajood Jiziya was exempted Pilgrimage tax was exempted Veneration (great respect) of sun and fire Slaughter of cow was prohibited Azan was prohibited Prostration before King (Zil-e-Elahi) Belief in Karamats Denial of Shariah (Quran and Sunnah)
Political Bhakti movement Appointments of Hindu Rajputs on higher civil and military positions.
Social Adulteration ( ) ﻣﻼوٹof Muslim society Promotion of inter-marriages Mixing of Hindu-Muslim culture Reforms/ Services/ Influence/ Justification/ contributions/ Revival efforts
Opposition to Akbar's Din-e-Elahi
Concept of Wahadat-ul-Shahood Purgation (purification) of Muslim Society Emphasis on Islamic Values Two Nation Theory Maktubat-e-Imam Rabbani ( Letters)
Important Sentences The efforts of Sheikh Ahmad to purify the religious and practical life of the Muslims of left an indelible (not able to be forgotten) impact/influence on the history of Muslim India. Allama Iqbal, poet-philosopher of the East, has paid rich tributes to Sheikh Ahmad in one of his poems for refusing to perform the act of prostration before the emperor. Allama Iqbal considers him as the spiritual guardian of the Muslim of India. His movement for the cause of Islam gave a new life to the Muslim. Sheikh Ahmad, till the last breath of his life, worked for the propagation of Islam. He drew a distinction between Islam and Hinduism. Under the influence of Mujadid's preaching, Jahangir ordered Khutaba (holy sermon) to be recited and cow slaughter to be carried out as required by Islamic principles. Jahangir also agreed to the construction of a big mosque on the advice of Mujadid Alif Sani. Hazrat Mujadid Alif Sani was the most powerful religious personality in the history of India. He was a widely read scholar and a magnetic orator. He is considered as the pioneer of Muslim self-assertion by denouncing un-Islamic practices. Mujadid Alif Sani converted a great number of Hindus to Islam, provided pure Islamic teachings and eradicated the wrong ideas of so called mystics. We can say that he was the first person who understood the Hindu amalgamation in Islam and purified it. Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi played an important role in the purification of the society and opposed innovations in the form of Deen –e- Elahi . According to the teachings of Sirhindi, an innovation (Bid’at) in Deen is contrary to the Sunnah. He was not only a religious scholar and mystic but also a reformist leader and his teachings are purely based on Sunnah. Sirhindi’s school of thought is as important today as it was in the 17th century.
Quotations John Renard has described Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi’s political role in the following words. “Major religious scholar and mystical author from Punjab, Pir of the Naqshbandiya under Mughal dynasty. As a Sufi leader he was politically active, offering advice to the rulers concerning needed religious reforms”.
(Renard,Jhon,Historical Dictionary of Sufism P.244 NOTE: No need to memories this reference )
The statement of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, about the importance of king:
“Well being of the king is the well being of the world; his corruption is the corruption of the world”
Iqbal was a critic of Sufism of the common type [Khanqahi] with its negative approach to life. However, he admired Mujaddid Alif Sani because he gave a positive orientation to Sufism.
In his lectures on ‘The Reconstruction of Islamic thought’ Iqbal has observed that whereas ordinary Sufism stood for simply seeing the vision, the reform movement of Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani stood for being something. According to Hazrat Mujaddid, the ultimate aim of the ego is not to see something but to be something.
Iqbal visited the shrine in 1934. In Bal-i-Jibril, there is a poem which Iqbal wrote after he had visited the shrine.
I visited the shrine of Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani
The dust of his shrine is a source of illumination
The particles of this dust are more brilliant than the stars
In this dust lies buried the great saint the knower of secrets
Who refused to bow his head before Jahangir
He whose burning soul warmed Islam
He who was the Custodian of the Muslim Community in India
He whom God informed in time of the impending danger to Islam
Note: Do not use more than two verses ( 1 ) ﺷﻌرin the exam.
