Shah Waliullah:

Shah WaliUllah was a great reformer.
He was born in 1703, only four years before the death of Aurangzeb. Therefore, he was a witness to, and worried over the process of the decline of the Mughal Empire and the deteriorating condition of the Indian Muslims.
He believed that the main reason of the miserable condition of the Muslims was their ignorance of Quran and Sunnah.
- Persian, the court language, was understood by the educated Muslim elite.
- So, he translated the Quran into Persian language.
- This way a greater number of Muslims could understand and follow the Quranic teachings.
In order to create awareness among Muslims regarding the problems faced by them and the possible solutions to the problems, he wrote several books.
- The most famous book was, “Hujjat Ullah al-Baligha” in which he analysed the problems of the Muslim community.
- In “Izalat ul Khafa”(usually misspelt as Izalat ul Ikhfa), he tried to remove the differences between the two major sects of Islam, Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.
- In this he wrote the biographies of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs in a way acceptable to both the major sects.
He also advised Muslims to work honestly and with dedication if they really wanted to come out of a state of helplessness and ignorance that they had inherited from their corrupt, weak and luxury loving rulers. As a result of this, there were several threats to the Mughal rule in India both from within and outside.
He emphasized the importance of Jihad against a common enemy.
- Therefore, he invited Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan to save it.
- Accordingly, Abdali broke the backbone of the South Indian militant Hindu community, the Marathas.
- He defeated them in the third and last Battle of Panipat in 1761, though he himself did not stay back in India.
First Muslim thinker to attempt revival of Islam & regenerate Muslims in the wake of Mughal decline.

Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi

Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi was dismayed at the fast decline of the Mughal Empire and the growing influence of non-Muslim forces.
He believed that, under a policy, Muslims were being kept weaker than the Hindus and Sikhs.
- Being inspired by the teaching and sons of Shah Waliullah, he decided to wage Jihad (armed struggle), to liberate Indian Muslims from the non-Muslim rule.
He was especially worried about the Punjabi Muslims who led a miserable life under the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh.
- They were subjected to several humiliations and were denied religious liberty.
- Azan was banned and the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore was used as a stable by the Sikh forces.
After returning from Arabia, Syed Ahmed raised a huge army of volunteer Mujahideen and shifted to the NWFP where he was supported by the Pathan tribes against Sikhs.
Under his Jihad movement he defeated the Sikh forces in various battles till 1830.
Finally, due to the betrayal of the Pathan chiefs, and sectarian divide in his army he was defeated and killed by the Sikhs in the battle of Balakot in 1831.
He gave courage to the Indian Muslims by inculcating the idea of physical struggle for their survival.
Jihad movement was continued till the 1860s.
- It is considered to be the forerunner of the Pakistan Movement as both were aimed at liberating the Muslim majority areas from the non Muslim rule.

Haji Shari’at Ullah

Haji Shari’at Ullah was a reformer from East Bengal.
- He was very much worried about the pitiable condition of Bengali Muslims.
- They suffered a lot under the British rule and the powerful Hindu Zamindars.
He believed that the main reason of the poor condition of Bengali Muslims was their negligence of religious obligations or Faraiz.
- He launched his Faraizi movement that was aimed at urging the Muslims to perform their Faraiz.
He declared Bengal as Dar-ul-Harb (land under enemy rule) and also believed in the need of Jihad.
Noticed by the local authorities he had to go back to his native town where he died in 1840.
His movement was continued by his son Mohsinuddin popularly known as Dadu Mian.

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Chapter 1- Religious Thinkers

Shah Waliullah:

Shah WaliUllah was a great reformer.
He was born in 1703, only four years before the death of Aurangzeb. Therefore, he was a witness to, and worried over the process of the decline of the Mughal Empire and the deteriorating condition of the Indian Muslims.
He believed that the main reason of the miserable condition of the Muslims was their ignorance of Quran and Sunnah.
- Persian, the court language, was understood by the educated Muslim elite.
- So, he translated the Quran into Persian language.
- This way a greater number of Muslims could understand and follow the Quranic teachings.
In order to create awareness among Muslims regarding the problems faced by them and the possible solutions to the problems, he wrote several books.
- The most famous book was, “Hujjat Ullah al-Baligha” in which he analysed the problems of the Muslim community.
- In “Izalat ul Khafa”(usually misspelt as Izalat ul Ikhfa), he tried to remove the differences between the two major sects of Islam, Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.
- In this he wrote the biographies of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs in a way acceptable to both the major sects.
He also advised Muslims to work honestly and with dedication if they really wanted to come out of a state of helplessness and ignorance that they had inherited from their corrupt, weak and luxury loving rulers. As a result of this, there were several threats to the Mughal rule in India both from within and outside.
He emphasized the importance of Jihad against a common enemy.
- Therefore, he invited Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan to save it.
- Accordingly, Abdali broke the backbone of the South Indian militant Hindu community, the Marathas.
- He defeated them in the third and last Battle of Panipat in 1761, though he himself did not stay back in India.
First Muslim thinker to attempt revival of Islam & regenerate Muslims in the wake of Mughal decline.

Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi

Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi was dismayed at the fast decline of the Mughal Empire and the growing influence of non-Muslim forces.
He believed that, under a policy, Muslims were being kept weaker than the Hindus and Sikhs.
- Being inspired by the teaching and sons of Shah Waliullah, he decided to wage Jihad (armed struggle), to liberate Indian Muslims from the non-Muslim rule.
He was especially worried about the Punjabi Muslims who led a miserable life under the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh.
- They were subjected to several humiliations and were denied religious liberty.
- Azan was banned and the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore was used as a stable by the Sikh forces.
After returning from Arabia, Syed Ahmed raised a huge army of volunteer Mujahideen and shifted to the NWFP where he was supported by the Pathan tribes against Sikhs.
Under his Jihad movement he defeated the Sikh forces in various battles till 1830.
Finally, due to the betrayal of the Pathan chiefs, and sectarian divide in his army he was defeated and killed by the Sikhs in the battle of Balakot in 1831.
He gave courage to the Indian Muslims by inculcating the idea of physical struggle for their survival.
Jihad movement was continued till the 1860s.
- It is considered to be the forerunner of the Pakistan Movement as both were aimed at liberating the Muslim majority areas from the non Muslim rule.

Haji Shari’at Ullah

Haji Shari’at Ullah was a reformer from East Bengal.
- He was very much worried about the pitiable condition of Bengali Muslims.
- They suffered a lot under the British rule and the powerful Hindu Zamindars.
He believed that the main reason of the poor condition of Bengali Muslims was their negligence of religious obligations or Faraiz.
- He launched his Faraizi movement that was aimed at urging the Muslims to perform their Faraiz.
He declared Bengal as Dar-ul-Harb (land under enemy rule) and also believed in the need of Jihad.
Noticed by the local authorities he had to go back to his native town where he died in 1840.
His movement was continued by his son Mohsinuddin popularly known as Dadu Mian.