Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi (February 21, 1703 August 20, 1762) was an Islami c scholar and reformer.

. He was born during the reign of Aurangzeb. He worked for the revival of Muslim rule and intellectual learning in South Asia, during a ti me of waning Muslim power. He invited Ahmed Shah Abdalli (Durrani) to attack Ind ia and quell the rising power of Marathas. He opposed the divisions and deviatio ns within Islam and its practice in India and hoped to "purify" the religion and unify all Indian Muslims under his "banner of truth". He is also thought to hav e anticipated a number of progressive social, economic, and political ideas of t he modern era such as social reform, equal rights, labour protection, welfare en titlement of all to food, clothing and housing. Religious tolerance was one of t he ideas of the modern era that he promoted. Lineage & Early Life Shah Waliullah was a descendent of the Quraish tribe of Arabia and his genealogy can be traced to the second khalifa of Islam, Umar on his paternal side. His fa ther, Shah Abdur Rahim, named his son 'Qutbuddin Ahmad'. He was dubbed as 'Shah Waliullah' because waliullah means "friend of God" and he was a pious individual . He was from the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah and was an adherent of Hanafi jurispru dence. His complete name was Shah Waliullah Qutbuddin Ahmad and he was born in P hulat, a town in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India on February 21, 1703. Education Shah Waliullah received his education at Madrasa Rahimiyya. His father was his t eacher and source of spiritual guidance.He was a man of letters. He commenced hi s studies at the age of five and completed the recitation and memorization of th e Qur'an by the age of seven. Thereafter, he commenced primary lessons in Persia n and Arabic, which were completed in a year. Then, he studied the grammar and s yntax of Persian and Arabic. He completed his studies in philosophy and theology at the age of fifteen and then commenced his studies in mantiq, fiqh, hadith, t ibb, algebra, mathematics, kalaam, spirituality, mysticism, oratory and metaphys ics under his father. Thereafter, he was inducted into the tradition of bay'at b y his father and, by the age of seventeen, he was permitted to provide spiritual guidance to and reform his fellow Muslims. On the death of his father when he was hardly seventeen years old, he became a m udarris (teacher) at Madrasa Rahimiyya. He held this position for twelve years. Then, in 1731, Shah Waliullah performed Hajj. He reached Makkah on May 21 and pe rformed Hajj, after which he proceeded to Medina. There, he attended Shaikh Abu Tahir Muhammad bin Ibrahim Kurdi Madani's discourses on hadith. Shah Waliullah s tudied Sihah Sitta, Mu'atta Imam Malik, Masnad Da'armi, and Imam Muhammad's Al A 'saar under him. Thereafter, he returned to Makkah, performed another Hajj, stud ied Al-Muwatta Imam Malik for a second time under Shaikh Wafadullah Maliki Makki , and attended the discourses of Shaikh Tajuddin Hanafi Qala'i Makki on Sihah Si tta. Then, he was permitted to teach all of the kitabs of hadith by Shaikh Tajud din. Thereafter, Shah Waliullah returned to India. His journey back to India lasted s ix months and he reached Delhi on January 1, 1733. Achievements and Services After he had performed second hajj, he returned to Delhi, he started his work in earnest. This was in a period when Muslims in India were passing through the mo st critical phase of their history and their entire social, political, economic and spiritual fabric was torn to pieces. On his arrival in Delhi, he started to train his pupils in diverse branches of Islam and entrusted them with the missio n of enlightening people with the true nature of Islam. He embarked upon the tas k of authoring standard works on Islam and was able to complete a number of work s on Islam. Shah Waliullah rose to be an eminent scholar of Islamic studies. He was a promin

ent intellectual figure whose mission was to reform the Muslims he saw as misgui ded. His activities were not confined to spiritual and intellectual spheres only . He lived in troubled times and witnessed a number of rulers occupying the thro ne of Delhi. With his keen political insight, he observed the deterioration of M uslim rule in India and wrote to a number of political dignitaries to attempt to bolster the political life of Muslims in India. He established several branches of Madrasa Rahimiyya in Delhi in order to effectively disseminate his knowledge . Literary career Shah Waliullah was a prolific writer as well. In the realm of Islam, he produced a number of memorable literary works and, within a period of thirty years, he w rote a total of fifty-one works of merit, twenty-eight in Arabic and twenty-thre e in Persian. Some of these are still unsurpassed in the domain of Islamic liter ature. His most valuable service to Islam was that he codified the vast store of Islam under separate heads. Both in thought and prediction, his works occupy an outstanding position. His works can be classified into six categories. The first deals with the Qur'an . It includes his translation of the Qur'an into Persian. According to him, the object of studying the Qur'an is to reform human nature and correct wrong belief s and injurious actions. The second category deals with hadith, in which he has left behind several works such as commentaries on Al-Muwatta Imam Malik in both Arabic and Persian. Shah Waliullah also wrote a number of works and pamphlets on hadith. The third category deals with fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, which incl udes lnsaaf fi Bayaan-e-Sahoobul Ikhtilaf, a brief yet informative history of Is lamic jurisprudence over the five centuries before his life. The fourth category deals with mysticism. The fifth category pertains to his works on Muslim philos ophy and kalaam. He also wrote a pamphlet on the principles of ijtihad (independ ent interpretation) and taqlid (conformity). In his principles of ijtihad, he cl arifies whether it is obligatory for a Muslim to adhere to one of the four schoo ls of Islamic jurisprudence or whether he can exercise his own judgment. Shah Wa liullah's greatest work is Hujjatullahil Baligha, which deals with such aspects of Islam that are common among all of the Muslim countries. The sixth category d eals with his works on the problems between Shias and Sunnis. His theories perta ining to economics and socialism are of revolutionary nature. The miserable cond ition of Indian Muslims inspired him to improve their character, raise their mor ale, and inculcate a feeling of selflessness and love for their fellows in them. He overhauled the educational system and separated faith from unlawful invented traditions and unnecessary and unwanted suspicions regarding Islam. He presente d what he considered pure and pristine Islam to people.(1976) Literary works The biographers of Shah Waliullah state that the number of his published literar y works are above fifty. Shah Waliullah was a prolific writer who wrote extensiv ely on several Islamic topics. His literary masterpieces are as follows: 1. Fathur Rahman fi Tarjumatul Qur an: A translation of the Qur'an into Persian. A c ollection of 40 ahadith which are brief yet of inclusive character. Al Irshad ila Muhim 2. Al Faudhul Kabir fi Usoolut Tafsir: A booklet in Persian that follows his Per sian translation of the Qur'an. It contains the nucleus of the Qur'an, the rules of interpretation, and interpretations of the Qur'an by various eminent scholar s. 3. Hujjatullahil Baligha: Shah Waliullah's greatest literary work. Its title is derived from the Qur'an (Suratul An'aam:149). It is a two-volume Arabic manuscri pt and elaborates about the jurisprudence from the hadith and necessities of the

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A partial list of the rest of his works is as follows: Arba'een (Arabic): matul Ilmul Isnad (Arabic): This work is about the schola rs of Hijaz who taught Shah Waliullah. Izalatul Khafa'an Khilafatul Khulafa (Persian):The book is in persian and ha s been translated in Urdu as well.It endeavors to prove the soundness of the Isl amic governance of the Khulfa-e- Rashideen (First four Islamic Caliphs) and also illuminates the salient features of an Islamic state. At Tayyabul Naghm fi Madh-e-Sayyidul Arab wal Ajam (Arabic): A collection of odes eulogizing Muhammad, which display Shah Waliullah's poetic talent and love towards Muhammad. Altaaful Quds (Persian): This work deals with esoteric principles of mystici sm. Al Imdad fi Ma'athirul Ajdaad (Persian): A brochure outlining Shah Waliullah s g enealogical table and containing brief notices about some of his ancestors. Al Intibah fi Salaasil ul Auliaullah (Persian): A book which details the his tory of and a brief introduction to various mystic orders. Insanul 'Ain fi Mashaaikhul Haramayn (Persian) Al Insaf fi Bayaanul Asbabul Ikhtilaf (Arabic). This book discusses the sect arianism in Islam. It condemns the sectarian strife in islamic societies and sup ports a moderate approach in dealing with sectarian issues. Bawaariqul Wilaaya (Persian): This tract forms part of the Anfaasul Arifeen, in which Shah Waliullah has described the life and spiritual attainments of his father, Shah Abdur Rahim. Tawillul Ahadith (Arabic): It recount the stories of different prophets ment ioned in the Qur'an in order to draw out lessons and rules of Shari'a from the Q ur'anic description. Tuhfatul Mu'ahhidin: This is a Persian tract explaining the creed of tauhid. Taraajimul Abwaabul Bukhari (Arabic): It expounds the principles which would be found helpful in understanding certain difficult portions of Sahih al-Bukhar i. Al Juz ul Latif fi Tarjumata ul Abdul Dha'if (Persian) Husnul Aqidah (Arabic): The fundamental creed of Islam, as accepted by the A hlus Sunnah wal Jam'aat sect, has been expounded in this work according to the Q ur'an and hadith. Al Khair ul Kathir (Arabic): This work on the philosophy of religion elucida tes the concept of ma'arifah and the wisdom of divine names, revelation, etc. Ad Duroos Thama'in fi Mubashshiratul Nabi'ul Amin (Arabic): A collection of the glad tidings that Shah Waliullah and his ancestors received from Muhammad. Diwanul Ashar (Arabic): A collection of the Arabic poetry of Shah Waliullah. Risala: This pamphlet was written in reply to certain mystical issues raised by Shaikh Abdullah bin Abdul Baqi. Risala Danishmandi (Persian): A valuable tract containing detailed direction s with regards to the methodology of teaching. Zahrawain: A commentary on Al-Baqara and Al-i-Imran. Sururul Mahzun (Persian): A concise Persian translation of Kitab Nurul 'Uyoo nul Aminul Ma'mun, a well-known biography of Muhammad. Sharhul Taraajimul Abwaabul Sahih ul Bukhari (Arabic): An annotation on cert ain chapters of Sahih al-Bukhari. Shifahul Quloob (Persian): A tract on mysticism. Shawaariqul Ma'arifah (Persian): This is a biography of Shah Waliullah's unc le, Shaikh Abdul Raza. Al Atiyyatus Samadiyya fi Anfaasul Muhammadiyya (Persian): A small brochure which contains a biographical sketch of Shah Waliullah's maternal grandfather, S haikh Muhammad Phulti. Iqdul Jid fi Aakhamul Ijtihad wat Tajdid (Arabic) Fathul Kabir (Arabic): A glossary of the intricate words of the Qur'an.

Fathul Wadud lil Ma'arifatul Junood (Arabic): It pertains to ethics and myst icism. Al Fadhlul Mubin fil Musalsal min Hadithul Nabi'ul Amin (Arabic) Izalatul Akhfa : An explanation of the Qur'an 'Tuhftatul Muwahidin' & al Balagh al Mubin are full text forgeries in the name o f Shah Waliyullah Dehlavi. Prof.J.N. Jalbani wrote that he had gone through this book and understood that , though this book bears some resemblance to the style of Shah Waliyullahi Dehlawi,it is a clear case of attribution. [Life of shah .p 41] http://www.amazon.com/Life-Shah-Wali-Allah-Jalbani/dp/8171513700. http://ww w.amazon.com/Muslim-Shrines-India-Character-Significance/dp/0195664272 Shah Waliullah s 4 basic principles of economics Shah Waliullah discussed the four basic principles of economics; the production of wealth, the consumption of wealth, the distribution of wealth and the exchang e of wealth. The whole nation participates in the production of wealth, so the wealth should be distributed throughout the whole nation. He established the principles for di stribution of wealth among the people as well as the value of a fair method for wealth consumption. This economic system would be successful in establishing the principles of these four branches. 1. The first principle is that people living in specific geographic boundaries h ave the right over the resources of that area. That economic system in which all the people are equal provides that no single person or specific class can contr ol the resources unilaterally. He has narrated Hazrat Abu Bakkar Siddique in Aiz aalatul Khifa Equality is better in economics than giving priority to one group ove r another. 2. The second principle is that every individual should have the right to limite d personal property ownership since the abilities of every individual is differe nt. Not that the whole nation should have same clothing, food and houses. 3. The third principle is that any practice which concentrates wealth in certain hands will not be tolerated and the system will oppose it. 4. The fourth principle is that such a balance should be maintained so that soci ety may develop as a whole. Shah Waliullah proposed the creation of a party on such principles which would e nd the outmoded system and would build a new system which ensures the developmen t of society as a whole. Family Shah Waliullah had a son and 5 daughters from his first wife. His second wife bo re him four sons: Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddis Dehlvi, Shah Rafiuddin, Shah Abdul Qa dir, and Shah Abdul Ghani. Death On August 20, 1762, Shah Waliullah died and was buried in the graveyard of Munha dian, beside his father.