CHAPTER VI

SHEIKH AHMAD SIRHINDI : IMPACT

he influence of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi on the

T subsequent religious and political scenerio o f Indian

sub-continent has been too great. “The mission o f the M ujaddid which

filled a large space in the religious and political history o f the Muslim

community o f the seventeenth century, was undoubtedly a success”. 1 In

his efforts he was successful in neutralizing the work o f Akbar and

affecting a change in the mentality o f his successors tow ards the Orthodox

Islam. He also effected a change in the outlook o f Muslim Nobility and

upper classes in general. His thought put an impact on the every section o f

Muslim society whether a sufi or a theologian, the ruler or the ruled. And

it seems no exaggeration on part o f Mulana Azad who holds only

Mujaddid responsible for the reform ation and revival o f Islam during the

1Yasin, op. cit., p. 145

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Mughal period.1 “The father o f the Religio-Political Reform M ovement o f

Orthodox Islam in India”,2 not only influenced his contem poraries but also

the future generations. The chapter will trace the impact o f Sirhindi’s

thought on his contem poraries and posterity, under various sub-headings.

I. IMPACT OF SIRHINDI ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUFISM

(a) Back to Mohammad

Sirhindi’s call was really the call “Back to Muhammad” .

Besides his conception o f Tawhid, his re-emphasis on the Prophethood o f

Muhammad(s) affected the Islamic mind to a great extent and gave a new

turn to sufism.

In sufism, an awakening started to purify it from the

extraneous elements and draw it exclusively from that pure and perennial

fountain-head from which it had arisen, i.e., directly from the Prophet

Muhammad(s). Accordingly, it happened that Khawaja Mir N asir,3 who

belonged to Sirhindi’s school o f sufism, got into a trance, which lasted for

a week. Then Imam Hasan, thd* grandson o f Prophet, him self appeared to

him in his cell and initiated him into a new mystic method, insisting that

the method shall be called after the Prophet, “Muhammadi”, because that

was the genuine method o f Prophet o f Allah.* ‘Abdul Bari Aasi in his

1 Maulana Adul Kalam Azad, Tazkira, Delhi, p. 264.

2 Yasin, op. cit., p. 145.
3 Khawaja Mir Nasir (1697-1759) was a lineal descendent of the celebrated
Kwaja Bahaddin, the founder of Naqashbandiya Order.
4 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 32.

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D iwan-i-Khawaja M ir D ard observes that it was soon after this visionary

contemplative event sometime in the 30’s o f the eighteenth century that

the Tariqa al-M uhammadya (a branch o f Naqashbandya) was born.1

The tariqa gave supreme importance to the person o f

Hadhrat Muhammad(s) and stressed “the concept o f the reality o f

Muhammad, not only as the historical man but the essence or eternal spirit

(underlying all creation), the highest and final revelation o f G od’s

W ord” .2 For sufis Hadrat Muhammad(s) was also the first sufi m aster o f

the Path. D edication to the Prophet in a personal way, therefore, was a

prelude to spiritual initiation into the mystries and mystical experience,

which could be attained only through his grace and benefactions.

Concentration on his image and contem plation o f his attributes and virtues

became a cardinal sufi exercise known as Tawajjuh. Since it was not

possible for the novice to concentrate on the absent image o f the Prophet,

the practice o f Tawajjuh3 to which the Muhammaddiyas gave even greater

im portance than to Dhikr, became necessary.

1 Akhtar Qamber, ‘Fundamentalism or a Return to Fundamentals?’ Islam and the

Modern Age, Vol. XX, No. 2, May 1989, pp. 151-167.
2 Majid Fakhry, A History o f Islamic Philosophy, p. 253.
3 Tawajjuh means facing or confronting something. It had its origin in the
worshipper facing the Qiblah, the central sanctuary or temple of the Ka’ba in
Mekka; elsewhere the Mihrab, the nitch in the wall of a mosque, which points
in the direction of the Qiblah. Facing the Qiblah with concentration and
reverence, it was believed, induced spiritual awareness and sharpened the
mystical sense. In the course of time, there grew a sufi tradition that the
Qiblah could be represented by sufi Murshid (Spiritual master). Some sufi
manuals instruct the salik to make thy Sheikh thy Qiblah, in order to give
concrete, visible form to something abstract and distant and to expel
distractions during meditation.
4 Qamber, op. cit. p. 164.

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 Khawahja Mir Dard (1721-1785), son o f Khawaja Mir Nasir,

was the first to embrace the Tariqah al-M uhammadiya initiated by his

father. Mir Dard also laid great stress on the doctrine o f Tawajjuh. He

had the experience o f having had his own revered father as his sufi teacher

whose beauty reflected his perfection (Bari) and whose close

companionship Mir had enjoyed and valued better than that o f books.1

Close relationship between the Sheikh and the m urid was “regarded in the

Naqashbandi tradition as one o f the most important disciplines o f the

mystical life.”2

During moments o f intense intimacy with his sufi guide and

concentration o f his form and attributes, the m urid is able to identify

him self with and be annihilated in the Sheikh? This stage is called Fana

f i l Sheikh.4 It is followed by the concentration o f the image, the attributes

and virtues o f the Prophet in an experience called Fana f i l Rasul

(annihilation in and union with the Prophet). I f the salik persists, in the

final stage he could experience Fana fi-A lla h (annihilation in and union

with the Divine) and might have direct insight into al-H aqq.5 Hence the

theory that the Sheikh represents the Prophet and the Prophet represents

Allah. From this high point o f spiritual exaltation would begin the descent

to a state known as Baqa Billah, an abiding in Allah. Baqa Billah was

1 Annemarie Schimmel, Pain and Grace, p. 78.

2 Ibid., p. 39.
3 Qamber, op. cit. p. 164.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.

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possible while still living and participating in worldly duties and concerns

known as Baqa b i'lla h dar Anjuman. This was the conveted mystical ideal

o f the Naqashbandiyas’, particularly that o f al-M uham m adiyas’. 1

The new m ethod-tariqa al-M uhammadiya, which Mir Nasir

and Mir Dard believed to have been a work o f inspiration, was developed

when both the father and the son wrote voluminous books on it. The crux

o f the method was, “break away from every one and attend only to your

m aster (Muhammad)” .2 They believed that due to ignoring o f this

principle divisions have been created among the Muslims. Thus the right

course to the “Muhammadis” was, go back to Kitab-o-Sunnah and follow

the Prophet exclusively.

(b) Foundation of the Mujaddidya Order

Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi laid foundation o f a new order,

know n after him as Silsilah M ujaddidya, a sub-division of the

Naqashbandiya order.3 According to Sheikh Muhammad Ikram, the

propagation o f the order was a significant service that Sirhindi rendered

tow ards Islam in India, as it, was more close to the Shari‘ah among the
various O rders in the country.4 Upon the beginning o f the tw entieth
century, Islam in India was over-shadowed by sufi-mode o f thinking to the

extent that no one thought o f serving Islam w ithout the intermediary o f a

1 Ibid.
2 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 33.
3 Yasin, op. cit., p. 132.
4 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 285.

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sufi o rd er.1 Thus there was a need o f a silsilah, which would emphasize

the obedience o f the shari‘ah as the first pre-requisite, and the Mujaddidya
order filled the need.2 The salient features o f the order, according to the
author o f Jawahir-i-M ujaddidya are: over-emphasis on the obedience o f

Sunnat-i-Suniyya and restraint from the innovations (b id ‘at); due respect

to the Sunnah o f the Companions; the Chilla (Forty day seclusion), loud

remembrance o f God (Zikr bil Jahr), Sama’ (sufi music), decoration o f the

tombs, the female gatherings, tawhid-i-wujudi and the philosophy o f hama

‘Ust, all are prohibited.3 Also, the order not only laid down the importance
o f the shari‘ah but also emphasized the superiority o f the shari‘ah over

tariqa. Sirhindi used to say, hal 4 is subservient to the shariah and vice-

versa.5 The Companions o f the Prophet(s) were regarded superior to all

saints. After the death o f Sirhindi, the order developed under his disciples.

(c) Impact on the Naqashbandiya Silsilah

Sirhindi introduced some eccentric concepts o f his own

choosing— innovations rather than orthodoxy— for instance, the concept
o f Quyyumhood. Investing him self with the title o f Quyyum he expounded

“his theories on Prophethood, Sainthood and Quyyumiyathood” .6

According to Sirhindi, a Quyyum was the highest representative o f Allah

1Ibid.
2 Ibid.
3 Ahmad Husain Khan, Jawahir-i-Mujaddidya, Lahore, p.24.
4 Literally state of mind or will. In Sufism, a passing feeling experience such as
elation, suppression, hope, fear etc., contrasted to more durable or permanent
states such as patience, gratitude, love and trust, which are called maqam.
5 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 286.
6 Anne Marie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions o f Islam, North Carolina, 1975,
pp. 363-364.

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on earth, higher even than the Qutb who is placed highest in the

traditional mystical hierarchy. He based the idea o f Quyyum on the

following verse o f the Q ur‘an, “We did indeed offer the Trust to Heavens
and the Earth and M ountains, but they refused to be undertake it, being

afraid, but man undertook it; he was indeed unjust and foolish".' The
“trust” in the above verse has been interpreted by Sirhindi, “as being the
Quyyumiyat o f every object which the Almighty awarded to the “Perfect

Man” .2 “He (Qayyum) is that exalted person on whom the whole order o f
existence depends. All the angels, spirits, and human beings and every
other object look tow ards him for assistance. He is intermediary between

man and the Almighty o f all spiritual and mundane benefits. The ‘A r if on

whom the dignity o f a Quyyum is bestowed, acts like a minister to a king;

and the business o f created beings is conducted through him. Though

favours are received from the king, the wazirs are the intermediaries.
Though this distinguished office is essentially meant for eminent
prophets, it can be bestow ed by the Almighty upon any dignitary, whom

He desires, by way o f inheritance.”3

Sirhindi made similar claims for his son M a’sum and his

descendents to come. In a 'le tte r that he w rote from Ajmer to his son

M a’sum, he informed him that the robe, which he had been wearing, had

been exchanged for another one. The robe, which he previously wore, was

conferred upon him (M a’sum). The Khilat which was taken from him

(Sirhindi) belonged to the affairs o f the Quyyumiyat. It was associated

1 Al-Qur‘an, Chapter al-Ahzab, verse, 72.

2 Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. II, Letter No. 74.
3 / bid.

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with training and perfection and formed a link between him and all that

existed in the universe.1 Khawaja Muhammad M a’sum has also given a

vivid account o f the transfer o f the Quyyumiyat to him by his father in his

lifetime.2 Elucidating the term Quyyum, M a‘sum says, “Quyyum is the

K alifa o f the Almighty in this world and His deputy. Aqtab and Abdal are

included in the circle o f his Zilal (adumberation, effect)3.

After the death o f Muhammad M a’sum, in 1668, his son

Khawaja Naqashband, known as Hujjatullah, assumed the title o f third

Quyyum .4 The third Quyyum died in 1702, and was succeeded by

Muhammad Zubair, as the fourth Quyyum . 5 It may be mentioned here that,

it was in Sirhindi’s time that the Naqashbandi line o f esoteric succession

was established in the family and became a hereditary principle somewhat

alien to the Arab as also to the sufi esoteric basis o f succession.6

The idea o f Quyyumhood, as propounded by Sirhiindi, has

come under severe criticism. Some support and others oppose it. Maulana

Zaid Abul Hasan Faruqi defends it by saying that, the Quyyumiyat is a

superior stage o f Wilayat. It* is a particular period o f time that gives rise

to Aqtab, Ghauth, etc., and similarly the Quyyumhood appeared with the

1Ibid., Vol. Ill, Letter No. 104.

2 His father comforted with the prophecy, “As long as I am alive, your existence will
depend on me while the existence of others will depend upon you”.
3 Khawaja Muhammad Ma’sum, Maktubat-i-khawaja Muhammad M a’sum,
(Kanpur edition), Letter No. No. 86.
4 Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movements in Northern India, p. 402.
5 Ibid, p. 406
6 Qamber, op. cit. p. 161.

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appearance o f Sirhindi, on the scene.1 Some scholars have tried to see the

advancement o f Quyym iyathood by Sirhindi, to counter the Imamathood

concept o f the Shi‘as and to give psychological boost to the Sunni cause

in India.2 Sheikh Muhammad Ikram3, Aziz Ahmad4, and ‘Uruj Qadri5

criticize it as a heretic idea.

It is however, to be remembered that the claims o f Sirhindi

and his successors are founded on mystic intuition and revelation, as such

they cannot be subjected to the test o f cold logic and reason, as points out

Ghulam M ustafa Khan, the translator o f many a writings o f Sirhindi.

However, the claims o f Sirhindi, may best be judged in the light o f his

own writings, as he him self criticized the mystic revelations and intuitions

o f others and found some o f them to have originated from a morbid state

o f mind, and that every claim and any claim, should pass the test o f the

Q ur‘an and the Sunnah.6

Under the guidance and leadership o f Sirhindi, Naqashbandi

tariqa not only spread to the different regions o f India but also outside it.

He sent his trained disciples to the important cities o f India such as

Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Saharanpur, Badayun, Jawnpur, Allahbad, Patna,

M anglakot (Bengal), Burhanpur (Deccan), with the result the practices o f

1 Quoted by Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 300.

2 Qamber, op. cit., p. 161.
3 See, Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, pp. 292-304.
4 See Aziz Ahmad, Hind Wa Pak Mein Islami Culture, Delhi, 1991, p. 282.
5 See Sayyid Ahmad ‘Uruj Qadri, Tasawwuf aur Ahl-i-Tasawwuf, Delhi, 1994,
pp. 318 and 325
6 Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. I, Letter No. 207 and 221.

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the silsilah got hold o f the cities.1 The popularity o f the silsilah can be

ascertained by a remark o f Jehangir, (1014/1606-1037/1627) which he

w rote sixteen years after Sirhindi had started his work: ‘The disciples o f

the Shaykh have spread all over the cities and the towns o f India’.2 The

silsilah also spread outside India, to the countries like, Afghanistan and

Turkistan, the lands o f the first Naqashbandi saints, and to Tabristan and

Iran. Sirhindi sent his deputies (Khulfa ’) to Shadman (Ispahan), Husayn

Addal (Kabul), Kisham (Badakhshan), Berk (near Qandhar) and Taliqan.3

(d) Impact on Sayyid Ahmad Barailwi

Shah Sayyid Ahmad Barailwi (1201-1246AH) was a

prom inent mystic who was highly influenced by the sufi thought o f

Sirhindi. From his early childhood he was mystically minded and felt in

him self a strong propensity to follow only the Prophet(s). Earlier he was a

disciple o f Shah ‘Abdul ‘Aziz but broke away front him on the practice o f

Tasawwur-i-Sheikh (picturing the spiritual guide in imagination), which

he regarded as idolatry.4 He perused his spiritual development on his own

and his reputation spread far, and wide. Moulvi ‘Abdul Hayy and Shah

Ism a‘il, the two eminent relations o f Shah ‘Abdul ‘Aziz also joined him.5

His following increased in thousands and was hailed everywhere as the

1Ansari, op. cit., p. 16.

2 Jehangir, op. cit., pp. 272-273.
3 Ansari, op. cit., p. 17.
4 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 34.
5 Ibid.

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true Khalifa. He was martyred in 1246 AH at Balakot in a holy war

against Sikhs o f the Punjab.1

Sayyid Barailwi followed the school o f Sirhindi. The Sayyid

believed that he had a special affinity to the Prophet(s) and that he got

spiritual guidance directly from him. He accordingly found a new tariqah

and called it Tariqa-i~Nabuwat.2 The other methods, according to him, are

based on Tariq-i-w ilayat.3 The salient feature o f the new tariqa was that

the mystic should first make all his actions in conformity with the Sunnah

of the Prophet, and only then dhikr (remembrance) and fik r

(contem plation) should be taken.4 The dhikr according to the tariqa is the

recitation o f the Q ur‘an, and reciting the prayers, which the Prophet used

to recite. While the fik r consists in contemplation on the Goodness and

Grace o f God, and in making our will wholly subordinate to His will, and

in realizing His omnipresence at every moment, etc.5

The Sayyid, like Sirhindi, denies pantheism and believes in

theism. Sahw (sobriety) is superior to sukr (spiritual intoxication). He

preaches jih a d in place o f sajna‘ (music hearing for the sake o f ecstasy),

and demands social service in place o f solitude.6 He punctiliously follows

1Ibid., p. 35.
2 That method of spiritual development, which aims at developing only those
values, which the holy Prophet aimed at, is called Tariqa-i-Nabuwat.
3 The method of mystical development, used by mystics of Islam, and aimed at
cultivating mystical mode of life.
4 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 36.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid., p. 37.

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Kitab-o-Sunnat and strenuously and emphatically denounces b id ’at

(innovations).1

(e) The Sufi Way and the Prophetic Way

The substantial difference, that Sirhindi emphasized between

sufi way and prophetic way,2 was well received in the sufi circles, and

affected the subsequent development o f sufism. A need was felt to reform

sufism, and to bring it more close to the shari‘ah.

Shah Wali-Ullah (1702-1762) on his day, also emphasized

the difference between the sufi and the prophetic way. In his famous

work, H ujjat Allah al-Balighah, he writes, ‘there are two ways to attain

happiness (S a ’adah). One is the way o f theistic philosophers (al-

muta 'allihun min al-hukam a ‘) and God-intoxicated sufis (majdhub min al-

sufiyah); and other is the way for which the prophets are sent’.3 In his

other writings he describes the difference (between saintly way and the

prophetic way) more clearly. He writes, ‘during the time o f Prophet and

his Companions, even many generations later, people were primarily

concerned with the commari*ds o f the S h a r ’; other things i.e., feelings and

sentiments, were associated with the carrying out o f those commands.

Their ihsan was prayer {Salat), fasting, dhikr, reading the Q ur‘an, Hajj,

charity and jih a d .4 None o f them ever spent an hour in meditation

1Ibid., p. 38.
2 Supra, pp.
3 Shah Wali-Ullah, Hujjat-Ullah-i al-Balighah, Cairo, Vol. I, pp. 109-110.
4 Shah Wali-Ullah, Hama’at, (Urdu tr., Muhammad Sarwar), Delhi, 1969, p. 30.

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(tafakkur), or thought o f a pure presence o f God isolated from dhikr and

other things, or tried to attain it. The best o f them got pleasure in

communion (munajat) with God, in Salat, and in dhikr, in recitation o f the

Q ur‘an. None o f them emitted a cry, went into ecstacy, behaved

abnormally or uttered shath. The conviction (yaqin) which they had was

the living consciousness o f things in which they had faith.1

Shah Ism a’il2 in his works also substantiates and elaborates

further, the difference (between sufi way and prophetic) held by Sirhindi

and Shah Wali-Ullah. In his work Sir at al-M ustaqim, he begins with a

penetrating analysis o f love, and shows how this central concept means

one thing in the prophetic way and another in the sufi way. He says that

the sufi love is a passionate love (h u b b -i-‘ishqi). It is born o f a realization

on the part o f the sufi that his spirit is a Divine spirit (ruh-i-Ilahi), that it

is imprisoned in a material body, and that he would not be happy unless he

frees it from the prison and attains union with God. With this realization

the sufi declares war against the body and tries to rescue his spirit.3

On the other hand, the love which the shari‘ah speaks o f is a

‘rational love’ (h u b b -i-‘aqli). It is born o f a sense o f gratitude o f God for

1Ibid., p. 31.
2 His complete name was Shah Muhammad Isma’il. The grandson of Shah Wali-
Ullah, was born in 1189/ 1779 and died in 1246 / 1830. He studied Islamic
science with his two uncles, Shah ‘Abdul ‘Aziz and Shah Rafi al-Din and
completed his suluk under direction of Sayyid Ahmad Baraillwe, with whom
he tried to resist Sikh power in north India and restore Muslim dominance.
Shah Isma’il and his shaykh tried to purify sufism and bring it closer to the
Qur‘an and the Sunnah.
3 Shah Isma’il, Sirat-i-Mustaqim, Meerut, p. 10.

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His bounties, and o f a sense o f greatness, perfection, and majesty o f God,

on the one hand, and o f m an’s absolute dependence on His and his own

nothingness, on the other. These are according to the Q ur‘an, the twin

sources o f faith, and on this ground Shah Ism a’il calls the prophetic love

‘the love o f faith’ (hubb-i-imarti).'

According to Shah Ism a’il, the tw o— passionate love and

love o f faith, also differ in factors which strengthen them (m u'ayyidat)

and the effects and results which follow from them (thamarat). While as

the passionate love is prom oted by cutting down the needs o f the body-

food, drink, sleep etc., and by speaking little and by reducing contact with

people, the ‘love o f faith’ can be prom oted by obeying the shari‘ah, by

following the Sunnah, and honestly observe the rules o f the Q ur‘an and

the Hadith regarding external behaviour and internal life.2

The passionate love leads to the union with God. The

traveller o f this path loses his individuality and is assimilated in God, just

as a piece o f iron put in a fire becomes red like fire. The end o f ‘love o f

faith’, on the other hand, is jio t union, illumination or the vision o f One

Being. God bestows upon the lover o f faith quite different honours. He

reveals in his heart the truth o f religion, makes him its witness, and raise

him as its preacher and defender. He bestow s on him real conviction

(im an-i-haqiqi), and elevates him to the position o f His own deputy

(K halifat-Allah) and helps him to establish the shari‘ah.3

1Ibid., pp. 15-18.

2 Ibid., p. 24.
3 Ibid., pp. 43-45.

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 Thus, the candid distinction, that Sirhindi made, between

sufi way and the prophetic way disseminated to the subsequent

generations and affected the later development in sufism. Hitherto sufism

had nurtured trends leading to heterodoxy but as the result o f his writings,

it turned more and more in the direction o f orthodoxy.1 Making tasaw w uf

subservient to the obedience o f the Q ur‘an and Sunnah, Maulana Rashid

Ahmad Gangohi, writes “the essence o f tasaw w uf is to surrender one’s

will to the will o f God, adorn oneself in His commands, be forgetful o f

things other than God (ma-siwa-Allah), and to live according to the

sayings o f the Prophet (H adith).”2 Another im portant sufi-thinker,

M aulana A shraf ‘Ali Thanwi stresses the same point. Disapproving o f the

alien practices related with tasaw w uf and emphacising the imperativeness

o f the obedience o f the shari‘ah to the latter, Maulana Thanwi writes,

“tasaw w uf has nothing to do with intuition and miracles {kashf-o-

karamat), or with s h a fa ’at (mediation on behalf o f others) on the day o f

judgem ent. It is neither a means for solving worldly problems— healing o f

diseases, grow th o f means o f livelihood etc., nor for making predictions.

It is also not meant to cultivate an internal (batni) state o f senselessness,

where one becomes forgetful o f oneself and others. But the real objective

o f tariqat is to please God by means o f total obedience to the shari‘ah.”3

The trend to reform sufism and to bring it more close to the shari‘ah, is a

substantial impact o f sufi thought o f Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi. Connected

1Qureshi, ‘Ulama in Politics, p. 97.

2 Dr. Majid A. Khan, ‘Tasawwuf ke Haqiqat’, Al-Furqan, April 1978, pp. 23-28.
3 Ibid.

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with this is the re-establishment o f the stance by Sirhindi that it is Din,

which is indispensable thing for a Muslim and not m ysticism.1

(f) Impact of Wahdat al-Shuhud Philosophy

At the advent o f Sirhindi, the philosophy o f wahdat al-w ujud

was a dominant theme in mysticism. The philosophy o f Ibn aI-‘Arabi had

been accepted without much reservation and “it influenced the whole o f

the Islamic society from top to bottom. It affected its normal attitude, it

affected its deeds, it affected its aesthetic consciousness, it affected its

literature and poetry and it affected its philosophy and outlook.”2 But,

Sirhindi with expertise in both religious learning and mysticism, not only

put wahdat al-w ujud to severe criticism but also advanced a conception

opposed to it. He insisted that his conception (o f wahdat al-shuhud) was

the genuine Islamic conception and was derived from the Revelation o f

the Prophet. He emphasized that the sufi way is different from the

prophetic way. It gave a new turn to Islamic mysticism. “This was a

revolution, and his ideas spread far and w ide.”3 The thought o f Sirhindi,

particularly in the field o f Islamic mysticism, was bound to had its impact

and it agitated the greatest minds o f the day as well as the coming

generations. The advancement o f wahdat al-shuhud and trenchant scrutiny

o f wahdat al-wujud, generated a discussion and debate about the latter

among the divines and mystics, some substantiating Sirhindi’s view and

1 Sirhindi, op. cit., Vol. I, Letter No. 48.

2 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 141.
* Ibid., p. 143.

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others opposing it. The first important personage who took up the issue,

was none other than Shah Wali-Ullah, a divine o f very great eminence and

a mystic o f Naqashbandiya school.

Shah Wali-UIlah’s approach tow ards wahdat al-w ujud and

wuhdat al-shuhud was that o f synthesis and reconciliation. He believes

that there is no substantial difference between the ideas o f Ibn al-’Arabi

and Sirhindi. They both really mean the same thing and their differences

are in reality only verbal. He penned down his view in a small treatise-

Faislat W ahdat-al-W ujud wa al-Shuhud (Decision on the case o f Unitysm

and Apparentism). According to him, to say that the essence o f the

contingent beings are the names and attributes (asm a'-o-sifat) o f the

necessary being differentiated in the conceptual stage, as Ibn al-‘Arabi

holds, or to say that the contingent beings are the names and attributes o f

the necessary being reflected in their opposite non-beings (a'dam -i-

m utaqabila), as Sirhindi maintains, is practically the same thing.1 The

difference, if any is insignificant. By wahdat al-shuhud all that is intended

is to throw emphasis on the perfection o f the necessary and the

im perfection and insignificance o f the contingent being. Ibn aI-‘Arabi too

holds that the contingant is insignificant and all perfection belongs to the

necessary being.2 Thus contends Shah Wali-Ullah that, if we leave simile

and m etaphor aside, the two doctrines are essentially the same,3 and the

1 Shah Wali-Ullah, Faislat Wahdat al-Wujud wa al-Shuhud, Delhi, p. 26.

2 Ibid., p. 7.
3 Ibid.

203
controversy o f wahdat al-wujud and wahdat al-shuhud is only verbal

rather than a real o n e.1

The followers o f Sirhindi, however, did not accepted the

reconciliatory approach o f Shah Wali-Ullah, for instance, Khawaja Mir Nasir

‘Andalib. According to Khawaja Mir Nasir, objectively wahadat al-wujud is

absolutely invalid; it is not the truth about reality. Objectively wahdat-al-

shuhud alone is valid. But speaking subjectively, i.e. in their bearing on the

Satik, mystic and his spiritual growth, both the doctrines are directed to the

same end, viz., to dissociate him from things other than Allah (ma-siwa-

Allah).2 Kawaja Mir Dard, the son o f Kawaja Mir Nasir, also holds that

objectively wahdat al-wujud is false, but subjectively wahadat al-wujud and

wahdat al-shuhud both bring about the same result, viz., liberation o f the

qalb or soul from the bondage o f things other than Allah. Hence if a mystic

realizes either o f the two states, or both o f them, that makes no difference.3

In fact both are the development o f later times and neither o f these doctrines

descend from the Prophet.4 However, the doctrine o f wahadat al-shuhud

primarily abides by the Qur‘an and Hadith and only secondarily by reason,

while as in case o f wahdat al-wujud it is vice-versa.5

A direct reaction to Wali-UIIah’s effort, to show that

Sirhindi’s philosophy is essentially the same as that o f Ibn al-‘Arabi, came

1Ibid., p. 29.
2 Kawaja Mir Nasir, N ala‘-i-'Andalib, quoted by Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 150.
3 Kawaja Mir Dard, ‘//w al-Kitab, quoted by Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 154.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.

204
from Shah Gulam ‘Ali Yahya (d. 1190/ 1776), a disciple o f M irza Mazhar

Jani-Janan (d. 1195/ 1780), the chief leader o f the Mujaddidis o f his time.

A scholar o f great eminence, Gulam Yahya expressed his views in his

treatise, Kalim at al-Haqq (The Word of Truth). Gulam Yahya

emphatically maintains that Wali-Ullah is wrong in holding that there is

no difference between the two doctrines. Indeed there can be no

reconciliation between the two doctrines.1 Expalining the difference

betw een the tw o, Gulam Yahya says that, wahdat al-w ujud is based on

complete identity o f the created and the Creator, while wahdat al-shuhud

is grounded in the absolute difference between the tw o (created and

C reator).2 According to wahdat-al-wujud, says Gulam Yahya, the essence

o f the contingent being are A ’y an-i-thabita, i.e., the determinations o f

A sm a ’-o-Sifat o f Allah.3 But, according to wahdat al-shuhud, the essence

o f contingent beings are the azlal (adumberations) which A sm a ’-o-sifat

have cast in their opposed non-beings ( ‘adam -i-mutaqabila).4 Again,

according to the wahadat al-w ujud change enters in the being o f God

itself, for it is He who modifies him self and becomes the contingent

w orld.5 But according to v/afidat al-shahud the creation o f the world

brings no change in the being o f God. Gulam Yahya, also objects to the

W ali-Ullah’s reconciliatory approach, as the latter does not ground his

1 Gulam Yahya, Kalimat al-Haqq, quoted by Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 159.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid, pp. 160-61.

205
argum ents on mystic experience (kashf)J M azhar Jan-i-Janan also

supports the viewpoint o f his disciple and wrote a Foreword to Kalimat al-

Haqq.

The Kalim at al-Haqq o f Gulam Yahya, provoked a furious

refutation when Shah Rafi al-Din (d. 1247/ 1833), younger son o f Shah

Wali-Ullah, w rote a voluminous book under the title Damagh al-B atil

(D estruction o f Untruth). Shah Rafi al-Din defends his father’s argument

that the doctrine o f wahdat al-wujud is true, in conformity with Islam, and

most o f the prominent mystics have upheld it.2 Wahdat al-shuhud on the

other hand is a new doctrine, but not altogether different from wahdat al-

wujud, as m isunderstood by Sirhindi.3 He, therefore, recommends that

wahdat al-w ujud should be accepted as the basic doctrine and wahdat al-

shuhud should be interpreted accordingly, as done by Shah Wali-Ullah.4

Shah Sayyid Ahmad Barailwi, on the basis o f direct mystic

experience {kashf-o-shuhud) also contributed to the debate (o f wahdat al-

wujud and wahdat al-shuhud). In his book Sirat al-M ustaqim, he explains

that when love dominates * the mystic, the yearning for nearness

( Taqarrub) and communion with God grows more and more intense in his

soul. This state gradually overpowers him. Sayyid Barailwi explains this

state by comparing it with a piece o f iron, which is throw n into the

furnace and fire perm eates into its very being and to such an extent that it

1Ibid.
2 Shah Rafi al-Din, Damagh al-Batil, quoted by Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 163.
3 Ibid., p. 164.
4 Ibid.,

206
acquires all the characteristics o f fire. Even its appearance becomes that

o f fire. One could affirm o f it all that could be affirmed o f fire. While in

this condition, the piece o f iron would, if it could speak, claim that it was

fire itself. However, the fact remains that it has not become fire; it is still

iron as it was before. In the same manner when love o f God takes hold o f

his being, he is completely overpowered by it.1 But, afterwards if he rises

to a higher stage, the mystic is blessed with another experience. He feels

infinite expansion. He realizes, that ‘every thing else has thereby ceased

to be’ is a mistaken notion and indeed it is absurd.2 In short, to Sayyid

Ahmad wahdat al-w ujud is subjective and not objective experience. That

is, thereby, everything does not become G od.3 Infact he opposes wahdat

al-w ujud and regards it as one o f the innovations {b id ’at) o f the

pantheistic heretics.

Shah Ism a’il Shaheed, who was a follower o f Sayyid Ahmad

Barailwe, also upholds his m aster’s view and maintains transcendental

view o f God. He described his view, in his book- ‘Abaqat.

The scrutiny o f wahdat al-wujud by Sirhindi, has attracted

the attention o f modern scholars too, and there are both adversaries and

protagonists o f it. Many contem porary scholars uphold reconciliatory

approach tow ards the two doctrines. M aulana Ubaidullah Sindhi,5 Dr. Mir

1 Shah Sayyid Ahmad Barailwi, Sirat al-Mustaqim, pp. 12, 13.

2 Ibid., p. 107.
3 Ibid., p. 12, 13
4 Ibid., p. 107.
5 Vide, Prof. Muhammad Sarwar, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, Lahore, 1923,
pp. 153-154

207
V ali-ud-D in1, Prof. Muhammad Sarwar,2 Sabah al-Din Abdul Rehman,3

and Prof. Zia al-Hasan Faruqi,4 uphold this approach (o f reconciliation).

But ‘Abdul Haq Ansari, a reputed scholar o f our times, maintains that the

doctrine o f wahdat al-shuhud o f Sirhindi, is fundamentally different from

that o f wahdat al-wujud o f Ibn al-‘Arabi.5

(g) Sirhindi’s Disciples and Their Role in the Development of His Thought

A tree is known by its fruits, as a teacher is known by his

taught, so is the case with a Sheikh and his disciple. The disciples are the

mirror o f their mentors. They reflect his (m entor’s) ability, profoundity,

the depth o f his thought, and volume o f his influential personality. It is the

endeavours o f the disciples, who as a viable tool, take forward the

message o f their m entor, and dissiminate it far and wide.

Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, as one o f his conscious endeavours,

navigated a band o f disciples, belonging to the different parts o f India. He

instructed them, supervised their progress, until they attained a level o f

perfection. Having been trained both in the fields o f the s h a r i‘ah and

tariqa, Sirhindi send his'disciples to different parts o f the country, also

1 Vide Mir Vali al-Din, “Reconciliation between Ibn al-Arabi’s Wahadat al-
Wujud and Mujaddid’s Wahadat al- Shuhud.”, Islamic Culture, XXV, 1951,
pp. 43-51.
2 Prof. M. Sarwar, ‘M u q a d im a to Urdu translation of Fuyud al-Harmain,
Lahore, 1947, pp. 20-22.
3 Sayyid Sabah al-Din ‘Abdul Rehman, Bazm-i-Sufiyah, Azamgarh, 1984,
pp. 719-720.
4 Zia al-Hasan Faruqi, Islam Mein Rasikh al-A ’tiqadi: Beech ke Rah, Delhi,
1991, p. 39.
5 Ansari, op. cit., Chapter IV, pp. 101-117.

208
outside it. They became instrumental in propagating the ideas o f Sirhindi

far and wide and consequently o f the Naqashbandi silsila too.

The number o f disciples o f Sirhindi runs in thousands,1 the

description o f whom is outside the scope o f this work. However, we will

limit our description to his sons and prominent disciples, who are not only

the embodiment o f Sirhindi’s teachings, but also played a pivotal role in

spreading the thought o f Sirhindi.

Sons of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi

It is said about Sirhindi that he produced two wonders, one, his

Maktubat, and other his sons.2 Sirhindi was blessed with seven children o f

whom three-Muhammad Farrukh, Muhammad ‘Isa, and daughter Umm-i-

Kulthum, died at tender age.3 The eldest son Khawaja Muhammad Sadiq died

at the young age o f twenty five (in 1025/1616), after completing his formal

education and fathoming the secrets o f mysticism.4 Sirhindi held him in high

esteem and once said about him, that, “this dear son o f mine is an

agglomeration o f this medicant’s mystical cognitions and a scripture o f his

stage o f devotion and attraction.”5

Khawaja Muhammad Sa’id (1005/1597-1070/1660), the

second son o f Sirhindi, was brought up in an atm osphere o f reverence for

1 For the detailed description of the disciples of Sirhindi, see Nu‘mani, op. cit.,
pp. 310-351; Nadwi, op. cit., pp. 370-371; Zawar Husain, op. cit.,
pp. 724-800; and Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., pp. 278-391.
2 Ibid.(Badr al-Din Sirhindi), p. 275; Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 331.
3 Ibid.(Badr al-Din Sirhindi),p. 275.
* Ibid., pp. 201-213.
5 Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. I, Letter No. 277.

209
Khawaja Baqi Bilah and o f discourses on mysticism. It is said that when

only ju st seventeen or eighteen he had acquired all the subtleties o f the

prevalent Ma ’qul and M anqul disciplines and began to participate actively

in religious debates.1 He had mastery over Fiqh. He has w ritten about

hundred M aktubat 2 , nine o f which are addressed to Awrangzeb. 3

Khawaja Muhammad Sa’id is said to have often visited

Shahjahan’s court. According to Badr al-Din, Shahjahan would never refer

the questions o f law in his presence to any other ‘Alim.4 He was in good

relation with Awrangzeb and the latter held him in esteem, and once a gift

o f three hundred Asharfis was awarded to him and his younger brother

Sheikh Muhammad M a’sum.5 He visited Awrangzeb in the fourth year o f

his reign (1661-62), on the latter’s request.6 According to the author o f

M irat-i-Jahan Numa, Muhammad Baqa, “the Em peror had complete faith

and perfect devotion to him. He visited him in the fourth regnal year at his

request and was accorded great honour and respect. Through his

recom m endation a large number o f needy received M adad-i-M a’ash”.1

This manifests the influence o f the Naqashbandi saints over the Mughal

rulers. Kwaja Muhammad 8 a ‘id took an active part in propagating the

mystic order o f his father, and guided seekers, after the path o f spirit.8

1 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 214.

2 They were published in Lahore, in 1966, under the title Maktubat-i-Sa’idiya
3 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 334.
4 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., pp. 214-15.
5 Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 380.
6 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 336
7 Quoted by Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 381.
8 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 215

210
 Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum (1007/1599-1079/1668-69),

the third son o f Sirhindi, and second Qayyum, lived to become the most

renowned spiritual successor o f his father.1 A profound sage and leader o f

the learned, Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum was dearly beloved son o f

Sirhindi, who educated him with great care and was greatly impressed

with his precocity. He was h afiz-i-Q ur’ran and used to teach Tafseer

Baidawi, Mishkat, H idayah and ‘A zodi to his disciples.2 It is said that he

was fully acquainted with all the subtle secrets o f divine knowledge and

gnosis which were laid down in the letters o f his father.3

Awrangzeb is said to have taken oath o f fealty to him and

was guided in the mystical discipline by his son Khawaja Saif al-Din.4

Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum refers to Awrangzeb in his letters as the

‘D efender-Prince o f Faith’.5 Awrangzeb cherished not only Khawja

M a‘sum but whole o f the Sirhindi’s progeny.6

Khawja Muhammad M a‘sum was responsible for spread and

guiding thousands o f disciples in the Mujaddidya order. The number o f

persons who took oath o f allegiance to him is stated to be nine hundred

thousand o f which seven thousand qualified as his spiritual descendents.7

1Nadwi, op. cit., p. 189.

2 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 243.
3 Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 382.
4 Ibid., p. 389.
5 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, pp. 336-337.
6Ibid., p. 337
7 Nadwi, op. cit., p. 373.

211
O f these one was Sheihk Habib-Ullah Bukhari who rose to the position o f

most revered mystic Sheikh o f his time in Khurasan and Transoxiana,

spread the light o f Sunna in Bukhara and surrounding lands and guided

thousands o f disciples in spiritual perfection.1 His another Khalifa Sheikh

Murad is said to have settled in Syria who attained great fame and

popularized silsilah Mujaddidya Naqashbandiya there.2 His Khulafa‘ are

also said to have settled in Kabul, Peshawar, and N angarhar.3 His famous

cloister o f Mujaddidya mystics at Delhi was graced by Khawaja Saif al-

Din, M irza Mazhar Jani-Janan, Shah Gulam ‘Ali and Shah Ahmad Sa’id.

It was the seminary where Maulana Khalid Rumi got the training o f

spiritual perfection at the feet o f Shah Gulam ‘Ali, and then spread its

message abroad throughout ‘Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan and Turkey.4

Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum has written a number o f letters,

which have been compiled in three volumes.5 They provide a commentary on

the Maktubat o f his father and explain intricate issues o f mystical experience.

They are valued for depth and richness in thought. The youngest son o f

Sirhindi was Sheikh Muhammad Yahya (1024/1614-1095/1685).6

1Ibid.
2 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 337.
3 Ibid.
4 Nadwi, op. cit., p. 189.
5 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 337.
6 He received both a ‘Aqli and Naqli education from his elder brother. He learnt
Mawatta from Sheikh ‘Abdul Haq Muhadith. (Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 338)
and completed his formal education at the age of twenty. He was married to
grand-daughter of Baqi Billah. He is said to have written books and build a
grand mosque in Sirhind. (Ibid.)

212
Prominent D eputies o f Sirhindi

Among the most important deputies o f Sirhindi, who by

some Naqashbandis is regarded even superior to his sons, was Sayyid

Adam Binnauri.1 He was originally initiated into the Naqashbandiya order

at M ultan by Haji Khizar Khan, a disciple o f Sirhindi who lived in

Bahlulpur in the vicinity o f Sirhind, but Adam was subsequently

recommended by him to Sirhindi for further training.2

Sayyid Adam attained the sublime state o f spiritual elevation

hardly encompassed by his contem porary mystics. He was instrumental in

initiating innumerable persons. One lakh persons are reported to have

taken oath o f allegiance to him, o f which one thousand were guided to

attain the spiritual insight.3 At least one thousand seekers used to be

present everyday in his cloister.4 His discipleship spread to Afghanistan,

Lahore, Kohat and Peshawar.5

Being a man o f distinguished spiritual insight, Sayyid

Binnauri’s own way came to be recognised as a distinctive school known

>

by the name o f Ihsaniyah order. Though him self unlettered, the order

claimed the allegiance o f the most eminent scholars and savants like Shah

Wali-Ullah, his son Shah ‘Abdul ‘Aziz, Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed, and the

1 He was born in Binaur near Sirhind. His paternal ancestors were Sayyids and
maternal ones Afghans.
2Nadwi, op. cit., pp. 374-375; Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 340.
3 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 364.
4 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 340.
5Ibid., p. 341.

213
companions o f the latter like Mualana Ism a’il Shaheed and Shah Ishaq.1

Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi, Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi— the

founder o f Dar a l - ‘Uloom Deoband, also were initiated in the Ihsaniya

order.2 Shah Wali-Ullah in his A nfas al- ‘A rifeen, has paid glowing tributes

to him for his insight into the spiritual truth, and regards him as one o f the

founders o f mystical order.3

Sayyid Binnauri is credited with a number o f works. He

compiled the teachings o f his preceptor and salient features of

Naqashbandiya doctrines in Kalimat a l-M a ‘arif'.4 Nukat al-Asrar his other

w ork, is about the essence o f Sirhindi’s teachings.5 He is claimed to attach

no significance to miracle mongering and supernatural feats.6 He is also

famous for his meticulous adherence to the Sunnah and avoidance o f

B id ‘a. 7

Mir Muhammad N u ’man8 and Khawaja Hashim Kishmi are

two other im portant disciples o f Sirhindi. Having attained the spiritual

elevation under Sirhindi, the former was send to Burhanpur, for the

1Nadwi, op. cit., p. 392.

2 Ibid.
3 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 341
4 Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 385.
5 Ikram, Rud-i-Kauthar, p. 341
6 Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 385.
7 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 364.
8 Born in 977 AH in Samarqand and died in 1058. After having his early
association with Amir ‘Abdullah Balkh ‘Ishqi in Balkh, he came to India and
was initiated in the Naqashbandi silsilah by Baqi Billah, who in turn put him
under the discipleship of Sirhindi. (Nu’mani, op. cit., pp. 318-319).

214
propagation o f Naqashbandiya order there. He was successful in enlisting

a number o f persons under his influence.1 According to Badr al-Din, his

discipleship increased to the extent that Jahangir was informed by the

adversaries o f N u ’man, that there was a threat o f rebellion from a darvesh

in Burhanpur, the number o f whose disciples is one lakh.2 His scholarship

and his close association with and appreciation by Sirhindi can be gauged

from the fact that most number o f the M uktubat Imam Rabbani are

addressed to him.3 He also guided Khawaja Muhammad hashim Kishmi in

his spiritual persuits.4

Khawaja Muhammad Hashim Kishmi, born in Kishm

(Badekhshan), came to India and remained in the supervision o f Sirhindi

for two years.5 Having completed his education in tariqat, he was also

sent to Burhanpur by Sirhindi, for propagation. He is author o f Zubdat al-

M aqamat, the most authentic work on the life o f Sirhindi and his
«r ^

Khulafa4. He also compiled third volume o f M aktubat Imam Rabbani. He

was also a poet, and Badr al-Din has given some portion o f his poetry in

H adhrat a l-Q u d s8 Sirhindi held him in high esteem and at par with his

1 S.M.Ikram says he was not a great success in Burhanpur.

2 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 284.
3 See Sirhindi, Muktubat, Vol. I, Letters 119,120,121, 161, 173, 204, 209, 224,
228, 231, 238, 246, 257, 281, 312; Vol. II, 4, 92, 99; Vol. Ill, 1, 4, 5, 9, 10,
12, 15, 18, 19, 21, 26, 30, 36, 49, 102.
4 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 350.
5 Ibid., p. 351.
6Nu’mani, op. cit., p. 323.
7 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, op. cit., p. 351.
8 Ibid., pp. 358-362.

215
two sons Khawaja Muhammad Sa‘id and Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum.'

A good number o f letters are addressed to him by Sirhindi.2

In the following pages, we will briefly describe the other

eminent mystics particularly those associated with Khawaja Muhammad

M a‘sum, which will indicate their popularity and the development and

receiption o f Sirhindi’s thought on the future generation o f Muslims.

Khawaja Saif al-Din (1049-1096/1639-16-85), the eldest son

and spiritual successor o f Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum, achieved a great

success in realizing the reformist ends o f Sirhindi, by renewed insistance

on following the Sunnah and avoiding innovations.3 He established a

famous cloister at Delhi which was later developed into an international

centre o f guidance and devotional exercises by M irza M azhar Jan Janan

and Shah Ghulam ‘Ali, dissimenating spirituality to Afghanistan,

Turkistan, Iraq, Syria etc.

Awrangzeb was imparted spiritual training by Khawaja Saif

al-Din, the details o f which have been described elsew here.5 The Khawaja

was very popular, commanding the lawful (M a ’ruf) and forbidding the

unlawful (M unkir). He was so successful that according to the author o f

Zail-ur-Rushahat, ‘he had almost uprooted the blameworthy innovations

1 Vide Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. Ill, Letter No. 82.

2 See Ibid., Vol. I, Letter Nos. 290, 310, 313; Vol. II, 74, 93, 97; Vol. Ill, 42,
52, 68, 75, 90, 92, 96.
3 Nadwi, op. cit., p. 376.
4 Ibid.
5 Infra, p. 229-230

216
from the country. He was so popular that over fourteen hundred people

visited him daily.1

Khawaja Muhammad Zubair (d. 1115/1738), the grandson o f

Khawaja Muhammad M a‘sum and successor o f Khawaja Muhammad

Naqashband, (son o f Khawaja M a‘sum and third Qayyum), achieved such

a universal popularity, that the path he took from his house to mosque was

covered with turbans and wraps by the nobles and grandees so that he may

not have to step down on the bare ground.2 He had many noted successors.

One o f them was Mualana Fazlur Rehman Ganj-M oradabadi (1208-

1313/1794-1895). He for his spiritual magnetism, rigorous discipline in

following the shari‘ah, and deep knowledge o f Sunnah was source o f

spiritual guidance to the people in N orth India. M ost o f the founders and

directors o f Nadwat al-'U lam a are said to have been spiritually attached

to him.3

Mirza Mazhar Jan Janan (111 1-1195/1699-1781) played a key

role in Delhi in flourishing o f the Mujaddidya silsilsh. About him Shah

W ali-Ullah w rites that, “there, was no profound sage so conscientious in

following the path o f holy law delivered by the Prophet, no spiritual m entor

so successful in guiding the people on the path o f spirit and no mystic so

strong in divinity, in his contemporary age in India, Arabia or

Afghanistan”.4 Shah Ghulam ‘Ali o f Batalah (1156-1240/1743-1825) the

1Nadwi, op. cit., p. 378.

2 Ibid., pp. 379.
3 Ibid., pp. 378-380.
4 Ibid.

217
most worthy successor o f Jan Janan, was a man o f great spiritual

perfection with world-wide fame. There was hardly any city in India

where he did not have a few disciples.1 in Ambala alone, he had fifty

disciples. His cloister is said to have been attended by the people from

Rom (Turkey), Syria, Baghdad, Egypt, China and Ethopia.2 At least five

hundred people lived within the cloister.3 In the cloister disciples from

Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkant, Hisar, Qandhar, Kabul, Peshawar,

Kashmir, M ultan, Lahore, Sirhind, Rampur, Barailly, Lucknow,

Gorakhpur, Dacca, Hyderabad, also have been reported.4 The role and

success o f Sirhindi’s Khulufa and the rapid progress o f the Mujaddidya

order can be well-inferred from the world-wide discipleship o f Shah

Gulam ‘Ali.

Maulana Khalid Rumi, the disciple o f Shah Ghulam ‘Ali was

responsible for the propagation and popularity o f the Mujaddidya order in the

Middle East. “In all the domains o f Rum (Turkey), Arabia, Hijaz, Iraq and

certain non-Arab countries including whole Kurdistan, the silsila of

Naqashbandiya order has been received as a greedily desired object. One can

see young and old, in every gathering and concourse, mosque and madrasa,

keenly discussing the merits o f Imam Rabbani Mujaddid A lf Thani.”5

1Nu’mani, op. cit., p. 289.

2 Sir Syed Amad Khan, Athar-i-Sanadid, Chapter IV.
3 Ibid.
4Nadwi, op. cit., p. 382.
5 Adbul Shakoor Faruqi, “Imam Rabbani”, Al-Furqan-M\i]a.d<\'\d Alf Thani
Number, 1961.

218
Allama Shami, the author o f Radd ul-Mukhtar-Shark al-Durr al-Mukhtar,

was a devoted disciple o f Khalid Rumi.1

Shah Ahmad Sa‘id (1217-1277/1802-1861), the chief

successor o f Shah Ghulam ‘Ali, became the nucleus for the further

popularity o f the silsilah. After serving in the cloister o f Shah Ghulam

‘Ali for about twenty three years, he has to leave India during the uprising

o f 1857, and settled in Madina, where hundred o f Arabs and Turks

pledged feality to him.2 Another noted mystic o f the M ujaddidya order

during this period was Shah Imam ‘Ali Makanwi (1212-1282/1797-1865)

whose popularity attracted devotees in such a large number that three

hundred goats were slaughtered every day for preparation o f repast to feed

his guests. Shah Muhammad Mazhar (1248-1301/1832-1884), second son

o f Shah Ahmad Sa‘id was a perfect mystic and is credited with

constructing a three storeyed cloister, known as Rabat M azhari at Madina,

in 1290/1873.3 Shah Abdul Gani (1235-1296/1820-1879), the younger

brother o f Shah Ahmad Sa‘id, was also a man o f great spirituality. He had

the credit o f producing such scholars as Maulana Muhammad Qasim

Nanatwi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, the founders o f great educational

institutions of Deaband and M azahir al-‘Uloom of Saharanpur,

respectively.4

1Ibid.
2 Nadwi, op. cit., p. 387.
3 Ibid., p. 389.
4Ibid., p. 390.

219
 The fourth and fifth generation o f descendents o f Sirhindi,

left Sirhind for different parts o f Islamic world, to propagate the

Mujaddidya order on a wider scale. One branch o f his house settled down

in Kabul and spread Islam there.1 Another branch settled in Hyderabad,

Sind.

Hafiz Sayyid ‘Abdullah Akbarabadi, spiritual successor o f

Sayyid Adam Binauri, popularized his Sheikh’s order (Ihsaniya). He had

among his disciples Shah ‘Abdul Rahim Faruqi (d. 1113/1719), father o f

Shah W ali-Ullah.2 The Ihsaniya order was later propagated on wider scale

through the efforts o f Shah Wali-Ullah and his son Shah ‘Abdul ‘Aziz.

The order brought under its fold, the important personalities like Maulana

A shraf ‘Ali Thanawi, Sayyid Husain Ahmad Madeni, and Maulana

Muhammad Ilyas, the founder o f Tablighi movement in India.3

Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed also belonged to the Ihsaniya-

M ujaddidya silsila. He carried on the Sirhindi’s mission. He denounced

the abuses that had crept into the faith and practice o f Islam and soon

gathered around him many disciples who hailed him as another M ujaddid.4

Among the achievements o f the Sayyid, it has been w ritten that ‘more

than forty thousand Hindus and other non-Muslims embraced Islam

through his efforts and three million Muslims pledged allegiance to him.’5

1 Ibid., p. 391.
2 Ibid., p. 395.
3 Ibid., p. 396.
4 Yasin, op. cit., p. 155.
5 Maulvi Muhammad Ja’far, Sawaneh Ahmadi, p. 64.

220
He was also responsible for the initiation o f the founders o f Deoband

school and a band o f people o f Sadiqpur (the biggest center o f Sayyid’s

Jihad Movement) in his silsilah. The first group contributed to the cause

o f Islam in India by establishing academic institutions and second group

struggled against foreign influences alien to the spirit and teachings o f

Islam .1 All the achievements assign a hounoured place to the Sayyid

among the series o f M ujaddids o f Islam in India, which ends with him.2

IL IMPACT OF SIRHINDI ON THE MUGHAL POLITY AND STATECRAFT

Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, was not merely a reformer in the

common sense o f the word, but a mujaddid with a definite mission and higher

ideas, the objective that he himself claimed. ‘I have not been created’, he said,

‘for the spiritual direction o f the people and their self-perfection. The purpose

o f my creation is different, and I have a different mission.’3 He considered

himself to be more than a wali, a renovator (mujaddid) o f religion, who had

commissioned to Islam at the turn o f its second millennium.4

(a) Sirhindi and Jehangir

As a part o f his multifarious mission, Sirhindi made a

conscious effort to get the Shari4ah rules implemented in the Mughal

Empire. And when Jehangir ascended the throne, he saw it as ripe time to

accomplish the task. He w rote to officials, close to Jehangir, to tell them

1Nadwi, op. cit., p. 399.

2 Yasin, op. cit., p. 155.
3 Sirhindi, op. cit., Vol. II, Letter No. 6
4 Ibid., Vol. I. Letter No. 234 and 261; Vol. II, Letter No. 4; Vol. Ill, Letter No. 100.

221
o f the plight o f Islam and Muslims in the country and impress upon them

the need to act promptly. To the Sadr-i-Jahan (d. 1027/1618), who had

tutored Jehangir before and enjoyed his confidence as the highest

religious authority, he wrote, ‘Now that things have changed and the

hostality o f the people has subsided, it is the duty o f the leaders o f Islam,

the Sadr-i-Islam and the ‘ulama‘, that they work for the implementation o f

the S her^ah.” 1 To Khan-i-Jahan (d. 1040/ 16300, another official o f the

court, he wrote: “Since the king listens to your words and gives them

weight, it would be really great if you could explain to him briefly or in

detail, as you like, the beliefs o f the A hl al-Sunnah wa a l-Ja m a ’a. Please

inform him o f the doctrines o f the people o f the Truth (Ahl al-Haqq) and

look for every opportunity to talk about Islam and the Muslims, defend the

tenets o f Islam and condemn infidelity and heresy”.2

Sirhindi also wrote letters to high officials in the provinces

like, Sheikh M urtada, the governor o f Gujrat, Qulich Khan, the devout

viceroy o f Lahore, Lala Beg, the governor o f Bihar, ‘Abdul Rahim Khan-

i-Khanan, the com m ander-in-chief o f Deccan and others and called upon

them to spread the teachings o f Islam, to defend the faith, to abolish

un-Islamic laws, to restore Islamic institutions, and to suppress

anti-islamic forces.3

1 Sirhindi, op. cit., Vol. I, Letter No. 195.

2 Ibid., Vol. II. Letter No. 67.
3 See Ibid., Vol. I, Letter No. 65, 53, 195, 165, 163, 269; II, Letter No. 57; Vol.
Ill, Letter No. 54

222
 Sirhindi was imprisoned1 in 1028/1619 by the orders o f

Jehangir and set free2 a year later. Now the atm osphere had changed and

1 The imprisonment of Sirhindi is an important episode of his life, therefore, it is

worthwhile to discuss it in some detail. The factors of his imprisonment were that,
Sirhindi in order to counter the heretic ideas of the Sh’ias and their growing influence
on the Mughal Empire, had written several pamphlets to denounce them. They (Shi‘as)
had therefore, become his enemies and wished to take revenge. (Muhammad Aslam,
“Jahangir and Hadhrat Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi”, Journal o f Asiatic Society o f Pak,
June, 1965, pp. 135-148). They started a campaign against Sirhindi by inciting the
Emperor against him, saying that the Sheikh considered himself better than Abu Bakr
and showed him a letter of the Sheikh in which he had written the experience of his
soul to Khawaja Baqi Billah. (Ibid). The Sheikh had, however, cleared the doubts,
raised about the letter. (See Maktub 11 of Vol. I, of Sirhindi). Mirza Mazhar Jan-i-
Janan, the celebrated Naqashbandi sufi, says, “the Sheikh had satisfied every one in his
letter, leaving no doubt at all, and after that only an illiterate or jealous person could
speak against him”. Jehangir’s grandson, Dara Shikuh, himself regarded this criticism
as slander of adversaries of Sheikh.
But Jehangir was influenced in such a way that he summoned the Sheikh and
questioned him about his writings.
The contents of Tuzuk show that Jehangir himself had no knowledge of the
activities and ‘place’ of Sheikh among the religious reformers, for the Emperor speaks
of him in a very impolite way. (Jehangir, op. cit., pp. 272-273). He satisfied the
Emperor by explaining that he never considered himself better than a dog; how could
he think himself better than Abu Bakr? (Muhammad Ihsan-Allah, Swaneh ‘Umari
Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf-Thani, Rampore, 1926, p. 88). When the Sh’ia noticed that the
Sheikh had satisfied the emperor on the first issue, they told him that the Sheikh had
not prostrated himself before him, and that he had a number of followers, prepared to
rebel against him (Aslam, op. cit., p. 138). Moreover, Asif Khan, the prime minister of
Jehangir, himself a dogmatic Sh’ia, advised the Emperor to stop the soldiers from
visiting the Sheikh and his Khalifs and taking vows, and even to imprison him (Burhan
Faruqi, op. cit., p. 24). Jehangir,'who according to Dara Shikoh, was against the
darveshes, ordered to imprison the Sheikh in Gwalior Fort. (Jehangir op. cit., pp. 272-
273).
2 Sirhindi continued his mission in prison where he started preaching among the non-
Muslim prisoners, a large number of whom were converted to Islam. The Sheikh used
to say that God had sent him to prison only for this purpose. (T. W. Arnold, The
Preaching o f Islam, London, 1913, p. 142). Now, the influence of the Sheikh was not
only felt inside prison but in the entire realm, and when the Emperor witnessed the
sincerity and enthusiasm of the Sheikh, he not only set him free but sent his son
Shahjahan to bring him to the court (Sa’id Ahmad Akbarabadi, Musalmanun Ka ‘Uruj-
o-Zawal, Delhi, 1947, pp. 305-306). Jehangir granted him a robe of honour and a
considerable sum of money. (Jehangir, op. cit., p. 308), and ‘himself became his
admirer’. (Mufti Ghulam Sarwar, Khazinatal-Asfiya, Vol. I. Kanpur, 1902, p. 613).
Rizvi, contests the view by saying that it is an exaggeration of Naqashbandi historical
Sources, (see Rizivi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 397fi)

223
his endeavour had started yielding fruit. Jehangir had been influenced by

Sirhindi’s sincerity and devotion to Islam to the extent that the Emperor

set him free on the condition that he would keep him company.1 Thus

after his release, the Sheikh was given an audience by the Emperor and

there he placed the following demands before him: (i) that Sajidah before

the emperor should be abolished; (ii) the permission to slaughter cows

should be given; (iii) the religious innovations should cease; (iv) the

office o f the Qadi and the department of Ihtisab should be restored; and

that the mosques in need o f repair should be renovated and those which

had been demolished should be rebuilt.2 The emperor granted his demands

and issued a royal decree accordingly.3 “Thus after more than a half

century’s struggle for life and death, Islam came out of its agony and the

Muslims heaved a sigh o f relief.”4

After his release from prison Jehangir gave him option to go

home or stay with him in the camp.5 Sirhindi chose the camp, for it

provided him with the unique opportunity to preach to the king and people

around him. In various sessions, which he had with Jehangir, he read out

the Qur‘an to him, explained its message, discussed the principles of faith,

and elaborated the rules o f the Shari‘ah.6 This seems to have had its

1 Ghulam ‘Ali Bilgrami, Subhat al-Mirjan, no date, p. 79.

2 Akbarabadi, op. cit., pp. 305.-6.
3 Ibid.
4 Ihsan-Allah, op. cit., pp. 88-89.
5 Jehangir, op. cit., p. 308.
6 Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. Ill, Letter No. 43, 106, 72.

224
effect. The Emperor was fully under the Sheikh’s influence and the broad­

minded Emperor became an orthodox M uslim.1 Sirhindi proudly used to

tell his friends that by the grace o f God, the Almighty, the Emperor was a

sunni-Hanafi.2 Hawkin tells us that he had witnessed the emperor offering

the morning prayers.3 Sirhindi was delighted to hear the news from one o f

his Khalifis, Mir Muhammad N u’man, that “the reigning Sultan was just

and had endeavoured to restore the shariah” .4 A Hindu w riter says that

Jehangir was conscious o f his duties as a Muslim sovereign,5 and “he took

greater interest in the future o f Islam than his father had done and

sometimes he tried to uphold this prestige.”6

The ever increasing impact o f Sirhindi on the body-politic o f

Mughals can be had from the fact that, on the occasion o f conquest o f

fortness o f Kangra by Jehangir, in the sixteenth year o f his reign, the idols

were broken, a cow slaughtered, the Adhan recited, the Khutba read, and

other rites o f Islam observed,7 in the presence o f Sirhindi.8 Jehangir

thanked God for allowing him to observe these rites, which none o f his

1 Yasin, op. cit., p. 146.

2 Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. II, Letter No. 15 and 67.
3 The Hawkins Voyages, London, 1879, p. 436.
4 Sirhindi, op. cit., Vol. II, Letter No. 92.
5 M. L. Roy Choudhry, The State and Religion in Mughal India, Calcutta, 1951,
p. 211.
6 Dr. A. L. Srivastava, The Mughal Empire, Agra, Second edition, p. 293.
7 Jehangir, op. cit., p. 340.
8 Sirhindi had been invited by Jehangir himself so that these Islamic rites could
be performed.

225
predecessors had done.1 In the same year he forbade inter-marriage

between Hindu men and Muslim women in Kashmir by a royal decree.2

Terry, who visited India between 1616-1619AD, found the mosques full

o f w orshippers.3

Terry further tells us that the Muslims used to keep a rosary

in their hands,4 and had a great regard for the Q ur‘an.5 They used to keep

fasts during the month o f Ramadhan and observe the ‘Id festivals.6 The

age limit for marriage imposed by Akbar was abolished.7 “The

Mohamedan confession o f faith on the coins was restored by Jehangir.”8

Stanly Lane Poole adds to the above statement that Jehangir also restored

the hijrah chronology which his father had abandoned.9 The mosques that

had been demolished were rebuilt and Arabic and Islamic learning was

encouraged.10

Thus, Sirhindi once again turned India into an Islamic state

by wining the Em peror over his side.11 It is narrated that Jehangir used to

1Jehangir, op. cit., p. 340.

1 Ibid., p. 317.
3 W. Foster, Early Travels in India, Oxford, 1921, p. 315.
4 Ibid., p. 316
5 Ibid., p. 318
6 Ibid.
I Ibid., p. 321.
8 M. Elphinstone, Nurjahan and Jehangir, Susil Gupta edition, 1950, p. 78.
91bid.
10 M. Aslam, Sarmayah ‘Umar, Lahore, 1976, pp. 128; Ikram, Muslim
Civilization in India, p. 169.
II Sabah al-Din, Bazm-i-Taimuriya, Azamgarh ed., p. 168.

226
say that Sirhindi had promised him that if God should call him to

paradise, he would not go alone, but with the E m peror.1

The mission o f re-establishing the authority o f Islam in

India, initiated by Sirhindi was continued by his sons and khalifis, who

under his guidance were trained enough to consolidate his mission.

(b) Sirhindi and Shahjahan

The emergence o f Shahjahan (1627-1657) as the Em peror o f

the H industan proved a windfall to Islam in India.2 Shahjahan belonged to

the M ujaddid’s admirers. When Jehangir summoned Sirhindi to his court,

Shahjahan apprehended that some trouble might befall Sirhindi on account

o f his non-observance o f the court etiquette which was usual with the

staunch upholders o f the laws o f Islam. He, therefore, sent Afzal Khan and

Khawaja ‘Abdul Rehman Mufti with some books on Fiqh, requesting

Sirhindi to perform sajdah before the Emperor as prostration before kings

is permissible under Muslim law. But, Sirhindi rejected the suggestion, as

he would not prostrate him self before anyone except G od.3

Shajahan, who on account o f his orthodoxy has been called

by some historians, ‘faith defending Em peror’,4 exerted utm ost to purify

Islam and bring it in accord with the shariah. Historians agree that

Shahjahan was kind and benevolent and held the shari‘ah in reverence.

1Ibid.
2 Yasin, op. cit., p. 146.
3 Muhammad Ehsan, op. cit., pp. 178-180.
4 S. M. Edward and H. Garrett, Mughal Rule in India, Delhi, 1995, p. 75.

227
His personal life was blameless, which he led according to the dictates o f

the shari‘ah.' In Shahjahan’s reign there was marked departure from

A kbar’s policy, which is apparent from his several m easures that he took

tow ards the restoration o f Islamic tenents. “His objectives w ere”, writes

Sir Richard Burn, “primarily to restore the strict profession o f Islam rather

than to persecute believers in other religion.” He further says, “thus he

soon abolished the ceremonial prostration before the throne which had

been instituted by Akbar, and in its place prescribed forms which

savoured less o f divine worship. The ostentatious use o f divine era

instituted by Akbar ceased, so far as the record o f months on the coinage

was concerned, a few years after Shahjahan’s accession. Inter-m arriage

between Hindus and Muslims which had been common in Punjab and

Kashmir, was forbidden in 1634” .2 Thus the tone o f adm inistration

changed and the liberalism o f the day o f Akbar was definitely on w ane.3

Shahjahan stands midway between Jahangir and Awrangzeb.

(c) Awrangzeb and the Sons of Sirhindi

Awrangzeb (1657-1707) claimed the throne as the champion

o f orthodox Islam, against the heretical practices and principles o f his

elder brother Dara Shikoh.4 But the orthodoxy and puritan in Awrangzeb

was not a sudden outburst or an accident but the logical consequence o f

the long cultivated reactionary tendencies. “It will not be an exaggeration

1Nadwi, op. cit., p. 332.

2 Canbridge History o f India, Vol. IV, p. 217.
3 Yasin, op. cit., p. 147.
4 Edwards, op. cit., p. 114.

228
to say that A w rangzeb’s State policy was prompted by the voice of

Sirhindi from behind the scene.” 1

Awrangzeb had come in contact with Khawaja Muhammad

M a‘sum, the third son and successor o f Sirhindi who continued the mission

o f his father, during the period o f his princehood. According to Rauzat al-

Qayyumiyah, the prince became a disciple o f the Khawaja. Awrangzeb was

guided in the mystical journey (Suluk) by Khawaja Muhammad Saifuddin,

the son o f Khawaja M a‘sum, on the instruction o f his father. Khawaja

M a‘sum was fully conscious o f his responsibilities in bringing Awrangzeb

in com plete accord with the shari‘ah and a complete transform ation o f his

heart in favour o f Islam. In one o f his letters to Khawaja Saifuddin, he

states, “This Darvish, according to the customs o f the Faqirs, is not free

from attention and prayers (for the success o f Saifuddin in his mission). He

desires to see the purification o f the soul (o f Awrangzeb) and (the outward

conformity) o f his actions (to the laws o f Islam ).”2 Besides, Awrangzeb on

his part, maintained a regular correspondence with Khawaja M a‘sum. He

consulted him on im portant jjo in ts o f Muslim theology and sought his

advice.3 Khawaja M a‘sum was quite satisfied with the policy o f Awrangzeb

and gives expression to his feelings in his letters.

1Yasin, op. cit., p. 150.

2 Khawaja Ma‘sum, Maktubat-i-Ma‘sumiya, Amritsar edition, Letter No. 221.
3 Ibid., Letter Nos., 122 and 127.
4 In a letter addressed to the emperor himself, he writes. (This humble Faqir)
offers his respect and expresses his gratitude for the glory of Islam and the
stability of Islamic principles (which has resulted due to the policy of
Awrangzeb). (Ibid., letter No. 6).

229
 Awrangzeb, thus, under the influence o f the successors and

disciples o f Sirhindi, issued in 1659 various ordinances ‘to restore the

rules o f orthodox Islam in the administration and to bring the lives o f the

people into closer accord with the teachings o f the Q ur‘an. He set the

example him self by abolishing the practices, followed by the previous

Mughal Em perors, o f stamping the Kalima (Muslim confession o f faith)

on his coins, lest the holy words be defiled by the touch o f unbelievers.

The celebration o f Persian festival o f Nauroz was forbidden; and in the

eleventh year o f his reign playing o f music at court was also forbidden

and the state musicians and singers were pensioned o ff.1

A wrangzeb’s personal and private life was in accord with

the shari‘ah. He abstained scrupulously from the slightest indulgence in

prohibited food, drink or dress and even avoided music. He strove to live

up to the ideal o f a strict orthodox Muslim. Thereof, Awrangzeb, in the

first year o f his reign, reiterated the order o f his father that his religion

forbade him to allow the building o f new temples, but did not enjoin the

destruction o f old ones, as ^envisaged in the Muslim Canon law.2 The

teaching and practising o f idolatrous forms o f worship were stoped under

the royal orders.3 In 1679, jizy a was re-im posed on the unbelievers in

order to spread Islam and put down the practice o f infidelity.4 He

1 Edwards, op. cit., p. 114.

2 J. N. Sarkar, Awrangzeb, Vol. Ill, pp. 319-320.
3 Elliot and Dowson, The History o f India as Told by His own Historians, Vol.
Ill, London, p. 184.
4 Edwards, op. cit., p. 117.

230
appointed Mulla Iwaz Wajih as Muhtasib (censor o f morals) for enforcing

the prohibitions on the use o f bhang (hemp), buza and other intoxicants

and indulgence in lewd practices and adultery.1

Thus, Sirhindi’s thought had far-reaching impact on the

body-politic o f the Mughal Empire, to the extent that from Akbar upto the

rise o f Awrangzeb to pow er, there was a marked change in the religious

policy o f the Mughals, and rise o f Awrangzeb to the throne, ‘proved to be

the political culmination o f the Mujaddidi m ovem ent.’2

III. IMPACT ON THE RELIGIOUS LEARNING

According to Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, the main channel o f

m ischief were the 'U lam a-i-Su (worldly minded ‘Ulama), who had

exclusively taken to Fiqh (jurisprudence) as the whole o f religious

learning. Sirhindi held that ’’every slackness and irregularity that has

taken place in the m atters o f shari‘ah in his age, and every obstruction

which has hindered the growth and expansion o f Islam, is due to the

wickedness o f the ‘Ulama-i-Su and the result o f their incom petence”.3 To

safeguard the effectiveness and emphasise the significance o f the Hadith

and Sunnah, Sirhindi also rejected the very concept o f B id'at-i-H asana

(lawful innovations), as to him it tantam ounts to rejection o f the Sunnah.4

Sirhindi, therefore, exhorted the religious divines o f Islam to interpret the

1 Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movement in Northern India, p. 395.

2 Qureshi, ‘Ulamain Politics, p. 98.
3 Sirhindi, Maktubat, Vol. I, Letter No. 47.
4 Ibid., Vol. I, Letter No. 186.

231
Q ur‘an and the Hadith as it has been interpreted and understood by the

religious heads o f the past and in the light o f the precedent set by their

own actions.1 Sirhindi’s call thus induced the theologians, those learned in

the religious lore to turn to the Hadith.2 Sirhindi now turned the tide

tow ards the learning o f Kitab-o-Sunnat, which was earlier in favour o f

jurisprudence. People started learning Hadith (Tradition). The trend

continued with passage o f time and ‘Shah Wali-Ullah on his day

established the first school o f Hadith in India’.3 With Sayyid Ahmad

Barailwi, the school turned into Ahl-i-H adith (those who follow only the

Hadith and not the school o f Islamic Jurists). In its inception the school

(o f Ahl-i-H adith) had a place in it for mysticism, but with its further

development the emphasis fell against Taqlid (blind following o f the

authority o f the jurists) and there arose Ghair M uqallidin (Traditionists).4

The A hl al-H adith School o f thought took its root in India with the

followers o f Sayyid Ahmad (d. 1246 A.H.) and his lieutenant Shah Ism a’il

Shaheed (d. 1246 A.H.), and is now a full-fledged school o f thought, with

a good number o f followers.

(IV) IMPACT UPON LATER THINKERS

Sirhindi also influenced the later generation o f Muslim

thinkers. Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1876-1938), poet-philosopher and “a

movement in him self’, was greatly influenced by Sirhini’s intellectual and

1Ibid., Vol., I, Letter No. 158, 186., 193; Vol. II, Letter No. 23.
2 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 38.
3 Ibid., p. 39.
4 Ibid., p. 39.

232
social endeavours. In his early life, Iqbal believed in wujudi philosophy o f

Ibn al-‘Arabi. But after writing his famous poem A srari-i-K hudi (Secrets

o f Self) in 1912 A.D., he is said to have switched to Shuhudi philosophy

o f Sirhindi. His teacher at Cambridge M ac-Tagret once w rote to Iqbal,

after Asrari-i-K hudi had been published, that in your early academic life

you believed in Hama Ust (All is He), now you seem to have changed

your stance.1 In the preface o f The Secrets o f the Self, Nicholson writes,

“He (Iqbal) sees that Hindu intellectualism and Islamic pantheism has

destroyed the capacity for action. Now, this capacity depends ultimately

on the conviction that Khudi is real and is not merely an illusion o f

mind” .2 N ow the concept o f khudi. that it is real and is not merely an

illusion o f mind, cannot be an outcome o f philosophy o f wahdat al-wujud.

It is to be mentioned here that between 1911-1914, the M aktubat o f

Sirhindi were published from Amritsar, and Iqbal must have studied them

and was th ereo f influenced by Sirhindi’s thought.3 There were other

factors that lead Iqbal tow ards Sirhindi. W rites Dr. Ghulam M ustafa

Khan, “By holding the superiority o f whadat al-shuhud over wahdat al-

wujud, Sirhindi stressed the obedience to the Q ur‘an and Hadith. And then

Shah Wali-Ullah in his times, tried to make a reconciliation between the

two philosophies. These thinkers greatly influenced Sirhindi.”4

1 Sheikh ‘Ata-Ullah, Makatib-i-Iqbal, part I, Lahore, p. 24.

2 R. A. Nicholson, The Secrets o f the S e lf Lahore, 1944, p. xi, xii
3 Dr. Bashir Ahmad Nahvi, M asa'il Tasawwuf awr Iqbal, Kashmir, 2001, p. 117.
4 Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Adbey Ja'izay, Karachi, 1959, p. 105.

233
 The mission— to save Islam from the negative impact o f

wahdat al-w ujud, which Sirhindi had started, was continued by Iqbal,

when he w rote Asrari-i-Khudi and Rum uz-i-Bikhudu (Secrets of

Selflessness) which had an impact on the Muslim community. In the latter

collection o f poems he lays emphasis on the life according to the Q ur‘an

and the Sunnah. “By writing Asrar-i-K hudi”, says Burhan Ahmad Faruqi,

“Iqbal transform ed the political and moral trend o f thought in Muslims.

He criticized the sufi concept o f Fana (self-annihilation) and substituted

Khudi (self affirmation) in its place. He also protested against whadat al-

w ujud.” 1 At another place he writes, ‘The apparent similarity o f thought

betw een Sirhindi and Iqbal is due to the fact that both wanted to change

the ideas o f people tow ards Islam, both regarded k a sh f as a means o f

knowledge; both treated the concepts o f wadhat al wujud; union (itihad)

and incarnation (halul) as false; and both consider Prophet Muhammad as

a perfect man and a model, to be followed”.2

Sirhindi had propounded that the highest stage for a salik is

not wahdat al-wujud but ‘abdiyat (servanthood). At this stage it is

manifested to the salik that C reator and the creation are absolutely

different and that servanthood is the highest stage for a man. Iqbal was

highly influenced by this view o f Sirhindi and ‘he also upheld that there is

no higher stage than the stage o f servanthood’.3 And it was on the ground

1 Burhan Faruqi, op. cit., p. 41.

2 Burhan Ahmad Faruqi, ‘Iqbal and Mujaddid Alf Thani’, quoted by Nahvi,
op. cit., p. 121.
3 Sayyid Muzafar Husain Barni, Kuliyat-i Makatib Iqbal, Vol. I, Delhi, p. 448.

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o f his (Sirhindi) concept o f 1A b d iy a t’ that iqbal laid the basis o f his

concept o f khudi. ’ Iqbal expresses his inclination tow ards the stage o f

servanthood in a couplet-

In a letter, addressed to Khawaja Hasan Nizami, Iqbal expressly

states that he upheld shuhudi philosophy.2 Referring to the Maktubat o f

Sirhindi, Iqbal writes that Ghusastan(W\. broken) is true Islam and Paiwastan

(union) is renunciation (Rahbaniyat) and Persian tasawwuf. In line with this

thought, Iqbal prefers to be called Sirr al-Firaq and not Sirr al-W isal? Firaq
meaning ‘difference’, is related to Shuhudi philosophy and wisal meaning

‘meeting point’ is the outcome of wujudi philosophy.4 Iqbal says that the
distinction made between the two is, as explicated by Mujaddid himself.5

Praising the reformative efforts o f Sirhindi in the field o f

tasawwuf, Iqbal adrress him as “a great religious genius o f the

seventeenth century...., whose fearless analytical criticism of

contem porary sufism resulted in the development o f new technique”.6 At

other place, Iqbal hails Sirhindi, as “a great reform er o f Islamic sufism”.7

1 Abu Sa‘id Nur al-Din, “Wahdat al-Wujud and Falsafa Khudi’, Iqbal review,
Karachi, July 1962, p. 115.
2 Barni, op. cit. p.41
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Dr. Iqbal, Reconstruction o f Religious Thought in Islam, Delhi, pp. 192-193.
7 Ibid., p. 194.

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 Dr. Iqbal has also dedicated a poem 1 to Sirhindi, in

adm iration o f the undaunted self-confidence o f the great Muslim saint that

he dem onstrated before the Emperor o f the day-Jehangir, and for his role

in the revival o f Islam in India.

Abdul Hasan Ali Nadwi, the most renowned and reputed

scholar o f the contem porary Muslim world, was also greatly influenced by

Sirhindi. Nadwi belonged to the Mujaddidya order and has devoted a full

volume (iv) o f his work, Tarikh D a'w at wa ‘Azimat, to Sheikh Ahmad

Sirhindi. In the book, which deals with the various aspects o f Sirhindi’s

thought, he is in complete agreement with and corroborates every aspect

o f his thought. Sayyid ‘Uruj Qadri, who has reviewed the book, criticizes

Nadwi, for defending Sirhindi on every other issue.2 The book manifests

the attachm ent and fidelity o f Nadwi with Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi.3

Thus, the multidimensional thought o f Sirhindi laid

impact on the different section o f the Muslim community, both o f the past

and present.

1See Appendix
2 ‘Uruj Qadri, op. cit., pp. 307-26.
3 Ibid.

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