Shah Ismail Dehlvi
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Shah Ismail Dehlvi | |
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Shah Abdul Aziz |
Shah Ismail Dehlvi (26 April, 1779 – 6 May, 1831) was an Indian Islamic scholar and Salafi-oriented Sufi reformer.[2] He was an active member in the jihad proclaimed by Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareilly with the support of Pashtun tribes against the Sikh Empire, which ruled northwest India with their base in Punjab in the early half of the 19th century. He is considered as an important influence on the Ahl-i Hadith reform movements.[3][4][5]
Early life and career
Isma'il Dehlvi was born on 26 April 1779.[4] He was the grandson of famous Islamic scholar and leader Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, through his son Shah Abdul Ghani.[4] When a new Islamic religious revivalist movement appeared in northern India under the leadership of Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareilly (1786 – 1831), he was joined by two members of the Shah Waliullah family: Shah Ismail Dehlavi (1771-1831) and Maulvi Abdul Hai (died 1828)[6] who joined it because they shared its mission and objectives. "The agenda of the new movement known as Tariqah-i-Muhammadiyah was to purify the tenets of Islam from Hindu customs, traditions and cultural practices."[7] "His motive was to convince the Muslim community to purify Islam from Hindu influences and Shiite rituals. He was harsh in his criticism and believed that religion should be practiced in its original form; a thought process which gradually evolved into a Jihad movement."[7] Professor of history at the University of California; Barbara D. Metcalf writes:
Sayyid Ahmad's reformist teachings were set down in two works that, when printed on the new lithographic press of the day, soon achieved wide circulation. The Sirat'ul Mustaqim (the Straight Path) was compiled by Muhammad Ismail in 1819. Written initially in Persian, it was translated into Urdu in order to reach a wider audience. The second work, Taqwiyatul-Iman or the strengthening of the Faith, was written directly in Urdu. The two works stressed above all the centrality of tawhid, the transcendent unity of God, and denounced all those practices and beliefs that were held in any way to compromise that most fundamental of Islamic tenets. God alone was held to be omniscient and omnipotent. He alone, entitled to worship and homage. There were, the followers of Sayyid Ahmad argued, three sources of threat to this belief: false sufism, Shiá doctrines and practices, and popular custom.
— B. Metcalf, "Islamic revival in British India: Deoband, 1860–1900", pp. 56 - 57, Princeton University Press (1982).
According to Andreas Rieck, Syed Ahmad visited towns of North Indian plains from 1818 to 1821 with hundreds of missionaries to preach against Shia beliefs and practices. Syed Ahmad repeatedly destroyed ta'ziyas, an act that resulted in subsequent riots and chaos.[8] Barbara Metcalf offers the following explanation to his anti-shi'ism:
A second group of Abuses Syed Ahmad held were those that originated from Shi’i influence. He particularly urged Muslims to give up the keeping of ta’ziyahs. The replicas of the tombs of the martyrs of Karbala taken in procession during the mourning ceremony of Muharram. Muhammad Isma’il wrote, ‘a true believer should regard the breaking a tazia by force to be as virtuous an action as destroying idols. If he cannot break them himself, let him order others to do so. If this even be out of his power, let him at least detest and abhor them with his whole heart and soul’. Sayyid Ahmad himself is said, no doubt with considerable exaggeration, to have torn down thousands of imambaras, the building that house the taziyahs
— B. Metcalf, "Islamic revival in British India: Deoband, 1860–1900", p. 58, Princeton University Press (1982).
In 1821, Shah Ismail left for
"a large part of present-day India has become “Dar-ul-Harab”. Compare the situation with the heavenly blessings of India two and three hundred years ago".[6]
Comparing India with Darul Islam, he said:
"compare India with Rome and Turkey in terms of heavenly blessings".[6]
Establishment of Islamic State
Shah Ismail broke with the popular Indian
The opponents of the mujahideen of Sayyid Ahmad and Shah Ismail labelled them as "Wahhabis", associating them with the
Following the teachings of the Mujahidin commander Sayyid Ahmad, Shah Ismail Dehlvi advocated the purging of numerous practices and rituals such as istigatha (asking needs) to the dead, wearing tawiz (amulets), making vows, etc.; which he condemned as shirk (polytheism). Equating these practices to idol worship of Hindus and excommunicating those who practised them, Shah Ismail declared in his treatise Taqwiyat al-Iman:
"It is customary for many people, in the time of difficulty, to invoke the spirits of pir, apostles, imams, martyrs and angels, and fairies, and to beg them to fulfil their wishes. To propitiate them, vows and of erings are made in the ir names. Moreover, childrcn arc named after them, for instance, 'Abdun Nabi (slave of apostle), Ali Bakhsh(gift of Ali); as well as Hasan Bakhsh, Husayn Bakhsh, Madar Bakhsh, Salar Bakhsh, and also Ghulam Muhiy-u-Din (slave of the reviver of the Faith). And for the life protection of their children some keep a lock of hair on their heads, and others make them wear a woven thread around their necks and clothe them in the name of some saints. Some people put chains on the leg of their children, and some offer sacrifices. Many of them invoke the saints in the time of difficulty and take oaths in their names. In short, what the Hindus do towards their idols, these pseudo Muslims do all these things with prophets, saints, imams, martyrs, angels and fairies, and yet they claim that they themselves are Musalmans.[12]
When the military actions were initiated, some Muslim nawabs, like Amir Khan of Tonk, provided funds but did not join them for jihad. Around 8,000 mujahideen who accompanied them were mostly clergymen or poor people who joined the militia. The rulers of Tonk, Gwalior and Rampur supported him with British consent because they were dependent on British forces and they knew well enough that the British would not stop them from aiding an enemy of the Sikhs. Since Syed Ahmad’s campaign was based on Islamic concept of jihad, his spokesman, Shah Ismail Dehlavi, tries to create desire for the war by saying:
"as far as the special benefits are concerned that go to the faithful Martyrs, the Muslim Mujahideen, the ruling Sultans and the brave men of the battle field, don’t need to be elaborated here".[6]
Arriving in Peshawar valley in late 1826, Syed Ahmad and his followers made their base in towns of
[...] either become a Muslim, pay Jizyah or fight and remember that in case of war, Yaghistan supports the Indians.[16]
The mujahideen were educated with both theological doctrines and physical training sessions. Syed Ahmad organized wrestling, archery training, and shooting competitions. The mujahideen also repeated several Islamic anthems. One such popular anthem has survived, known as "Risala Jihad". We thank and praise God, the real master and the true king, who bestowed upon his humble, recluse and helpless servant the title of Caliphate, first through occult gestures and revelations, in which there is no room for doubt, and then by guiding the hearts of the believers towards me. This way God appointed me as the Imam (leader)... the person who sincerely confesses to my position is special in the eyes of God, and the one who denies it is, of course sinful. My opponents who deny me of this position will be humiliated and disgraced.[6]
Regarding his Imamate, Syed Ahmad wrote to Nawab Wazir ud-Dawla, the ruler of Tonk:
"believe me, the person who sincerely confesses to my position is special in the eyes of God, and the one who denies it is, of course sinful. My opponents who deny me of this position will be humiliated and disgraced".[6]
After the conquest of
In addition to the stated social agenda, Sayyid Ahmad also attempted to collect the Islamic tithe (usher) of ten per cent of crop yields. The alliance was defeated and the Islamic reformers finally occupied Peshawar. Over several months during 1830, Sayyed Ahmad tried to conciliate established power hierarchies. But before the end of 1830; an organized uprising occurred and the agents of Sayyid Ahmad in Peshawar and in the villages of the plain were murdered and the movement retreated to hills.
They ran into trouble in this area with many of these Pashtun tribes because they had no cultural or linguistic relation to the locals and tried to wipe out their own old tribal rules and customs by force. Some of their old tribal leaders had sensed a threat to their own prevailing influence over the local tribal population and their traditional Pakhtun nationalism which they were not willing to give up and hand their power and influence over to the newcomers in their area in the name of Islam.[10]
Punjab, parts of North-West Frontier and Kashmir regions, in 1831, were under the strict rule of powerful Maharaja Ranjit Singh who also had future ambitions to control all of the North-West Frontier region of the Pashtuns. So he sent his powerful Sikh army to fight them and after a fierce battle, defeated them, at Balakot. There in the town of Balakot in 1831, Syed Ahmad was killed by the Sikh Army. He was beheaded.[13][20]
Death and legacy
Ismail Dehlvi was killed on 6 May 1831 during a fierce battle at Balakot against the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 – 1839), the ruler of the Sikh empire that governed the region at that time.[3] "Traditional historians accused the Pakhtun tribes of betraying the religious cause and glorified the role of the movement."[10] Some other historians point out that the British government silently supported the movement and its planned migration to the North-West Frontier region. "Most probably, the British government wanted to shift the troublesome elements from the territory under their control to that of the Sikhs' in order to weaken the Sikh rule."[7][4]
The historical roots of
On the other hand, the Barelvi movement claim Ismail Dehlvi broke the unity of Indian Muslims with the claim that God can lie, something they consider blasphemous. Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was one of the early scholars to refute Ismail Dehlvi before Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi a few decade later.
Literary works
- Taqwiyat-ul-Iman (Strengthening of the Faith), (an online book translated in English from the original book written by Dehlvi)[7]
- Sirat-al-Mustaqeem (Right Path)[7]
Gallery
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Grave of Dehlvi, Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
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Grave of Dehlvi as seen from ground level
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Grave of Dehlvi seen from the place he got martyrdom
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The battle place of Balakot over Satbane Fountain
References
- S2CID 165575919.)
While linked with the Waliullah legacy, Sayyid Ahmad and Shah Ismail's style was far more antagonistic and less subtle than earlier critiques of taqlid. They relentlessly attacked customary rituals that they believed were not soundly based in the Quran and hadith, often enraging other Muslims in the process.. By suggesting that common Muslims did not need the guidance of learned scholars or religious leaders, Shah Ismail advanced a far more radical critique of taqlid than did Shah Waliullah. Arguing that the meaning of divine texts was self-evident,.. Shah Ismail argued for a literalist approach to texts, which eliminated the risk that the imposition of interpretative interventions, rooted in human reasoning (aql), would distort the true meaning of the Quran and hadith.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link - ^ Khan, Rehan (3 February 2020). "Shah Ismail Dehlawi, a Grandson of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Represented a Fusion of Sufism with Salafism". New Age Islam. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b Profile of Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh on Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 16 August 2018
- ^ a b c d Profile of Dehlvi on books.google.com website Retrieved 16 August 2018
- ^ Sinan Siyech, Mohammed (4 February 2020). "What Makes a Movement Violent: Comparing the Ahle Hadith (Salafists) in India and Pakistan". MEI. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dr. Mubarak Ali, “Almiyah-e-Tarikh”, Chapter 11, pp.107-121, Fiction House, Lahore (2012).
- ^ a b c d e Past present: When history fails Dawn (newspaper), Published 3 March 2012, Retrieved 16 August 2018
- ^ Andreas Rieck, "The Shia's of Pakistan", p. 16, Oxford University Press (2016).
- ISBN 978-93-87471-57-3.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link - ^ a b c Past present: The intolerant invaders Dawn (newspaper), Published 12 June 2013, Retrieved 16 August 2018
- )
- ^ Hedayetullah, Muhammad (1968). Sayyid Ahmad: a Study of the Religious Reform Movement of Sayyid Ahmad of Ra'e Bareli. Montreal, Canada: Mcgill University. pp. 134–135.
- ^ a b Wahhabi movement in India. Qeyamuddin Ahmad, (1994, p.50). open library
- ^ Jūrj al-Maqdisī, Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb · (1965). Arabic and Islamic Studies in Honor of Hamilton A. R. Gibb. Brill Archive. p. 96.
- ISBN 9780521397001. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ Altaf Qadir 2014, p. 63.
- ^ Charles Allen, "God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad", p. 86, Abacus (2006).
- ^ Altaf Qadir 2014, p. 62.
- ^ Altaf Qadir 2014, p. 66.
- ^ Qeyamuddin Ahmad, Wahhabi movement in India, (1994, p.55)
- ISBN 978-93-87471-57-3.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link - ISBN 9780520970137.
Bibliography
- Altaf Qadir (2014). Sayyid Ahmad Barailvi: His Movement and Legacy from the Pukhtun Perspective. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 978-93-5150-486-3. Archived
External links
- Syed Ahmed Barelvi and his Jihad movement
- eBook in Urdu language on Shah Ismail Shaheed with introduction by Abu Ala Maududi, Published 1 October 1943 by Qaumi Kutub Khana, Lahore
- Taqwiyat-ul-Iman (Strengthening of the Faith) an eBook translated in English and originally written by Shah Ismail Dehlvi on islamhouse.com website