Hajji Shariatullah and Faraizi Movement

Hajji Shariatullah and Faraizi Movement

  August 30, 2019    Fantasy

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Early Biographical Details

•    Born in 1781 in Faridpur district in East Bengal (today part of Bangladesh)
•    Father was a farmer and his family was not very-well off
•    In 1799 he travelled to Arabia on pilgrimage and stayed there for the next nineteen years
•    Became greatly influenced by the beliefs of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab
•    On his return to East Bengal he started his own reform movement designed to purify Islam of the Hindu influences
•    Died in 1840
•    His work was carried on by his son Mohsin-ud-Din

Beliefs

India as Dar-ul-Harb

•    Hajji Shariatullah believed that the miserable condition of the Muslims in India led to the country being Dar-ul-Harb
•    This meant an area where non-Muslims ruled
•    Haji Shariatullah said that in such areas Friday and Eid prayers should not be offered.

Muslims have forgotten true Islamic Principles

•    He also believed that the Muslim community had moved away from true Islamic practice

Reasons for launching Faraizi Movement

•    He wanted them to return to what he thought was the proper observation of Islamic duties called Faraiz. This was why his movement was called the Faraizi Movement.
•    The Faraizi Movement supported the idea of jihad against the non-Muslims who were undermining the true principles of Islam.

Reasons for reviving Islam in the subcontinent

•    Believed that Muslims of the subcontinent were leading miserable lives because they had started following Hindu practices due to their interaction with them, thus they started the Faraizi Movement to purify the Islamic society
•    Muslims in Bengal were surprised by the Hindu landlords. Hajji Shariatullah wanted to end this tyranny. Thus he started the Faraizi Movement to create a sense of Jihad in Muslims so that they could fight for their rights
•    Muslims had forgotten the basic principles of Islam and did not practice religious obligations like Faraizi prayer and fasting. Thus he started the Faraizi movement to insist upon them to follow the pillars of Islam

Work

Faraizi Movement

•    He began his reform movement known as the “Faraizi Movement” started as a reaction to the anti-Islamic policies of British and Hindus
•    The movement insisted upon the fulfillment of Fariaz i.e one’s religious obligations imposed by Allah and His Prophet
•    His followers came to be known as the “fairizis” on account of their insistence of the fulfillment of one’s duties
•    As a result many Muslims declared themselves to the performance of their duties and became staunch Muslims

Brought the Muslim peasantry together against the cruel exploitation by the Hindu Zamindars

•    Infused a spirit amongst the Peasants who got together to direct Jihad against the then religious and social oppression to fight for their rights
•    This confidence and awakening of the Bengalis from their slumber prepared the grounds for future works of his successors like Titu Mir and Dadu mian.

Worked towards elimination of Hindu customs that had crept into Muslim society due to their continuous interaction

•    Significant as he attempted to purify the lives of Muslims so that they could not only distinguish Islamic practices and rituals but also follow the true Islam.

Reaction of Hindu Zamindars against success of Hajji Shariatullah

•    The success of Haji Shariatullah’s movement caused great concern among the Hindus of East Bengal
•    In that region Hindu and British landlords carried economic oppression of the Muslim peasants
•    The landlords did not want Haji Shariatullah creating difficulties for them and were very alarmed that the Muslim cultivators were uniting in a desire to improve their lives purify their religion
•    They drove Haji Shariatullah out of the region Nawabganj in Dhaka district, where he died in 1840

Mohsin ud din / Dadu Mian, his son

•    Hajji  Shariatullah’s work was carried on by his son, Mohsin-ud-Din
•    He continued to work to improve the position of Muslims in East Bengal and introduced important economic measures.

Measures taken up by Mohsin ud din

Appointment of Khalifas

•    He divided East Bengal into areas called circles, each under control of Khalifas
•    They were responsible for the social and spiritual welfare of the people in their area

Helped peasants to oppose excessive taxes

•    He helped the peasants to oppose the excessive taxes imposed by Hindu and British landlords

Threatened British to declare Jihad

•    Mohsin-ud-Din’s opposition to the payment of taxes led to unrest in East Bengal
•    He went even further and threatened to declare a jihad against the British government

Decline of Faraizi Movement

•    The British arrested Mohsin ud din
•    Put him in prison
•    After his death in 1860 Faraizi Movement declined

Influence

The Faraizi Movement was influential for a number of reasons:

Encouraged and united Muslims

•    It gave encouragement to Muslims at a time when they were demoralized by the oppression they suffered from the Hindus and the British.

Brought spiritual revival in Muslims

•    It brought about a spiritual revival which led to a revival in the Islamic religion in East Bengal. 

 Hindu influences were removed from Islamic practices

Political and economic impact on Muslims

•    The Bengal peasants became united in their opposition to the harsh treatment they received
•    They became more aware of their rights and a political unity began to grow amongst them
•    This was to prove important in later years as the Muslim demands their own homeland grew
•    It might be said that some of the seeds of Pakistan Movement were sown by the Faraizi Movement

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Syed Ahmad Brelvi Shaheed

Syed Ahmad Brelvi Shaheed

  August 29, 2019    Fantasy

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Early Biographical Details

•    Born near Lucknow in the small town of Rai Bareli in 1786

•    His father died whilst he was still young

•    In 1806 he moved to Delhi and enrolled in the Madrassa Rahimiya

•    For two years he studied under the sons of Shah Waliullah learning the Quran and the Hadith

•    But Syed Ahmad was more a man of action than a scholar

•    In 1810 he joined the forces of Amir Khan, a Pathan military leader and learned how to use European weaponry

•    He showed himself to be so able that he was given command of a group of soldiers

•    Because of his piety he was also made responsible for leading the troops in prayer

•    In 1817 Syed Ahmad returned to Delhi, where his work became important in trying to restore Islam to its original purity

Beliefs

•    As a man of action, Syed Ahmad was an ideal person to act as a leader to work against British power in India

•    He believed that Muslims were ruled by fellow Muslims

•    He believed that the freedom of Muslims could only come as a result of armed struggle against the foreign and non-Muslim forces which were oppressing them

•    He believed that there was a need to end the evils that had corrupted Islamic society

•    He surrounded himself with men of great piety who were prepared to reject worldly wealth and work for improving the moral and intellectual lives of Muslims.

•    The British were strong, Mughal emperors had little real power and the Sikhs were dominant in the Punjab so Syed Ahmad founded the Jihad Movement, which called for armed struggle to overthrow non-Muslim oppression, and restore Muslim power

•    He believed that once this was done Islam could be rejuvenated and rescued from beliefs and customs contrary to Islamic beliefs which had crept into everyday life

Work / Jihad Movement

Reasons for launching Jihad against Sikh

•    At this time the Punjab was under the control of the Sikh regime of Ranjit Singh, who had also extended his authority into the NWFP (now KP)

•    The Muslims suffered under Sikh rule

•    They were unable to carry out many of their religious practices. Even the call to prayer was banned in some, places

•    Syed Ahmad thought that this was intolerable and decided that the Punjab was the place to launch his jihad against non-Muslim rulers.

Reason for launching the Jihad movement first against Sikhs and not British

•    He launched it against the two main anti Muslim forces;

British in Bengal and

Sikhs in Punjab

•    He was aware that British were hard to defeat as a superpower

•    Therefore he launched the Jihad against the Sikhs first as they were a relatively weaker force and he thus was more likely to win against them

•    SASB knew that Punjab was surrounded by Muslim tribes, which encouraged him to fight against the Sikhs as these could help him

Ways through which Syed Ahmed formed his army

•    He travelled across India and held meetings in order to spread his beliefs about jihad.

•    Syed Ahmad toured the Punjab and the NWFP to enlist men to fight the Sikhs.

•    He travelled many hundreds of miles to raise a mujahedeen force

•    His travels took him through Rajasthan, Sindh, Baluchistan and into Afghanistan.

•    He found that the Afghan troops were suspicious of each other and not always prepared to join him in his jihad.

Reasons Sikh declared Syed Ahmed’s Army as un- Islamic

•    A major problem for Syed Ahmad was that his army consisted of men from many different communities which disagreed over how the campaign was fought.

•    The Sikhs tried to exploit these differences by calling his army un-Islamic

•    They claimed that by following the teachings of Shah Waliullah, Syed Ahmad’s forces were not true Muslims.

Response of Muslim forces against Sikh’s allegations

•    This view was not accepted by the Muslim leaders

•    They agreed unanimously that Syed Ahmad should assume the authority of an Imam

•    His word on religious matters was considered binding and his increased authority helped to unite the various Muslim groups forming the mujahedeen force

Betrayal by Pathans

•    Syed Ahmad was preparing to attack the fort of Attack when he encountered an army of 35,000 Sikhs near Okara.

•    Yar Muhammad Khan, a Pathan chief who had joined his army, had been bribed by the Sikhs.

•    First, one of his servants tried to poison Syed Ahmad then Yar Muhammad Khan deserted the battlefield along with his men thus creating confusion and chaos in the ranks which ultimately led to the defeat of Syed Ahmad’s forces

•    Yar Muhammad was later killed in battle against the mujahedeen; his brother Sultan Muhammad Khan also waged war against Syed Ahmad

Reasons for the movement’s failure

Syed Ahmed was not well trained in military tactics

•    Most of the fighters were teachers, or spiritual leaders

•    This made it difficult for the Mujahedeen forces to fight against the Sikhs and come up with clever strategies to defeat them

•    On the other hand, the Sikhs were tough and well trained under Ranjit, who was a strong military ruler

The Muslim army was disunited

•    The Muslims were of many different backgrounds

•    Soldiers often mistrusted each other and were reluctant to agree with one another

•    As a result, due to internal conflicts there wasn’t always full support from everybody and this weakened the Muslim forces

Conflict with Pathans

•    The Pathans did not tolerate being in an army that they weren’t running themselves

•    They weren’t ready to compromise which strained their relations with other Muslims

•    This weakened the Muslim forces as there was less support from Pathan tribes.

Imposition of Tax on locals to bear military cost

•    Syed Ahmed imposed taxes on locals to bear military costs but local people were distressed since they had never paid such a tax and were thus resented Syed Ahmed

•    As a result, SASB lost support of the local people which further weakened his forces

•    He thus lost money from taxes and his funds became limited and thus not all the military costs could be afforded

•    They could not improve upon/buy more needed military equipment.

Insincere army

•    Syed Ahmed’s army was not as sincere to him

•    There were attempts by Yar Muhamad Khan to assassinate him

•    He thus had to tackle with internal threats as well as external ones

•    His attention was diverted from his main goal, which was to defeat the Sikhs

•    Yar Muhammad’s army betrayed him in battle in Akora, weakened his fighting and causing his defeat

Role of traitors

•    When Syed Ahmed was moving to Balakot, traitors informed Sikhs of the Muslim’s route

•    Thus, the Sikhs prepared themselves and strengthened their forces which made it easier for them to defeat the Muslims.

•    So, when they launched their surprise attack at Balakot, the Muslims were unprepared for this unexpected attack, and were defeated.

Sikhs outnumbered the Muslims in this battle

•    The weaker Mujahedeen lost and Syed Ahmed was killed effectively ending the movement

Killing of Syed Ahmed and betrayal of local leaders

•    This constant campaigning against fellow Muslims was not what Syed Ahmad wanted, so he moved his forces to Balakot, hoping to liberate Kashmir and Hazara

•    Balakot was thought to be safe as it was protected on three sides by mountains

•    But once again Syed Ahmad was betrayed when local leaders told the Sikhs a way through the mountains

•    They made surprise attack on the forces of Syed Ahmad

•    The Battle of Balakot was a very fierce one

•    Though the mujahedeen had been taken by surprise by a much larger Sikh army they fought bravely but were heavily outnumbered and unable to resist the Sikhs

•    Six hundred mujahedeen soldiers were killed including Syed Ahmad and his commander, Shah Ismail

•    The defeat of the mujahedeen in the Battle of Balakot, was a serious setback for the Jihad Movement and it struggled to survive in the following years

•    The movement continued on in the hills of the NWFP when the British sent a large army to deal with the mujahedeen threat

•    Even then the movement survived through the determination of its followers

Influence

The work of Syed Ahmad had been very influential because

First movement to achieve religious freedom

•    It was the first example in Indian history of a movement formed to free the Muslims from the tyranny of non-Muslim or foreign rulers.

•    It was a movement to achieve religious and spiritual freedom.

•    Syed Ahmad’s efforts were an inspiration to all Muslims in defending their religion, their culture and their freedom

United Muslims for their just cause

•    The Jihad Movement was a uniting force for Muslims. Many of Syed Ahmad’s soldiers had been spiritual leaders or teachers. The fact that they were prepared to die for their cause was an inspiration to all Muslims.

Jihad Movement as a fore-runner of Pakistan Movement

•    The Jihad Movement is regarded by many historians as the fore-runner of the Pakistan Movement in India
•    Those Muslims who later campaigned for their own homeland saw Syed Ahmad as an example of a Muslim fighting for the Muslim cause in much the same way, since he too wanted to see a state which was based on the principles of Islam

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Shahwaliullah

Shahwaliullah

  August 29, 2019    Fantasy

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Early Biographical Details

•    Born on 21 February 1703 during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir

•    Real name was Qutub-ud-Din
•    Later became known as Shah Waliullah because of his piety
•    His father was Shah Abdul Rahim, who founded the Madrassa Rahimiya in Delhi
•    After the death of this father Shah Waliullah began teaching at the Madrassa
•    Went to Arabia to perform Hajj and to further his studies
•    He studied under the famous scholar Sheikh Abu Tahir bin Ibrahim

Beliefs

Weak leadership of Mughal Empire

•    During his time in Arabia, Shah Waliullah thought deeply about the problems faced by Muslims in the Mughal Empire.
•    The Empire was in decline and Muslims were disunited and vulnerable to attacks on their religion
•    Shah Waliullah realized that reform could not come from the weak leadership in Delhi and that it had to come from within the Muslim community itself

Reasons of problems of Muslims Community

Incomplete knowledge about Islam

•    He believed that many of the problems of the Muslims resulted from their incomplete knowledge of the Quran and about Islam in general and it was necessary that Quranic teachings become more accessible to the people

Moving away from the Islamic Principles

•    All political, social and economic behavior should be based on Islamic principles.
•    It was essential to follow the moral and spiritual principles of Islam in order to create a good society.
•    Un-Islamic principles were not acceptable in any area of society whether politics, economics or just the day-to-day lives of the individual Muslims.

Sectarian division amongst Muslim Community

•    A major problem for the Muslim community was the way it was divided into sectarian groups, such as Sunnis and Shias. Shah Waliullah wanted them to concentrate on the fundamental principles of Islam and put aside their differences, believing that this would create a more united community

Work

Role Model

•    Shah Waliullah worked hard to ensure that he was a role model for other Muslims. His deep understanding of the Quran, Hadith, Fiqah and Tassawuf made him a highly knowledgeable scholar at an early age

Translation of Quran into Persian

•    Since he believed that an emphasis on Quranic teachings was vital to Muslims, he translated the Quran into Persian.
•    Few Muslims spoke Arabic and so the Quran had not been widely studied previously
•    Now it could be understood by a larger number of Muslims
•    The Ulemas criticized Shah Waliullah, but his work proved very popular
•    Later his two sons, Shah Abdul Qader and Shah Rafi, translated the Quran into Urdu, which meant that many more people could study it

Wrote 51 Books

•    Shah Waliullah wrote fifty-one books in Persian and Arabic including Hujjat Alfah, al-Baligha and Izalat-Akhfa

United Sunnis and Shias by writing books

•    He also wrote an account of the first four caliphs of Islam in a way that was acceptable to both Shias and Sunnis. He hoped that this would help to heal the division between them
Work in bringing social justice
•    His writings brought him great fame and prestige and enabled him to have influence in other areas including economics
•    He emphasized the need for social justice and for peasants and craftsmen to be truly valued for their contribution to the economy

Uniting Muslim Community against external threats of Marathas and Sikhs

•    One of Shah Waliullah’s most important contributions to the Muslim community was his organization of opposition to the Marathas, who were threatening to over-run the Mughal Empire from the south and Sikhs who were attacking in the north
•    Shah Waliullah wrote to all the Muslim nobles calling on them to join together to save the Mughal Empire.
•    It was partly his influence which helped to persuade Ahmed Shah Abdali of Persia to intervene.
•    He joined forces with local Muslim leaders and defeated the Marathas at the Battle of Panipat in 1761.
•    However, despite encouragement from Shah Waliullah, the Muslim leaders did not unite to take advantage of the defeat of the Marathas. Perhaps if they had done so, the Muslims would not have soon found themselves under non-Muslim rule

Importance

Shah Waiiullah’s contribution towards Islamic revival was extremely important for a number of reasons:

1st Thinker to address the root cause of all Muslim Problems

•    He was one of the first Muslim thinkers to state that the decline of the Mughal Empire and the vulnerable position of the Muslims were due to a neglect of the principles of Islam. He believed that if the decline in the position of the Muslims was to be stopped, there had to be spiritual and moral regeneration

Madrassa Rahimiya played a vital role in teaching Islamic principles

•    He showed how this regeneration might take place. The Madrassa Rahimiya continued to play a vital role in teaching Islamic principles and researching Islamic thought

Translation of Quran into Persian increased awareness about Islamic teachings

•    His writing in Persian made Islamic teaching available to large numbers of Muslims who had not been able to understand Arabic. He believed that Muslims could only prosper it they followed proper Islamic customs and did not indulge in social evils.
•    Shah Waliullah provided the inspiration for all Muslims to lead a pure life, based on the belief that anti-social attitudes incurred the displeasure of God
Writing books on Caliphs increased unity and harmony between Sunnis and Shias
•    He also showed that a Muslim revival could only take place if there was an acceptance that sectarian division was to stop.
•    Muslims had to concentrate more on the basic principles of Islam, and not allow the differences between them to lead to conflict. He tried to build bridges between the different Muslim sects and to unite the community.

Uniting Muslims against threats from Marathas and Sikhs

•    He tried to do this by organizing opposition to the Marathas and uniting Muslims by emphasizing the importance of Jihad against a common enemy

Continued legacy

•    Shah Waliullah’s influence continued long after his death
•    His writings survived and got translated in many languages
•    His Madrassa Rahimiya continued to flourish as his sons carried forward his work and teachings
•    Many future Islamic leaders were inspired by him to fight for the good of the Muslim community

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