The following article is written by Kainat Raheem, a student of Sir Syed Kazim Ali. Moreover, the article is written on the same pattern, taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. Besides, the knowledge, case studies, quotes, and examples have been taught to him by Miss Irum Arif, the country’s top CSS and PMS Pakistan Affairs coach. For years, Miss Irum Arif, also Sir Kazim’s student, has been known for her teaching methodology and how she helps her students understand questions asked in the exam. Therefore, to help thousands of CSS and PMS aspirants who visit Cssprepforum and Howfiv for better preparation, we have uploaded this article so they can understand how to crack a topic or a question, how to write relevantly, what is coherence, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
- Introduction
- The then prevalent situation of the Indian subcontinent
- Contributions of sheikh Ahmad Sir Hindi to the revival of Islam
- Opposition to Biddat
- Opposition to Deen-e-Elahi
- Preaching pure Islamic teachings
- wahadat ul shuhood
- Letters to nobles
- Impact of the reforms Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi introduced
- Impact on emperor Jahangir
- Revival of sunnah and true Islamic principle
- Two nation theory
- Critical analysis
- Conclusion
Introduction
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a mystic, saint, theologian, and reformer who was largely responsible for the rejuvenation of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. Through his teachings, he openly challenged the anti-Islamic policies of Akbar, and bluntly rejected Deen-i-Elahi, an amalgamation of all the religions. He was of the opinion that Muslims and Hindus could never compromise on their religious practices, which ultimately led to the Two Nation Theory. Moreover, he condemned any kind of innovation in Islam and believed it to be against the true teachings of Sunnah. Consequently, his efforts proved to be successful in eliminating un-Islamic practices from the Muslim society, thus, reforming the individuals as well as the larger society. Hence, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi left a far-reaching impact on Muslims in religious and political fields.
‘’Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi is a light which will illuminate the whole world.’’
Hazrat Khawaja Baqi Billah
The then prevalent situation in the Indian subcontinent
Islam faced devastating threats during the reign of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. Muslim society was ridden with un-Islamic practices. Widespread belief in karamat had developed in the society that greatly misled innocent people. Moreover, scholars and ulema had taken a trajectory away from the basic teachings of Islam. As a result, Akbar promulgated his new Deen, Deen-i-Elahi or Divine faith, combining the salient features of Islam with other religions. Hence, it was the need of the hour that a man comes who could oppose the emperor and revive the true teachings of Islam.
Contributions of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi
Disappointed by the prevalent perturbed situation of Islam and Muslims in India, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi came on the horizon to rejuvenate the true teachings of Islam. He bluntly opposed newborn deen, Deen-e-Elahi, and was against any kind of innovation, Biddat, in Islam. Moreover, he convinced Muslims to learn the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah and implement the laws of shariah. Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi strongly criticized the concept of wahadat ul wajood, which propagated that there is no difference between the creator and his creation. This was misused by the proponents of Din e Ilahi, who proved that Akbar can be considered God. In contrast, Sheikh gave the concept of wahadat ul shuhood which meant that God and his creation are two separate entities, so it is forbidden in Islam to consider anyone else as God. Furthermore, he wrote letters to nobles of the court to make them realize the nature of heretical developments at the court. Thus, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was extremely dissatisfied with the prevailing un-Islamic condition in India and left no stone unturned in saving Muslim society from dogmatism and secular beliefs of unorthodox mystics.
Impacts of reforms introduced by Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi
Indeed, the influence of Sheikh Ahmad in the subcontinent had been too great. It was his great achievement to bring back Shariat in Muslim society. He wrote a large number of letters to the nobles of courts emphasizing the need for true teachings of Islam. Although King Jahangir belonged to the same category of kingship as Akbar, his attitude was changed. Sheikh spent 20 years of his life during King Jahangir’s age. During his stay in the court of Jahangir, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi found the unique opportunity to preach to King and the people around him. The Emperor and the people of the Mughal court were fully influenced by the teaching of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi and broad-minded Emperors and people of the Mughal court became orthodox Muslims. Due to the untiring efforts of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, the Mughal society began to turn into an Islamic state.
Under the influence of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, Emperor Aurangzeb ordered to restore the rules of orthodox Islam in the administration and to bring the lives of the people according to the teaching of the Quran. The Persian festival Nauroz and music were banned at court. The teaching and practising of other religions were stopped under royal orders. Jizya was re-imposed on the unbelievers in order to spread Islam and put down the practice of infidelity. Thus the tone of administration changed and the liberalism of the day of Akbar stopped.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi put great stress on the wide and unbridgeable gap between Islam and Hinduism. He was of the opinion that two communities could never compromise on their religious practices. He till the end of his life drew a distinct line between Islam and other religions. According to him:
“If Muslims want to live as a nation than they have to quit the talk of shirk and Biddat and stay away from Hindus. If the awareness of separate national identity is not awakened in Muslims then it is feared that they would be swept away with the flood of combine nationhood. Islam would be destroyed like Buddhism and Hinduism.”
Thus, his thoughts about separate identities eventually led to the Two Nation Theory.
Critical analysis
No doubt, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was the reformer of the millennium. He was the only person who had the guts to stand against Emperor Akbar and Jahangir. He strongly condemned innovations in Islam and opposed the amalgamation of other religions into Islam. Hence, he insisted on the pure teachings of the Quran and Sunnah and eliminated all un-Islamic practices from Muslim society.
Conclusion
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was not only a great scholar but also a social reformer leader. He played a vital role to establish a society based on the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah. He contributed significantly towards the protection of Muslim society from un-Islamic values and Hindu thought. A number of factors had weakened the religious and cultural consciousness of the Muslims. Numerous evils had been created by the people of the Mughal court due to their attachment to worldly gains. The Mughal emperor Akbar introduced new religion called “Din-I-Ilaihi”. The whole society was on the edge of darkness. Thus, it was a great achievement of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi to bring back the Shariat into society. He wrote a large number of letters to Government personalities emphasizing the need for true teaching of Islam. He eradicated the evils of this class of society, and through letters strongly stressed upon those to follow the direction of the Holy Prophet.
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