Syed Ahmad Barelvi; Early Biographical Details, Beliefs,Work, and Influence

Question 1

What are the early biographical details of Syed Ahmad Barailvi?

Answer 1

1. Syed Ahmad was born near Lucknow in the small town of Rai Bareli in 1786.
2. His father died whilst he was still young and in 1806,
3. He moved to Delhi and enrolled in the Madrassa Rahimiya.
4. For two years he studied under the sons of Shah Waliullah leaming the Quran and the Hadith.
5. But Syed Ahmad was more a man of action than a scholar
6. And in 1810 joined the forces of Amir Khan, a Pathan military leader.
7. It was at this time that Syed Ahmad learned how to use European weaponry.
8. He showed himself to be so able that he was given command of a group of soldiers. 9.However, because of his piety he was also made responsible for leading the troops in prayer.
9. In 1817 Syed Ahmad returned to Delhi, where his work became important in trying to restore Islam to its original purity.

Question 2

What were the beliefs of Syed Ahmad Barailvi?

Answer 2

1. As a man of action, Syed Ahmad was an ideal person to act as a leader to work against British power in India
2. And to try to ensure that Muslims were ruled by fellow Muslims.
3. He believed that the freedom of Muslims could only come as a result of armed struggle against the foreign and non-Muslim forces.
4. Syed Ahmad wanted to improve the lives of Muslims.
5. Consequently, even when he served as an army officer he surrounded himself with men of great piety
6. who were prepared to reject worldly wealth
7. And work for improving the moral and intellectual lives of Muslims.
8. The British had ensured that the Mughal Emperors had little real power and the Sikhs were dominant in the Punjab.
9. Syed Ahmad founded the Jihad Movement, which called for armed struggle to overthrow non-Muslim oppression and restore Muslim power.
10. He believed that once this was done Islam could be restored to it’s original state
11. And rescued from beliefs and customs contrar to Islamic beliefs which had crept into every day life.

Question 3

Work done by Syed Ahmad Barailvi;

Answer 3

1. In 1821, Syed Ahmad went for Haj: before going he travelled across India and held meetings in order to spread his beliefs about jihad.
2. When he returned from Arabia in 1823, he was ready to take action.
3. At this time the Punjab was under the control of the Sikh regime of Ranjit Singh, who had also extended his authonty into the North West Frontier.
4. Syed Ahmad thought that the Punjab was the place to launch his jihad against non Muslim rulers.
5. Syed Ahmad toured the Punjab and the North West Frontier to enlist men to fight the Sikhs.
6. He travelled many hundreds of miles to raise a mujahideen force.
7. His travels took him through Rajasthan, Sindh, Balochistan and into Afghanistan.
8. However, he found that the Afghan troops were suspicious of each other and not always prepared to join him his jihad.
9. In 1826 Syed Ahmad established his headquarters near Peshawar.
10. He sent a message to Ranjit Singh tellling him that he must allow Muslims freedom of worship or face the mujahideen.
11. Ranit Singh dismissed the ultimatum, so Syed Ahmad was forced to attack first at Akora on 21 December 1826,
12. And then shortly afterwards at Hazrothe, the Sikhs suffered defeat.
13. Syed Ahmad’s victories established him as a successful military leader and encouraged other tribes to join the mujahideen.
14. Soon the army numbered over 80.000 strong. 15.However, 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.
15. The Sikhs tried to exploit these differences by calling his army un-Islamic.
16. They claimed that by following the teachings of Shah Waliullah,
17. Syed Ahmad’s forces were not true Muslims.
18. This view was not accepted by the Muslim leaders.
19. In 1827, they agreet unanimously that Syed Ahmad should assume the authority of an Imam.
20. His word on religious matters was considered binding and his increased authority helped to unite the various Muslim groups forming the mujahideen force.
21. Syed Ahmad was preparing to attack the fort of Attock when he encountered an army of 35,000 Sikhs near Akora.
22. What he did not know was that Yar Muhammad Khan, a Pathan chief who had joined his army, had been briber by the Sikhs 24.First one of his servants tried to poison Syed Ahmad, then Yar Muhammad Khan deserted the battlefield along with his men.
23. Thus creating confusion and chaos in the ranks which ultimately led to the defeat of Syed Ahmad’s forces.
24. He had no other option but to move his headquarters to the safety of Panjtrar near Kashmir.
25. Although, Yar Muhammad was later killed in battle against the mujahideen, his brother Sultan Muhammad Khan also waged war against Syed Ahmad.
26. This constant campaigning against fellow Muslims was not what Syed Ahmad wanted, 29.So he moved his forces to Balakot, hoping to liberate Kashmir and Hazara.
27. Balakot was thought to be safe as it was protected on three sides by mountains.
28. But once again Syed Ahmad was betrayed when local leaders told the Sikhs of a way through the mountains.
29. They made a surprise attack on the forces of Syed Ahmad.
30. The Battle of Balakot (1831) was a fiercely contested one.
31. Though the mujahideen had been taken by surprise by a much larger Sikh army.
32. They fought bravely but were heavily outnumbered and unable to resist the Sikhs. 34.Six hundred mujahideen soldiers were killed including Syed Ahmad and his commander, Shah Ismail.

Question 4

How was the work of Syed Ahmad Barailvi influential?

Answer 4

The work of Syed Ahmad had been very influential because:

1. It was the first example in Indian history of a movement formed to free the Muslims from the non-Muslim or foreign rulers.
2. It was not a movement in order to places particular leader in power,
3. But instead, to achieve religious and spiritual freedom.
4. The Jihad Movement was a uniting force for Muslims.
5. Many of Syed Ahmad’s soldiers had been spiritual leaders or teachers.
6. The fact that they were prepared to die for their cause was an inspiration to all Muslims. 7. The Jihad Movement is regarded by many historians as the fore-runner of the Pakistan Movement in India.
7. Syed Ahmad’s efforts were an inspiration to all Muslims in defending their religion, their culture and their freedom.
8. 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,
9. Since he too wanted to see a state which was based on the principles of Islam.

Question 5

What are early biographical details of Haji shariatullah?

Answer 5

1. Haji Shanatuliuh was born in 1781. in Faridpur district in East Bengal (today part of Bangiadesh).
2. His father was a farmer and his family was not very well off in 1799.
3. He travelled to Arabia on pilgrimage and stayed there for the next nineteen years.
4. He became greatly influenced by the beliefs of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab.
5. On his return to East Bengal, he started his own reform movement designed to purify Islam of the Hindu influences.
6. Haji Shariatullah died in 1840, but his work was carried on by his son Mohsin-ud-Din.

Question 6

What were the beliefs of Haji Shariatullah?

Answer 6

1. Haji Shanatullah believed that the Muslim community had moved away from true Islamic practice.
2. He wanted them to return to what he thought was the proper observation of Islamic duties called faraiz.
3. This was why his movement was called the Faraizi Movement.