the life and times o shaikh ahmad sirhindi

375 Pages·2015·13.45 MB·English

THE LIFE AND TIMES O
SHAIKH AHMAD SIRHINDI
ABSTRACT
THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF
THE DEGREE OF
©ottor of ^(jiloiSopfip
IN
HISTORY
Under the Supervision of
Professor Khaliq Ahmad Nizami
BY
IQBAL SABIR
T 2A\3
CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
ALIGARH (INDIA)
1990
A B S T R A CT
The Naqshbandi silsilah occupies an important place in
the annals of Islam in Indian sub-continent. For nearly two
centuries/ i.e. 17th and 18th, it was the principal spiritual
order in India and its'influence permeated far and deep into
Indo-Muslim life. Though many Naqshbandi saints came to India
and associated themselves with the royal courts of Babur,
Humayun and Akbar, the credit of really . organizing and
propagating the Naqshbandi silsilah in this country goes to
Khwaja Muhammad Baqi Billah. He not only actively strove to
popularize Islamic teachings in the masses, but played a
significant role in shaping the religious outlook of the
ruling class. A new phase in the history of the Naqshbandi
silsilah began when Khwaja Baqi Billah reached India from
Kabul, his native town.
Baqi Billah's Khalifa and chief successor. Shaikh Ahmad
Sirhindi known as 'Mujaddid-i-Alf-i-Thani' holds a very
special and significant position among the Muslim divines of
medieval India. He played most important role in
disseminating the ideology and practices of the Naqshbandi
silsilah in India and Jahangir found his disciples in every
city of the Mughal empire. For centuries he has been
considered one of the most outstanding sufi teachers and
thinkers of the sub-continent.
Born in 971 A.H./ 1563-4 A.D. in Sirhindi, Shaikh Ahmad
Faruqi, a descendant of the second Pius Caliph Umar al-Faruq,
grew up to manhood during the reign of Akbar. He was deeply
perturbed at the religious experiments of Akbar and left no
stone unturned in challenging the situation created by
political interference in religious life. He criticised
severely the ularoa-i-su' (the worldly minded ulama) and
challenged the validity of principles of litihad
(interpretation of Islamic law), followed at the court. In
the beginning of Jahangir's reign he established close
contacts with eminent Mughal nobles through correspondence
and made them realize the nature of heretical developments at
the court. He deputed his disciples and khalifas to spread
his spiritual mission in every important city and town of the
Mughal empire. A large, number of ulama, sufis, scholars,
nobles, civil & military officials, and common people joined
his mystic fold. His success was most marked in the reign of
Jahangir, when many of the leading nobles at the Mughal court
became his devotees. The Shaikh also tried to effect certain
religious reforms in the royal army. The emperor,
consequently, summoned Shaikh Ahmad in 1029 A.H./ 1619 A.D.
to his royal court and ordered his imprisonment in the fort
of Gwalior. The saint remained there for about a year. On
his release he spent three years with the imperial army.
AS a sufi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi preached the importance
of spiritual values in man's life by reviving people's
interest in the Shariat i.e. the laws of Islam. He attacked
Shaikh Muliyyiddin Ibn-i-Arabi's Wahdat-ul-Wuiud (Unity of
Being) by declaring it one of the main causes of weakening
the distinctive features of faiths and creating an.,
atmosphere of moral holiday. His chief contribution to the
sufi thought in Islam was his enunciation of a counter theory
Wahdat-ush-Shahud (Unity of Appearance), and the way he
defined mystic concepts pertaining to hal (state.) and maqamat
(stations). He opposed bid'at (innovation or deviation from
the practice of the Prophet of Islam) and declared that no
spiritual progress was possible without closely following the
path indicated by the Prophet, i.e. sunnah.-'All his mystical
ideas and practices arc closely concerned with the central
traditions of Islam. For this reason his contemporaries, both
ulama and mashaikh(sufis), accepted Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi as
the most important religio-spiritual leader of the Muslims
V
and addressed him with the little of 'Mujaddid-i-Alf-Thani'.
the renewer of the second millennium of Islam. He continued
his mystic activities until his death in 1034 A.H./ 1624 A.D.
in Sirhind. Shaikh Ahmad's works especially his letters in
three volumes known as Maktubat-i-Imam-i-Rabbani hold an
important position in Muslim mystical literature throughtout
the Islamic world.
Many contemporary and later sources in Arabic and
Persian apart, a number of works in English, Urdu and other
languages have appeared so far which throw light on Shaikh
Ahmad Sirhindi. However, the need of a comprehensive work
dealing with all aspects of his life and thought, and his
impact on political and mystical life of the period has been
a desideratum.' The present thesis is an humble attempt to
fill this gap. On one hand it contains the complete
biographical details of the Shaikh, and on the other it
analyses in detail his reaction to Akbar's religious
experiments and his role in the Mughal politics. A complete
survey has been made here of Shaikh Ahmad's mystical and
religious activities. His conception of Tawhid and the theory
of taldccd and millennium have also been thoroughly
discussed. The thesis also deals with the initial history of
the Naqshbandi silsilah in India and throws light on the life
and ideology of Khwaja Baqi Billah. While discussing Shaikh
Ahmad's reaction to Akbar's religious experiment and his role
in the Mughal political, the religious policy and experiments
of emperor Akbar, and the religio-political condition of
Jahangir's reign have been discussed in details. Besides, the
thesis starts with a critical survey of the milieu in which
the social, political and religious attitudes of Shaikh Ahmad
Sirhindi were shaped.
Accordingly^ the thesis comprises an introduction and
nine chapters. The first chapter entitled 'milieu' gives the
detail accounts of various to religious and socio-political
movements of the period and tries to show their positive or
negative impact on Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi; In this connection
a brief survey of the Mahdawi Movement, the activities of the
Christian missionaries in and outside the Mughal court,
increasing influence of Hindu ladies (queens), officials and
nobles on Akbar, the activities of the Bhakti saints, and the
impact of Abul Fazl and his family on the emperor etc. has
been made critically. The second chapter throws light on the
early life of the Shaikh whereas the third one gives the
details of his joining the mystic fold of Khwaja Baqi Billah
into the Naqshbandi order. This chapter also highlights the
biographical details and mystical teachings of the Khwaja,
and discusses his relations with the Mughal nobles. Chapter
four presents Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi as an organizer of the
Naqshbandi silsilah in India. In this chapter a complete
survey of his khalifas' mystical activities as well as
missionary work in different cities of the sub-continent has
been made. The fifth chapter dealing with the religious
. throught and mystical ideology of the Shaikh thoroughly
discusses Wahdat-ush-Shuhud and the concept of tajdeed and
millennium. Chapter six throws light on Shaikh Ahmad's
reaction to Akbar's religious experiments, while the seventh
chapter discusses the Shaikh's relations with Jahangir and
the Mughal nobles. In both these chapters, Ahmad Sirhindi's
method of working against Akbar's attitude towards Islam and
the Muslims, and influencing the thought and policies of
Jahangir apart, policy and experiments of Akbar, and the
religio-political condition of Jahangir's reign have been
discussed in detail. The eight chapter describes Shaikh Ahmad
Sirhindi's last days and death. Chapter nine, the last one,
highlights the impact of the saint on Indo-Muslim mystic
ideology. The thesis also consists of a chronology of the
Shaikh's life and the bibliography of the select works on
both Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, and the social, political and
religious condition and personalities of the period.
This study is based a critical survey of the Naqshbandi
sources as well as the religio political treatises of the
period, particularly the works of Khwaja Baqi Billah, the
maktubat-i-Imam-i-Rabbani of Shaikh Ahmad himself, the
Zubdat-ul-Muaamat of Khwaja Hashim Kishmi which . occupies a
place of precedence in the biographical as well other type of
literature on Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi produced in India, and
the works of the Shaikh's sons and the khalifas. We have
7
benefited from the other chronicles also such as Ain-i-Akbari
and Akbar Nama of Abul Fazl/ Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh of Abdul
Qadir Badayuni, Tuzuk-i-Jahangjri of Emperor Jahangir and
the Ma'athir-ul-Umara' of Shah Nawaz Khan. Moreover, the
ideas and arguraenti" of the modern writers and historians in
their works in English and under have been completely
noticed.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
SHAIKH AHMAD SIRHINDI
THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF
THE DEGREE OF
Bottor of $|)tlos(opI)p
IN
HISTORY
Under the Supervision of
Professor Khaiiq Ahmad Nizami
BY
iQBAL SABIR
CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
ALIGARH (INDIA)
1990
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