The Publisher’s Note

Although Muslim rulers governed India for a long time, and some of them assisted, to a limited extent, in spreading Islam, many of them did not propagate true Islam among the people. Not only did they fail to propagate it; Islam was instead presented in a distorted manner, misinterpreted, and, in some cases, driven toward catastrophe by rulers seeking to strengthen their vested interests. Amid this crisis of Islam, Mujaddid Alf-e Sani appeared and protected the fundamental ideals of Islam in the subcontinent from ruin. Islam again faced a crisis during and after the decline of the Mughal Empire. The great man who, through his extraordinary intellect, foresight, wisdom, and spiritual discipline, revived Islam at that time and tried to save Muslims from misguidance and calamity was Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (may Allah have mercy on him). Maulana Zulfikar Ahmad Qismati has attempted in this book to present the precious life and ideals of that great man. The book will help everyone learn about the ideals and thought of Shah Waliullah, the initiator of the Islamic revival throughout the Himalayan subcontinent after Mughal rule, and his immortal contributions to Islam. We hope that, by reading this work, readers will observe the immortal achievements of a great man at a turning point in history, adopt those ideals themselves, and strive to achieve the objectives of the Islamic renaissance inspired by his thought in its present expanded form.

The Author’s Note

Rise and decline occur in an individual’s life, and similarly in the life of society. The difference is that the consequences of one, whether favorable or unfavorable, remain limited, while those of the other affect the lives of countless people. At all times, rise and decline are taking place in one country or society or another in the world. One nation may be advancing rapidly toward progress, while another may be seen losing its distinct identity and sinking into the bottomless abyss of decline. Behind this decline and progress lie certain causes and conditions. Awareness of those causes and conditions is essential. For a nation that does not keep before it the history of its past failures and successes can never find comprehensive direction for its course. Yet identifying all these causes and conditions properly and presenting them to the nation at the right time is no easy matter. Even when this is possible, creating a positive response to the knowledge gained in the innermost hearts of countless citizens and bringing about the nation’s revival is truly difficult. Those who have laid the foundations of national revival in various countries of the world do not merely remain immortal in history as the guiding lights of their nations; people of future generations also continually draw inspiration from them.

After the end of Muslim dominance in this subcontinent, despair, aimlessness, and a general stagnation appeared among Muslims. At that time, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi laid the foundation for the national revival of the Muslims. Others also contributed to the Muslim revival in the subcontinent. But the extensive discussion, propagation, and dissemination of his life, teachings, and ideals that were needed in terms of durability, breadth, and depth did not take place. Although a handful of inquisitive educated individuals knew something about him, his life and philosophy were not generally discussed here. Again, many modern educated writers, lacking adequate knowledge of his activities, have been seen presenting erroneous information about him. In this regard, I have documented, with much effort, several factual and theoretical errors in a history textbook of the Bangladesh Textbook Board, on pages 8–11 of my book The Struggle of the Ulama in the Freedom Movement (first edition). I have heard that the late Maulana Nur Muhammad Azmi, one of Bangladesh’s finest scholar-writers, prolific authors, literary figures, and journalists, and Maulana Abdur Rahim Sahib translated his world-famous Hujjatullah al-Baligha. Although a local institution had the work translated by them, it has still not been published, whether through the negligence of a subsequent director or for some other reason. Of course, among the ulama of this country there is no lack of recognition of Shah Waliullah’s name or respect for him. As a spiritual alim and an imam proficient in Islamic knowledge and sciences, he was one of the greatest Islamic philosophical thinkers, a pioneer who sowed the seeds of the movement to establish Hukumat-e Ilahiyyah in this subcontinent, and a thinker whose rational approach is especially useful for explaining Islamic injunctions to modern society. This aspect of his life has not been widely discussed.

This book attempts to discuss the life, teachings, and ideals of this great man. In particular, it discusses how, after the end of Muslim dominance during the reign of the last Mughal rulers in this subcontinent, he worked amid British domination, various superstitions and misguided ideas, and the miserable condition of Muslim society. It is my hope that this book will inspire readers to preserve Islamic national consciousness and Islamic culture and civilization in this country.

The Philosopher Shah Waliullah Dehlawi ((may Allah have mercy on him)) and His Thought

Although until the fifth century Hijri Muslims occupied the pinnacle of progress in the entire world in literature, culture, poetry, history, philosophy, jurisprudence, mathematics, medicine, chemistry, architecture, conquest, and material civilization, afterward an intellectual sterility appeared throughout the Muslim world. This stagnation was especially evident in religious thought, to the extent that the doors of Islamic scholarship and independent thinking were virtually closed. Not only was blind adherence to earlier authorities practiced in thinking about and researching the Qur’an and Sunnah and in explaining them; even regarding many complex issues, it was believed that the age of researching the Qur’an and Sunnah with an innovative outlook had ended with the fourth century Hijri, and that later people had no right to think independently about these matters.

Moreover, it can be seen that from the period after the Rightly Guided Caliphs until the fourth century Hijri, the devoted imam-mujtahids worked privately in Islamic thought and research on the one hand, while power-hungry people continued in various ways to undermine Islamic values on the other. During the rule of the Umayyads and Abbasids—with the exception of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz—the cultural life of Islam faced a terrible crisis. The indiscriminate translation and propagation of Greek literature and philosophy initiated anarchy in the intellectual world of the Muslims. With the aid of the state apparatus, the ruling class arranged for the spread of the thought of the Age of Ignorance in literature, philosophy, politics, and civilization. By the latter half of the fifth century Hijri, the situation had reached a point where enthusiasm for Greek literature and philosophy had grown excessive. The beliefs and faith and the moral character of Muslim rulers and people suffered severe decline. A group of ulama, jurists, and muftis sought to evaluate the Islamic philosophy of life by the standards of foreign philosophies. In the period that followed, various other superstitions and false ideas also arose in different parts of the Muslim world. Living under a repressive monarchical environment, people were becoming unfamiliar with the true outline of the Islamic way of life. There was a special need to explain and analyze theoretically and philosophically the Qur’anic and Sunnah-based injunctions prescribed for the various departments of human life. The notion that Islam is a complete and victorious system of life was gradually disappearing from Muslim society. Its place was being taken by Sufism—that is, a partial form of Islam, or in some cases a distorted form—the effects of which continue to this day, with some still considering a few formal acts of worship to constitute the whole of Islam. Although from time to time some people advanced revolutionary Islamic ideas under the domination of powerful royal authority, they were easily subdued before the general apathy and indifference of society as a whole. Saying or writing anything based on those ideas was also a great risk to one’s life. Moreover, in that environment it conflicted with the strategic policy followed to preserve Islam. For these reasons, Muslims gradually began to deviate from the God-given way of life that the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) and his devoted Companions had presented to humanity after shattering, through agonizing struggle and sacrifice, all the impenetrable walls of the Age of Ignorance.

The Condition of the Subcontinent

On the one hand, there was a lack of sound knowledge and research concerning Islam; on the other, new erroneous ideas were constantly being invented. As Islam entered the twelfth century Hijri after losing its dynamism amid these two conditions, the condition of the entire Muslim society, especially the Muslims of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, was extremely deplorable from an intellectual point of view. Nowhere else had Islam faced the challenge it encountered here at the hands of self-interested Muslim rulers. For, with the exception of one or two, the Muslim kings and emperors of Delhi did not merely fail to do anything to establish a complete Islamic way of life in Indo-Pakistan; by carrying out various acts contrary to Islamic ideals, they presented the common people of the country with a confusing image of Islam. During the Mughal period, particularly from the latter half of the tenth century Hijri, the situation deteriorated alarmingly. Emperor Akbar’s boundless audacity toward Islam created a great festering sore in Muslim social life. Emperor Akbar favored placating the Hindus at any cost. He believed that Mughal rule could not endure in India for long on the strength of the minority Muslims alone, without the active support of the Hindus when necessary. Thus, to preserve his ancestors’ throne, Akbar was prepared to sacrifice his own national culture and civilization and his faith and creed. Influenced by this outlook, Akbar adopted many Hindu customs and abolished the jizya tax on non-Muslims. He did all this in the name of his own invented, much-condemned, farcical religion called the Din-i Ilahi. It should be noted that this mischief took hold of Akbar’s mind from 983 Hijri. To formulate plans for this purpose, he summoned to his court not only a group of ulama, pirs, and Hindu scholars, but also scholars of Shiism, Christianity, Judaism, fire worship, and other religions. Later, on the basis of everyone’s statements, he put his self-serving judgment into effect and officially announced the establishment of the Din-i Ilahi in 990 Hijri. Behind Akbar’s misguidance, along with his ignorance of Islam, lay the profound influence of his non-Muslim wives. The presence of Hindu women in the harem was sufficient to turn the entire environment Hindu. Places of worship for various religions were built inside the palaces. General festivities were held in the emperor’s palace during Hindu fairs and festivals. At the time of the evening lamps, Akbar would stand to receive homage. The adhan and cow slaughter were prohibited. The clothing and appearance of the court personnel were entirely Hindu. Beards began to disappear from Muslim faces. In short, the entire environment, all the activities, customs, and ceremonies of the palace were wholly bearers and vehicles of Hindu culture. The clothing, architecture, and painting of the age all displayed the imprint of Hindu culture. The mosque at Fatehpur Sikri and the tomb of Shaykh Salim Chishti were likewise built as symbols of Hindu architecture. Concerning the tomb of Shaykh Salim Chishti, the famous English writer Winston Smith remarked: “I was astonished to see symbols of Hindu culture and architecture on the tomb of a vigorous and great spiritual saint of Muslim society. The expression of Hindu ideas is clear throughout the entire mausoleum.” (Akbar the Great Mughal, pp. 442–443.) Likewise, Henell’s comment is noteworthy. He said: “The mosque at Fatehpur seems more like a Vaishnava temple than a mosque.” (A Handbook of Indian Art, p. 65.)

The Role of a Group of Ulama

A group of court-serving ulama and pirs of the government of that time were no less responsible for Akbar’s deviation. Their mutual conflict, quarrels, jealousy, and lack of knowledge or ignorance regarding the fundamental demands of the religion of Islam added fuel to the fire. Because of their weakness and cowardice before those in power and their irresponsibility concerning the religion, in 987 Hijri they felt no embarrassment at issuing a fatwa describing Akbar in terms of divine attributes as “Zillullah” (the shadow or mercy of Allah), “a just leader,” “the imam of the age,” “above all obedience,” and “whose command is binding upon all.” They also issued a fatwa permitting prostration before him as a mark of respect. The late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, commenting on this matter, said: “During Akbar’s reign, the ulama al-su’—the corrupt ulama—such as Makhdum al-Mulk and Abd al-Nabi [In Islamic history, scholars of distorted faith and distorted practice in various periods have been referred to as ‘ulama al-su’. The term is currently used as a technical term. Tazkirah, p. 21.] signed the aforesaid fatwa and made themselves deserving of severe punishment; Allah alone knows how He will deal with them. There is no doubt, however, that the extreme ignorance displayed by those ulama through such reprehensible conduct is exceedingly rare. To tell the truth, whatever attacks Islam has suffered in different ages have come because of such ‘ulama al-su’. I would say that those most responsible for creating Akbar’s misguidance were not Abul Fazl and Faizi, but these ‘dogs of the world’ were more responsible. Unfortunately, at that time these selfish individuals had concealed themselves beneath the cloak of the ulama.”

In any case, in the midst of the profound darkness created by Akbar, Allah Almighty later caused a powerful sun like Mujaddid Alf-e Sani to rise, and during the reign of Emperor Jahangir that darkness ended as a result of his irresistible movement, sacrifice, endurance, and strong defensive measures. Although Alf-e Sani (may Allah have mercy on him) succeeded in calming the current of this misguidance and the other powerful streams of innovation and polytheism accompanying it, the mark of that wicked wound was not completely erased. Some of its germs remained in later periods as well. For it was seen that although the number of followers of Akbar’s Din-i Ilahi was extremely small, its general influence had spread widely. For example, whereas Muslim writers generally began their writings, especially their books, with hamd and na‘t, government officials of distorted mentality and Muslim writers of the royal court began their works, influenced by Hindu culture and language, in the names of Hindu gods and goddesses such as Ganesha or Saraswati. Furthermore, proof that the concept and influence of the Din-i Ilahi existed among notable people not only during the reign of Akbar’s son Jahangir but also during the reign of his great-grandson is Dara Shikoh. Dara Shikoh, the son of Shah Jahan, was initially influenced by Sufi thought, but later gradually inclined toward Hindu religious beliefs. Under his patronage, many Hindu religious books were translated into Persian. He wrote treatises discussing the terminology of his own faith in relation to the terminology of Hindu pantheism. He sought to reconcile Hindu and Muslim religions. His ideas, consciously or unconsciously, spread even among many devoted Sufis. Dara Shikoh thus prepared, through the Sufis, common ground between Islam and Hinduism (Islam: The Straight Path).

This was essentially the reason behind the conflict between Emperor Aurangzeb (1068–1118 Hijri) and Dara Shikoh and, ultimately, Dara Shikoh’s defeat and death. It would be entirely incorrect to regard their conflict merely as a quarrel between two brothers over possession of royal power. Rather, it was a conflict between two schools of thought and two ideals. Abu al-Muzaffar Muhi al-Din Alamgir Aurangzeb wanted to revive the ideal of the Noble Prophet, namely Islam, in the subcontinent, while Dara Shikoh wanted to establish here the doctrine of his great-grandfather Akbar. Some hold that if Dara Shikoh had succeeded in gaining power, the Mughal Empire would still exist today, and even if it did not, Islam would have been eradicated from the subcontinent. For these reasons, even after the era of a Muslim ruler who fully followed Islamic ideals, such as Aurangzeb, had passed, it was seen that the incompetence of the succeeding rulers allowed that Hinduized outlook, along with Shiite doctrine and various un-Islamic, fitna-filled ideas, to raise its head. The un-Islamic customs and ideas that had been eliminated through the efforts of Mujaddid Alf-e Sani (971–1034 Hijri) and later the saintly Emperor Aurangzeb were revived when the weakness of that ruler provided an opportunity. This was the general condition of Indo-Pakistan. Alongside it, the state of education in society and the activities of the cultured classes—namely, the ulama and the pirs and shaykhs—were even more degraded. Some individuals calling themselves Sufis, faqirs, and dervishes plundered the wealth of ordinary people under the guise of faqiri and marifati. In educational institutions, surgery was still being performed on the rotten corpse of the doctrines propagated by Aristotle. Although Shams-i Bazigha and Qadi Mubarak were studied with particular importance in the madrasas, no one paid attention to thinking and research concerning the Qur’an and Sunnah. They were so absorbed in the ‘ulum-i ilahiyyah that they had no time to attend to the kalam of Allah. In the general curriculum of the time, namely Dars-i Nizami [the educational system of the Qawmi madrasas commonly followed today], if any subject was excluded from the syllabus, it was the Qur’an. Even in the study circles of the great ulama, it was considered sufficient to teach only Mishkat Sharif and Mashariq al-Anwar. The situation was such that the ulama were surrounded by the thought of the Mujaddid (may Allah have mercy on him) and his contemporary, Shaykh Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dehlawi (may Allah have mercy on him) (958–1052 Hijri). The condition of the muftis was that they regarded the fatwas of the later jurists and mujtahids—‘muta’akhkhirin,’ that is, those after the fifth century Hijri—as final. It was impossible to oppose any jurisprudential opinion of Ibn Najim (970 Hijri) and Mulla Ali al-Qari (1014 Hijri). If anyone showed boldness in this matter, he might be assailed with religious reproaches as a Wahhabi, a new mubtadi‘ (innovator), a non-madhhabi, and the like.

Alongside the condition of the ulama and those devoted to education, the condition of ordinary Muslims and the middle class was even more hopeless. According to one non-Muslim writer, “Generally speaking, Islam had lost its vitality in the subcontinent. Attachment to Islam’s formal rituals and imagined miracles alone was predominant. If Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) were to come into the world a second time, he would be extremely displeased to see religious indifference and idol worship among these followers of his.” [Stewart discussed the Muslim world in detail in his work on the eighteenth century and presented an extremely painful picture. In the view of Amir Shakib Arslan, Stewart was the only writer who portrayed the Muslim world with an expertise that even a perceptive Muslim writer could not achieve. A full account of Stewart appears in Sirayad Ahmad, pp. 50–51.]

Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlawi ((may Allah have mercy on him))

At this particular moment in the condition of the Muslims of Indo-Pakistan, and generally in the intellectual sterility of the Muslim world’s religious thought, there was an urgent need for a guide to the light—someone who would clearly present to the Muslim ummah, from theoretical and philosophical perspectives, the correct significance of the injunctions of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Through thought and research, the path of Islamic revival would be opened, and the Muslim ummah would no longer regard Islam merely as the so-called religion confined within the four walls of the mosque, madrasa, and khanqah; rather, accepting it as a complete way of life, they would organize themselves and struggle to establish its supremacy in every sphere of life, seeking within Islam solutions to their economic, political, cultural, and spiritual problems. By Allah’s infinite grace, at precisely that time a child was born into a distinguished, God-fearing family in Delhi to shoulder this great responsibility. In later years, this child became renowned throughout the world as Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, the pioneer of the Islamic intellectual revival of the Muslim ummah, especially in the Indo-Pak-Bengal subcontinent.

His father’s name was Shah Abd al-Rahim (may Allah have mercy on him). The Abd al-Rahim family had long been highly renowned in Delhi for Islamic knowledge and research. Many celebrated ulama belonged to this family. In terms of lineage, Imam Shah Waliullah was connected with the second caliph, Hazrat Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him). His grandfather, Shah Wajih al-Din (may Allah have mercy on him), was a very courageous man. He took part in several battles during Emperor Alamgir’s reign and was also with the Mughal army in the war against the Marathas. Shah Waliullah’s father, Shah Abd al-Rahim, was an eminent repository of Islamic knowledge during Emperor Alamgir’s reign. He possessed spiritual insight and religious knowledge. He was extremely devoted and God-fearing in observing religious customs and practices. When Emperor Alamgir established a high council of scholars specializing in Islamic law to compile the world-famous Islamic legal work Fatawa-yi Alamgiri under state administration, his name was included in it. By nature, he was averse to serving in the royal court and therefore declined the position, but he repeatedly assisted the council in this matter. Shah Waliullah was born in 1114 Hijri, four years before the death of Emperor Alamgir, and died in 1176 Hijri. Thus, he witnessed the eras of ten Mughal emperors, including Alamgir. They were: (1) Alamgir (Aurangzeb), (2) Bahadur Shah, (3) Mu‘izz al-Din Jahandar Shah, (4) Farrukh Siyar, (5) Rafi‘ al-Darajat, (6) Rafi‘ al-Dawla, (7) Muhammad Shah Rangila, (8) Abu Nasr Ahmad Shah, (9) Alamgir II, and (10) Emperor Shah Alam.

Shah Waliullah was endowed with extraordinary intelligence from childhood. At the age of seven, he memorized the Noble Qur’an, and before completing fifteen, under the guidance of his capable father, he attained proficiency in all religious and spiritual subjects. Indeed, for this reason, when Shah Abdur Rahim passed away in 1131 AH, he devoted himself, at the age of seventeen, to disseminating Islamic knowledge through his father’s educational institution. Shah Waliullah continued teaching at Delhi’s Rahimiya Madrasa for twelve consecutive years. During this period, he achieved considerable advancement in Islamic knowledge and spirituality. But the manifest and hidden intellectual, moral, and political decline of Muslim society did not allow him to remain idle. In particular, observing the course of the religious, political, and cultural movements in contemporary India caused him deep concern. For, during Emperor Alamgir’s lifetime, two frightening movements arose in India against Islam and the Muslims: one was the Maratha movement, led by Shivaji from southern India, and the other was the Sikh movement. There were other matters as well. The Maratha movement aimed to establish the unchallenged supremacy of Hindu civilization and culture in India. All the destructive activities of the Sikhs were centered in Punjab. Although it initially began as a religious reform movement, it later assumed a political character under the leadership of Guru Gobind. In giving a brief account of their enmity toward the Muslims, the author of the Siyar-ul-Muta’akhkhirin states that wherever they gained authority over Muslims, they not only looted their property and possessions but also played Holi with Muslim blood. Even children were not spared. They would slit open pregnant women’s abdomens, take out the children, and kill them before their parents. (Si. Mu., p. 42.) A Hindu writer states that the Sikhs regarded Muslims as their most bitter enemies. In areas under their influence, they did not allow Muslims to give the adhan. They turned mosques into their religious schools and places of worship, changed the names of the mosques, and called them ‘Mastgarh.’ They considered vessels used by Muslims impure. When necessary, they would strike such a vessel five times with a shod foot before using it.

Shivaji, the initiator of the Maratha movement, instructed the Marathas to identify themselves as descendants of the Ranas of Udaipur; consequently, the movement easily won the support of the aristocratic Hindus and Brahmins. In the subsequent phase, it spread throughout India. The damage to Muslim lives and property caused by the Maratha marauders is well known to history. The books Khazanaye Amira and Tabat-i Nasiri state that the looting of Delhi by the Marathas and the insulting treatment meted out to Muslim civilization and culture were painful to every Muslim.

Journey to Mecca

These movements left a deep impression on Shah Sahib’s mind. Through his God-given power of thought, Shah Waliullah realized that protecting contemporary Muslim society from the grip of its multifaceted problems would require more than sitting in a madrasa and providing conventional instruction; nor could a few speeches creating temporary excitement awaken this nation. With a troubled heart, he sought Allah’s help in order to show the correct path. For this purpose, he took a break from twelve years of teaching and, at the age of twenty-nine, traveled to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in 1143 or 1144 AH. It should be noted that traveling to Mecca was not easy even then. At precisely that time, the Portuguese and other Western nations were advancing toward the Muslim world with covetous eyes, some in the role of rulers and others disguised as merchants. Shah Waliullah remained on his journey from 1143 to 1145 AH (according to another account, from 1144 to 1146 AH). Fourteen months of this period were spent in Mecca and Medina, and the remaining time in travel. He thus had the opportunity to perform Hajj twice. History later proved what wisdom and spiritual insight he received from Allah, in the proximity of the sacred Haramain, for the liberation of the Muslim nation and Islam through profound reflection. Through that knowledge, he found the way to advance toward his cherished goal. The spiritual power and enrichment he gained at that time can readily be understood by reading his lofty work entitled Fuyuz al-Haramayn. On pages 89–90 of that work, while describing a lengthy dream on the Friday night of 20 Dhu al-Qa‘dah 1144 AH, he mentions a command from Allah addressed to him. Although this matter may appear differently to those who judge everything from a purely materialistic perspective, since Shah Sahib himself narrated it, I cannot refrain from presenting it. At one point in the dream, he saw himself among an agitated crowd comprising people from nearly all Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries. Everyone was bursting with anger at the increasing foreign influence over the Muslims. They all approached him and asked what Allah’s command was at that moment. Words then emerged from his mouth: ‘Establish an Islamic social order by fundamentally transforming the existing social system.’ In fact, Shah Sahib later did precisely that through the force of his penetrating arguments and writings. Similarly, in the preface to his world-famous work Hujjat Allah al-Baligha, while recounting a significant dream, he says: “One day, after the afternoon prayer, I was absorbed in contemplation of Allah. Suddenly I felt that the sacred spirit of the Prophet had enveloped me. It seemed as though a cloak had been placed over me. In that state, the following was poured into my heart: ‘Follow a special method in explaining the religion.’ Immediately afterward, I began to feel within my heart a light of knowledge that continued to unfold.”

Return to the Homeland and Devotion to Research

From his return to his homeland in 1146 AH until his death, Shah Waliullah remained absorbed in writing books for nearly thirty years. The ideas that had unsettled his mind and heart, and the plan with which he set foot in India from Mecca, caused his inclination toward the hereditary system of teaching practiced for many years to depart from him. He no longer had any opportunity to teach as a teacher. In the words of his worthy son, Shah Abdul Aziz: “Our respected father prepared a teacher for each subject; a student of any subject would go to the teacher of that subject. His own task was only to impart factual knowledge, write, and transmit hadith.” During this period, he composed approximately fifty books in Arabic and Persian. Most of them possess unique distinction in Islamic knowledge and research, philosophy, and information. The most astonishing aspect of his research into human life is that, even while living in an environment two hundred years ago, he explained the Islamic way of life in a thoroughly modern manner, like a person nurtured in this age of the highest advancement of knowledge and science. Every reader of history is familiar with the troubled condition of India during the reigns of Farrukh Siyar, Muhammad Shah Rangila, and Shah Alam. Shah Sahib was a researcher who, while living amid the unrestricted rule of luxury, sensual worship, murder, oppression, persecution, unrest, and disorder all around him, cast the deeply investigative and ijtihadic gaze of a free and rational commentator upon every problem, liberated from all the bonds and influences of his age. The manner in which Shah Sahib presented information on various Islamic subjects in his books, in scientific and philosophical form, makes the principles of the various branches of Islamic knowledge and the philosophical dimensions of Islamic injunctions readily clear. Whatever subject he addressed, he seems to have brought the discussion of every related matter to its ultimate stage. His books, written in either Arabic or Persian, possess distinctive qualities in depth of thought, clarity of language, philosophical method of proof, and power of appeal. In fact, he sought to reorganize Islamic knowledge in such a rational manner that the fundamental secrets, facts, and philosophical dimensions of the Islamic system of law would become clear to future generations, thereby leading to Muslim revival and the emergence of Islamic politics in the Muslim world, particularly in the subcontinent. From this perspective, his writings must be considered more revolutionary than the writings of many people imbued with revolutionary ideas. Shah Waliullah’s thought is a tremendous challenge on behalf of Islam. His presentation of the Islamic social system contains clear guidance concerning all the means of political, cultural, and economic freedom and prosperity and social development. Its distinctive feature is that it is suitable for implementation in any state. Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him) demonstrated on the touchstone of reason that Islam is an eternal way of life for every country and every nation. Shah Waliullah Dehlavi belongs among those great thinkers and sages of history who, age after age, cut through the webs of ideological confusion and create a clear, straight highway of thought and research, while stirring unrest in the mental world against contemporary conditions and creating such an appealing picture of a new creation that a movement inevitably arises to destroy injustice and ugliness and rebuild justice, truth, and beauty. It is rarely possible for such thinkers to build a movement according to their own thoughts and ideology, nor do they often have the opportunity to leap into the field and personally shatter the existing world in order to create a new one. The true task of such thinkers is to wield the knife of criticism, tear apart the webs of centuries-old confusion, and kindle a new flame in the realms of intellect and thought. They break the distorted yet powerful structure of life and separate enduring truth from its ruins, presenting it before the world. Even so, Shah Waliullah did not fight from the front line of the battlefield in the conventional sense. All his time was spent on reconstructing thought. He had not the slightest leisure apart from this immense task. To undertake active efforts on the basis of the path he had indicated, another group of people was needed, and within only fifty years they emerged into the field of action, drawing strength and nourishment from Shah Waliullah’s own school and training institution.

Waliullah’s Activist Group

Here it is necessary to discuss briefly that group and those individuals and their activities. This discussion will make clear that they played the principal role in building the bridge to the Islamic movements now conducted in this country and other parts of the subcontinent. In 1805, although the English allowed the Delhi ruler, Emperor Shah Alam, to retain the jagirs of the Red Fort, Allahabad, and Ghazipur, they had already established absolute authority throughout India before stripping him of his authority over these places and erasing even the last vestige of Muslim governing power in the subcontinent. No one among the learned and respectable circles, whether religious scholars or others, throughout the subcontinent had the courage to openly declare that India under foreign rule was Dar al-Harb, where jihad was the duty of every true Muslim. The shadow of despair had grown dense everywhere. Muslims of every class had become bewildered and uncertain of what to do. The English had devised deep plans to strengthen their political power in the subcontinent, promote Western education, civilization, ideas, and culture, and make the Muslims—the traditional ruling nation of this land—Western-oriented. That period was a severe trial for the Muslims.

Revolutionary Fatwa against the English

At precisely that time, Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlavi, the leading figure of the Shah Waliullah movement and his eldest son, issued a revolutionary fatwa, showed this dispirited nation the way forward, and called upon it to become inspired by Islam’s spirit of jihad. After the death of his father, the great thinker and visionary of the Islamic revolution, Hazrat Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (1767 CE), Shah Abdul Aziz devoted himself to the Islamic revival movement known as Tahrik-e-Muhammadi, centered on Delhi’s Rahimiya Islamic University, through disseminating Waliullah’s thought, organizing the people, and other activities. This fearless mujahid declared unequivocally:

“Here Christian officers are ruling freely, and their rule means that they possess absolute authority over national defense, population-control regulations, revenue, land tax, taxes, ushr, commercial goods, penal law, the adjudication of lawsuits, criminal punishments, and so forth. Indians have no rights in these matters. It is true that they are not obstructing certain Islamic injunctions concerning the Friday prayer, the Eid prayer, and the sacrifice of cows. But these are merely peripheral manifestations; every matter that constitutes the core of the aforesaid subjects and of freedom—such as fundamental human rights, freedom of speech, and civil rights—has been seized and trampled upon. Mosques are being destroyed. Whether Hindu or Muslim, no one may enter or leave a city without a passport or permit. Permission for ordinary travelers and merchants to come and go in the cities is granted not in the national interest or on the basis of civic rights, but for their own interests. It is true that, because the rulers of Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Rampur have acknowledged the English authority, the Christian government’s laws have not been directly introduced there; nevertheless, the ruling of Dar al-Harb applies to the entire country.”

[Fatwa-e-Azizi (Persian), p. 17, Mujtabai Press.] In another fatwa as well, he declared undivided India to be Dar al-Harb. There is no doubt that this fatwa was entirely centered on political matters. Its essence was that the Christians held all authority to make laws and had stripped away religious values. Therefore, it was the duty of every patriot to struggle against the foreign English power in various ways and to continue the struggle until the goal was achieved.

Impact of the Fatwa against the English

Whereas ordinary Muslims had previously regarded themselves as helpless before the English power and remained caught in hesitation and uncertainty, after the publication of this fatwa they found a path for determining their course of action. Through the activists associated with Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlavi’s movement and his distinguished students, the message of this revolutionary fatwa was spread among Muslims of every class throughout the subcontinent. Thus, a spirit of jihad against the English gradually awakened in the hearts of the Muslims.

Later it became evident that, under the leadership of his disciple, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi, and under the command of his son-in-law, Mawlana Abdul Hai, and his nephew, Mawlana Ismail (the martyr), a large Mujahid force was formed around 1817. The sole objective of this Mujahid force was to establish a pure Islamic state and wage jihad against those who obstructed that goal—first the Sikhs and later the English. For this purpose, they decided to establish their base in the Peshawar-Kashmir region, whether in eastern India, the south, or the northwestern frontier areas. Muslims from the frontier districts of eastern India, including Comilla, Chittagong, Noakhali, Mymensingh, and Sylhet, also joined this movement. It created a strong response in Bangladesh as well. As a result, in 1828 a powerful Islamic movement known as the Faraizi movement arose in Faridpur under the leadership of Haji Shariatullah. At approximately the same time, the Bengali Mawlana Haji Titumir (Nesar Ali), associated with the Mujahid movement, and his companions engaged the English in clashes at many places. Mawlana Haji Titumir was a devoted disciple of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, the ‘Martyr of Balakot.’ In 1831, the same year in which Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi attained martyrdom at Balakot, he was martyred in a clash with the English in Bangladesh. Sayyid Ahmad Shahid’s disciple, Mawlana Karamat Ali Jaunpuri (may Allah have mercy on him), carried out immense work in spreading Islamic education, culture, and ideals in Bangladesh. He removed the influence of Hindu education and culture from the lives of the Muslims of Bangladesh. Mawlana Karamat Ali Jaunpuri’s contribution to spreading Islam among the people of this region will endure. In any event, the leader of the Mujahid force, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi, went to Mecca in 1819 to perform Hajj, gain spiritual strength for jihad, and establish contact with Muslim thinkers and Islamic forces in other countries. He returned to India in 1823. Immediately upon his return, he began preparing for jihad in order to strengthen the Islamic movement. He tried to shape every Mujahid in his group according to the model of the workers of Islam’s golden age. Their daily program included preaching at dawn, hard physical labor during the day, and remaining awake at night for tahajjud and other acts of worship; these were the ordinary daily practices of those devoted servants of Allah. After completing preparations and preaching for jihad throughout undivided India, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi left Rae Bareli in 1826. At that time, the number of Mujahids with him was one hundred thousand. They arrived at Nowshera via Ghazni, Kabul, and Peshawar. The Sikhs had secretly entered into an agreement with the English. Under the leadership of Ranjit Singh, they had expanded their dominance in Punjab and subjected the Muslims to unspeakable persecution. The Sikhs, with nearly thirty thousand soldiers under Sher Singh and a French general, confronted the Mujahid force at Panjtar. The Sikhs were defeated in this battle and fled, and the Mujahid force captured Peshawar in 1830. Thus, before the Battle of Balakot, the Mujahid force fought the Sikhs in many further battles. Eventually, the Mujahid force numbered three hundred thousand. After defeating Ranjit Singh’s well-trained Khalsa army, the Mujahids captured Peshawar and established an Islamic state there. In the conquered territory, they appointed Mawlana Sayyid Mazhar Ali as chief justice and Sultan Muhammad of Kabul as chief administrator. Around this newly established small Islamic state, they then began preparing to gather greater strength for the eventual recovery of the former Dar al-Islam of India from English control.

They were preparing to gather greater strength when the defeated Ranjit Singh, supported by the English, resorted to treachery. By offering money, he tried to detach the frontier Pashtuns and tribesmen from their group. Sayyid Ahmad opposed superstition. Consequently, many Pashtuns and tribesmen, whether out of greed for money or because of superstition, could not wholeheartedly accept the movement. When a fierce clash with the Sikhs broke out at Balakot in 1831, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi and Mawlana Ismail Dehlavi attained martyrdom through the treachery of a Pashtun named Khubi Khan. Even then, the heroic soldiers of this Islamic movement did not lose heart. They gathered under the leadership of Sayyid Sahib’s trusted caliphs at Sittana in Yaghistan on the frontier. Before his martyrdom, Sayyid Sahib had sent his distinguished caliph, Mawlana Wilayat Ali Azimabadi, from the battlefield of Balakot to work within India. After this event, Mawlana Wilayat Ali, his brother Mawlana Inayat Ali, and another distinguished leader, Mawlana Muhammad Ali, strengthened their organizational power with great difficulty and engaged in war from Yaghistan against the Sikh chief, Gulab Singh. This war lasted four and a half years. Subsequently, the English government intervened directly, arresting many Mujahids, martyring some, and subjecting others to inhuman torture. Nevertheless, a group of Mujahids continued the struggle from beyond the Indian frontier. Despite the temporary failure at Balakot, the martyrdom of the leaders, and the unspeakable persecution inflicted by the English on the Mujahid force afterward, the members of this fighting force did not sit silently by. In various ways, they continued to spread Islamic teachings and ideals among the Muslims of the subcontinent and to create terror among the English. The fatwa of Dar al-Harb issued by Shah Abdul Aziz, followed by the short-lived establishment of an Islamic state by his followers, the Battle of Balakot, and the subsequent activities that awakened opposition to the English—all these laid the background for the historic revolution of 1857, which was initiated by the Muslim soldiers of Barrackpore around such matters as the use of cartridges mixed with pig fat. Although the English called this revolution the Sepoy Mutiny, in reality it was the first powerful and widespread freedom movement of the subcontinent and a tremendous blow aimed at expelling the English from undivided India.

This revolution failed because of modern weapons, the lack of mutual unity, and other reasons. The heroes of the revolution were the activists of the Waliullah movement—the fighting scholars. Since the names of many scholars who led it were concealed at the time for various strategic reasons, the name of Mawlana Yahya Ali may be mentioned in particular among those identified in the writings of many historians. As one of the principal leaders of the Balakot Mujahid force, he indirectly occupied the position of chief leader in the Islamic revolution of 1857. Within India, the course of that Islamic revolution was to a considerable extent directed by him. Although some people in our country have ignored the contribution of the activists of the Waliullah movement out of ignorance or jealousy, many Hindu writers and the famous English writer Hunter could not deny it. After the failure of the 1857 revolution, the darkest period descended upon the Muslim life of the subcontinent. The Hindus had already begun cooperating with the English, and had done so from the Muslim side. Thus, just as the Muslims’ political life was constricted, their educational, cultural, social, and economic life also became narrow and unbearable, and they were deprived of all rights. The English blamed the Muslims alone for the revolution and continued to run the steamroller of oppression and persecution over them. Hundreds of scholars and thousands of ordinary Muslims who had been the heroes and activists of the revolution fell into the English wrath for this reason: some were hanged, some were exiled to Malta or the Andaman Islands, and some slowly perished over long years in the dark cells of prisons. One account states that after the revolution, 28,000 Muslims were hanged in one place, and hundreds of scholars attained martyrdom. In such circumstances, the Mujahids of the Balakot movement and their spiritual disciples did not abandon the path of struggle. On the one hand, they continued the war in Yaghistan on the frontier; on the other, under the leadership of Mawlana Shah Ishaq Sahib, the spiritual disciple of Sayyid Sahib and a worthy descendant of Shah Waliullah, they worked cautiously within India in support of education, culture, and jihad while evading the eyes of the English. The freedom fighters established madrasas in different places and made every effort, through religious assemblies and associations, to spread Islamic education, culture, and values and to maintain jihadist preaching and awakening. Indeed, it is as a result of those efforts and plans that we see institutions such as Darul Uloom Deoband University. Around these institutions, many more educational and jihadist organizations were later established, opening the way for an Islamic revival in the subcontinent. In later times, the response that arose among Muslims for the freedom movement on the occasion of the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Khilafat Movement, and the Pakistan we attained in 1947 in the name of Islam, were all inevitable results of those works. The powerful movement that continued in various forms for twenty-five years in undivided Pakistan, aimed at establishing the Islamic caliphate and an Islamic state, must likewise be regarded as having been led by the spiritual disciples of the Mujahids of 1857. In short, every contemporary Islamic movement and activity in the subcontinent is a continuation of the uncompromising struggle waged by the countless heroic soldiers of the Islamic movement centered on Shah Waliullah Dehlavi’s thought—foremost among them his worthy son Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlavi, Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Mawlana Ismail Shahid Dehlavi, and Mawlana Abdul Hai.

Shah Waliullah ((RA)) –‘s Work and Thought

While residing in the holy city of Makkah, in the light of information about the religious, political, cultural, economic, and social rise and decline of various Muslim and non-Muslim states across the world, and with the help of the experience he gained and the knowledge granted by Allah, Shah Waliullah came to realize that merely state power cannot preserve a nation without the inherent strength of its way of life. Otherwise, why was the Muslim millat in such a condition even after ruling with overwhelming power for many hundreds of years? He firmly believed that Muslims had been able to raise the banner of victory in every part of the world only through the inherent strength of Islam. Therefore, alongside presenting a state plan suitable for the Muslim nation, it was absolutely necessary to place before the people a rational explanation of the basis of Islamic strength. If Muslims could build their personal and social life properly, they would regain their glorious past, acquire an ideal way of life, and thereby be able to survive as a nation. As a result of the gradual development of a particular kind of Sufi outlook formed within the adverse environment of monarchy, an incomplete form of Islam had emerged among the Muslim populace. Consequently, the notion was becoming firmly rooted among most people that state affairs, or politics, were separate from religion; that people would attain salvation in the Hereafter merely by personally observing some formal rules and regulations of Islam; and that politics was a worldly matter suited only to worldly people. Shah Waliullah Dehlavi dealt a severe blow to this outlook. In his view, the improvement of both the worldly and eternal lives of human beings was the purpose of prophethood. He says that we see in the Holy Qur’an that whenever a nation experienced moral decline, prophets and messengers appeared among them, and by following the way of life they prescribed, the nation achieved material, or worldly, advancement along with moral improvement. In his view, from the perspective of the Din, there is no difference between spiritual and state development. National development must be understood to mean both moral and worldly development. The history of the progress of the Muslim nation bears witness to this. That is why, in the words of the Holy Qur’an, Muslims have been instructed to pray: ‘Our Lord, grant us good in this world and in the Hereafter.’

In any event, in order to present Islam as a complete, victorious, and powerful ideal for the comprehensive advancement of human life, this great eighteenth-century Christian-era thinker and philosopher, after returning from the Hajj, composed a number of immortal works on Islam according to a new plan. Three aspects can be observed in them: (1) critical and reformative matters, (2) constructive matters, and (3) mass organization in the light of these. However, as stated earlier, he did not have the opportunity to undertake the third aspect, although his writings contain indications in that direction. Therefore, this discussion will attempt to address only the first two aspects of his work and thought.

After Shah Waliullah (RA) returned from Makkah, the reformative works he undertook according to a new plan can chiefly be divided into two categories: (1) critical and corrective, and (2) constructive. According to experts, Shah Waliullah was the first person whose insight reached the subtle and fundamental distinction between the history of Islam and the history of Muslims; who criticized and reviewed Muslim history from the perspective of Islamic history; and who tried to determine the actual condition of Islam among the peoples who adopted it in different centuries. This is an extremely complex subject. Some people were confused about it in the past, and they remain so today. In this regard, from pages 122 to 158 of the sixth chapter of his work Izalat al-Khifa [the edition published from Bareilly in 1286 AH], he discusses Muslim history systematically. While successfully describing the characteristics of each era and the trials that arose, he cites the Prophetic predictions that contain clear indications concerning them. In doing so, he broadly points to every kind of jahiliyyah mixed into the Muslims’ creed, belief, education, culture, morality, and politics. He then points to two among all the defects that are fundamental and the sources of all other defects: first, the shift of political authority from the caliphate according to the method of prophethood toward monarchy; and second, the death of the vital force of ijtihad and the domination of blind imitation over the mind and intellect. Regarding the first, in the aforementioned book he presents the principled and terminological distinction between monarchy and caliphate with such clarity, and offers such a logical explanation with the help of hadith, that examples of it are rare in the works of earlier writers. Likewise, the results of the Islamic revolution are described by him with a clarity not found in the works of his predecessors. At one point he writes: ‘A grave defect has been observed in establishing the fundamental pillars of Islam. After Hazrat Uthman (RA), no ruler established Hajj, although establishing Hajj is among the obligatory matters in Islam. For just as ascending the throne, wearing the royal crown, and sitting on the seats of past kings and emperors were regarded as symbols of royal authority for Caesar and Chosroes, similarly, establishing Hajj under one’s own authority became known in Islam as a symbol of the caliphate.’ (Izalat al-Khifa, vol. 1, pp. 123–124)

Then, on page 157 of Izala, he says: ‘Their government is like the government of fire-worshippers. The only difference is that they perform prayer and utter the testimony of faith with their mouths. We were born amid this transformation. I do not know what else Allah may show in the future.’ This matter is discussed in Hujjatullah al-Baligha, Badur-e Bazighah, Tafhimat, Musaffa, and his other works.

The second defect was blindly following others in every matter instead of seeking, through impartial and free thought, the correct teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah or the rulings consistent with them. Regarding this, Shah Waliullah (RA) says on page 157 of the aforementioned work:

Until the fall of the Syrian rulers (the Umayyad government), no one claimed to be Hanafi or Shafi’i. Rather, everyone derived the proofs of the Shariah according to the method of his own imams and teachers. During the rule of the Iraqi rulers (the Abbasids), each person adopted a separate name for himself. Their condition reached the point that they would not decide anything on the basis of the Qur’an and Sunnah until they had found an explicit decision from the leaders of their respective madhhabs. Thus, the differences of opinion that had inevitably arisen concerning the Qur’an and Sunnah became established on permanent foundations. Later, after the Arab rulers, when people dispersed into various countries during the Turkish period, each person turned whatever he was able to remember from the fiqh-based madhhab into his own original Din. Matters that had previously been madhhabs derived from the Qur’an and Hadith then became fixed customs. In the first volume of Musaffa, page 11, he writes: ‘The simple people of our age are averse to ijtihad. Their case is different; they are not capable of understanding such matters.’ Shah Waliullah discussed in detail, in the seventh chapter of Hujjatullah al-Baligha and in Al-Insaf, the search for solutions to problems from the Qur’an and Sunnah with independent and free judgment rather than blind imitation. The complete history of blind imitation and its disease is described there, and he points to all the defects caused by it, which will be described later.

Review of the Contemporary Situation

After citing the above two important points of criticism, a few brief critical observations concerning his contemporary situation are presented below:

1. Criticism of a Defect in Sufism

‘The worship of sentiment arose from the popularity of the Sufis and from joining their circle of devotees. This phenomenon has spread throughout the entire East and West. Indeed, the words and deeds of the Sufis exercise greater authority over the minds of ordinary people than the Qur’an and Sunnah—in fact, than everything else. Their theories and indications have become so firmly established that anyone who denies them or does not act upon them cannot gain popularity or be counted among the pious and God-fearing. There is no one standing on the pulpit who does not deliver a speech containing the Sufis’ signs and indications. Nor is there any scholar teaching in a madrasa who does not hold faith in and firm conviction regarding their statements. Otherwise, they are considered foolish.’

2. Severe Criticism of Unqualified Pirs and Pirzadas

‘To those pirzadas who, without any qualification, have inherited their forefathers’ spiritual seats, I say: Why have you formed these separate groups? Why does each of you follow your own path (tariqah)? Why have you abandoned the path that Allah Almighty showed Muhammad (PBUH)? Each of you has turned himself into an imam, calling people toward yourselves. You regard yourselves as guides and guides to guidance, while in reality you yourselves lead people astray. We are not satisfied in the least with those who induce people to pledge bay’ah for worldly interests. Nor are we satisfied with those who acquire knowledge for worldly gain or call people toward themselves and use them to fulfill their own aims. They are all bandits, Dajjals, liars, deceivers, and deceived. (Tafhimat)’

Indeed, for this reason some say that Shah Waliullah was the first in India to raise the banner of revolt against Tasawwuf. The actual matter, however, is the opposite. In reality, he purified Islamic Tasawwuf—which is called tazkiyah al-nafs in Qur’anic language—from foreign impurities, and presented the genuine Tasawwuf recognized by Islam. Needless to say, if Shah Waliullah had not criticized so-called Tasawwuf in this way and presented its correct outline, then, as Western writers were trying to belittle it by describing it as ‘borrowed from various countries and religions, even from the outlook of Indian yogis,’ it is doubtful whether it would still exist today.

3. Pointing Out Defects in the Educational Method

‘I say to those who acquire knowledge and call themselves ulama (the learned): “Fools, you are trapped in the labyrinth of Greek science and learning, mantiq and balaghah—that is, logic and rhetoric. You have assumed that knowledge exists only in these things. Yet true knowledge lies in the clear verses of Allah’s Book and in the Sunnah established through His Messenger. You have become immersed in the fine points and detailed explanations of the earlier jurists. Do you not know that the only command is what Allah and His Messenger have said? The condition of most of you is that when a hadith of the Prophet reaches you, you do not act upon it.”‘

Addressing the scholarly community, he said: ‘You have narrowed the scope of the lives of Allah’s servants. You disregard the flexibility of Islam.’

4. Emphasis on the Teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith

Imam Shah Waliullah firmly believed that the progress of the nation depended entirely on the widespread dissemination of the genuine teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah. For this reason, he devoted special attention to this matter and translated the Holy Qur’an and the Muwatta of Imam Malik into Persian, the official language of the time. Later, he translated and interpreted the Holy Qur’an in Urdu.

He arranged an educational system through which people could acquire knowledge of Hadith after studying the Holy Qur’an. It was chiefly through the efforts of Shah Waliullah, his sons, and their students that the study of Hadith spread widely throughout the subcontinent.

The renowned Egyptian scholar Allama Rashid Rida says in this regard: ‘From the tenth century AH onward, the teaching of the science of Hadith began to decline in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, the Hijaz, and other lands. Yet our Indian brothers preserved this science through great effort.’

5. The Attack of Conservative Religious Traders on the Imam

The upholders of truth have been subjected to persecution by the self-interested and conservative in every age. Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlavi was not spared this either. Fearing that their own interests would be harmed in the future, a group of scheming religious traders, scholars, and pirs incited ordinary Muslims against the Imam, centering their agitation on his translation of the Qur’an. In their customary manner, they began issuing fatwas against him. Once, while he was staying at Fatehpur Mosque, these bigoted religious traders launched an armed attack on him as a group. At that time, he had only a piece of wood near him. Taking it in his hand, he proclaimed ‘Allahu Akbar’ and silenced them all, then managed to return safely to his home through their midst.

6. To the Rulers

—You are immersed in comfort and luxury, allowing the common people to engage in conflict with one another. Wine is being consumed openly, yet you do not prevent it. Adultery, gambling, and drinking establishments are operating openly, yet you do not close them. In this vast country, no one has been punished according to the law of the Shariah. You devour the person you consider weak and spare the one you consider powerful. You are immersed in tasting various foods, managing your wives’ grievances and resentments, and indulging in the luxuries of homes and clothing. Fear Allah at least once. You amirs and nobles have completely forgotten your duties. You pay no attention at all to the condition of the people whose care was entrusted to you. As a result of this irresponsibility, one class of society continues to perpetrate reckless oppression against another.’

7. Call to Jihad and Indication of Its Fundamental Objective

‘In the present circumstances, the heads of Muslim states must leap into jihad, with uncompromising resolve, in accordance with Allah’s command, in order to establish peace and justice. The struggle must continue until the oppressors are defeated. After succeeding in the struggle against injustice, they must remain alert to their duties and, striving to the best of their ability, establish Allah’s law in the world. Only then will true peace appear throughout the land. As a result, our lives will become joyful and successful.’

8. Address to the Soldiers

‘Allah has made you soldiers in order that you may perform jihad, raise high the sublime message of truth, and destroy the power of shirk and the polytheists. Neglecting that duty, you have made mere horsemanship and the display of weapons your profession. You have joined the army in order to earn money.’

9. Criticism of the Moral Condition of the Working People and the Common People

‘Trustworthiness and keeping trusts have departed from you. You are heedless of your Lord and are also involved in shirk. Whoever among you is somewhat prosperous spends excessively on food, drink, and clothing. Since his income is insufficient in proportion to his expenditure, he violates the rights of others.’

10. To the Scholarly Community

‘You have narrowed the scope of the lives of Allah’s servants. You have been commanded to be expansive—not restrictive.’

In this way, he also severely criticized many superstitions prevalent in Muslim society and numerous customs unrelated to Islam. In particular, he stated that those who go to the shrine of a deceased saint to ask him for something with the aim of fulfilling their wishes are guilty of a crime greater than adultery. From these quotations, it can easily be inferred how deeply he reviewed the past and present of the Muslims.

Constructive Work

Among his constructive works, the first important one was that he presented a rational middle path in fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence. In doing so, he neither favored one particular view according to customary practice nor criticized another view. Like a profound investigator, he studied the principles and methods of all fiqh-based madhhabs and gave his judgment with complete independence. Shah Waliullah reduced the tendency toward madhhab-based conflict and opened the path of investigation and ijtihad to the followers of the madhhabs. He sought reconciliation among all madhhabs, particularly attempting to bring the Shafi’i and Hanafi madhhabs into the form of a single madhhab. He discussed this matter in detail in Tafhimat, Hujjatullah al-Baligha, and Al-Insaf. In fact, adopting this middle path brought an end to hostility, narrow-mindedness, blind imitation, and the waste of time in unnecessary lengthy discussions. Through it, Muslims of diverse opinions could stand in the world as a dynamic, living nation. This is why Shah Waliullah emphasized the necessity of ijtihad.

Ijtihad

In the introduction to Musaffa, he speaks of the necessity of ijtihad: ‘Ijtihad is fard kifayah in every age. Here, ijtihad means acquiring complete knowledge of the rulings of the Shariah, understanding the explanations of their detailed and minute matters, and properly arranging and organizing the laws and regulations of the Shariah; a person may also be a follower of a particular founder of a madhhab. I say that ijtihad is fard kifayah in every age because countless distinct problems arise in every age. It becomes wajib to know Allah’s ruling concerning them. The matters previously recorded and compiled are not sufficient for this purpose; rather, they also contain various differences of opinion. These differences cannot be removed without returning to the fundamental rulings of the Shariah. The method established in this regard by the mujtahids has also become almost disconnected midway. Therefore, in this matter there is no alternative to ijtihad.’

Shah Waliullah (RA) did not merely emphasize ijtihad; he also described in detail its rules and procedures, constitution, and conditions. His works Izalat al-Khifa, Hujjatullah al-Baligha, Iqd al-Jid, Al-Insaf, Badur-e Bazighah, Musaffa, and others contain either brief indications or detailed accounts of it. By reading his works, people can learn not only the rules and procedures of ijtihad but also gain education in this matter.

The two works mentioned above were also undertaken by people before Shah Waliullah. But what no one before him had done was to attempt to present, in written form, the entire intellectual, moral, cultural, and Shariah system of Islam. In this work he surpassed his predecessors. Although many imams appeared during the first three or four centuries, and a review of their activities clearly shows that the complete picture of Islam’s way of life existed in their intellectual world, and similarly many investigative scholars can be found in the later centuries whose intellectual worlds cannot be assumed to have been devoid of this thought, nevertheless not one of them turned his attention to recording the Islamic system as a way of life in a systematic and rational manner.

He Was the Founder of Islamic Philosophy

According to experts, he was the first person in history to lay down and write the foundations of the recording of Islamic philosophy; people have mistakenly called it Islamic philosophy. In fact, it was Muslim philosophy. The lineage of those philosophies is connected with Greece, Rome, Iran, and Hindustan. Although, in Shah Sahib’s terminology, elements of ancient philosophy, the science of kalam, and many thoughts and ideas from those traditions can be observed, this was naturally indispensable at the beginning for those discovering a new path.

Shah Waliullah’s Social Philosophy

He attempted to create a philosophy concerning the universe and its people that would be compatible with Islam’s moral and cultural system and possess a nature harmonious with it.

Upon the moral system he constructed the edifice of a social philosophy (Social Philosophy). He described in detail the irtifaqat (people’s daily organization, social customs, politics, judicial system, taxation, administration of the country, military organization, and so forth). Alongside this, he shed light on the causes that produce the collapse and distortion of social civilization. He then presented a complete system of the Shariah, worship, ahkam, and laws and regulations, and continued to explain the profound facts of each matter. In this respect he surpassed even Imam al-Ghazali. Toward the end, he turned his attention to the histories and laws of various nations.

Of the subjects mentioned above, only two of his important subjects are being highlighted here. One is economic and the other political.

Economic Thought

The essence of Imam Shah Waliullah’s economic philosophy is that the country’s total wealth, produced through the collective or dispersed efforts of its people, must be subject to such a balanced distribution or decentralization that wealth does not become concentrated in the hands of any particular individual or group. He opposed monopoly ownership as well as ownership without any kind of physical or mental labor. In his view, the life-force of citizenship is mutual cooperation, and this cooperation depends entirely upon each person’s doing good to the other, which can be achieved only through labor. It should be noted that he also counted capital and mental exertion as labor. Therefore, according to him, no person in society may enjoy wealth without labor or become the possessor of greater wealth through little labor. For if people become owners of wealth despite lacking this basic condition of citizenship, the rights of those who are the principal productive forces of wealth—namely, farmers, workers, and providers of capital and mental labor—will be impaired. Its inevitable consequence will be that, on the one hand, the number of the exploited and deprived in society will increase, their civic burdens will grow, they will be crushed under taxation, and, in default of payment, will face oppression and harshness; while, on the other hand, the market for luxury, extravagance, and sensual indulgence will be heated up by another class, so that national wealth will not increase under any circumstances; rather, it will leave many people’s pockets empty and become concentrated in one place.

In short, according to his thought, the farmers, laborers, and other providers of labor who are engaged in constructive work for the country and the nation are the true owners of wealth (the disabled and incapacitated are a separate matter). The advancement and prosperity of these people essentially constitute the advancement and prosperity of the nation. Any system—whether monarchical or of another kind—that attempts to suppress these forces is inevitably disastrous for any country and nation. Such an evil force must certainly be destroyed (Hujjatullah al-Baligha). A social system that does not give labor its true value must come to an end (Hujjatullah al-Baligha, chapter on Siyasat al-Madaniyyah). In his view, the consent of a needy worker cannot be regarded as satisfaction until his fair remuneration has been paid, which is essential on the basis of the principle of mutual cooperation (Hujjah). The worker’s hours must be fixed. He must be given additional opportunity for moral and spiritual refinement and for reflection upon and thought about the Hereafter. Imposing an excessive tax burden on the people is unjust (Hujjah). In business and commerce, the monopoly right or influence of any individual or group is disastrous for the country (Hujjah). Under a royal system of life in which the extravagance, luxury, caprice, and excessive spending of particular groups or families obstruct the decentralization of wealth in society, ending that system is urgently necessary for relieving the suffering of ordinary citizens (Hujjah).

It also becomes clear from this that the harmful effects of monarchy were evident to him, and that he saw the liberation of humanity only within the system of the Islamic caliphate. In this connection, it may be mentioned that although these subjects are discussed day and night in modern times, one must truly be amazed when considering the period and circumstances in which he expressed these ideas. For the French Revolution was still half a century away. It was a century before the birth of Karl Marx, the father of communism, and his associate Engels. At that time, Europe’s mechanical age was only forty years old. Thus it can undoubtedly be said that if, during the age in which a thinker and philosopher such as Shah Waliullah appeared, the mechanical system had developed in the subcontinent, or if he had been born in a country with a printing press like Karl Marx or Engels—a country from which one can quickly spread one’s doctrines and thoughts far and wide—then, perhaps before anyone else, his social, political, and economic doctrines would have stirred the entire world.

Political Thought

1. Allah the Exalted is the absolute possessor of sovereignty. Any form of partnership in it is completely forbidden. Human beings who roam upon the earth are like travelers in a foreign land.

2. Every child of Adam has equal dignity as a human being. No one has the right to claim mastery over another; one human being cannot enslave another. No individual can own a state or a nation. It is likewise unlawful for any person to hold such an idea regarding a powerful ruler.

3. The status of the head of state is equivalent to that of a mutawalli. If necessary, the mutawalli may take from the state treasury only the amount by which an ordinary citizen of the state makes a living.

4. At every level of the state, only Allah’s Din is to be established as predominant.

Fundamental Rights

What is described in detail in the chapters on irtifaqat—the public welfare—in works such as Hujjatullah al-Baligha and Al-Budur al-Bazighah is this: food, clothing, housing, marriage, health, children, and education are the birthright of all human beings, regardless of race, religion, caste, or language. Likewise, rendering justice to all people of the state without distinction between high and low, protecting their lives, property, honor, and dignity, preserving every citizen’s personal freedom, and granting equal citizenship rights are all included among birthrights. Similarly, the right of every community to preserve its own language and culture is among the fundamental rights.

Islam: A Revolutionary Din—A Revolutionary System of Life

Shah Waliullah called Islam a revolutionary popular system. In his view, Islam is a religion of reason and power. Islam appeared with the purpose of gathering all people of the world under the banner of one ideal for the liberation and welfare of humanity. According to the instructions of the Noble Quran, people must be invited to Islam through rationality and sound intelligence. Peace, equality, and brotherhood are the essence of Islam. However, despite the fact that Islam’s call is wholly rational and directed toward establishing peace, adverse circumstances, falsehood, baseless feelings of superiority, and selfishness may obstruct the establishment of Islam’s teachings. For this reason, Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him) believed that, for the welfare of the larger human community and to establish this true and peaceful system of life, the emergence of a worldwide revolution was not impossible. If such a revolution ever appeared, all people ought to support it for the sake of the overall welfare of humanity. In his view, for the sake of the greatest welfare, it is never reasonable to worry about minor losses and hardships. It is stated in the Noble Quran that Allah the Pure sent His Messenger with guiding commands and the correct system of life for the sole purpose of making it prevail over all other human-made systems of life and laws—even though the polytheistic disobedient people may burn with rage. From the meaning of this verse it becomes clear that, although Islam is the true system of life guiding humanity, an organized arrangement is necessary to establish it firmly in the world. According to Imam Shah Waliullah, this is possible only through a self-sacrificing, sincere, well-organized, and united group under a central authority. Such work cannot be accomplished by a mercenary or professional army.

The Fruits of Waliullah’s Thought

The presentation of such a rational and well-organized blueprint of the Islamic system of life means that it will become the goal of the lives of all people endowed with sound nature and conscience, and those among them who possess greater ability will come forward to attain this goal. Shah Sahib did not merely set out clearly the characteristics of the jahili state and the Islamic state; he repeatedly described the matter in such a way that it became impossible for believers to sit idle without striving to abolish the jahili state and establish an Islamic state in its place. This matter was emphasized most strongly in Hujjatullah al-Baligha and Izalat al-Khafa. In this book, he proves with the help of hadith that the Islamic caliphate and monarchy are two entirely different things. He then sets monarchy and the disturbances that entered the collective life of Muslims through monarchy in different periods of history on one side, and on the other presents the characteristics and conditions of the Islamic caliphate and the contributions that were actually followed among Muslims during the period of the Islamic caliphate. How, then, could Muslims continue to sit complacently? And because they could not, before half a century had passed after Shah Waliullah’s death (1786–1831), a movement to establish an Islamic state arose in India under the leadership of Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi and Ismail Shahid Dehlavi. They established a temporary Islamic state. Although it temporarily failed for certain worldly reasons, its influence still exists in the subcontinent. That movement influenced the movement for undivided Pakistan; indeed, the movement now manifest in this region for the establishment of a genuine Islamic state is essentially also the result of Waliullah’s thought and the supreme self-sacrifice of the mujahids of the Islamic movement at Balakot. For after the defeat at Balakot, when alien domination gained supremacy over the Muslims of the subcontinent, the ulama did not sit idle. Even amid profound darkness, they made every effort to keep Islam’s flickering flame alive. Through deliberate planning, they established religious educational institutions—madrasas—throughout the subcontinent like a network, and through them preserved Islamic education and culture. Among these planned madrasas, India’s Darul Ulum Deoband was the principal one. Through Darul Ulum Deoband, established as a center of the freedom and Islamic movements, and institutions of this kind, the Islamic awakening that gradually arose among the Muslims of the subcontinent later found expression in the Khilafat Movement. Therefore, the Muslim awakening in the subcontinent, the later Pakistan Movement, and the signs of an Islamic revival now visible in this country and throughout the Muslim world must undoubtedly be called the result of Waliullah’s thought and the movements of his descendants and followers.

It is noteworthy that the great-hearted person through whom Shah Sahib’s thought worked in creating the background for all the national awakenings—including the first Islamic movement in the subcontinent for the purpose of creating the Islamic revolution desired by Shah Waliullah (Balakot), and later the Sepoy Revolt, the Faraizi Movement in Bangladesh, and the movements of Haji Titumir and Munshi Meherullah—was his worthy eldest son, Shah Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) (1747–1824). After his father’s death, and in view of the contemporary circumstances, he first planned the extensive propagation of religious education through his father’s educational institution, with the aim of creating an environment conducive to that great objective (Note: It is noteworthy that after the Imam returned from the Hajj, the enormous building granted by Emperor Muhammad Shah for the madrasa, because of the large number of students at the old Rahimiyya Madrasa, was destroyed in the disturbances of 1857). There are countless Islamic educational centers in today’s subcontinent. Each of them is directly or indirectly connected with that institution. Through Shah Abdul Aziz, countless people were inspired by revolutionary ideas. Among them, the names of his four brothers and several renowned disciples, including Sayyid Ahmad Shahid and Ismail Shahid Dehlavi, pioneers of the subcontinent’s independence movement, are given below: (1) Mawlana Shah Rafiuddin, (2) Mawlana Shah Abdul Qadir, (3) Mawlana Shah Abdur Ghani, (4) Mawlana Shah Muhammad Ishaq, (5) Shah Muhammad Yaqub, (6) Mawlana Shah Muhammad Abdul Hai, (7) Mawlana Shah Muhammad Ismail, (8) Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, (9) Mawlana Rashiduddin, (10) Mawlana Mufti Sadruddin, (11) Mufti Ilahi Bakhsh, (12) Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali, (13) Mawlana Makhsullah, (14) Mawlana Karimullah, (15) Mawlana Mir Mahbub Ali, (16) Mawlana Abdul Khaliq, (17) Mawlana Hasan Ali Lakhnavi, and (18) Mawlana Husain Ahmad Malihabadi, among others.

The subjects taught by Shah Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) included—

(1) understanding Imam Shah Waliullah’s thought with heart and mind; (2) gaining fear of Allah and the inspiration to build an ideal life; (3) removing from the mind and heart attitudes of monarchy and flattery toward the government; (4) cultivating the spirit of sacrifice to bring the Islamic revolution to complete victory; (5) arousing a spirit of social service and sympathy for suffering humanity; (6) living a simple and modest life by avoiding royal luxury; (7) developing a spirit of jihad and practicing courage and patience in every moment of calamity; (8) striving to eradicate all forms of wrongdoing, superstition, and customs destructive to society; and (9) ending the gathering places of luxury that make society pleasure-loving and weak. In addition, Shah Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) regularly delivered public lectures twice a week for the extensive propagation among Muslims of Islamic ideals, education and culture, and the subjects mentioned above.

The Influence of Shah Waliullah’s Thought in Bangladesh

Although the entire subcontinent benefited generally from Shah Waliullah’s thought and writings, among the factors behind the spread of his thought in Bangladesh, alongside the ulama educated at Deoband, the personality and teaching of his disciple Mawlavi Majduddin, also known as Molla Madan, in 1781 played no small role. He came from Delhi to Calcutta in 1764. There he lived a completely obscure life. But fire can never remain wrapped in cloth. It was not possible for him to remain hidden from public view. Local Muslim notables who became acquainted with his knowledge, distinction, and fear of Allah thought of putting him to use. They conceived the idea of an Islamic educational institution. When they appealed in this matter to the then Governor-General, Lord Warren Hastings, he purposefully agreed with them. He remarked: yes, the government also has plans to establish such a madrasa in order to produce a class of employees capable of assisting in government work. Subsequently, in October 1781, a madrasa was established in the Baithakkhana area of Calcutta. Molla Madan served as its head teacher.

In fact, that madrasa later became known as the Calcutta Alia Madrasa. Of course, how far the expected development of Waliullah’s thought could have taken place through that madrasa in Calcutta under those circumstances is a separate question. However, from what we can see today, it must regretfully be said that the Darul Ulum Deoband, once established by workers of the movement to establish an Islamic state based on Shah Waliullah’s thought and of the freedom movement, and the Calcutta Alia Madrasa, whose work was initially placed under the responsibility of that great person, later produced the existence of an Islamic state like Pakistan in the subcontinent as a result of the light radiated from those institutions. Yet today, apart from some of the ulama educated through the branches of those institutions, is the revolutionary spirit and outlook found in many of them? The kind and number of capable ulama needed to confront the problems of the age, the questions of the age, and the challenges posed by various modern false doctrines and ideologies—apart from some of the ulama educated through the branches of those institutions, is that revolutionary spirit and outlook found in many of them? Those educational institutions are not able to provide the kind and number of qualified ulama needed to confront the problems of the age, the questions of the age, and the challenges posed by various modern false doctrines and ideologies. Perhaps, as a result, because of the lack of capable Islamic leadership, although this country was achieved in the name of Islam, it has still not been possible to establish Islam here; rather, the situation is deteriorating day by day. Perhaps this has happened because of some deviation in the educational method of the religious educational institutions or an inconsistency in defining the fundamental aim of this education, or because of a discrepancy in religious thought. The time has come for the leaders of the ulama to think anew about this matter.

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Works

His works may be divided into six categories. The first category consists of works related to the Quran. In this regard, his translation of the Noble Quran, Fath al-Rahman, is noteworthy. It is a concise yet erudite translation of the Quran. Among his works in this category are also Muqaddimah fi Tarjuma til Quran, Al-Fawz al-Kabir, and Al-Fath al-Kabir. These works set out the fundamental principles of translating and interpreting the Quran.

The second category consists of works related to hadith. Among them, the Arabic commentaries on Imam Malik’s world-famous Muwatta, Musawwa and Musaffa, are renowned. Among his works on hadith, Al-Nawadir min al-Hadith, Al-Durr al-Samin, and Sharh-e Tarjuma-e Abwabe Bukhari are well known.

The third category consists of works on fiqh. These include (a) Al-Insaf and (b) Iqd al-Jid fi Ahkam al-Ijtihad wa al-Taqlid. In these works, he showed that disagreement among jurists is not opposition but rather a difference of opinion.

The fourth category consists of works on tasawwuf. Among them are (a) Faysalat Wahdat al-Wujud wa al-Shuhud, (b) Al-Qawl al-Jamil, (c) Tafhimat-e Ilahiyyah, (d) Altaf al-Qudus, (e) Anfas al-Arifi, (f) Fuyud al-Haramayn, (g) Al-Khayr al-Kathir, (h) Sa’atiyat, and (i) Luma’at, which are famous.

The fifth category of works includes Al-Hujjatullah al-Baligha. This world-famous work of his may be called an exposition of Islam. In the words of Mawlana Manazir Ahsan Gilani: “I have never seen any human-authored book like this one in which Islam has been presented in an organized manner as a complete system of life.”

Regarding this immortal work, Hazrat Mawlana Nur Muhammad Azmi Sahib, an Islamic thinker and the foremost Sufi figure of Bengal, who authored many valuable books enriched with ancient and modern knowledge, wrote in Urdu on page 16 of his book Nezami Ta’lim approximately forty-three years ago: “In my opinion, after the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), this is the finest book. For it contains such knowledge-filled subjects as are found in no other book, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and which no one has even perceived with the heart. In reality, it is an explanation of the Quran and Sunnah, wholly reliable; indeed, it may be called the essence of Muhammadan Shariah.”

Shah Abd al-Aziz Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him), the principal leader of the Waliullah Movement

[The first to issue a fatwa against British rule]

Generally, it is not possible for the originator of a noble line of thought or ideal to fully implement his thought in society or give it widespread dissemination during his own lifetime. In a later age, one of his followers comes forward to undertake this great task. The same thing happened in the case of the great thinker Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him) (1703–1767 CE), the pioneer of the Islamic renaissance movement in this subcontinent, and the dream of an Islamic revolution that he had envisioned. As the outcome of long years of thought and research, he presented a revolutionary interpretation of Islam before the superstitious, inert and declining Muslim nation; and the person who came forward foremost to make that great objective effective was Shah Abd al-Aziz Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him). Shah Abd al-Aziz was the eldest son of Imam and philosopher Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him).

Birth and Education

Shah Abd al-Aziz Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him) was born in Delhi around 1747 CE, during the reign of Emperor Alamgir II. In accordance with the family custom, he began his elementary education at home. Mawlana Shah Muhammad Ashiq and Mawlana Khwaja Muhammad Amin were appointed to educate him. From them he first learned Persian and Arabic grammar. Later, he acquired knowledge of Arabic fiqh, usul, mantiq, kalam, aqaid, mathematics, astronomy and other subjects. After completing these essential studies, at the age of thirteen Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) received advanced instruction in hadith and tafsir from his father, and obtained his certificate of proficiency only two years later. From his adolescence, the central organization of the workers of Shah Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) Islamic movement had been considering appointing Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) as his father’s successor, having observed his moral qualities, fear of Allah and efficiency. With this outlook, the leading figures among the workers of the Islamic movement who had been educated in Waliullah’s company took special care to shape him according to the ideals of the venerable Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him). The two teachers mentioned above gave him deep knowledge of the science of hadith and the principles of the Waliullah Movement. Mawlana Nurullah undertook the responsibility of enriching Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) with knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, namely fiqh. These three noble men—the student of Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him), the teacher of Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), and the latter’s instructor—were responsible for spreading Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) teachings and ideals. Alongside them, another, comparatively younger class emerged among Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) disciples. Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) children studied together with this class. After his father’s death in 1763 CE, with the support of both classes, he was appointed leader of the Islamic movement in his father’s place at the age of seventeen. Considering the economic, political, social, cultural and religious devastation prevailing in the country at that time, and the far-reaching influence of the propagation and study of Islamic education in the subcontinent resulting from the program followed by this capable heir, it may rightly be said that Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) was placed in this great position because of his own merit—not because of the honor of being Shah Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) son. Through him, the Qur’an, hadith and Islamic education spread so extensively throughout the subcontinent that there was no religious educational center in the region that was not directly or indirectly connected with his center of learning. His educational light even spread to other Muslim states of Asia.

The Career of Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him)

Since Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) was born during the period of the decline of Mughal rule, the unfolding picture of the decline of this Muslim kingdom and the fundamental causes of the weakening of Muslim supremacy in India had occupied his mind from the very beginning. He was searching for a path to the liberation of the Muslims. He was considering what timely program could be adopted to preserve Islam and Islamic culture and civilization in the subcontinent and, on that basis, rekindle here the flame of the Islamic movement. At last, Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) adopted a course that would cause him to remain forever an immortal and revered figure in the hearts of the Muslims of the subcontinent. For this purpose, following his father’s philosophy, he first undertook to make Muslims understand the true significance of the Islamic way of life, as a prerequisite for creating an Islamic revolution. He began this work through his ancestral center of instruction in Delhi. In truth, it was an Islamic university of Shah Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) philosophy and teachings. When the old Rahimiya Madrasa of Shah Abd al-Rahim, Shah Abd al-Aziz’s grandfather, could no longer accommodate its students, Emperor Muhammad Shah endowed this government building to the great Waliullah as a center of religious education.

Principles of Education

The principles adopted for education at this central institution of the future Islamic renaissance were as follows: (1) to widely disseminate the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah and understand Imam Shah Waliullah’s thought with heart and mind; (2) to inspire fear of Allah and the formation of an ideal life; (3) to remove from people’s minds the attitude of loyalty to monarchies and governments, and create in them a spirit of sacrifice so that the Islamic revolution might achieve complete victory; (4) to encourage social service and compassion for suffering humanity; (5) to renounce royal luxury and live a simple, uncomplicated life; (6) to cultivate a spirit of sacrifice and practice courage and patience in every moment of adversity; and (7) to strive to eradicate all forms of social misconduct, superstition and custom that destroy society, and put an end to centers of luxury that make society pleasure-loving and weak. In addition, Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) regularly delivered lectures twice a week at public gatherings on Islamic ideals, education and culture, and difficult problems.

Some Famous Students

The list of the militant students educated by him who spread throughout the subcontinent is long. Here are the names of some famous students. Most of them later took to the battlefield in 1828 under the leadership of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid (may Allah have mercy on him), pledging their lives to liberate the Muslims of the subcontinent from the Sikhs and the British. It should be noted that during the days Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) remained alive at that time, he continued to inspire this fighting force through advice, planning and speeches, disregarding the ailments of old age. The names of his renowned students are: (1) Mawlana Rafi al-Din; (2) Mawlana Shah Abd al-Qadir; (3) Mawlana Abd al-Ghani (Abd al-Aziz’s brothers); (4) Mawlana Abd al-Hayy (his son-in-law); (5) Mawlana Muhammad Ishaq; (6) Mawlana Muhammad Yaqub (his two grandsons); (7) Mawlana Makhsusullah (his nephew); (8) Mawlana Ismail Shahid Dehlavi (his nephew); (9) Sayyid Ahmad Shahid Barelvi; (10) Mawlana Rashid al-Din; (11) Mawlana Mufti Sadr al-Din; (12) Hazrat Shah Ghulam Ali; (13) Mawlana Karimullah; (14) Mawlana Mir Mahbub Ali; (15) Mawlana Abd al-Khaliq; (16) Mawlana Hasan Ali Lakhnavi; and (17) Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Malihabadi.

(It should be noted that after Sayyid Ahmad Shahid (may Allah have mercy on him) achieved victory in the battle of Okara against the Sikhs in 1826, and until he received the title of Amir al-Mu’minin of the group, its leadership remained in the hands of Mawlana Ishaq Sahib.)

The Contemporary Political Situation

It was 1747 CE, the era of Emperor Alamgir II. The Mughal system of government had become feeble. The Mughal rulers’ power, which had once extended from distant Kabul to Arakan, had now turned Emperor Alamgir II on the throne of Delhi into a puppet in the hands of influential amirs. One province after another had slipped from the hands of the central government in Delhi. The great empire that the Mughal emperors had founded over two hundred years by uniting various territories of India had broken into pieces, and many independent states had arisen in the subcontinent. The Mughal Empire began to develop cracks after the just and devout Emperor Alamgir Aurangzeb (1658–1707 CE). After Aurangzeb’s death, in the customary Mughal succession struggle, Prince Muazzam, namely Bahadur Shah I, emerged victorious. He ruled for five years. After Emperor Alamgir Aurangzeb and until 1857 CE, the princes who occupied the imperial throne of Delhi for either short or long periods were: (1) Bahadur Shah I; (2) Mu’izz al-Din; (3) Farrukh Siyar; (4) Rafi al-Darajat; (5) Rafi al-Dawlah; (6) Muhammad Shah; (7) Ahmad Shah; (8) Alamgir II; (9) Shah Alam; (10) Akbar II; and (11) the last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Among them, the imperial lives of Muhammad Shah, Alamgir II and Shah Alam lasted the longest. All of them were weak and incapable emperors in the conduct of government, and were playthings in the hands of viziers and amir al-umara engaged in struggles for power.

Shah Abd al-Aziz Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him) witnessed with his own eyes the fate of this unfortunate Muslim kingdom from the era of Alamgir II (1741–1759 CE) until six years after the era of Emperor Shah Alam (1759–1806). During their reigns, the rulers of Bengal (during the rule of Nawab Alivardi), Awadh and Hyderabad in the Deccan governed their territories virtually independently. Some Muslim amirs were Indian, some Iranian, and some Turani Mughals. The Shia-Sunni conflict among them was also pronounced. Their competition for supremacy over one another further weakened the empire. The rise of the Marathas and the strength of the Sikhs and Jats made the existence of the Mughal Empire even more precarious. When the Deccan ruler Nizam al-Mulk Asaf Jah, with the assistance of the Marathas, succeeded in gaining influence over the central ruler, Emperor Muhammad Shah, by superseding the ruler of Awadh, Mir Muhammad Amin Burhan al-Mulk Nawab Saadat Khan, Saadat Khan and other Shia officials invited Nadir Shah from Iran to attack Delhi in order to take revenge. In 1739 CE, Nadir Shah defeated and killed Nawab Siraj al-Dawlah and seized Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

The Muslims’ lives, property, honor and dignity continued to suffer enormous losses under the unspeakable oppression and persecution of the Sikhs and Marathas. The puppet emperor had no power at all to remedy the situation. Everyone became concerned with protecting the Muslims from their oppression. Even the amir al-umara himself was troubled. Najib al-Dawlah, the chief official at the imperial court, was a senior disciple of Hazrat Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him). In accordance with the Shah’s wishes, Najib al-Dawlah and his companions invited Ahmad Shah Abdali of Kandahar to come to Delhi to protect the Muslims from the Marathas. Ahmad Shah Durrani, also known as Abdali, decisively defeated the Marathas in the final Battle of Panipat in 1761 CE, four and a half years after the Battle of Plassey. Some historians have criticized Ahmad Shah’s coming to Delhi in accordance with Shah Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) wishes. The events following Ahmad Shah Abdali’s victory at Panipat are the strongest proof that this criticism is mistaken. After the Battle of Panipat, he did not remain in possession of Delhi; rather, he placed Emperor Shah Alam on the throne, appointed Shuja al-Dawlah as vizier and Najib al-Dawlah as amir al-umara, and returned to his homeland. (Tadhkirah of Shah Waliullah.) Ghazi Abdali subdued the Maratha enemies and handed the Mughal Empire over to the Islam-loving Rohilla Afghan leaders, but the incompetent Mughal emperor of that time could derive no benefit from it. Shah Abd al-Aziz entered adulthood around the time of the last Battle of Panipat. Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him) died six years after the Battle of Panipat. It is noteworthy that the Marathas later regained strength and, after the death of the Shia amir al-umara Najaf Ali Khan, who held authority from 1773 to 1782 CE, ruled Delhi for twenty years. The emperor rose and sat down according to their commands.

Taking advantage of the weakness of the central government, many independent states were established in different parts of India under indigenous and foreign authorities, and only nominal respect and loyalty were shown to the government of Delhi. Through their own failure, the emperors effectively lost the status of rulers. Just as, during the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate, various regional rulers offered verbal allegiance to the nominal caliphs of Baghdad, so the regional rulers offered nominal allegiance and respect to the Mughal emperors during the period of decline. From only one or two regions, the central government received gifts in the form of the prescribed annual revenue or formal certificates granting permission to govern occupied territories. The sole reason for this was fear of the people. For, just as a matter of religious belief, the people firmly believed that the true owners of the country were those long-established kings and emperors of Delhi. Therefore, whoever assumed regional governing power was compelled to regard the Mughal emperors as his elders. Even rebel rulers sought to obtain from the emperor a certificate legitimizing their rule over the occupied territory. The British themselves had to do this for a long time. In 1803 CE, when the British, in the name of Emperor Shah Alam, displaced the Maratha power and established complete authority in Delhi, and Emperor Shah Alam began living under British protection, they still had to publicly show allegiance to the emperor, although the East India Company effectively ruled the whole of India. It should be noted that in 1805 CE, through a treaty with Emperor Shah Alam, the British gave him Delhi’s Red Fort, the city area, and jagirs in Allahabad and Ghazipur, while establishing their exclusive authority throughout India.

Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) also witnessed the condition of the Muslims of India: how, after winning the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British successively destroyed or forced into submission the independent Muslim and non-Muslim powers separated from the Delhi center until they captured Delhi in 1803. He saw how, by expending tremendous force, they disrupted, defeated and killed the heroic Sultan Tipu of Mysore, who had been inspired by Shah Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) thought, in 1799, and established their unchallenged authority throughout India. He also witnessed the conspiracies initiated thereafter to consolidate British political power in the country, disseminate Western education, morality, ideas, culture and civilization, and shape the Muslims—the traditional ruling people of the country—into Western-oriented and servile-minded people. In those dark days, the only sage and thinker who remained continuously engaged in reviving the dying body of the Indian Muslim nation and once again raising it, through strength and valor, as a nation honored before the world was Shah Abd al-Aziz.

Governmental Persecution and Its Background

Since the time of Emperor Alamgir Aurangzeb, the Waliullah family had enjoyed a distinct status in the imperial household, although repeated requests, entreaties and the attraction of a substantial allowance never brought them into contact with the imperial court. The request by Emperor Alamgir that Shah Waliullah’s father, Shah Abd al-Rahim, participate in compiling the world-famous Islamic legal work Fatawa-ye Alamgiri (note: as he was averse to government employment, he declined; he did, however, assist the relevant board in various ways from outside); the fact that Emperor Muhammad Shah gave Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him) a large government building for his educational institution when the old Rahimiya Madrasa could no longer accommodate its students; and the invitation extended by Amir al-Umara Najib al-Dawlah, at Waliullah’s request, to Ghazi Ahmad Shah Abdali to suppress the Marathas—all are clear proofs. In this way, many Sunni viziers, amirs and nobles, and their children, viewed Waliullah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) family with respect. However, after Emperor Humayun once sought military assistance from Iran to suppress Sher Shah, the influence of the Shias in the Mughal administrative machinery continued to grow. As a far-reaching consequence, a powerful Shia faction became influential among the viziers and officials and the amirs and nobles in the army and administration. During Emperor Shah Alam’s reign, when Amir al-Umara Najib al-Dawlah died in 1770 CE, his son, the anti-British Zabita Khan, was appointed amir al-umara. But when, through Shuja al-Dawlah’s efforts, the British puppet Najaf Ali Khan replaced Zabita and became amir al-umara (1773–1781 CE), unspeakable persecution was inflicted on Shah Abd al-Aziz and the Waliullah family. The reason was that the Shia officials had no liking whatsoever for their religious movement.

It was also unsurprising that such a shrewd nation as the British, observing the far-reaching reaction of the propagation of Waliullah’s revolutionary philosophy from Delhi by Shah Abd al-Aziz and the organization of people on its basis, had this done through their puppet Najaf Ali Khan. At a later stage, the British caused a group of informers to portray their Islamic movement publicly as the Wahhabi movement, which bears witness to the same policy. In any case, it is a sadly remarkable coincidence that, toward the end of Mughal rule, every person whose assistance helped establish British supremacy in the subcontinent, by occupying important regional and central positions in the Mughal administrative machinery, was a Shia. Examples include Mir Jafar of Bengal, Mir Sadiq, the prime minister of the heroic Tipu of Mysore, the Nawab Shuja al-Dawlah of Lucknow, and Najaf Ali Khan, the last Shia Muslim amir al-umara of Delhi. (Ulama-e-Hind ka Shandar Mazi, p. 78)

Facing Hooliganism

Hazrat Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “While we lived in Delhi, I had to endure unspeakable suffering and torment at the hands of our own people (the British flatterers and Shia Muslims). Thugs, ruffians and criminals were incited against us. They would place ta’ziyas on the roofs of our houses. During the sacred month of Ramadan, while Tarawih was being held, a drunken, immoral woman would suddenly be brought into the mosque, where she would recite the poetry of Hafiz Shirazi and dance. The thugs would stand outside beating drums and uttering indecent remarks and vulgar cries. Had we given these thugs an appropriate response, there was a fear that the main movement would suffer.” (Note: Malfuzat, p. 54)

Confiscation of Property

“When hooliganism produced no result, the property of Hazrat Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) was confiscated. However, after other influence was brought to bear, this order was later withdrawn. (Note: Manaqib-e Faridi)

Exile

No sooner would one case be settled than another would be filed against him. After the case for confiscation of his property was withdrawn, an order was issued requiring him to leave the country with his entire family. This time, no influence could help. Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), along with his brothers, other family members and followers, left Delhi on foot and went to Shahdara. From there, Hazrat Shah Fakhr al-Din (may Allah have mercy on him)—who had had the confiscation order revoked—arranged transportation for them.” (Note: Ulama-e-Hind ka Shandar Mazi.)

Conspiracy to Assassinate Him

That was not all. The conspirators plotted on two occasions to kill Shah Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) by poisoning him. But by Allah’s grace, their web of conspiracy was shattered. Nevertheless, it had a harmful effect on his body. It is reported that once, after lizard ointment was rubbed onto his body, he developed leukoderma. As a result of these hardships and persecutions, he lost his eyesight, developed high blood pressure, and suffered from various other illnesses, including leukoderma. (Note: Arwah-e Salasa.)

Background to the Revolution of 1857

Although it is unfortunate, it is true that, regarding the historical revolution of 1857 against British power and the later achievement of independence by Pakistan and India, most of our historians have shown reluctance to give the ulama’s role the prominence it deserved; similarly, they have displayed the same narrow-mindedness regarding the unique influence of the ulama in preparing the background for the revolution of 1857. Actual events and many reliable Urdu and Persian histories clearly show that the principal cause of the anti-British fire that arose in the hearts of the defeated and dispirited Muslims of the subcontinent was a fearless and revolutionary fatwa. The issuer of this fatwa was the then universally respected elder and greatest alim of the subcontinent, Shah Abd al-Aziz Dehlavi (may Allah have mercy on him). Only after this fatwa was published did the bewildered Muslim nation find a path for its movement. This fatwa inspired people of every class to join the struggle for independence. History tells us that when Shuja al-Dawlah of Awadh and Shah Alam were defeated in the battles of Patna and Buxar in 1765 CE, it would not have been particularly difficult for the British to capture Delhi immediately. But the shrewd British, applying their merchant’s cunning, waited several years rather than initially creating misunderstanding among the people, and then captured Delhi in 1803 CE. Here too they resorted to cunning. Instead of first dethroning the emperor and taking the imperial crown from him, they retained him, like the king of England, as a powerless head recognized by Parliament. From then on, all power passed into the hands of the East India Company. This could be explained as follows: the people belong to Allah, the country belongs to the emperor, and the command belongs to Company Bahadur.

The situation was extremely delicate. On the one hand, while acknowledging Allah and His infinite sovereignty, they took religious authority into their own hands; on the other, they promised to preserve the Mughal emperor’s rule and the honor of the Timurid dynasty. The affairs of state, which had been entrusted to Hindu and Muslim wazirs and amirs, were now placed in the hands of the East India Company. They not only promised to preserve the people’s religion and culture; they also entrusted decisions concerning the social and religious affairs of Muslims to Muslim qadis and those of Hindus to Hindu pandits. In this way, they granted the Indians what was supposedly “cultural autonomy.” Ordinary people are always unaware, and at that time even the intellectuals of society could not grasp this distinction—or this conspiracy. They thought, “When our religious and civilizational rights remain intact and the emperor is not dethroned, what objection can there be?”

A Complex Question

Would this complex situation be called “freedom” or “slavery”? From an Islamic perspective, a complex question arose: under these circumstances, would India continue to be designated, as before, Dar al-Islam, or would it have to be called Dar al-Harb (in Islamic terminology, Dar al-Harb refers to a country where jihad is waged against a government opposed to Islam, or from which one must migrate in accordance with religious injunctions), or would India under these circumstances be called Dar al-Aman, where, although the government is non-Muslim, the lives and property of Muslims are secure and their religious freedom exists? From that perspective, it would also be unlawful to fight the government established there.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, this issue emerged as a complex question before the political thinkers and ulama of India at that time.

It was a question on which there was considerable scope for disagreement, and it offered a sufficiently favorable opportunity for a cunning nation like the English to exploit this difference of opinion and mislead the people. Indeed, they did so and were successful. However, it was not easy to turn any worker of the Islamic movement trained at Shah Waliullah’s institution into a victim of such deception. Therefore, in 1803, Hazrat Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi (rah) issued the aforementioned fatwa and opened a new door for the Islamic movement. (See the fatwa on page ……….)

In 1857

Ordinary Muslims felt helpless before the power and might of the English. They did not possess the ability to adopt an adverse course of action or decision in those circumstances in opposition to English power. As a result of this fatwa, they found a way to choose a course of action.

Jihad of the Pen

Shah Abdul Aziz (rah) did not merely issue a revolutionary fatwa against the British, provide education, deliver lectures, and organize the people for the revival of Muslims in the subcontinent; he also took up the weapon of the pen to implant the message of Waliullah’s (rah) Islamic renaissance permanently in the depths of people’s minds. His notable written works include: (1) Tafsir-e-Azizi, (2) Tuhfa-ye Ithna Ashariyya (the Shia have still been unable to answer this book, written to refute their erroneous doctrines), (3) Bustan al-Muhaddithin, (4) Azizu’l-Iqtibas, (5) Siyar ash-Shahadatayn, (6) Fatawa-ye Azizi, (7) Fath al-Aziz (a commentary on Waliullah’s (rah) Fath al-Rahman). In addition, he wrote numerous booklets and glosses, including “Hawashi bar Sharh-e-Aqaid” and Ijaz al-Balaghat.

The influence of Abdul Aziz (rah)’s movement in other Muslim states

The influence of Shah Abdul Aziz’s (rah) teachings reached beyond India through the Hijaz. His teachings were studied in Istanbul by Sheikh Khalid al-Kurdi. He had received instruction from Mawlana Ghulam Ali, one of the mujahids of the Kurdish Islamic revolution. Through the mediation of Ismail Shahid, he was inspired by the teachings of Shah Abdul Aziz (rah). Moreover, Mawlana Ghulam Ali was also one of Shah Sahib’s disciples. The ulama of Istanbul wrote to Shah Abdul Aziz (rah), inviting him to go there: “Please honor Istanbul with your presence; the learned people here are prepared to work under your leadership.” Shah Abdul Aziz did not consider it appropriate to travel abroad. In reality, because he stayed in the country and provided Islamic training to Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi, Shah Ismail Shahid, Mawlana Abdul Hayy, and others, the immense work subsequently accomplished for Islam in the subcontinent was worth hundreds of thousands more. His contribution has already been discussed in detail in the section entitled “Waliullah’s Working Group.”

Death

The great man Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi (rah) departed this mortal world in 1139 AH, corresponding to 1828 CE, leaving the Muslims of the subcontinent immersed in an ocean of grief. Before his death, he gave his personal library to Mawlana Shah Muhammad Ishaq. Like the other elders of his family, he was buried in Delhi’s famous cemetery, Lehendiyal. Thereafter, his brothers successively served as principals of the said madrasa. The madrasa was destroyed during the revolution of 1857 CE. Nevertheless, the area is still known as Madrasa Neighborhood. It is mentioned in “Tabaqat-i Nasiri” and “Fawa’id al-Fu’ad” that at that time several madrasas were also operating in Delhi at government expense, including Madrasa-i Mu’ayyabia, Madrasa-i Nasiria, and Madrasa-i Firuzia.

Some events in the life of Abdul Aziz (rah)–’s

He was not only a proficient alim in Islamic studies; he also had considerable mastery of Arabic literature and poetry. The following is an example of the letter he wrote to his uncle in Arabic verse, describing the oppression and persecution inflicted by the Sikhs and Marathas, with a heart burdened by grief:

“From Allah on our behalf

            Take revenge on the Sikhs and Marathas.

            Punish them most severely.”

            “The Sikhs and Marathas have killed countless human beings,

            they are inflicting suffering on innocent people.” —[Maktubat]

Many profound and delightful poems composed by him in Arabic have also been found. On one occasion, he wrote a verse praising Delhi, the capital of Muslim-ruled India.

Discipline

He had two scheduled weekly lectures for the workers of the Islamic movement, and despite disregarding old age and physical illness, he would deliver his valuable address to them on time. He would tell the listeners, “The two of you will hold me and seat me, and when I begin my lecture, you will let me go.” It was observed that at first he could not pull himself up because of weakness, whereas afterward he would deliver his lecture quite normally. Many non-Muslims were also attracted by his lectures. His criticism was so refined that his words left no room for anyone to feel hurt. —[Hayat-i Wali]

Presence of Mind

Once, several ulama were traveling to Delhi in a horse-drawn carriage. The driver was a Brahmin by caste. He asked the ulama, “Well, respected gentlemen, will you answer one of my questions? Tell me, is Allah a Hindu or a Muslim?” Each of them answered the question in a different way, but none of the answers satisfied the driver. At last, they promised to go to Delhi, learn the answer from Shah Sahib, and convey it to him. Upon reaching Delhi, the driver himself went to Shah Sahib and asked him the question. The ulama also requested him to answer it. Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi (rah) said to the driver, “Listen attentively to what I say. The point is that if Allah were a Hindu, no one would be able to slaughter a cow. Do you acknowledge this?” The driver was then rendered speechless and voluntarily embraced Islam.

—(Shah Abdul Aziz and His Teachings).

A Religious Debate with a Priest

Once, a priest came to Delhi to debate religion. The condition was that whoever lost the debate would pay two thousand rupees to his opponent. The local administrator said that if Shah Sahib lost, he would pay the money. The priest said, “The questions I ask must be answered through reasoning—not by quoting religious scriptures.” After this was agreed, the priest asked, “Is your Prophet Habibullah, that is, the friend of Allah?” “Yes, certainly, he is the friend of Allah,” Shah Sahib replied. The priest said, “Your Prophet did not plead with Allah at the time of the murder of Imam Husayn. Yet a friend’s beloved is dearer to him. Had he pleaded, Allah would certainly have listened to him.”

Shah Sahib replied, “Yes, he was indeed about to plead. But at that moment a hidden voice came: ‘The people of the nation have unjustly killed your grandson, and for this reason you are going to plead, yet at this very moment I am reminded of the crucifixion and killing of “my son” Isaac.’”

The priest was rendered speechless by this crushing reply and had to pay his two thousand rupees. Many more incidents of this kind can be found in the life of Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi (rah), demonstrating his immense God-given presence of mind.

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