SIR SYED AHMED KHAN

Beliefs

Sir Syed was extremely unhappy about the position of Muslims in the subcontinent. Since the days of the Mughal declined the social and economical status of Muslims had declined sharply and the role of Muslims in the war of Independence had left further decline as British took measures to ensure that their control was unchallenged. Sir Syed Ahmed felt that the poor status of Muslims was due to they were treated as second-class citizen by British and Hindus and they had to take some responsibilities themselves. Most Muslims thought that British were no more than just invaders and they had nothing to do with them. Sir Syed Ahmed believed that Muslims had to accept that the British were there rulers and could only improve if they have a positive approach towards them. They needed to accept the British idea and their education if they wanted to improve. Sir Syed wanted to see Muslims untied and prospering in their social, economical and religious fortune. He made this his Life’s ambition and founded Aligarh movement.

Aligarh Movement

Sir Syed was interested in Muslims. He wanted to improve relations with British and the positions of Muslims.

The central aims of the Aligarh Movement were to:

- improve relations between the British and Muslims communities by removing British doubts about Muslim loyalty and Muslim doubts about the British intentions.

- improve the social and economic position of Muslims by encouraging them to receive Western education and take up posts in the civil service and army.

- increase their political awareness to make them aware of the threat to from the Hindu policy of cooperation with the British.

Work

1. Improving Relation between the British and Muslim Communities

Sir Syed believed that the position of the Muslims in the subcontinent could only be improved if relations with the British were improved by the Muslims gained higher-quality education. There were two major obstacles to good relations.

A. The British had put the entire responsibility for the War of Independence in 1857 on the Muslims.

Sir Syed wanted to ensure that this false view was corrected.

B. There was a deep-seated resentment of the British among many in the Muslim community.

Sir Syed wanted to ensure that the benefits and advantages of British rule, in particular in the areas of science and technology were embraced by the Muslim community to improve the lives of the masses.    

Convincing the British

In 1860 Sir Syed wrote “The Loyal Mohammedans of India”. In this work he defended Muslims and listed the name of those Muslims who remained Loyal to the British during the uprising. In order to convince that the British were wrong to fully blame the Muslims for the uprising so he wrote a pamphlet “Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt”. In this he pointed the reasons for the uprising. He told that British were unable to understand the Indians. This Pamphlet was circulated freely among the British officials in India and the copies were also sent to England were it was studied carefully. Many British thought that he was blaming them for uprising but others sympathetic and accepted the truth in his words. He also cleared the misunderstanding that Muslim called the British “Nadarath”, He told that this was no insult but the word came from Arabic word “Nasir” which means helpers.

Convincing the Muslims

Sir Syed was aware that the British knew very little about Islam. Indeed, on a visit to England he was so offended by an English book on the life of the Prophet (PBUH) that he immediately wrote his own work correcting the many errors. Sir Syed was aware that Muslim in India knew very little about Christianity. He tried to overcome this by writing “Tabyin-ul-Kalam” in which he pointed out the similarities between Islam and Christianity.

2. Encouraging the growth of Western education

●      He also supported the idea of western education as he knew that Muslims could not succeed until they had high quality education which was received by the Hindus. He believed that the acceptance of Western scientific and technological ideas was necessary as this could only make Muslim advance in the world of science. He related this with Holy Quran that it was written in Quran that the study and that an understanding of modern scientific belief actually helped reveal the full majesty of God. He established scientific society at Ghazipore and its main purpose was making Scientific Writing available to more people. When he visited England he was impressing by the quality of education the student received there so in 1875 he founded Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College its main purpose was to provide the education to the Muslims like the people in England received. The subjects were Mathematics, Modern Science and Agricultural Science. (In 1920 the college became the University of Aligarh.

3. Increasing Political Awareness

Syed Ahmed also wanted Muslims to have a good relation with the Hindus but he found out that Hindus did not want good relations.

●      In 1885 Indian Nation Congress was found which claimed to speak for Indians but later it was found out that it was a body dominated by Hindus.

●      Sir Syed wanted Muslims to stay away from Democracy as the Muslims were in minorities in India and every election would be won by the Hindus.

●      A further cause of concern to Syed Ahmed was the “Hindi-Urdu Controversy”. In 1867 the Hindus demanded that Hindi should be the next official language. The Muslims were struck by this as Urdu had special place in their hearts. This was another factor guiding him towards his two nation theory.

Hindi-Urdu Controversy

Hindi-Urdu Controversy was started in 1867. Hindus demanded Hindi to be official language but Muslims wanted Urdu to be official language. Sir Syed supported Urdu in this thing. Due to this reason Sir Syed started “Two Nation Theory” telling that Muslims and Hindus were two separate kinds of people. Muslims opposed this and supported Urdu as it was the sign and united the Muslims of the India under one language.

                                                                                       

Two-Nation Theory

Urdu was the national language for many years. But Hindus opposed it in Urdu Controversy. This provoked Sir Syed to make his Two Nation Theory to tell that Urdu had place in hearts of Muslims and was supported by them and can’t be replaced by Hindu which was the language of the Hindus. It was important because Sir Syed had realized that Muslims and Hindu couldn’t work together as the Hindus were not with the Muslims.

Another reason was that the parliamentary system was not supported by Sir Syed was Hindus were in more number so they always outnumbered the Muslims and due to this Sir Syed opposed it. Sir Syed realised that separate electorate was the possible solution to this so in view of his Two Nations Theory. He made this decision of separate electorate demand for elections for the good of the Muslims.

Another reason it was important was that congress spoke of competitive examinations for jobs and good posts while Muslims were always not given good education so they were also not able to take good posts as Hindu won all the seats and passed the examinations always. According to Two Nation Theory Sir Syed suggested it as two separate groups of Muslims and Hindus were not working for the Muslims at that time so Two Nation Theory was important here as well.

Importance

He worked tirelessly to improve the relation of British and Muslims and wrote several books and pamphlets so that British might be convinced and trust Muslims once again. He played a major role in educating Muslims so that they can take up good jobs and their condition was improved. He is known as “Father of the Pakistan Movement” As he was the first one to express the Idea of treating Muslims and Hindus separately.

Contribution of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

1. Attempts to achieve a better understanding between the British and the Muslims

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was one of the Muslim reformers. He carefully studied and analyzed the decline of Muslims in political power, social status and economic well-being. He came to the conclusion that Muslims were being handicapped because of the misunderstanding which had cropped up between the British and Muslim rulers, the Muslims opposed and hated the British and everything associated with the British. Muslims kept away from modern education and English language which the British were trying to enforce in India. On the other hand the British held the Muslims responsible for the revolt of 1857 and considered them (Muslims) to be their real enemies. The result of this mistrust was that Muslims were being crushed in every way.

Therefore, Sir Syed tried to remove this misunderstanding by addressing both the British and Muslims. Sir Syed wrote books and explained to the British that the real cause of 1857 uprising was the wrong policies and altitude of the British themselves. To Muslims Sir Syed explained that Christians and Christianity should not be hated. He specially stressed that Muslims should came towards modern education, the lack of which was causing continual set back to the Muslims of India.

2. Education

Sir Syed gave much importance to modern education and his efforts and contribution to Muslim education and his efforts and contribution to Muslim education is very important. He opened schools at several places where he was posted. He established Scientific Society and printed the Aligarh Institute Gazette. He was visited England in 1869 on his own expenses to observe the working of British Universities. Most important achievement in education sector was the founding of M.A.O College at Aligarh in 1877. Sir Syed founded the Mohammadens Educational Conference whose objective was to discuss and solve the education problems of Muslims in the sub-continent. His efforts for Muslim education served double purpose. It helped the Muslims to get good jobs and raised their status in society. It also helped in removing the mistrust between the British and the Muslims. Therefore education was the most important aspect of Sir Syed’s services in the Muslims of India.

     

3. Politics

Sir Syed’s advice to Muslims in the political field is also important. He believed   that under the European system or democratic government the Muslims of India would always be at the mercy of Hindu majority. He suggested separate electorate for Muslims. He advised the Muslims not to join Congress. He opposed the system of competitive examinations for government posts because Muslims were much behind the Hindus in education. Sir Syed strongly opposed the replacement of Urdu with Hindi as court and official language.  

4. Religion

In Religion Sir Syed united the Muslims by supporting the “Two Nation Theory” and the Hindi-Urdu controversy of 1867 in which Hindus wanted Hindi to be the official language while the Muslims wanted Urdu. He realised the threat to Muslims so united them and gave them good education.                                                      

Mansabdars, Suttee, Jizya Tax, Presidencies

Mansabdars: 
Mughal emperor Akbar introduced a new system officially called mansabdars who were responsible for civil and military administration. As they were appointed by Akbar they were directly answerable to him. Akbar ensured that they were not local land lords who had power in their own right. Instead they owned their position simply because they were appointed by Akbar. They would easily be dismissed or lose power so it was in their power to remain loyal. To stop them building up too much power in one area, Akbar often transfers them to jobs in other areas. When they die their wealth and property goes to the emperor. This stops them from accumulating wealth but makes them extravagant. 

Suttee:
It was a tradition of  Hindus in which if a husband died, his wife would also be buried with him alive. This was banned by Aurangzeb and banning it was a main reason for the decline of empire. Later it was also banned by British.

Jizya Tax:
It was a tax that early Islamic rulers demanded from non-Muslims. It was introduced by Akbar and then later re-introduces by Aurangzeb and resulted in decline of the empire.

Presidencies:
Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were the main bases of EIC. They were later known as Presidencies in British-India. They were also known as provinces. Those were the areas from where the EIC begin its control. Later these presidencies were to become the major places of British India. 

REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

 Aurangzeb’s responsibility: Aurangzeb was largely responsible for the downfall of the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb could not tolerate the non-Muslims. He imposed jaziya and forbade the celebrations of Hindu Festivals. He lost friendship and loyalty with the Rajputs. His execution of the Sikh guru and his enmity with the Marathas forced them to raise forces against him. His excessive obsession with the Deccan destroyed Mughal army, treasure and also affected his health. Aurangzeb could not even tolerate the Shias. He laid too much of stress on simplicity and was against singing, dancing and drinking which were common habits of the Muslim nobles.

Administration: The Empire was huge and difficult to administer. Emperors didn’t know what was happening in their empire. It was why Aurangzeb encouraged mansabdars(detail in upcoming posts).

Military cost: The empire was huge and it had a variety of people and religion in it so there were continues rebellions. The cost to fight them was high like the one against Nadir Shah from Persia.

Succession: When an emperor died there were huge succession disputes and the empire continued to erode.

Decline military expertise: When an empire is in power for long time it leads the army expertise decline until it was not effective fighting force. When the decline is obvious discontent groups in an empire were quick to act.

Pleasure Seeking: Due to the wealth Mughals had they betrayed the principles of Islam and they became extravagant.

Weak Control: As the influence of nobles grew they became powerful at court and then the emperor was unable to control them.

Arrival of British: EIC tried to take wanted to take advantage by the wealth gained by them in India. Behind them was a powerful country England. Gradually, the started interfering with Indian politics, gradually the established a British Empire in India which lasted for about 200 years. The weaknesses of mughals and strengths of British leaded to the fall of empire.

Moral Degradation of Soldiers: The Mughal soldiers had wealth and luxury, which made them lazy, corrupt and inefficient. They were pleasure-giving and easygoing. Often they were also disloyal. They sometimes fought only for money and easily got succumbed to bribes.

Rise of New Powers: New Powers such as the Sikhs, the Jhats and the Marathas came onto the scene. They broke off from the Mughal domination and established their independent states.

COMPARISON BETWEEN RELIGIOUS THINKERS

Shah Wali Ullah  believed that the Muslims were not able to understand Islam because they could’nt understand Arabic and Quran was in Arabic. He translated Holy Quran from Arabic to Persian. Later it was translated to Urdu by his sons. He wrote 51 books .They include Hujjatullah-ul Baligha and Izalat al Akhfa. He also wrote an  account on the four Caliphs of which was acceptable by both sunnis and shias. His main work was organization of opposition against Marathas.

Another reformer was Syed Ahmad. He was a man of action and great Muslim warrior. He gathered an army of mujahideen to fight against the Sikhs (Ranjit Singhs forces).It was the first example of a movement formed to free Muslims from non Muslims leaders. It was a uniting force for the Muslims and inspiration for future Muslims.

Another reformer was HHahi Sharait Ullah. He believed that the country was Dar-Ul Harb. He also believed that the Muslims had moved away from true Islamic practice so he started a movement called the Faraizi Movement. It supported the idea of Jihad Movement. The Faraizi Movement was started to restore the pride of Muslims and remove non Muslim practices in Islam. This Movement encouraged the Muslims. The Bengal peasants became united in opposition to the British and became aware of their rights and unity became to grow between them and they realised their rights that should have been given.

I think Shah Wali Ullah was the most important reformer because he was one of the first persons to realise the main thing of Muslims problems. He did the major thing of translating Holy Quran to Persian so that more people could understand it.

HAJI SHARIAT ULLAH

He was greatly influenced by the teaching of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab.

●      BELIEFS:

He believed that the miserable condition of the Muslims in India led to the country being Dar-Ul-Harb (Country under Foreign Rule). He told that Friday prayer and Eid prayer cannot be offered here. He also believed that Muslim community had moved away from Islamic practice. He wanted them to return to what he thought was the proper observation of Islamic duties called Faraizi. This was why he started his movement was called Faraizi Movement. The Faraizi Movement supported the idea of Jihad against the non-Muslims who were undermining the true principles of Islam.

●      WORK:

He started Faraizi movement to restore the Pride of the Muslims and remove what he thought were the Hindu practices. Emphasis was placed on praying for past sins and promising to lead a righteous life in the future which had crept into their worship. The success of this movement caused British and Hindu Landlord’s and they did not want Haji Shariat Ullah to create difficulty for them by uniting a desire to improve their lives and purify their religion so they drove Haji out of the reign to Nawabganj in Dhaka where he died in 1840. His work however was carried by his son Mohsin-ud-Din who continued to improve the position of Muslim in East Bengal and introduced important economic measures. He divides East Bengal into circle under control of each Khalifa to carry out religious activities. He helped the peasants to oppose land taxes and he threatened to declare Jihad against the British so he was captured and put in prison where he died in 1860.

·         FARAIZI MOVEMENT:

  The movement was also concerned with the British influence upon Muslims and called for social justice. Haji Shariatullah started the Faraizi Movement to restore the lost pride of the Muslims and to remove what he thought were immoral Hindu practices which had crept into Islam.

It was named so because he wanted them to return to what he thought was the prper observation of Islamic duties called faraiz.

●      IMPORTANCE:

Work of Haji Shariat Ullah was important to Faraizi Movement because it gave encouragement to Muslims at a time when they demoralised by oppression suffered from Hindus and British. It also brought about a spiritual revival which led to a revival in Islamic religion in East Bengal. Hindu influences were removed from Islamic practices. It might be said that some seeds for the Pakistan Movement were sown by the Faraizi Movement.

SHAH-WALI-ULLAH

●      BELIEFS:

He believed that the Muslims were facing decline not because of weak leadership but because of Muslim community itself. He believed that many Muslims did not have complete knowledge of Quranic teachings. A major problem was that Muslims were divided into Shias and Sunnis and fought with themselves. It was necessary to follow Islamic teachings into every aspect of life.

●      WORK:

He worked hard to ensure that he was a role model for every Muslim. He translated Quran into Persian because many people were unfamiliar with Arabic. Later his sons, Shah Abdul Qader and Shah Rafi, translated Quran into Urdu. He wrote fifty one books in Persian and Arabic. Amongst the most famous were Hujjatullah-ul-Baligha and Izalat-Akhfa. He also wrote an account of the first four caliphs of Islam in a way that was acceptable to both Shias and Sunnis. In economics he emphasised the need for social justice and for peasants and craftsmen to be truly valued for their contribution to the economy. His most important contributions to the Muslim community was his organization of opposition to the Marathas, who were threatening to over-run the Mughal Empire from the south. It was to call together the divinities among Muslims and unite them for Jihad. He wrote a letter to Afghan King Ahmad Shah Abdali and joined local forces with local Muslim leaders and defeated the Marathas in the Battle of Panipat in 1761. However, despite encouragement from Shah Wali Ullah, the Muslim leaders did not unite to take advantage of the defeat of the Marathas. Perhaps if they had done so, the Muslims would not have soon found themselves under Non-Muslim rule.

·        WHY SHAH WALLIULLAH TRANSLATED QURAN             

Shah Waliullah believed that many of the problems the Muslims faced were
due to ignoring the principles of Islam. He felt that an emphasis on Quranic teachings would improve their knowledge and reduce sectarianism differences and create a feeling of solidarity.

As Arabic was not widely understood by the muslims of subcontinent he translated Quran into Persian. By this the teachings of Quran were more accessible to muslims.

 Shah Waliullah recognized that the tenets of Islam could not be followed properly unless the Holy Quran itself was understood. In order to spread the teachings of Islam he translated the Holy Quran into Persian the main language of educated Muslims at that time in the Sub-Continent.                                                        

●      IMPORTANCE:

Shah Wali Ullah was one of the first thinkers to state that the decline of Mughal Empire and the vulnerable position of the Muslims were due to a neglect of the principles of Islam. He showed how this regeneration might take place. The Madrassa continued to play a vital role in teaching Islamic principles and researching Islamic thought. He believed that Muslims could prosper if they followed proper Islamic customs and did not indulge in social evils. His writing gave large number of Muslims a chance to study their religion and understand its teachings. He gave Muslims inspiration to lead a pure simple Life. He showed that Muslims had to concentrate more on basic principle rather than finding the difference which would lead them in the conflict among them. He tried to oppose Maratha and unite the Muslim under a common enemy. Many future leaders were inspired by his teachings. And fight for the good of Muslim community.

SYED AHMAD BARELVI

●      INTRODUCTION:

Syed Ahmad was born in a small town of Rai Bareli near Lucknow. He moved in Delhi in 1806 and Studied in Madrassa Rahimya for two years. In 1810 in joined a Pathan Military Leader and learned to use European weaponry. In 1817 He returned to Delhi trying to make Islam to its original purity.

●      BELIEFS:

He believed that Muslims could achieve their freedom by having arm struggle against the British and Sikhs. He believed that the evil in the Islamic Society had to be cured. He called for Jihad Movement to over throw the non-Muslim force which was oppressing them. Only then Islam could be rescued from the evil customs of other societies.

●      WORK:

In 1821 He went for Hajj and returned from Arabia in 1823 ready for action. At this time Punjab and NWFP was in the control of Sikh and Muslims were unable to live according to their faith. He traveled many hundred miles to raise a mujahideen force. In 1826 Syed Ahmad established his headquarters near Peshawar and sent a messenger asking Ranjit Singh the ruler to allow muslims follow their religion but the request was turn down so he had no choice but to attack at Okara on 21 December 1826 and after that Hazarothe and defeat the Sikhs. He was successful military leader and the mujahideen force soon reached 80,000 men, but there was a major problem as the force had people from different area they quarreled on how the camping should run. Sikhs tried to exploit the army by calling it un-Islamic but it was consider jihad by Muslim leaders. When Syed Ahmad was about to attack the fort of Attock he encountered the army of Sikh of 35000 men’s. What he did not know was that Yar Muhammad Khan a Pathan chief was bribed by the Sikh and even his servant tried to poison him. Then Yar Muhammad deserted him on the battle field along his men and thus this creates chaos and lead to defeat. Syed Ahmad had no choice but to move his headquarters to safety of Panjtar near Kashmir but was again betrayed when a person in his army told the British a secret way to attack them. In battle of Balakot 1831 a surprise attack was lead by Sikh and Six hundred Muslims were killed along with Syed Ahmed.

·         JIHAD MOVEMENT:

Objectives of Jihad Movement:

1.      Establishment of Islamic Rule in the Sub-Continent and end of Sikh Rule.

2.      Reformation of Muslim Society.

3.      Restoration of Jihad.

4.      Advice of Simple Ways of Living

5.      End of Innovations in Islam

6.      Struggle against the Conspiracies of Christian Missionaries.

He launched the Jihad movement to revive Islam among the Muslims of the subcontinent. He realized that the freedom of Muslims could come as a result of armed struggle against Muslim. He launched the Jihad movement so that Islam could be rejuvenated and rescued from customs that contradicted  Islamic beliefs which had crept in a Muslim's everyday life.

·        FAILURE OF JIHAD MOVEMENT:

1      1.     Syed Ahmad’s army consisted of men from many different communities which             disagreed over how the campaign was fought.

2       2.     Syed Ahmad was betrayed by his men. Yar Muhammad Khan had been bribed by          Sikh. He deserted the battle field along with his men creating confusion leading          in defeat of Syed Ahmad’s forces. Syed was poisoned by his servant too. Syed             Ahmad was betrayed by local leaders when they told Sikh a way through                         mountainto Balakot as it was surrounded by mountains.

3.     Lack of Leadership after the Martyrdom of Syed Ahmed and Shah Ismail

●      INFLUENCE:

The Defeat of the mujahideen in the Battle of Balakot was a serious setback for the Jihad movement still it survived.  The movement continued on the hills of NWFP until 1863 when the British sent large force to deal with it still it survived through determination of its followers. The work of Syed Ahmad was important because it was the first arm struggle of a movement to free Muslims from non-Muslim rule. It was not a movement for a leader but it was to achieve religious freedom. Jihad of Syed Ahmad inspired many Muslims. It is the fore-runner of Pakistan movement as the aim of this movement was to safe-guard Muslim interest and achieves a homeland where they can practice their Religion, Culture and Freedoms.

·        CONCLUSION:

No doubt Jihad Movement remained unsuccessful but it affected the Muslim Mentality on a large scale. Mujahideen fought for the cause of Islam even without proper training and sufficient equipment. Their sacrifices not only inspired the Muslims to think about the renaissance of Islam but also made them aware of the prevailing political situations in the Sub-Continent. In short we can say Tehreek Mujahideen paved the way for the Muslim struggle for freedom.