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.