Syed Ahmad Barelvi
Syed Ahmad Barelvi, also known as Sayyid Ahmad Shahid,[2] (1786–1831)[3][4] was an Indian Islamic revivalist, scholar, and military commander from Raebareli, a part of the historical United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (now called Uttar Pradesh). He launched the Indian jihad movement that waged a decades-long Islamic revolt against colonial rule across various provinces of British India.[5][2] Sayyid Ahmad is revered as a major scholarly authority in the Ahl-i Hadith and Deobandi movements.[6] The epithet 'Barelvi' is derived from Raebareli, his place of origin.
Not to be confused with Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi and Syed Ahmad Khan.
Sayyid Ahmad bin Muhammad Irfan Al-Hasani Al-Barelvi
29 November 1786
6 May 1831 (aged 44)
Shaheed-e-Balakot, Imam-ul-Mujahidin,
His ancestors migrated to India in the early 13th century.[7] Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi wrote Seerat-i-Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed, the first historical biography of Syed Ahmad Barelvi.[8]
Early life and education[edit]
Syed Ahmad Barelvi was born on 29 November 1786 in Raebareli, into a Syed family.[9] His primary education was initiated in 1791, when he was aged four.[10] As he turned 10, his father died and the familial responsibilities fell onto his shoulders, and this made him travel to Lucknow, at the age of 18 in search of some work. He however inclined to stay in the tutelage of Shah Abdul Aziz, an Islamic scholar, who was the son of revivalist reformer Shah Waliullah, in Delhi.[11]
Ahmad travelled to Delhi, and was subsequently allotted accommodation in the Akbarabadi Mosque.[12] He stayed in the tutelage of Abdul Aziz for a few years, and returned to his hometown in the early 1808, or in the late 1807.[13]
Later career and military service[edit]
After his tutelage under Shah Abdul Aziz from 1806 to 1811, Syed Ahmad began his career as a Pindari horse soldier in the militia of Amir Khan Pindari, a military expeditionary at the age of 25.[14][15] This was an era where large numbers of North Indian Muslim horsemen from the Uttar Pradesh region were unemployed and saw a destruction of their livelihood due to the fall of Muslim rule, and a large number of those disaffected turned into plunderers known as the Pindari freebooters who fought merely for loot and plunder to establish power.[16][17][18][19]
In 1817, after the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Amir Khan allied with the East India Company, the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, the Marquess of Hastings, resolved to defeat the Pindaris whom they deemed a menace. The Treaty of Gwalior severed the link between them and Scindia. Moreover, the treaty required the latter to join forces with the East India Company to eliminate the Pindaris and Pathans. Bowing to the inevitable, Amir Khan came to terms with the English, agreeing to disband his men in return for a large stipend and recognition as a hereditary Nawab, who quietly settled down to consolidate his little state. Being against this treaty, Syed Ahmed left the military service, because for him the British were kuffar (Christian infidels).[20]
Now unemployed, Syed Ahmad returned to Delhi after his service and decided to emulate Amir Khan. Journalist Tariw Hasan writes that W.W. Hunter described Syed Ahmad "as a robber who took to religion to plunder for wealth".[21] During this period in his life, Syed Ahmad became more mature and harmonized his military experiences with a zealous commitment to establish Sharia (Islamic law).[22] Two family members of the theologian Shah Waliullah—Shah Ismail Dehlavi (1771–1831) and Maulvi Abdul Hai (died 1828)—became disciples of Syed Ahmad, an event that raised his mystic confidence and stature.[23] This endorsement only added to his reputation, and his popularity grew with adherents flocking to him by the thousands.[24]
Legacy[edit]
Syed Ahmad is widely regarded as the founder of the subcontinental Ahl-i Hadith movement and his teachings are highly influential amongst its members.[45] Another major group that carries his legacy is the Deobandi school of thought.[46] Scholar Edward Mortimer believes Syed Ahmad anticipated modern Islamists in waging jihad and attempting to create an Islamic state with strict enforcement of Sharia.[47] Scholar Olivier Roy considers Syed Ahmad to be the first modern Islamic leader to lead a movement that was "religious, military and political" and to address the common people and rulers with a call for jihad.[25] The mujahideen were unprecedented for their tactics of popular mobilization aimed at swiftly achieving the objectives of social reformation through military means, combined with fierce hostility towards non-Muslim powers such as the British Empire and the Sikhs. Syed Ahmad was committed to expand his emirate to the whole of South Asia and authored tracts calling upon Indian Muslims to join the cause of jihad.[48]
Syed Ahmad attained the exemplar status of shahid (martyr), one of the highest honours in Islam, and would inspire generations of Militant Islamist ideologues and Jihadi activists throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. His calls to action—such as a return to the pristine Islam of the Salaf, and the purifying of Islamic culture from Western and Shi'i influences through armed jihad—became major hallmarks of South Asian and Central Asian militant Islamist movements like the Taliban. Al-Qaeda's ideology was greatly inspired by Syed Ahmad's jihad movement, which was waged from Eastern Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkwa. Influenced by Syed Ahmad, contemporary Jihadists compare American hegemony to the 19th century British rule to justify their campaigns.[49]
The jihad movement of Syed Ahmad made a great impact on Islamic scholarly tradition of South Asia and would deeply divide many clerics and theologians. Some intellectuals and scholars criticised the militant aspects of his reform programme, especially its sectarian violence against other self-professed Muslims whom the mujahideen declared as heretics or apostates. Scholars like Wahiduddin Khan asserted that Syed Ahmad's jihad was illegitimate, since it was self-declared and not waged by a Muslim ruler. Meanwhile, South Asian Islamists eagerly embraced Syed Ahmad's teachings and popularised his writings that sought the militant restoration of an Islamic state. All major organisations that wage militant jihad in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir use the rhetoric and legacy of Syed Ahmad's mujahideen to shore up support from the conservative base. Hafiz Saeed's Lashkar-e-Taiba and Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Muhammad are two major militant Islamist organisations inspired by Syed Ahmad that wage jihad against India in Kashmir. Other organisations include Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a Jihadist group in Pakistan.[50]