Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem Why Five Muslim Reformers in India? Introduction: India had historically hosted five Reformers1 of . First Reformer was in 9th Hijri2 with four consecutive Reformers in 11th -14th Hijri, making India the highest recipient of Reformers in Islam. Whilst this may seem disproportionate to some people from other countries, India had that past history, which compelled frequency of Reformers, to personally protect Muslims and preserve Islam in its originality. India was widely entrenched with practises in idolatry, polytheism and all subsystems of idolatry and polytheism. For sake of consistency, hereinafter, Reformer will be referred to the widely accepted Muslim terminology as Mujaddid. Discussion on Why Five Muslim Reformers in India: 1) India, apart from being one of the oldest civilizations in this world, also has the status of hosting some of the oldest religions and complex cultural mix. Many of the old Indian religions have been in existence for thousands of years before Christianity. Some of these very old religions of India have been: Hinduism and its various sectarian divisions, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, and Buddhism, to mention a few3. However, there are so many other different religions in India and these have been spread throughout the breadth and vertical measures of the Indian subcontinent. Many of these also have widespread inclusions of practises such as idolatry, polytheism, and their various subsystems. Included in this complex mix were several layers of ethnic caste systems, with cultural barriers, which did not allow freedom of intermixing communities. Muslims 4 who were sparsely spread throughout the entire Indian subcontinent, had the potential threat of becoming completely swamped by religions, built around idolatry and polytheism. The Delhi Muslim Sultanate was founded in 1206 and ruled India till 1526. This happened after leader Ghori defeated king Pritvi Raj Chauhan and captured Delhi in

1 Reformer is English equivalent of the Arabic terminology called Mujaddid. It is perhaps timely to mention the purpose and function of Mujaddid. A Mujaddid is a maintenance manager of the religion of Islam, as a reviver, selectively appointed by Almighty God; and that person is informed by Almighty God’s angels of his appointment as the Mujaddid at the head of the emergence of an Islamic Century (Hijri), at that point in time. 2 After 12 years of preaching and correcting the people of Mecca, the situation became very dangerous for Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). There had become an alliance of conspiracy and treachery comprising idolaters, polytheists, Jews and Mithras from all over Mecca, who planned to kill Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Almighty God was aware of their evil plans. The House where Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was residing at, was surrounded by this alliance of heavily armed conspirators. Almighty God then intervened and caused a miracle, which brought about slumber to all those surrounding the house. At the precise moment Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his close associate Abu Bakar, slipped out of the house and headed towards Medina. This incident is also called “the flight.” From that moment onwards Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was relocated to Medina, where he received several revelations comprising of 27 other Chapters of the Holy Qur’an. This forced departure from Mecca to Medina is the Islamic dating system called Hijri, with year followed by AH. 3 Christianity and Islam as religions per se did not exist more than 2,000 years previously. 4 Islam commenced in India around 7th Century AD, with Arab spice traders frequenting the Indian west coastal area for their purchases. 1

1192. Subsequently, the Mughal Empire 5 captured Delhi and saw the Mughal Emperorship as rulers of India from 1526 till 1857. It was throughout this period that Almighty God had appointed the five Mujaddids to salvage Muslims from the threat of very overpowering and very complex mix of religions, castes and cultures in India. This religious landscape was unique to India. The greatest difficulties the Mughal Emperors faced in India was the resistance to their administration by the Sikhs. Most of the Sikhs in the region were generations’ downstream descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great (326BC). They were mainly of Greek origins and settled there, with cross marriages into the then communities of the Punjab. These Sikh descendants were for hundreds of years fighting for their own homeland, which the Sikhs want to call Khalistan6. It became imperative to send four more Mujaddids to save Muslims and preserve Islam. The 14th Hijri Mujaddid came immediately after the Sikhs’ killing of the 13th Hijri Mujaddid. This is shown in the table at paragraph 5. 2) There is dire need to establish that no Prophet and Messenger will come after the death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 632AD7. However, a Mujaddid will continue to come every Hijri, in certain parts of the world where Islam and Muslims have come under intense pressure and both of their survivals have to be sustained by a Mujaddid. There were 19 Mujaddids8 over 14 Hijris and after the death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 632AD. 3) The Divine authority for commencement and continuation of the arrival of Mujaddid every Islamic Century (Hijri) is in the Holy Qur’an at HQ24:55, as “Allah has promised

5 Mughal Emperor Babur, born in Uzbekistan but came as ruler from Kabul in modern-day Afghanistan, conquered the Delhi Sultanate in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodhi, the Pastun King at the Battle of Panipat and established the Mughal Empire. Babur was a descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan. The Mughal Empire was a Muslim majority empire that ruled India from 1526 to 1857AD. 6 Sikhism was founded in 1469AD by Guru Nanak in the Indian region of Punjab. There were nine other Gurus in 16th through 17th centuries AD. The Khalistan movement was a Sikh nationalist movement 1709-1849 AD, which wanted to create an independent state for Sikh people, inside the former North-Western Mughal India, (which is now part of Pakistan, since August 1947). The Sikhs had compounded their stubbornness of demand for independent State throughout the regime of the Mughal Empire 1526-1857AD. It was during this period that the 13th Hijri Islamic Reformer Hazrat (b.1786 - d.1831) was killed by the Sikhs upon direct orders of Sikh’s king Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Balakot, Mansehra District. The decline and fall of the Mughal Empire was largely caused by the orchestrated conspiracy and treachery by Sikhs and Hindus with the British in 1857. The Sikhs wanted to have Khalistan as an independent State within India. The British promised to give Sikhs their independent State of Khalistan: provided the Sikhs and Hindus helped British in overthrow of the (then existing) Mughal Empire. To date there, there is still no independent State of Khalistan.

7 There shall not be another Prophet (Prophet or Messenger) after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This testimony is easily available as two streams of materially verifiable evidences, which testify that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) shall be the Final Prophet (both Prophet and Messenger) ever. The first evidence is in the Holy Qur’an at HQ33:40, which testifies as “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the prophets. And Allah is ever Knower of all things.” The second evidence was a paragraph in the last sermon, which Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered to and witnessed by the multitude of tens of thousands of Muslims in 632AD, in which the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) clarified (as his paragraph No 7): “O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur'an and my example, the and if you follow these you will never go astray.” 8 The reason there is disproportionate match of 19 Mujaddids within 14 Hijris is because of the 9 Crusades against Muslims from 1095AD-1291AD. Most Crusades were fought by Christians against Muslims in their attempts to recapture Jerusalem (called the “Holy Land”) from Muslims’ control. Consequently two Mujaddids arrived in each of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th Hijri to sustain survival of Muslims against the militaries of combined countries in the battles of the 9 Crusades. These Mujaddids featured within the larger radius to Middle East of those countries, affected by battles of the 9 Crusades. The intensity of these Crusades covered France, Spain and Portugal in the West and all countries of the Northern Mediterranean region and extended East towards the current Middle East countries, including all countries bordering Adriatic Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Herzegovina and Slovenia. In the past these recently broken up countries were historically known as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia till 1993 and 1992 respectively; they were main battlegrounds of Crusades. 2

to those of you who believe and do good that He will surely make them rulers in the earth as He made those before them rulers, and that He will surely establish for them their religion, which He has chosen for them, and that He will surely give them security in exchange after their fear. They will serve Me, not setting up any partner with Me. And whoever is ungrateful after this, they are the transgressors.” 4) It is embedded belief in the minds of all Muslims that all Prophets (both Prophets and Messengers 9 ) brought messages, rules and practices 10 , which were fundamentally Muslim principles; because they were centrally guided by Almighty God. They all came with differently worded messages to communities, but as continuous flowing of the same messages. However, it was the communities over thousands of years, which had corrupted and distorted the basic Muslim messages, revealed thousands of years ago. The basic Muslim messages brought by all Prophets were as: 1). Belief in the Supremacy of only One God as the Almighty and total prohibition of idolatry, polytheism, subsystems of idolatry and polytheism; and Trinity. 2). Regular prayers only to Almighty God. 3). Events of existence of ordained holy men (Prophets) and holy spirits (angels). 4). Existence of a community welfare system and contributing to charity for the lesser privileged. 5). Respect and honour of the Ruler or Government of the Day; it must be noted that some of the previous Prophets were also patriarch of their communities (e.g. Prophet Abraham (as)) and some other Prophets were Kings of their communities (e.g. Solomon (as) and David (as)). 6). There will be a great Judgement Day. 7). Eventuality of resultant reprimand systems by their tariffs, and finally everlasting reward systems also by their tariffs: those events will be only after death of human bodies on Judgement Day. 5) For clarity and completeness, the table below shows details of the five Mujaddids (not Prophets) in India, according to the Islamic Hijri of the time: Islamic Serial Name of Mujaddids in Recorded Islamic History (Islamic Century – Country Century Run “Hijri System”) aligned to standard calendar years Where He No (Hijri) No Resided 9th (Hijri) 14 Hazrat Sayyid Muhammad Janpuri (b.1443 - d.1505) India 11th (Hijri) 1611 Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani (b.1564 - d.1624) India 12th (Hijri) 17 Hazrat Shah Waliullah Muhaddath Dehlavi (b.1703 - d.1762) India 13th (Hijri) 18 Hazrat Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi (b.1786 - d.1831) India 14th (Hijri) 19 Hazrat (b.1835 - d.1908) India There shall not be another Prophet (Prophet or Messenger) after the death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The event of Prophets has been sealed off in the Holy Qur’an at HQ33:40 “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the prophets. And Allah is ever Knower of all things.”

9 Prophets and Messengers are English equivalents of Arabic terminologies called Nabi and Rasul respectively. A Nabi was a regular Prophet, ordained by Almighty God through the stewardship of Archangel Gabriel. There were 124,000 of Nabi throughout the world. A Rasul must have pre-qualification of Nabi but Rasul brings significant changes (particularly as Sharia aspects) according to the progressive changes in civilization. There were 313 Rasul included within the 124,000 Nabi. 10 Practices are widely referred to as Sharia, brought about by Rasul in the main. 11 Mujaddid Serial No 15 was not in India but in Egypt. He was Hazrat Jalalud din al-Suyuti. 3

6) Having considered the verifiable material evidence, revealed in the Holy Qur’an at HQ33:40 from Almighty God, and after having further considered the widely-witnessed evidence spoken by Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in his last sermon, it becomes conclusive to the reader that Prophets and Messengers have now become totally non- event. This therefore conclusively clarifies that none of the 19 Mujaddids were Prophet of any description whatsoever. 7) This seal of Prophets puts to closure three very important points: 1). Firstly, there shall not be another Sharia. 2). Secondly, there shall not be another Prophet to receive any further Sharia. 3). Thirdly the Sharia which was received and introduced by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was the final Sharia and shall remain to be the currently valid Sharia indefinitely, till the end of this world. 8) An obvious question, which currently arises is: How can 2.9 Billion Muslims carry on into the future without any Divine leadership such as a Prophet and periodic updates till the end of this world? The answer lies within the current Sharia and the need to understand this best are with already given quotations from the Holy Qur’an and the . 9) It is now timely to mention the purpose and function of Mujaddids. A Mujaddid is a maintenance manager of the religion of Islam, as a reviver, selectively appointed by Almighty God; and that person is informed by Almighty God’s angels of his appointment as the Mujaddid at the head of the emergence of an Islamic Century (Hijri), at that point in time. It should be noted that the non-acceptance of the valid Mujaddid is a serious sin, as the Holy Qur’an has described non-accepting persons as “transgressors.” This must be read in conjunction with the earlier ordinance in the Holy Qur’an at HQ4:69, as “ And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favours from among the prophets and the truthful and the faithful and the righteous, and a goodly company are they!” 10) There is also need to take a navigational run through some of the Hadith, where Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has assured that such maintenance managers 12 to the religion of Islam, as revivers, shall be coming at the head of each of emergence of an Islamic Hijri, at that point in time. Some of these Hadith quotes are as follows: 1). "Allah shall raise for this Ummah at the head of every century a man who shall renew (or revive) for it its religion." (, Book 37: Kitab al-Malahim [Battles], Hâdith Number 4278). 2). “Surely Allah will raise up for His people in the beginning of every Century (Hijri) one who will revive for it its religion” (Abu Dawood, 36:1). 3). "The Israelites used to be led by prophets; whenever a prophet died, another came after him. After me there is no prophet, but there will be khalifas 13 and there will be many." (Bukhari, Book 60, Ch. 50).

12 Mujaddids (as Reformers in English language) 13 A Khalifa is an Arabic terminology, which refers to a person as successor. There were only 4 Khalifa after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): Abu Bakr, Umar, ‘Uthman and Ali. Thereafter there is no more Khalifa in Islam, because there will not be any Prophet coming. 4

11) In addition, to exemplify further, there is need to draw an analogy, with a very large and sprawling building structure, which is there to stay forever, but needs a dedicated maintenance program manager14 at regular intervals, so that the building structure retains its originality indefinitely into the future. The landlord of that building structure must foresee the future, and have in place a contracted maintenance manager, to revive the tenancy demand for that building. Insofar as the global survival of Islam matters on the long haul, the “building structure’s” landlord in the previous paragraph, is Almighty God, the periodic contracted maintenance manager is a Mujaddid, the blueprint plan is the current Islamic Sharia, and the existing tenants are the Muslim population throughout the world. The “other buildings in open competition” are other religions, which are ever ready to systematically crush Islam into non- existence at any time. Taking the above analogy into consideration, the dire need to have a Mujaddid at the head of every Islamic Hijri as the “maintenance manager” or reviver, becomes potentially compulsory to save Islam from being enviously crushed by other religions. This was the religious landscape in India, where Muslims were placed in the midst of internal struggle between the Mughal Empire and the combined resistance of Hindus and Sikhs. When The East India Trading Company had been set up in Delhi15, it gave an opportunity for the British to send in thousands of troops under the guise of protection to this Company. This tactic led to the surrender of India by the last Mughal Emperor16 to the British in 1858. 12) There are certain fundamental rules, which the Mujaddid must never do: 1). He cannot introduce anything new to Islam, which is contrary to the Holy Qur’an. 2). He must not assume or declare himself a Prophet (both Nabi and Rasul) after the line of prophethood ceased with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the Final Prophet (see quote above in HQ33:40). 3). He must never introduce a new Sharia contradicting the existing Sharia. 4). He must never introduce a new Scripture replacing or substituting the Holy Qur’an. 5). He must not introduce a new religion either in competition with Islam or replacing Islam. 6). He must not use religion to gain worldly fame. 7). He must not fail to defend Islam each time the need arises. 8). He must not forget to remove Bid’ah17 from Sunnah.

14 Consequently, over several decades, perhaps the roof of the building structure needs repainting; perhaps the exterior and interior paintwork has faded or peeling off, and also needs repainting; perhaps some of the electricals are out of date and in dangerous condition and need replacement, etc., etc. If the building is not maintained at regular intervals by the contracted maintenance manager, in all probability, some of the tenants of that building would vacate the neglected dilapidated building and then relocate to another building, which is directly in open competition and very much up to date and attractive. The following point must be noted in this analogy: The contracted maintenance manager can only refurbish the building, following the original blueprint of the building plans; but he is not permitted to either become the owner of the building, or alter the general structure of the building, or for that matter commence construction of a new building structure: Similarly, Islam will have Mujaddids to correctly maintain and retain the originality of Islam.

15 The East India Trading Company had been set up in India 1757-1858. However, the first ship arrived in India in 1608 to compete with Dutch ships in the spice trade from India, sent by Queen Elizabeth I. They remained in India till 1858, following the signing of Treaty of Surrender by Moghul Emperor (Bahadur Shah Zafar) to the British and commencement of British Raj all over India till August 1947. 16 He was Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar (b.1775-d.1862). He died as a British prisoner in Burma Prison. 17 Bid’ah is an Arabic terminology, which refers to unfounded practices in Islam and which are not verifiably substantiated neither in the Holy Qur’an nor the Six Sahih Hadith. 5

13) It is for all correct thinking Muslims to guide and assist other Muslims; the Holy Qur’an has sanctioned that correct advice shall be given to those who need to be guided. This is given in the Holy Qur’an at HQ3:104, as “And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong. And these are they who are successful.” Conclusions on Why Five Muslim Reformers in India: a) India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and India also has some of the oldest ancient religions, many of which include beliefs and practices in idolatry, polytheism and their subsystems, over thousands of years before event of Islam. b) The Hindu caste system in India existed for more than 1,500 years and did much in fragmenting and dragging the communities into caste classifications18. c) That was the religious landscape of India before the appointment of the first Islamic Mujaddid to India, Hazrat Sayyid Muhammad Janpuri (b.1443 - d.1505). d) Almighty God considered appropriate to appoint five Mujaddids in India, over the intermittent period of five Hijris, to personally save Muslims and to preserve Islam in originality as His religion of choice. e) Mujaddids are maintenance managers of religion of Islam, endeavouring to maintain originality of Islam as final revealed religion, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who died in 632AD as the Final Prophet ever, Holy Qur’an as final revealed Scripture and his current Sharia as conclusively final.

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18 The caste system in India has its origins in their Hindu Vedic texts and caste system is rampant in India but excludes Muslims. The highest castes are Vedic Varnas (comprising Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudhras). The range is quite extensive and lowest castes are Dalits and Chamars. Christianity commenced in India with St Thomas escaping from the mobs who crucified Jesus. He escaped using routing of fishing boats and spice trading boats and settled in Kerala. The highest Christian population in India are in Goa, Kerala and Mizoram. None of the five Mujaddids (see paragraph 5) were able to get rid of the caste system in India, because of their origins being deeply embedded in their Hindu Vedic texts. 6