THE LIFE AND TIMES O SHAIKH AHMAD SIRHINDI ABSTRACT THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF ©ottor of ^(jiloiSopfip IN HISTORY Under the Supervision of Professor Khaliq Ahmad Nizami BY IQBAL SABIR T 2A\3 CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1990 ABSTRACT The Naqshbandi silsilah occupies an important place in the annals of Islam in Indian sub-continent. For nearly two centuries/ i.e. 17th and 18th, it was the principal spiritual order in India and its'influence permeated far and deep into Indo-Muslim life. Though many Naqshbandi saints came to India and associated themselves with the royal courts of Babur, Humayun and Akbar, the credit of really . organizing and propagating the Naqshbandi silsilah in this country goes to Khwaja Muhammad Baqi Billah. He not only actively strove to popularize Islamic teachings in the masses, but played a significant role in shaping the religious outlook of the ruling class. A new phase in the history of the Naqshbandi silsilah began when Khwaja Baqi Billah reached India from Kabul, his native town. Baqi Billah's Khalifa and chief successor. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi known as 'Mujaddid-i-Alf-i-Thani' holds a very special and significant position among the Muslim divines of medieval India. He played most important role in disseminating the ideology and practices of the Naqshbandi silsilah in India and Jahangir found his disciples in every city of the Mughal empire. For centuries he has been considered one of the most outstanding sufi teachers and thinkers of the sub-continent. Born in 971 A.H./ 1563-4 A.D. in Sirhindi, Shaikh Ahmad Faruqi, a descendant of the second Pius Caliph Umar al-Faruq, grew up to manhood during the reign of Akbar. He was deeply perturbed at the religious experiments of Akbar and left no stone unturned in challenging the situation created by political interference in religious life. He criticised severely the ularoa-i-su' (the worldly minded ulama) and challenged the validity of principles of litihad (interpretation of Islamic law), followed at the court. In the beginning of Jahangir's reign he established close contacts with eminent Mughal nobles through correspondence and made them realize the nature of heretical developments at the court. He deputed his disciples and khalifas to spread his spiritual mission in every important city and town of the Mughal empire. A large, number of ulama, sufis, scholars, nobles, civil & military officials, and common people joined his mystic fold. His success was most marked in the reign of Jahangir, when many of the leading nobles at the Mughal court became his devotees. The Shaikh also tried to effect certain religious reforms in the royal army. The emperor, consequently, summoned Shaikh Ahmad in 1029 A.H./ 1619 A.D. to his royal court and ordered his imprisonment in the fort of Gwalior. The saint remained there for about a year. On his release he spent three years with the imperial army. AS a sufi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi preached the importance of spiritual values in man's life by reviving people's interest in the Shariat i.e. the laws of Islam. He attacked Shaikh Muliyyiddin Ibn-i-Arabi's Wahdat-ul-Wuiud (Unity of Being) by declaring it one of the main causes of weakening the distinctive features of faiths and creating an., atmosphere of moral holiday. His chief contribution to the sufi thought in Islam was his enunciation of a counter theory Wahdat-ush-Shahud (Unity of Appearance), and the way he defined mystic concepts pertaining to hal (state.) and maqamat (stations). He opposed bid'at (innovation or deviation from the practice of the Prophet of Islam) and declared that no spiritual progress was possible without closely following the path indicated by the Prophet, i.e. sunnah.-'All his mystical ideas and practices arc closely concerned with the central traditions of Islam. For this reason his contemporaries, both ulama and mashaikh(sufis), accepted Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi as the most important religio-spiritual leader of the Muslims V and addressed him with the little of 'Mujaddid-i-Alf-Thani'. the renewer of the second millennium of Islam. He continued his mystic activities until his death in 1034 A.H./ 1624 A.D. in Sirhind. Shaikh Ahmad's works especially his letters in three volumes known as Maktubat-i-Imam-i-Rabbani hold an important position in Muslim mystical literature throughtout the Islamic world. Many contemporary and later sources in Arabic and Persian apart, a number of works in English, Urdu and other languages have appeared so far which throw light on Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi. However, the need of a comprehensive work dealing with all aspects of his life and thought, and his impact on political and mystical life of the period has been a desideratum.' The present thesis is an humble attempt to fill this gap. On one hand it contains the complete biographical details of the Shaikh, and on the other it analyses in detail his reaction to Akbar's religious experiments and his role in the Mughal politics. A complete survey has been made here of Shaikh Ahmad's mystical and religious activities. His conception of Tawhid and the theory of taldccd and millennium have also been thoroughly discussed. The thesis also deals with the initial history of the Naqshbandi silsilah in India and throws light on the life and ideology of Khwaja Baqi Billah. While discussing Shaikh Ahmad's reaction to Akbar's religious experiment and his role in the Mughal political, the religious policy and experiments of emperor Akbar, and the religio-political condition of Jahangir's reign have been discussed in details. Besides, the thesis starts with a critical survey of the milieu in which the social, political and religious attitudes of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi were shaped. Accordingly^ the thesis comprises an introduction and nine chapters. The first chapter entitled 'milieu' gives the detail accounts of various to religious and socio-political movements of the period and tries to show their positive or negative impact on Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi; In this connection a brief survey of the Mahdawi Movement, the activities of the Christian missionaries in and outside the Mughal court, increasing influence of Hindu ladies (queens), officials and nobles on Akbar, the activities of the Bhakti saints, and the impact of Abul Fazl and his family on the emperor etc. has been made critically. The second chapter throws light on the early life of the Shaikh whereas the third one gives the details of his joining the mystic fold of Khwaja Baqi Billah into the Naqshbandi order. This chapter also highlights the biographical details and mystical teachings of the Khwaja, and discusses his relations with the Mughal nobles. Chapter four presents Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi as an organizer of the Naqshbandi silsilah in India. In this chapter a complete survey of his khalifas' mystical activities as well as missionary work in different cities of the sub-continent has been made. The fifth chapter dealing with the religious . throught and mystical ideology of the Shaikh thoroughly discusses Wahdat-ush-Shuhud and the concept of tajdeed and millennium. Chapter six throws light on Shaikh Ahmad's reaction to Akbar's religious experiments, while the seventh chapter discusses the Shaikh's relations with Jahangir and the Mughal nobles. In both these chapters, Ahmad Sirhindi's method of working against Akbar's attitude towards Islam and the Muslims, and influencing the thought and policies of Jahangir apart, policy and experiments of Akbar, and the religio-political condition of Jahangir's reign have been discussed in detail. The eight chapter describes Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi's last days and death. Chapter nine, the last one, highlights the impact of the saint on Indo-Muslim mystic ideology. The thesis also consists of a chronology of the Shaikh's life and the bibliography of the select works on both Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, and the social, political and religious condition and personalities of the period. This study is based a critical survey of the Naqshbandi sources as well as the religio political treatises of the period, particularly the works of Khwaja Baqi Billah, the maktubat-i-Imam-i-Rabbani of Shaikh Ahmad himself, the Zubdat-ul-Muaamat of Khwaja Hashim Kishmi which . occupies a place of precedence in the biographical as well other type of literature on Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi produced in India, and the works of the Shaikh's sons and the khalifas. We have 7 benefited from the other chronicles also such as Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar Nama of Abul Fazl/ Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh of Abdul Qadir Badayuni, Tuzuk-i-Jahangjri of Emperor Jahangir and the Ma'athir-ul-Umara' of Shah Nawaz Khan. Moreover, the ideas and arguraenti" of the modern writers and historians in their works in English and under have been completely noticed. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAIKH AHMAD SIRHINDI THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Bottor of $|)tlos(opI)p IN HISTORY Under the Supervision of Professor Khaiiq Ahmad Nizami BY iQBAL SABIR CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1990 '''''' ^!'Ji^,^ Ace No. )2 WfS/S SFCT70N T3913 3 1 JAN :39E 'p-.^o^ C?f^^ ' %< Qi^^Z) ^^i tt^ TnLS^S S£tT/OA JDated : 5.1.1991 d Jji R T I F I C A T E This is to certify that Mr. labal Sabir \ has coiDplcted his\ research under ray supervision. This thesis prepared by him on 'The Life and Times of Shaikh AhraacJ Sirhindi' is his original work, and is fit for subinissic" *'~r the award of Ph.D.