Shah Wali Ullah
Biographical Details
Shah Wall Ullah was born on 21 February 1703 during reign of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir. His real name was Qutub-ud-Din, but he later became known Shah Wali Ullah because of his piety. His father was Shah Abdul Rahim, who founded the Madrassa Rahimiya in Delhi. When his father died in 1718 Shah Wali Ullah began teaching at the Madrassa.
In 1724 Shah Wali Ullah went to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj and to further his studies. He studied under the famous Sheikh Abu Tahir bin Ibrahim,before returning to Delhi in 1732.
Beliefs
During his time in Saudi Arabia, Shah Wali Ullah thought deeply about the problems faced by Muslims in the Mughal Empire. The Empire was in decline and Muslims were disunited and vulnerable to attacks on their religion. Shah Wall Ullah realised that reform could not come from the weak leadership in Delhi and that it had to come from within the Muslim community itself.
He believed that many of the problems of the Muslims resulted from their incomplete knowledge of Quran and about Islam in general — and that what was needed was for Quranic teachings to become more accessible to the people.
A major problem for the Muslim community was the way that it was divided into sectarian groups, such as Sunnis and Shias. Shah Wall Ullah wanted them to concentrate on the fundamental principles of Islam and put aside their differences, believing that this would create a more united community.
It was essential to follow the moral and spiritual principles of Islam in order to create a good society. Un-Islamic principles were not acceptable in any area of society, whether politics, economics or just the day-to-day lives of the individual Muslims.
Work
-Shah Wall Ullah worked hard to ensure that he was a role model for other Muslims. His deep understanding of the Quran, Hadith, Fiqah and Tasawuf made him a highly knowledgeable scholar at an early age.
-Since he believed that an emphasis on Quranic teachings was vital to Muslims, he translated the Quran into Persian. Few Muslims spoke Arabic and so the Quran had not been widely studied previously. Now it could be understood by a larger number of Muslims. The ulema criticised Shah Wall Ullah, but his work proved very popular. Later his two sons, Shah Abdul Qader and Shah Rafi, translated the Quran into Urdu, which meant that many more people could study it.
-In addition to translating the Quran, Shah Wall Ullah wrote fifty-one books. He wrote in both 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. He hoped that this would help to heal the division between them.
- His writings brought him great fame and prestige and enabled him to have influence in other areas too. For example, in economics he emphasized the need for social justice and for peasants and craftsmen to be truly valued for their contribution to the economy.
-One of Shah Wali Ullah’s most important contributions to the Muslim community was his organisation of opposition to the Marathas, who were threatening to over-run the Mughal Empire from the south. He realised that the Muslims had to unite to deal with this threat, and that of the Sikhs who were attacking in the north. Shah Wall Ullah wrote to all the Muslim nobles calling on them to join together to save the Mughal Empire. It was partly his influence which helped to persuade Ahmed Shah Abdall of Persia to intervene. He joined forces with local Muslim leaders and defeated the Marathas at the Battle of Panipat in 1761. However, despite encouragement from Shah Wall 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.
Importance
Shah Wall Ullah’s contribution towards Islamic revival was extremely important for a number of reasons:
-He was one of the first Muslim thinkers to state that the decline of the Mughal Empire and the vulnerable position of the Muslims were due to neglect of the principles of Islam. He believed that if the decline in the position of the Muslims was to be stopped, there had to be spiritual and moral regeneration.
-He showed how this regeneration might take place. The Madrassa Rahimiya continued to play a vital role in teaching Islamic principles and researching Islamic thought.
-His writing in Persian made Islamic teaching available to large numbers of Muslims who had not been able to understand Arabic. He believed that Muslims could only prosper if they followed proper Islamic customs and did not indulge in social evils. Shah Wali Ullah provided the inspiration for Muslims to lead a pure life, based on a belief that anti-social attitudes incurred the displeasure of God.
-He also showed that a Muslim revival could only take place if there was an acceptance that sectarian division was to stop. Muslims had to concentrate more on the basic principles of Islam, and not allow the differences between them to lead to conflict.He tried to build bridges between the different Muslim sects and to unite the community. He tried to do this by organising opposition to the Marathas and uniting Muslims by emphasising the importance of Jihad against a common enemy.
-He trained his sons to continue his work and had such a huge following that his work remained famous for many generations. Like all great reformers, Shah Wali Ullah’s influence continued long after his death. Not only did his writings survive and translated in many languages, but the Madrassa Rahimaya continued to flourish. Many future Islamic leaders were inspired by him to fight for the good of the Muslim community.