Some useful notes on pak affairs

[thewatcher]

Shah Waliullah:
( February 21, 1703 - August 20, 1762 )

He was a great scholar and reformer. He was born during the reign of Aurangzeb. His father, Shah Abdur Rahim, a sufi and an eminent scholar assisted in the compilation of “Fatawa-i-Alamgiri”—the voluminous code of Islamic law. He, however, refused an invitation to visit the Emperor and devoted his energies to organization and teaching at ‘ Madrassa Rahimia ’ – a theological college which he had established and which, later, played an important part in religious emancipation of Muslim India and became the breeding ground of religious reformers and ‘ Mujahids ‘ like Shah Abdul Aziz, Syed Ahmed of bareli, Molvi Abdul Haiy and Shah Ismail Shaheed.
Shah Waliullah received his early education from his illustrious father, who was his teacher as well as his spiritual guide. Being a precocious child with a retentive memory he committed the Holy Quran to memory at an early age of 7 years. On the death of his father in 1131 AH when he was hardly 17 years old, he started teaching in his father’s ‘ Madrassa Rahimiya ‘ and carried on work for 12 years when he left for Arabia for higher studies. He was a brilliant Scholar; during fourteen months’ stay in Makkah and Madina, he came into contact with outstanding teachers of Hejaz. His favourate teacher was Shaikh Abu Tahir Bin Ibrahim of Madina, from whom he obtained his Sanad ( Degree ) in Hadith. The Sheikh was an erudite scholar, possessing encyclopaedic knowledge; Shah Waliullah much benefitted much from him too and speaks highly of his piety, independence of judgements and scholarly talents.
During his stay at Makkah, Shah Waliullah had a dream in which Holy Prophet ( sws ) commanded him to work for the organization and emancipation of Muslim community in subcontinent. He, therefore, returned to Delhi on 9th July, 1732 and started work in real earnest. His was an uphill task in a period when Muslim India was passing through the most critical period of its history and its entire social, political, economic and spiritual fabric was torn into pieces. On his arrival in Delhi, he started training pupils in diverse branches of Islamic learning and entrusted them with the missionary work of enlightening people with the true nature of Islam. He embarked upon the task of producing standard works on Islamic learning and, before his death in 1762, completed a large number of outstanding works on Islam.
He rose to be a great scholar of Islamic studies, endowed with saintly qualities. So great was his dedication to work that according to his talented son Shah Abdul Aziz: ‘ ..he was rarely ill and once he sat down to work after Ishraq ( post-sunrises prayers ) he would not change his posture till midday ’. He was a real genius, an intellectual giant who set himself to the mission of educating the misguided Muslim masses with the true spirit of Islam. His was the task of revival of Islam in the subcontinent which had been clouded with mystic philosophy and to bring it out in its pristine glory. He was a humble devotee to this cause, who resisted all temptations of personal glory.
His activities were not confined to the spiritual and intellectual spheres only. He lived in troubled times and witnessed during his lifetime about a dozen rulers occupying the throne of Delhi. Endowed with the keen political insight, he observed with deep anguish the breaking up of Muslim power in the subcontinent and wrote to leading political dignitaries like Ahmed Shah Abdali, Nizam ul Mulk and Najibddaula to stop the rot which had set in the political life of Muslim India. It was account of his call that Ahmed Shah Abdali appeared on the field of Panipat in 1761 and put an end to Marhatta dream of dominating the subcontinent.
Shah Waliullah was a prolific writer. It is in the realm of Islamic learning that he made a lasting contribution and within a period of 30 years produced more than 50 works of outstanding merit, both in Arabic and Persian languages. Some of these are still unsurpassed in the whole domain of Islamic literature. His most valuable service to the cause of Islamic learning was that he codified the vast store of Islamic teaching under separate heads. Both in thought and prediction, his works occupy an outstanding place. As a reformer and as a propounder of theories dealing with socialism, he may be considered as forerunner of Karl Marx.
His works may be classified into six categories.The first deal with the Holy Quran. It includes his translation of the Holy Book into Persian, the literary language of the subcontinent of those times. According to him, the object of studying the Holy Book is ‘ to reform human nature and correct the wrong beliefs and injurious actions ’. The second category deals with the Hadith, in which he has left behind several works including an Arabic and Persian commentaries on “ Mu’atta “ , the well-known collection of the traditions of the Holy Prophet ( sws ) compiled by Imam Malik. He attached great importance to this collection of traditions by Imam Malik, even greater than those of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim. He is an outstanding Muhaddith ( Traditionist ) and links all of the modern scholars of Hadith in the subcontinent may be traced to him. Foremost among these modern Traditionalists was his son and successor Shah Abdul Aziz and Syed Murtaza Bilgrami. Shah Waliullah wrote a number of books and pamphlets dealing with Hadith. The Third Category deals with ‘ Fiqh ‘ or Islamic Jurisprudence, which include “ Insaf-fi-bayaan-i-sabab-il-Ikhtilaaf “ which is brief but a very interesting and informative history of Islamic jurisprudence of the last five centuries. The fourth category deals with his work based on mysticism. The fifth category pertains to his works on Muslim philosophy and Ilm-i-Kalam. He also wrote a pamphlet on the principles of Ijtihad ( independent interpretation ) and Taqlid ( conformity ). In his “ Principles of Ijtihad “ he clarifies whether it is obligatory for a Muslim to adhere to one of the four recognized schools of Islamic Jurisprudence or whether he can exercise his own judgement. In the opinion of Shah Waliullah, a layman should rigidly follow his own Imam but person well versed in Islamic law can exercise his own judgement which should be conformity with the practice of the Holy Prophet ( sws ). But the most outstanding of all his works “ Hajjat-Ullah-il-Baalighah “ which deals with the aspects of Islam that are common among all Muslim countries. In his introduction he observes: ‘ Some people think that there is no usefulness involved in the injunctions of Islamic law and that in actions and rewards as prescribed by God there is no beneficial purpose. They think that the commandments of Islamic law are similar to a master ordering his servant to lift a stone or touch a tree in order to see his obedience and that in this there is no purpose except to impose a test so that if the servant obey, he is rewarded, and if he disobeys, he is punished. This view is completely incorrect. The traditions of the Holy Prophet ( sws ) and consensus of opinion of those ages, contradict this view ‘. The sixth category deals with his works on the Shia-Sunni problem which had become somewhat acute in those days. His writings on this subject have done a great deal in simplifying this problem. His theories pertaining to economics and socialism are of revolutionary nature and he may be considered as the precursor of Karl Marx. Writing about his works in the History of the Freedom Movement, Sheikh Mohammad Ikram states: ‘ Shah Waliullah wrote learned works and initiated powerdful and beneficial movements, but perhaps no less important are the invisible qualities of approach and outlook, which he bequeathed to Muslim religious thought in Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. His work is characterized by knowledge, insight, moderation and tolerance, but the quality on which he laid the greatest emphasis, in theory and in practice, was Adl or Adalat ( justice, fairness ). His works and view bear ample testimony to the ways he observed this principle in practice and he lost few opportunities of emphasizing in theory its role in maintaining the social fabric ‘.
Shah Waliullah introduced several reforms in religious and economic spheres. He was first to translate Holy Quran in a popular language, a practice which was later usefully followed by others. His own son, Shah Abdul Aziz, translated the Holy Book into Urdu, the language of Muslim masses in India. There had been a conflict between Orthodox Islam revived under Mujaddid-Alif-Sani, championed by Aurangzeb and heterodoxy introduced by Akber and championed by Dara Shikoh. The reign of orthodox Aurangzeb had created aversion to Sufism and had led to the advent of extreme puritanism. Shah Waliullah struck a mean between two extremes and retained the virtues of both.
He was born in an atmosphere deeply imbued with the Sufism. His father was well-known Sufi. In his early age, he came under the influence of Ibni Taimiya, a great religious reformer. During his stay in Hejaz, he came into contact with scholars who were influenced by Wahabism. This provided a check to his blind following of Sufism. But like Wahabis, he did not totally dicard Sufism. He was aware of services rendered by Sufis in popularizing Islam in the subcontinent and the spiritual self developed by the truly Islamic form of Sufism. But he was highly critical of decadent and traditional form of Sufism which borders on the verge of asceticism and is, therefore, averse to true Islam. In his Wasiyat Nama ( Will ) he observes: ‘ And the next advise ( Wasiyat ) is that one should not entrust one’s affair to and become a disciple of saints of this period who are given to a number of irregularities ‘. Shah Saheb had urged for the reform and discipline of Sufism and not its rejection. He wrote several pamphlets on this subject in which he analyzed the evils and virtues of Sufism. ‘ With these books ‘, writes Moulana Manazir Ahsan, ‘ the disputes between the Sufis and Ulema, provided one is just, come to an end. By giving an Islamic interpretation to the Sufis doctrines, Shah Waliullah removed the distaste which the Ulema had felt for Sufism and the Sufis ‘. Shah Waliullah has, therefore, not only bridged the gulf between the Sufis and Ulema but also harmonized the differences prevalent among the different sects of Sufis. His principles on the subject were put into practice in the great theological college of Deoband, which had among its patrons such well-known Sufis like Maulana Ahmed Gangohi and Maulana Ashraf Thanvi.
Shah Waliullah set upon the mission of reforming the social and political order of his day. Being a realist, he diagnosed the ills which had entered into the body politic of Muslim society and suggested remedies. He criticized the un-Islamic customs which had crept into Muslim society due to its contact with Hinduism. He was particularly against the excessive extravagance in marriages, festivals and other ceremonies. He advocated the remarriage of widows. He carefully analyzed the factors responsible for economic degeneration of the Muslim society during his time and proposed radical changes in the economy of Muslim society. He advocated wider distribution of wealth on socialistic lines and in this way became the foretunner of Karl Marx. In an illuminating chapter of “ Hajjat-Ullah-il-Baaligah “, he outlined the evils of capitalism which brought about the fall of Roman and Sassanid Empires. He is highly critical of economic exploitation of the poor, which, in the past, had brought about many revolutions and is the root cause of all troubles and unrest in the world. He even criticized the Mughal rulers and nobility for their indolence and luxury. Addressing the rapacious nobility of his time he observes: ‘ Oh Amirs! Do you not fear God? ( How is it that ) you have completely thrown yourself into the pursuit of momentary pleasures and have neglected those people who have been committed to your care! The result is that the strong are devouring the ( weak ) people…. All your mental faculties are directed towards providing yourself with sumptuous food and soft-skinned women for enjoyment and pleasure. You do not turn your attention to anything except good clothes and magnificent palaces. ‘
Shah Walliullah was of the opinion that intellectual revolution should precede political change. He did not contemplate a change in the political or social set-up through a bloddy revolution. He wanted to bring a revolutionary change in the society through peaceful means. In his well-known book, “ Izaalat-ul-Khifaa “, he discusses the ideology of the political revolution which he envisaged.
No scholar of Medieval India had understood the various aspects of civics as had been done by Shah Walliullah. He considered ‘ self-consciousness ‘ as a prerequisite of ‘ political consciousness ‘. He has dealt in detail the factors which contribute towards the growth of civil consciousness in his immortal work “ Hajjat-Ullah-il-Baaligah “.
Shah Waliullah was, perhaps, the only Muslim scholar of Medieval India who realized the importance of economics in a social and political set-up. He advocated the maintenance of economic equilibrium in the society and strongly criticized the accumulation of wealth which leads to all sorts of evils in the world. He had visualized a social order based on economic equality, fraternity and brotherhood which are the principles governing Islamic socialist practice during the time of pious Caliphs.
Born in the age of decadence and chaos, Shah Waliullah strove for world of peace and prosperity. He has made a singular contribution to the socio-economic thought of Medieval India and visualized a Muslim society in which the individual enjoyed the fullest freedom, consistent with the maximum good of all. In such an ideal Islamic state, the ruler was to be governed by the Holy Quran and Sunnah. No economic exploitation was to be tolerated in such a state and the individual was free to earn his living by fair means.
His seminary, ‘ Madrassa-i-Rahimiya ‘ became the centre of Islamic Renaissance in the subcontinent, where scholars flocked from the four corners of the country and after being trained, became the torch bearers of freedom movement in the subcontinent. The “ Madrassa “ in fact, had become the nucleus of the revolutionary movement for the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. It produced many zealous workers who carried on their preacher’s mission with a missionary zeal. Among these were Maulana Mohammad Ashiq of Phulat, Maulana Norrullah of Budhana, Maulana Amin Kashmiri, Shah Abu Saeed of Rai Bareli and his own son, Shah Abdul Aziz who was initiated into the religious and political philosophy of his father.
Shah Waliullah played a vital role in theIndian politics of his times. He was greatly instrumental in forging a united Muslim front against the rising Marhatta power which was threatening the last vestige of the Muslim power in northern India. It was he who wrote to Najibddaula, Nizam-ul-Malik and finally invited Ahmed Shah Abdali who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marhattas in the third battle of Panipat in 1761. His letter to Ahmed Shah Abdali invited him to take up arms against the menacing Marhatta power in India is one of the most important historical documents of 18th century. It surveys the political situation in the subcontinent and the dangers which Muslim India faced from different quarters. He had chosen the most vivid, capable and disciplined Muslim leaders of his time for combating the Marhattas. Among these were Najibuddaula, the leader of the redoubtable Rohilas and Ahmed Shah Abdali, the ruler of the brave Pathans. His efforts towards forging a united front against the Marhattas were successful and the defeat of Marhattas in the third battle of Panipat in 1761 provided a turning point in the history of subcontinent.
Shah Waliullah visualized an ideal state of the days of the Pious Caliphs and strove to it. Analyzing his political thought, Iqbal states:
“ The Prophetic method of teaching, according to Shah Waliullah is that, generally speaking, the law revealed by a Prophet takes especial notice of the habits, ways and peculiarities of the people to whom he is specifically sent. The Prophet who aims at all-embracing principles, however, can neither reveal different people nor leave them to work out their own rules conduct. His method is to train one particular people and to use it as a nucleus for the build up of a universal ‘ Shariah ‘. In doing so, he accentuates the principles underlying the social life of all mankind and applies them to concrete cases in the light of the specific habits of the people immediately before him. “ (“ Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam “)
The movement of political as well as spiritual regeneration of Muslim India did not die with Shah Waliullah. His talented son, Shah Abdul Aziz, and his worthy disciples and successors, strove for the realization of his mission. The torch of Islamic revival kindled by Shah Waliullah was kept aloft by his worthy successors. The echo of the third battle of Panipat was heard in the battle of Balakot. Both form the landmarks of the same struggle.
Shah Waliullah possessed a many-sided and versatile personality. His real greatness lies in the cumulative effect produced by his writings, by the contributions of persons trained by him and by the achievements of the school of thought founded by him. In religious matters, he struck a mean between extremes; in social affairs he strove to introduce in the Muslim Society the simplicity and purity of early Islam; in the sphere of economics he advocated the revolutionary Islamic socialism qand in the political field he forged a united Muslim front against the non-Muslim forces which were threatening to storm Muslim India.