Sheikh Ahmed Sarhindi (the great leader,scholar and sufi) in the history of Pakistan

SHEIKH AHMED SARHINDI







Sheikh Ahmed was born on June 15, 1564 (971 A.H.) in a town of Sarhind. He got his initial education in religious and esoteric learning from his father. In 1599 A.D. he became a disciple of Khawaja Baqi Billah and got initiated (baiyat) on his hands. After the death of Khawaja Baqi Billah, he became the head of Naqshbandi order and till his death in 1625 A.D. led the movement for the renaissance of Islam.Services of Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani :-Encounter with Hindu Revivalism: The movement of Hindu revivalism was at its peak and it was supported by the Hindu nobles of Akbar’s court. Its power can be gauged from the incident that a Brahmin of Mathra erected a temple from the material of a mosque and when the Muslims resisted it, he uttered some blasphemous words against the Prophet of Islam.Hazrat Mujaddid also recorded in a letter that the Hindus of Thanesar razed a mosque to build a temple. During the holy month Ramazan, food and drinks were sold and served openly while in the Hindu festival of Eikavshi, there were no eating and drinking in public. In the court of Akbar, Hindus were dominant.Emphasis on Tauhid: During this period, the Hindu influence on the Muslims resulted in the forms of Din-i-llahi of Akbar and the Muslim Sufi’s concept of unity of religions. Mujaddid presented the doctrine of Tawhid in its pristine form. He also repudiated the argument that God could adopt the shape of any wordly thing or being.he said: “Ram and Krishan and such like personalities who the Hindus worship are the humble creation of God. They were born of their parents. Ram was the son of Jasereth. Laxman was his brother. He was Sita’s husband. When Ram could not protect his own wife, how could he help others? How can the creator and the creatures be considered as one?”Two Nation Theory: A logical conclusion of Wahdat-ul-wujud was the unity of religions which meant that if all things were alike in reality, all religious must also be one and the same. Mujaddid vehemently refuted the notion of unity of such opposites as Islam and Kufr, Tauhid and shirk, truth and falsehood and worship of one God and idol-worship. He saved Islam from becoming a part of Hinduism and emphatically declared Islam and Kufr as two contradictory and conflicting concepts.Opposition of Akbar’s Religious Policy: Akbar sacrificed the orthodoxy of Islam at the altar of wordly power. According to Professor Muhammad Aslam:“Akbar, following the tradition of Kabir and Nanak adopted a policy of peace unto all’ and by ending the superiority of the Muslims converted India from Dar-us-Salam to a secular state and started meeting openly with the leaders of all religious and nations. Due to this strategy of Akbar, the wellbeing of Islam and the Muslims was damaged which has not been repaired until now.” During his stay in Akbarabad, Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani participated in the meetings of Abul Fazl and Faizi. He tried to convince them by solid arguments. When Mujaddid failed o convert the advisors of Akbar to his views, he influenced the Imperial Court through his like-minded nobles. The result of his efforts was that a reaction set in against the religious policy of Akbar.Curbs on the Influence of Misguided Ulema: Mujaddid placed major responsibility of prevalent vices in the Muslim society on Ulema who, to gain wordly benefits, had become oblivious to the Life Hereafter and propagated evil doctrines. They sanctioned even those beliefs which were against the Quran and Sunnah, and instigated the King to pronounce and practice non-Islamic laws and beliefs. That was the reason that Mujaddid, after crowning of Jahangir repeatly advised his courtier-disciples to protect the King from the influence of misguided Ulema. Significance of Mujaddid’s Work: Mujaddid was the personality who altered the course of history by leading crusade against Din-i-Ilahi and its impurities. It was due to his efforts that the son of irreligious Akbar became the champion of Orthodex Islam. The patronage of Islam under Shahjahan and the crowning of a Sufi King like Aurangzeb. Mujaddid was the first reformer who presented the two nation theory with full force. He declared Islam and Hinduism two distinct ways of life and their conciliation an impossibility. He made the Muslims aware of their separate nationhood and in this way laid the foundation-stone of Pakistan.