Syed Ahmad Shaheed

Syed Ahmad of Rai Bareilly (b.1786 d.1831), also called Syed Ahmed Shaheed, was a religious Islamic martyr from Rae Bareli, India. and founder of the "The Way of the Prophet Muhammad" ("Tariqah-i Muhhamdiyah"), a revolutionary Islamic movement. He called himself a Commander of the Believers ("amir al-Mu'minin") and proclaimed a jihad against the Sikhs in the Punjab.

Syed Ahmad was influenced by Shah Abdul Aziz, son of Shah Waliullah and toured Afghanistan and the areas occupied by the Sikhs raising the banner of Jihad and rallying the Pashtun tribes to his banner. His movement posed a serious threat to Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sikh Kingdom after it inflicted several defeats on Sikh troops as well as recapturing Peshawar, Mardan and surrounding towns and villages.

He was betrayed by some locals and was killed by the Sikhs along with hundreds of his troops and followers in Balakot, Mansehra District in 1831. His defeat ended the dream of establishing an Islamic state in Peshawar, now Pakistan. His followers upheld the doctrine of the oneness of God (tawhid) and called themselves Ahle Hadith, while others called them Wahhabis. They rejected innovation (bid'ah) but unlike true Wahhabis accepted Sufism and features of popular Islam such as the belief in the intercession of the spirits of dead saints for help and the use of amulets. [Adamec, "Historical Dictionary" (2001), p.61 ] He is thought by some to have anticipated modern Islamists in his waging of jihad and attempt to create an Islamic state with strict enforcement of Islamic law. [Mortimer, "Faith and Power, (1982), p.68-70]

Early life

Saiyid Ahmad Shah was from a family of Hasni Syeds, distantly related to the family of Shah Waliullah. Syed Ahmed Barelvi, or Syed Ahmed Shaheed, as he became known, was born near Lucknow, in the town of Rae Bareli (Bareli). His father died while he was still young and after attempting to find employment in Delhi, Syed Ahmed decided he needed further education. In 1806, Syed Ahmed enrolled in the famous Madrassa (Islamic religious school) of Shah Walliullah in Delhi. Syed Ahmed was amongst the generation of Muslims who were dismayed at the end of the Islamic Mughal empire. He was a religious fanatic considered by some as a martyr.

Mentor

He was a faithful follower of Shah Abdul Aziz, but it was soon obvious that Syed Ahmed was not destined to be a great scholar, despite his piety. Shah Abdul Aziz declared that British rule made the subcontinent Dar-ul-Harb, an area not under Islamic control. This implied that non-Muslim rule should be resisted and fought. Initially, however, it had to be resisted secretly so as not to attract British attention and hostility. Such a movement still required a leader and people who would be willing to fight for the cause.

Syed Ahmed graduated from the Madrassa (Islamic religious school) and joined a Pathan military force led by Amir Khan, mainly as a fighter, but with the added duty of leading the troops in prayer! During this time, Syed Ahmed learnt about European weaponry, including the use of artillery. There is strong evidence to suggest that Shah Abdul Aziz himself encouraged Syed Ahmed to acquire this military knowledge. This is supported by the fact that on his return to Delhi, Syed Ahmed was greeted very warmly by Shah Abdul Aziz, and many of the graduates and students of the Madrassa were instructed to become disciples of Syed Ahmed.

In 1821, Syed Ahmed left for hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca but instead of the shorter journey from the west coast, he went via Calcutta, and held large meetings all along the way. After spending one and half years in Arabia, he returned to Delhi in May 1823 with a different vision of jihad. He soon founded the Jihad Movement, which was aimed at nothing less than the rejuvenation and restoration of sole Muslim power. The Punjab was under Sikh rule at this time and the Muslims found it unacceptable. Syed Ahmed convinced his followers of the need to declare jihad against the Sikhs and to liberate Punjab and the North West Frontier area from Sikh rule and restore it under Muslim rule.

Activism

Syed Ahmed visited towns around the Punjab and the United Provinces to whip up support and was joined by notable Muslim leaders. The initial force of a few hundred men led by Syed Ahmed could not reach the area directly from Delhi for obvious reasons and so had to proceed through the long and difficult route through Rajasthan, Sindh and Balochistan until they reached Kabul. Apart from the obvious need to avoid the Sikh forces at this stage, Syed Ahmed also collected support and troops along the way. In many areas the population was more enthusiastic than their rulers: the Mirs of Sindh were reluctant to fight with the Sikhs as was Bahawalpur, while Afghanistan was torn by internal differences. In spite of this, many men from these areas joined Syed Ahmed's forces.

Military campaigns

In 1826, the mujahideen, or Muslim army, launched its armed conflict. Attacks were made on Sikh forces in Okara. By the end of 1830, Peshawar was captured by the forces of the Jihad. This success encouraged other Pathan tribes to join Syed Ahmed. The Sikhs were now seriously concerned by this threat. They tried to spread dissent amongst the tribes supporting Syed Ahmed. The approach to Islam advocated by Syed Ahmed was a combination of the teachings of Shah Waliullah and Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab in Arabia. Syed Ahmad had studied Islamic thought under Sheikh Wahab, the founder of the Wahabi Movement, during his long stay in Arabia.

Syed Ahmed set up his headquarters at Naushera in December 1826 and initial skirmishes with the Sikh forces left the Muslim mujahideen with the advantage. Syed Ahmed was however accepted by all the communities as the Imam or supreme Islamic leader. The Muslim mujahideen swelled to eighty thousand men and taxes were collected from the local population to keep the force equipped. The Sikhs started preparing for war and also began a diplomatic campaign aimed at the tribal chiefs. They succeeded in winning over the chief of Peshawar at the time, Yar Muhammad Khan. Yar Muhammad deserted on the battlefield after having tried to assassinate Syed Ahmed by poisoning him. Syed Ahmed survived the assassination attempt but was forced to move his headquarters to Panjtar, near Kashmir.

After a complete victory, Peshawar was again safe for Syed Ahmed's army. In an effort at reconciliation with some Pathan tribes, Syed Ahmed appointed the brother of Yar Muhammad as governor of the Peshawar valley. Sultan Muhammad Khan, however, was to prove as treacherous as his brother, Yar Muhammad. Syed Ahmed realized that his strength was being spent fighting against fellow Muslims, and so his headquarters were moved to Balakot. Nearly six hundred men of his force were killed, including Syed Ahmed himself and his chief officer, Shah Ismail were effictively defeated by the forces of Sardar Sher Singh [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V05_297.gifImperial Gazetteer of India, v. 5, p. 289] ] .

References

ources

*Adamec, Ludwig, "Historical Dictionary of Islam", Scarecrow Press, 2001

External links

* [http://www.khyber.org/people/sarfaroshan/SyedMuhammadHubaan.shtml Syed Muhammad Hubaan Muhammad Shafi Sabir Tazkara Sarfaroshan e Sarhad]