📜 Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (1703–1762)

🌟 Qutb al-Din Ahmad, popularly known as Shah Waliullah, was born on 21st February 1703 in Moza Phalat near Delhi.
In the 18th century, Islam in the Subcontinent was faced with menacing problems. Sectarian conflict, low moral tone of the society, poor understanding of the Holy Quran, and general ignorance of Islam were just some of the issues which gave rise to fear that political collapse would be accompanied by religious disintegration. This did not happen; rather an era of religious regeneration was inaugurated, which was due more than anything else to the activities of one man, Shah Waliullah.

📚 Shah Waliullah belonged to a religious family. He was educated at Madrasa-i-Rahimiyah by his father Shah Abdul Rahim. After finishing his education, he went for pilgrimage and higher studies to Saudi Arabia. At this time, Muslims in India were divided into Hanfia, Sufi, Shia, Sunni and Mullah sects. While in Hijaz, he decided to launch a campaign to popularize Islamic values amongst the Muslims and to present Islam in a rational manner. On his return to the Subcontinent, he started working towards the achievement of these goals. The range of his works is varied and wide covering all aspects of knowledge: economic, political, social, metaphysical, as well as purely theological. His contributions represent the first brilliant attempt to rethink the entire system of Islam in a spirit of scientific objectivity.

📜 Prevalent Conditions of the Time

🏰 Political Conditions:

At that time, loot and plunder, feuds and fighting had spread everywhere. Disintegration of the Mughal Empire had set in. For instance, when Aurangzeb died, Shah Waliullah was four years old; in his lifetime no less than 10 rulers ascended the throne. Clearly, indicating the incompetency of the Mughals. Muslims were split among themselves. Consequently, Muslims were suffering at the hands of Sikhs, Jats and Marathas. Finally, the Shia-Sunni split was widening day by day, disintegrating an already divided nation. ⚔️

🕌 Religious Conditions:

Ulema were divided into sects. Basic Islamic injunctions were being challenged. Skepticism and rationalism had overshadowed the tradition. The clergy had made reason as their standard, which adversely affected the masses. 📿

💰 Economic Conditions:

Political instability had made the kingdom vulnerable, therefore different power contenders arose and challenged the authority of the state. Hence, the kingdom’s resources were being drained at a rapid pace. Resultantly, economic conditions of the country were deteriorating day by day. Moreover, luxurious lifestyle of the rich, jagirdari system and heavy taxes were all eroding the economic base of the country. 💸

📖 Educational and Religious Services

📘 He did Persian Translation of Holy Quran to answer questions of Christian Missionaries in 1738. Later on, his sons Shah Rafi-ud-Din and Shah Abdul Qadir translated the Holy Quran into Urdu.

📚 Important publications:

📕 Al Fauz al Kabir
📗 Muqadima Fe Tarjumatul Quran
📘 Hajjat ul Balagha
📙 Shahrah al Mustafa
📒 Shahrah al Musawa
📓 Insaf-e-Biyan Fe Sabab Ul Ikhtilaf
📘 Aqd ul Jaiyad Fe Ahkam ul Ijtihad wa al-Taqlid
📙 Tafhemat Ilahi

👨‍🏫 Shah Waliullah trained students in different branches of Islamic knowledge. He recommended the application of Ijtihad against blind Taqlid in his famous work Aqad-al-Jaiyad-fi-Ahkam-al-Ijtihad wa-al-Taqlid. In his time, Shias and Sunnis were aggressively hostile to each other and their rivalry was damaging the Muslim unity. Shah Sahab wrote Izalat-al-Akhifa and Khilafat-al-Khulafa in order to remove misunderstanding between Shias and Sunnis.

🏹 Political Services

In the middle of the 18th century, Marathas had become a great political power. They were threatening to occupy the crown of Delhi. At this critical juncture, Shah Waliullah, in order to check their advance, prepared Najid-ullah (Rohilla Chief) and Shuja-ud-Daulah (Nawab of Oudh) for Jihad. Moreover, he wrote a letter to Ahmed Shah Abdali, King of Afghanistan, requesting him to save the Muslims from the highhandedness of the Marathas. Consequently, in the Third Battle of Panipat, Ahmed Shah Abdali inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marathas. In short, the Muslim Renaissance Movement launched by Shah Waliullah was the forerunner of all the future freedom movements of Indo-Pakistan. 🛡️

📊 Economic Services

Shah Waliullah directed his teachings towards reorienting the Muslim society with the concepts of basic social justice, removing social inequalities, and balancing the unjust distribution of wealth. In his book “Hujjat-ullah-il-Balighah”, he pinpointed the causes of chaos and disintegration of Muslim society. These were:

Pressure on public treasury, the emoluments given to various people who render no service to the state.

Heavy taxation on peasants, merchants and workers, with the result that tax evasion was rampant. According to Shah Waliullah, a state can prosper only if there were light and reasonable taxes. ⚖️

💼 Shah Waliullah’s Four Basic Principles of Economics

Shah Waliullah discussed four basic principles of economics; such as Production of wealth, consumption of wealth, distribution of wealth, exchange of wealth. The whole nation is participant in the production of wealth, so it should be distributed in the whole nation. He established the principles for distribution of wealth among people as well as the values that how the wealth should be consumed. That economic system is successful which establishes the principles for these four Principles.

• The first principle is that people living in specific geographic boundaries have the right over the resources of that area. That economic system in which all the people are equal, no single person or specific class can get hold of the resources. He has narrated Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique in Aizaalatul Khifa: “Equality is better in economics than giving priority to one group over other.”
• Second principle is that everybody has the right to have limited ownership as the abilities of every individual are different. Not that the whole nation should have same clothing, food and houses.
• Third principle is that any practice which concentrates wealth in certain hands should not be tolerated and the system should oppose it.
• Fourth principle is that such a balance should be maintained in these factors that society develop as a whole.

Shah Waliullah stressed on the creation of a system on such principles which will end the outmoded system and build a new system which ensures the development of society as a whole. 🌍

🌟 Effects

Shah Waliullah rendered great services, which covered political, social, religious and economical aspects. He tried to remove the differences of Muslims from within, while he intelligently addressed the looming threats through his letters and publications. Shah Waliullah was responsible for awakening in the community the desire to win back its moral fervor and maintain its purity. To rescue a community’s conscience, belief and faith from destruction was no small achievement. Even after his death in 1762, his sons and followers carried on his work. Many future Islamic leaders and thinkers were inspired by his example. 🌙✨