Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (militant reformer of India, 1786–1831)

Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (1786–1831) was a militant religious reformer of Muslim India. He called for a pure, simple religion free of innovation, made a jihad against the Sikhs, and was killed at Balakot in 1831.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.) describes Sayyid Ahmad as a militant religious reformer of Muslim India, son of Muhammad Irfan and a thirty-sixth direct descendant of Hasan, son of 'Ali. He was born on 6 Safar 1201/28 November 1786 at Bareilly. He studied at Delhi under Shah 'Abd al-'Aziz, the eldest son of Shah Wali Allah, and was instructed by Shah 'Abd al-Qadir. He served for seven years in the army of Amir Khan of Tonk, and in 1232/1817 returned to Delhi, from where he began a missionary tour. ¹

His tenets were similar to those of the Arabian Wahhabis, in a pure and simple religion free of superstitious innovation and of exaggerated veneration of prophets and saints. Thousands adopted his views. He went on pilgrimage in 1236/1821 and returned to India in 1239/1824 to prepare a jihad. His letters show that the ultimate aim was to overthrow British and Sikh rule and restore Muslim dominion in India, and first to drive the Sikhs from the Panjab. In 1241/1826 he set out with an army, reached Peshawar, and defeated the Sikhs at Akora Khattak on 20 November 1826. Treachery among the Durrani and other local khans discouraged him, and in 1246/1831 he was killed at Balakot, along with Shah Muhammad Isma'il, and his army was dispersed. ¹

His disciples carried on the movement in India, produced a large religious literature in Urdu, and encouraged a simple, direct and vigorous style in that language. His adherents preferred trade to service under the British government. The Sirat Mustaqim, written in Persian by his two foremost disciples, Shah Muhammad Isma'il and 'Abd al-Hayy, is said to have been inspired by him. ²