Syed Ahmad Shaheed Barelvi and the Jihad Movement

This handout covers the life of Syed Ahmad Shaheed Barelvi, the aims of his Jihad Movement, the campaign against Sikh rule that ended at Balakot in 1831, and the reasons for its failure and its importance. It belongs to Section 1 of the syllabus: the cultural and historical background to the Pakistan Movement.

Key dates

Date	Event
1786	Syed Ahmad is born at Rae Bareli, near Lucknow
1806	Goes to Delhi and studies at the Madrassa Rahimiya under Shah Abdul Aziz
1810	Joins the army of Amir Khan, where he gains military experience
1817	Returns to Delhi and begins preaching reform
1821	Leaves for Hajj; returns to India in 1823
1826	Reaches the frontier and sets up his base near Peshawar; first fighting against the Sikhs at Akora
1827	Declared Imam by his followers and local leaders
1830	The mujahideen take Peshawar
May 1831	Battle of Balakot: Syed Ahmad and Shah Ismail are killed

Background and early life

Syed Ahmad was born in 1786 in Rae Bareli. As a young man he went to Delhi and studied at the Madrassa Rahimiya, which was then led by Shah Abdul Aziz, the son of Shah Waliullah. He was deeply influenced by Shah Waliullah's teaching that Muslims must return to the pure practice of Islam.

Unlike most scholars, he was also a man of action. From 1810 he served for several years in the forces of Amir Khan, a Pathan military leader, and learned how to use weapons and lead men. He returned to Delhi in 1817 and began to preach. Two noted scholars from Shah Waliullah's family, Shah Ismail and Maulana Abdul Hai, became his followers.

Why did he start the Jihad Movement?

1. To free Muslims from Sikh rule in the Punjab. The Punjab and the frontier were ruled by the Sikh kingdom of Ranjit Singh. Muslims there faced restrictions on their religion. It was reported that the call to prayer was banned in places and that mosques were misused. Syed Ahmad believed that Muslims could not live proper Islamic lives under such rule.
2. To restore Muslim rule. He believed that the freedom of Muslims could only come through armed struggle against non-Muslim powers, the Sikhs and in time the British. He wanted to set up a state run according to Islamic law.
3. To purify Islam. Like Shah Waliullah, he believed that un-Islamic customs had entered Muslim society. The movement was meant to be a spiritual one as well as a military one, and the mujahideen were expected to live strictly according to Islamic teachings.

He chose to fight the Sikhs first. The British were too strong to challenge directly, the Muslims of the Punjab were in immediate need, and the Pathan tribes of the frontier were Muslims who might be expected to support him.

The campaign against the Sikhs

Syed Ahmad toured the Punjab and the frontier to see conditions for himself and collected men and money across northern India. As the Punjab lay between him and the frontier, he and his volunteers travelled by a long route through Rajasthan, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, a journey of thousands of kilometres. In 1826 he set up his headquarters near Peshawar.

• He sent a message to Ranjit Singh asking him to allow Muslims freedom of worship. It was rejected.
• In December 1826 the mujahideen attacked Sikh forces at Akora and then fought again at Hazro. These early successes encouraged many Pathan tribesmen to join. The force is said to have grown to about 80,000 men.
• In 1827 Syed Ahmad was declared Imam, which gave him religious and political authority over the movement.
• The Sikhs then tried to break the movement from within. Yar Muhammad Khan, a Pathan chief of Peshawar, was bribed to change sides. It is said that his servants tried to poison Syed Ahmad, and his troops left the field in a battle against the Sikhs, which led to a defeat for the mujahideen.
• Yar Muhammad Khan was later killed in fighting against the mujahideen. In 1830 they took Peshawar, and Syed Ahmad introduced Islamic law in the areas he controlled.
• His rule was resented by some local leaders. Yar Muhammad Khan's brother, Sultan Muhammad Khan, plotted against the mujahideen, and many of Syed Ahmad's officials in the villages around Peshawar were killed.

The Battle of Balakot, 1831

After these betrayals Syed Ahmad left the Peshawar area and moved to Balakot, in the hills of Hazara. He hoped to use it as a safer base from which to free Kashmir and Hazara, and he thought the mountains would protect him. However, local guides showed the Sikh army a way through. A much larger Sikh force led by Sher Singh made a surprise attack in May 1831. The mujahideen fought bravely but were heavily outnumbered. Syed Ahmad, Shah Ismail and several hundred of their followers were killed.

Reasons for the failure of the movement

1. The strength of the Sikh army. Ranjit Singh was an able ruler with a large, well-equipped army that had modern artillery and had been trained by European officers. The mujahideen were volunteers with few modern weapons.
2. Lack of unity among the mujahideen. The volunteers came from many different areas and communities. They did not always agree with each other, and it was difficult to turn them into a single disciplined army.
3. Betrayal by local leaders. Some Pathan chiefs, such as Yar Muhammad Khan, were bribed by the Sikhs. Local people also guided the Sikhs to Balakot. The movement could not depend on the people among whom it was fighting.
4. Resentment of his rule. The Pathan tribes valued their independence and their own customs. Many disliked the taxes collected for the movement and the strict changes that Syed Ahmad introduced, and they did not want to be ruled by outsiders.
5. Lack of money and supplies. The base was far from the supporters in northern India who provided funds and recruits, and the route between them was long and difficult. The British did nothing to help a movement against the Sikhs succeed.

How important was the Jihad Movement?

Its failures. The movement did not achieve its aims. Sikh rule in the Punjab continued until the British annexed the province in 1849. Syed Ahmad and his leading companions were killed, and the Islamic government he set up around Peshawar lasted only a short time. It did not win lasting support from the people of the frontier.

Its importance.

• It was the first armed movement in the subcontinent that aimed to free Muslims from non-Muslim rule. Earlier efforts had been to defend a ruler or a dynasty; this one was fought for the faith and the community.
• It united Muslims from many regions in a common cause and showed that ordinary Muslims would give money and risk their lives for it.
• It was a religious movement as well as a military one, and it spread the reforming ideas of Shah Waliullah among ordinary people.
• The movement did not end in 1831. Survivors continued the struggle in the hills of the frontier for many years, later against the British.
• It became an inspiration to later generations of Muslims. Many writers see it as an early step towards the idea of a separate Muslim homeland, since it sought a state where Muslims could live according to Islam.

Judgement. Judged by its aims, the Jihad Movement was a military failure: the Sikhs were not defeated and its leader was killed after only five years of fighting. Judged by its influence, it was important. It showed that Muslims could organise themselves to resist, it kept the spirit of reform alive, and its example was remembered during the later struggle for freedom.

Key terms and people

• Jihad: here, armed struggle to defend Islam and free Muslims from oppression.
• Mujahideen: those who fight in a jihad; the name for Syed Ahmad's volunteers.
• Shah Abdul Aziz: son of Shah Waliullah and teacher of Syed Ahmad at the Madrassa Rahimiya.
• Shah Ismail: grandson of Shah Waliullah and close companion of Syed Ahmad; killed at Balakot.
• Ranjit Singh: Sikh ruler of the Punjab until his death in 1839.
• Yar Muhammad Khan: Pathan chief who changed sides and betrayed the mujahideen.

Exam practice

1. Describe the Battle of Balakot. [4]
2. Why did Syed Ahmad Shaheed Barelvi launch the Jihad Movement? [7]
3. "The Jihad Movement failed mainly because of the strength of the Sikh army." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [14]

Outline answers

Question 1 (4 marks): Syed Ahmad moved to Balakot in 1831, hoping the mountains would protect his force and that he could free Kashmir and Hazara from there. Local guides showed the Sikhs a route to the town. A larger Sikh army under Sher Singh made a surprise attack in May 1831. Syed Ahmad, Shah Ismail and several hundred mujahideen were killed.

Question 2 (7 marks): Three explained reasons. (1) Muslims in the Punjab under Sikh rule could not practise their religion freely, and he wanted to end this. (2) He believed Muslim freedom required the defeat of non-Muslim rulers by armed struggle and the creation of a state under Islamic law. (3) He wanted to purify Muslim society from un-Islamic practices, following the ideas of Shah Waliullah, so the movement was also one of religious reform.

Question 3 (14 marks): Agree: Ranjit Singh's army was large, had modern artillery and European-trained troops; the mujahideen were volunteers with poor weapons; they were outnumbered at Balakot. Other reasons: betrayal by Yar Muhammad Khan and other chiefs bribed by the Sikhs; local resentment of taxes and strict rule; lack of unity among volunteers from different areas; shortage of funds and the distance from supporters. Judgement: the Sikh army was strong, but the mujahideen had won early battles against it; it was the loss of local support and the betrayals that left them exposed at Balakot, so these can be argued to be at least as important.