In the 18th century, Islam in the Sub-continent 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 Wali Ullah.

Early ages of Shah wali Ullah
Shah Waliullah was born in the 21st of February. 1703 CE, in the town of Phulat in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. His father, Shah Abdur Rahman was a great scholar and a mystic. he named his boy Qutubuddin Ahmad. The name Shah Waliullah is given to him by people because Waliulla means "close to God". So his complete name was Shah Waliullah Qutubuddin Ahmad.

Education & Training
His father took special pain in the education and the training of his son. Shah Waliullah was introduced to Islamic education at the age of five and completed the recitation of the Qura?an by the age of sevenAt the special age of 15, Hazrat Shah Waliullah had completed his education and then became a disciple (mureed) of his father who gave him spiritual training. When he was 17, his father died, for 12 years he taught in the fashion of his father.


Pilgrimage to Makkah
In 1143 H.E. the 23 year old Shah Waliullah decided to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah. Despite the perils(Dangerous Journey) that lay on the journey; he reached the Mecca on 14 Dhul Qadha 1143 H.E. and performed the Hajj and then proceeded to Medina. There, he attended the discourses on Sahih Al Bukhari from Sheikh Abu Tahir Muhammad Bin Ibraheem Kurdi Madani. The Sheikh directed him in the study of the six Sahihs (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Nasa?ai, Ibn Ma?ajah), He returned to Makkah, performed the hajj again and learned the Muwatta Imam Maalik from Sheikh Wafadullah Maliki Makki, attended the discourses on Sahih Al Bukhari from Sheikh Tajuddin Hanafi Qalaei Makki for a few days and learned the six Sahihs from him. He was granted permission to teach all the books of hadith by Sheikh Tajuddin.
After 14 months of stay in Arabia, two hajj pilgrimages and learning the books of hadith from the scholars of the holy cities, Shah Waliullah finally returned to India in early 1145 H.E. the journey home lasted six months and he reached Delhi on Friday 14 Rajab 1145 H.E. on reaching home, he started teaching again and writing until his death three decades later.
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Twice he performed the Hajj pilgrimage. He attained a certificate of Proficiency in Hadith from the famous scholar, Shaikh Abu Tahir Bin Ibrahim of Madina, when he was in Arabia, the marhatta turmoid was at its height and his friends advised Hazrat Shah Waliullah to stay in Arabia. As such he left Arabia in 1145 AH and reached Delhi on 14 Rajab 1145 AH.


Work of Shah Wali Ullah
On reaching Delhi, he devoted most of his time in writing books and to preaching in public meetings. The teaching activity was limited to the lessons of Hadith. The political and the moral degeneration of the Muslims had tremendous effects on the sensitive thinking mind of Hazrat Shah Waliullah. His famous book ?Al-Tafheematul llahia? minutely pen points all the various defects, shortcomings and vices, which had taken roots in various sections of the Muslims. His aim, metaphorically speaking, was to destroy the rotten moral buildings and to reconstruct a new mansion over it. He bluntly wrote in one of his writings ?I have arrived to destroy every old in region at present.

Quran Translation into PersiAN LANGUAGE
The most monumental task he performed was to translate the Quran from Arabic to Persian which was the language spoken by the Muslims at that time in India. His aim was that educated Muslims may have access to the Quran without depending on the scholars who had opposed his reformatory measures. The short sighted ullama gathered and wanted to kill him for his sin of translating the Quran from Arabic to Persian but he continued with his task till he completed it. This task was appreciated by Allah so much so that the Quran is translated to many languages.


Hujatul Baligdh (Popular Book)
Apart from the Holy Quran, Shah Waliullah also wrote authentic books on Hadith, the principles of Hadith, Tafseer and on mystical subjects. But the most popular book of ?Hujatul Baligdh?. This book explains how Islam was found suitable for all races, cultures and people of the world and how successfully it solves social, moral, economic and political problems of human beings.

Al Fauzul Kabeer Fee Usool
.Al Fauzul Kabeer Fee Usool at Tafseer, a booklet in Persian that follows his Persian translation of the Qur'an. It contains the nucleus of the Qur'an, the rules for interpretation, and interpretations of the Qur'an by other famous scholars

Analyzing his political thought, Iqbal states:
"The Prophetic method of teaching, according to Shah Waliullah is that, generally speaking, the law revealed by a prophet takes especial notice of the habits, ways and peculiarities of the people to whom he is specifically sent. The Prophet who aims at all-embracing principles, however, can neither reveal different peoples nor leave them to work out their own rules of conduct. His method is to train one particular people and to use it as a nucleus for the build up of a universal `Shariah'. In doing so, he accentuates the principles underlying the social life of all mankind and applies them to concrete cases in the light of the specific habits of the people immediately before him." ("Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam")

Letters By Shah Wali Ullah
He wrote open letters to:

? Mughal rulers, to give up their corrupt and inefficient practices.

? Soldiers, for forgetting to inculcate within themselves the spirit of Jihad.

? Artisans, workers and peasants, reminded them that on their labors the economic prosperity of the state depends.

? The Emperor, to teach a lesson to the Jats threatening the Mughal Empire and also wrote to him not to give jagirs to mansabdars, who were not loyal to the state.

? Masses, to be conscious of their duties and not to indulge in the accumulation of wealth.



He wrote to Ahmad Shah Abdali to give up the life of ease, draw the sword and not to sheath it till the distinction is established between true faith and infidelity. His efforts resulted in Maratha debacle at the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali and Najibud Daula in the third battle of Panipat in 1761 A.D.

The times of Shah Waliullah
Shah Waliullah lived during the times that can best be described as disastrous for the mughal dynasty in India. The descendants of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb are alleged to have squandered the wealth amassed by their forefathers on entertainment, dance, music and wasteful constructions. The Shiites exercised significant influence on the court. The kingdom was reeling under the severe spells of droughts, poverty, hunger, hopelessness and purported indifference and cruelty at the hands of their rulers. The character of the people were alleged to have fallen to the lowest levels of "civilised" behavior.

According to Hazrath Salman Nadwi:
The sway of the Moghal Empire was only namesake, Muslims were engulfed in wrongful and unnecessary traditions, frauds and scoundrels had kidnapped the graves of the pious and became their custodians, the seminaries were disputing on the topics of philosophy and wisdom, religious edicts were being literally interpreted by jurists. Leave alone the common men; even scholars were ignorant of the meanings and teachings of the Qura?an, hadith and theology


Service to Mankind
After returning from Mecca and Medina, the miserable condition of Indian Muslims inspired him to improve their character, buck up their morale, inculcate the feeling of selflessness and love for their fellows.
He overhauled the existing education system, separated the faith from unlawful invented traditions (bidaat), unnecessary and unwanted suspicions regarding Islam and its holy books. He presented what he considered pure and pristine Islam to the people


Death of Shah Sahab
He died in Delhi on the year 1176 AH corresponding to 1762 AD, behind the central jail. There is a vast ground and a graveyard known popularly as ?Mehindin Kakhitta? which contains in it the grave of Shah Waliullah and his progeny

His Final Will?The final will of this humble servant of Allah is that always hold tightly to the Qura?an and Sunnath in your beliefs and acts. Regularly evaluate yourself against them. Read them regularly and if you can?t, then find someone who can and listen to at least a couple of pages everyday


Children of Shah Wali Ullah

Shah Abdul Aziz
Hazrat Shah Waliullah was fortunate of having children who were great scholars and god-fearing men like himself. His eldest son Shah Abdul Aziz was born in 1159 AH and died in 1238 AH corresponding to 1823 AD. At the age of 17 he had become an accomplished scholar and began teaching like his father. For 60 years, he continued teaching and preaching Islam. The blessing of his knowledge reached every corner of the Indian sub-continent. Because of his versatile genius he was giving the title ?Ayatullah?, a sign of God.

Rafi-uddin
The second of Shah Waliullah Rafi-uddin. He was born in 1163 AH and died in 1233 AH. His scholarly qualities may well be judged from the fact that when Shah Abdul Aziz had become to teach he passed on his responsibilities to Shah Rafi. Among the work of Shah Rafi his urdu translation of the Holy Quran

Shah Abdul Qadir
The third son of Shah Sahib was Shah Abdul Qadir who was born in 1162 AH and died in 1230 AH. He was also a big scholar by his nature, he loved solitude, and he spent his whole life in a secluded room of Akbar Badi mosque. He did not much attend to literary writings, however, his urdu translation under the title of ?Mozih ul Quran? was his monumental achievement which is recognised by scholarly circles.

Abdul Ghani
His fourth son was Abdul Ghani. He was a saintly person. His son Shah Ismail Shaheed was a unique personality who had combined in himself all virtues of scholarly and mystical personalities.

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Trust In God and Do The Right