3. z Early life
Shah Waliullah was born on 21 February 1703 to Shah Abdur Rahim, a
prominent Islamic scholar of Delhi. He was known as Shah Waliullah because of
his piety. He memorized the Qur'an by the age of seven. Soon thereafter, he
mastered Arabic and Persian letters.He was married at fourteen. By sixteen he
had completed the standard curriculum of Hanafi_law, theology, geometry,
arithmetic and logic.
His father, Shah Abdur Rahim was the founder of the Madrasah-i Rahimiyah. He
was on the committee appointed by Aurangzeb for compilation of the code of
law, Fatawa-e-Alamgiri. His grandfather, Sheikh Wajihuddin, was an important
officer in the army of Shah Jahan.He had a son who was also a famous religious
scholar, Shah Abdul Aziz.
4. z
Ideas
On importance of Islamic jurisprudence, he states:
"Some people think that there is no usefulness involved in the injunct of Islamic law and that in
actions and rewards as prescribed by God there is no beneficial purpose. They think that the
commandments of Islamic law are similar to a master ordering his servant to lift a stone or touch a
tree in order to test his obedience and that in this there is no purpose except to impose a test so that
if the servant obeys, he is rewarded, and if he disobeys, he is punished. This view is completely
incorrect. The traditions of the Prophet and consensus of opinion of those ages, contradict this view".
He strongly advocated against adopting non-Islamic customs, and argued for commitment to Arabic
Islamic culture. Shah Waliullah believed that:
“Muslims, no matter where they live, wherever they spend their youthful days, they should in any case
be completely separated from the natives of that country in their culture, traditions and mannerisms.
And wherever they are, they must be immersed in their Arabic splendor and Arabic trends
5. z
Works
Besides these, he is also credited being the first to translate the Quran into Persian in the Indian subcontinent.
Shah Waliullah worked hard to ensure that he was a role model for other Muslims. His deep understanding of
the Qur'an, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tasawwuf made him a highly knowledgeable scholar at an early age.
Since he believed that an emphasis on the Quranic teachings was made vital to Muslims, he translated Arabic
Qur'an into Persian. Few Muslims spoke Arabic and so the Qur'an had not been widely studied previously.
Some Ulama criticized Shah Waliullah, but his work proved very popular. In addition to translating the Quran,
He wrote 51 books in Persian and Arabic Amongst the most famous were Hujjat Allah al-Baligha and Izalah al
Khifa.
His writings bought him great fame and prestige and enabled him to have influence in other areas too. One of
his most important contributions to the Muslim community was his organization of opposition to the Maratha
Empire, who had captured large parts of India which were under the control of the Mughal Empire
before and had reduced the Mughal emperor to a mere puppet. It was partly his influence that helped to
persuade the invader Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan to intervene. He joined forces with local Muslim
leaders which resulted in the defeat of the Marathas at The Battle of Panipat in 1761.
6. z
Death
He died on Friday the 29th of Muharram 1176
AH/ 20 August 1762 at Zuhr prayer in Old
Delhi, aged 59.He was buried beside his
father Shah Abdur Rahim at Mehdiyan (a
graveyard to the left of Delhi Gate).
