Politics of Socio-Political Reformation in South Asia: An Analytical Study on Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah’s Reformatory Roadmap (1703-1762)

Abstract

  The research paper revolves around the valuable services of Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah Muhadith Dehlawi (b. 1703-d. 1762), a prominent Islamic scholar who lived during the Mughal Empire in India. He launched an Islamic revivalist movement, which aimed to reinvigorate Muslim piety and practice in response to the perceived decline of Islamic authority and morality. He fought mainly on three fronts: targeting the traditional body of knowledge that created rifts in society and is deficient in meeting worldly affairs, taking a hard line on the prevailing traditional curriculum of education, and working against the ill social practices in the name of Islamic mysticism.  He believed that the Muslim state should be based on the principles of justice and equity, as well as the protection of human dignity and welfare. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the reformative aspect of his works which are crystal clear interpretations of the Quran, Hadith categorized into Fiqh al-Quran, Fiqh al-Hadith, Radhidun Caliphate, Suluk (based on Sufism or Mysticism), and miscellaneous ones. Research methodology contains historical research method that exerts internal and external criticism of primary and secondary sources available in the form of old editions of Shah Wali Ullah’s works, published works in the form of books, and research papers. The research deals with a single discourse that his works are genuinely reformative with the single and sole purpose of establishing an egalitarian society, leading to the broad-spectrum goal of establishment of an Islamic welfare state.