OxfordAQA International GCSE Pakistan Studies: Islam in the Subcontinent, c700–c1831 (9236)

Islam in the Subcontinent (c700–c1831) is topic 3.1.3 of OxfordAQA International GCSE Pakistan Studies 9236, one of two optional topics examined in Paper 1, Section C. It follows the spread of Islam from the Arab conquest of Sindh, through the Sufi orders and the reform thinkers of the Mughal period, to the revival movements of Shah Waliullah and Syed Ahmad Barelvi. Section C carries 21 marks of short and extended responses, so you need both precise facts and the ability to judge each person’s importance.

Syllabus coverage

OXFORDAQA INTERNATIONAL GCSE PAKISTAN STUDIES (9236), VERSION 1.9 — 3.1.3

3.1.3.1 The expansion of Islam in the subcontinent c700–c1700: key events and individuals

• Sufism: origins and key features
• Muhammad bin Qasim, the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate into the subcontinent, and its religious impact
• The importance of al-Ghazali, including the impact of The Revival of the Religious Sciences
• Ahmad Sirhindi: background, beliefs, his reforms and the revival of Sufism; later religious developments under Aurangzeb

3.1.3.2 Shah Waliullah’s reforms in religion in the 18th century

• Reasons for weakness and division among Muslims by the early 18th century, including Mughal decline
• Shah Waliullah’s background, early life and education
• The nature and aims of his reforms, including his regard for Sharia and understanding of the Qur’an
• The impact of his work in bringing about political change

3.1.3.3 Syed Ahmad Barelvi and the Islamic revival in the 19th century

• The political, social, cultural and religious context by the early 19th century
• His background, early life, military service and beliefs
• The Jihad movement: aims, opponents, achievements
• His campaigns, death, contribution to revival, and importance to the Ahl-i-Hadith and Deobandi movements

What is Sufism and why did it matter in the subcontinent?

Sufism is the inner, spiritual dimension of Islam. It developed in the early centuries of Islam among Muslims who stressed personal devotion, remembrance of Allah (dhikr), self-discipline and love of Allah, alongside obedience to the Sharia. Sufis gathered disciples (murids) around a master (pir or shaikh) in orders called silsilas.

In the subcontinent Sufi saints spread Islam through example, service to the poor and welcoming people of all backgrounds at their khanqahs (lodges). Important figures include Ali Hujwiri (Data Ganj Bakhsh) of Lahore, author of Kashf al-Mahjub; Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, founder of the Chishti order in India; and Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan of the Suhrawardi order. Later the Qadiri and Naqshbandi orders also spread. Their shrines remain centres of devotion and culture today.

What was the importance of Muhammad bin Qasim?

In 711–712, under the Umayyad Caliphate, the governor Hajjaj bin Yusuf sent the young commander Muhammad bin Qasim to Sindh. He captured the port of Debal and defeated Raja Dahir, bringing Sindh and southern Punjab, including Multan, under Muslim rule. Religious impact: Sindh became the first part of the subcontinent under Muslim rule; mosques were built; local Hindus and Buddhists were granted protected status and allowed to keep their places of worship on payment of jizya; and trade and learning linked Sindh to the wider Muslim world. This is why Sindh is sometimes called Bab-ul-Islam, the gateway of Islam.

Why was al-Ghazali important?

Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111) was a Persian scholar who taught in Baghdad. In his great work Ihya Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) he argued that true faith needs both correct practice under the Sharia and inner sincerity. He brought Sufism within mainstream Sunni Islam, criticised philosophers who put reason above revelation, and gave later scholars a model of combining law and spirituality. His ideas shaped the teaching of madrasas and Sufi orders in the subcontinent for centuries.

Who was Ahmad Sirhindi?

Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564–1624), born in Sirhind in Punjab, was a scholar of the Naqshbandi order and is known as Mujaddid Alf Thani, “renewer of the second millennium”. He opposed the religious syncretism of Emperor Akbar’s court, including the Din-i-Ilahi, and argued that Sufism must follow the Sharia strictly. Through hundreds of letters (Maktubat) to nobles he urged a return to orthodox practice. He was imprisoned for a time by Jahangir in Gwalior fort, then released. His influence helped revive orthodox Sunni Sufism and is often linked to the more orthodox policies of Aurangzeb, under whom the legal compilation Fatawa-e-Alamgiri was produced.

Why were Muslims weak and divided by the early 18th century?

After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, the Mughal Empire declined: weak emperors, rival nobles, Maratha and Sikh expansion, and invasions undermined Muslim political power. Religious life was divided between Sunnis and Shias, and between scholars who stressed law and those who followed popular customs at shrines. Many Muslims had little direct knowledge of the Qur’an, which was mainly available in Arabic.

What were Shah Waliullah’s reforms?

Shah Waliullah (1703–1762) of Delhi was the son of Shah Abdur Rahim, founder of the Madrasa Rahimiya, where he studied and later taught. After the Hajj he studied hadith in Madinah. His reforms aimed to unite Muslims and return them to the Qur’an and Sunnah:

• He translated the Qur’an into Persian, the educated language of the day, so more Muslims could understand it; his sons later produced Urdu translations.
• He stressed respect for the Sharia and the study of hadith, and wrote Hujjat Allah al-Baligha explaining the reasons behind Islamic law.
• He tried to reduce Sunni–Shia and sectarian conflict and to reconcile the different schools of thought.

Political impact: he wrote to Muslim rulers urging them to defend Muslim power. His letters to Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan are linked to Abdali’s victory over the Marathas at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761). His family and students, notably his son Shah Abdul Aziz, carried his ideas into the 19th century.

Who was Syed Ahmad Barelvi and what did his Jihad movement achieve?

Context: by the early 1800s the British controlled much of India, and in Punjab and the north-west Ranjit Singh’s Sikh state placed restrictions on Muslim worship, including the call to prayer in some areas.

Syed Ahmad Barelvi (1786–1831) was born at Rae Bareli, studied under Shah Abdul Aziz in Delhi and served for some years in the cavalry of the Pathan leader Amir Khan, gaining military experience. He preached a purified Islam, the Tariqa-i-Muhammadiya, opposing practices he saw as un-Islamic. With Shah Ismail Shaheed, grandson of Shah Waliullah, he launched a jihad against Sikh rule in the north-west from 1826, aiming to restore Muslim freedom of worship and set up a state run on Islamic lines.

His forces won some battles and briefly held Peshawar in 1830, but rivalries among local Pathan leaders, tax disputes and Sikh military strength weakened the movement. Syed Ahmad and Shah Ismail were killed at the Battle of Balakot (1831). Importance: the movement kept the reform ideas of Shah Waliullah’s family alive, inspired later reformers, and influenced the Ahl-i-Hadith and the Deobandi movement founded at Deoband in 1867.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Sindh called Bab-ul-Islam? Because Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest of 711–712 made it the first region of the subcontinent under Muslim rule.

What does Mujaddid Alf Thani mean? “Renewer of the second millennium”, the title given to Ahmad Sirhindi for reviving orthodox Islam around the thousandth year of the Islamic calendar.

Why did Shah Waliullah translate the Qur’an into Persian? So that Muslims who did not read Arabic could understand its message directly, which he saw as the basis for reform.

Related pages

• Islam in the Subcontinent revision notes
• The Mughal Empire study guide
• Paper 1 overview study guide

Source: OxfordAQA, International GCSE Pakistan Studies (9236) specification, Version 1.9, topic 3.1.3.