Syncretic Islam: Life and Times of Ahmad Raza Khan BarelviSyncretic Islam is a fascinating and brilliant study of the religious thought and career of one of the doyens of Muslim traditionalism in South Asia, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi. An Islamic scholar, jurist and an Urdu poet, Ahmad Raza Khan was the founder of the Barelvi movement whose defining feature of thought is the active veneration of the Prophet as the most exalted of all beings. This work overviews and analyses the multiple facets constituting Ahmad Raza Khan's intellectual life and, in extension, the Barelvi school of thought in an eminently accessible manner. It is the story of a remarkable revivalist, born in the North Indian town of Bareilly during British India, who grew up to be hailed by his followers as the mujaddid, or reviver, of Islam in nineteenth-century India. A Pathan by descent, Hanafi by religious mores, Qadiri by disposition and Barelvi by nativity, Syncretic Islam captures the astounding contribution of Ahmad Raza Khan and attempts to explain his spiritual influence that still binds millions of people in the Indian subcontinent. |
Contents
Birth Family and Home | |
Baptism | |
Hands on Pulse of Politics and Yet | |
Some Noble Traits | |
Intellectual Impulse | |
Energising Faith in Rough Times | |
Barelvis Bitter Battle for Identity | |
The Azan Debate | |
The Crushing Weight of History | |
Conclusion | |
Muslim Orthodoxy and Mysticism | |
Two Other Important Persons with Barelvi Suffix but | |
Glossary | |
Suggested Readings | |
Born to Write and Rule through Fatwa | |
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Common terms and phrases
19th century A’la Hazrat Ahl-e-Hadith Ahl-e-Sunnat Ahmad Raza Khan Ali’s alim Allah Allama Amjad Arabia Arabic asked azaan Badaun bai’t Bareilly Barelvi Barelvi school belief biddat British India called couplet death debate Delhi Deobandis devotees disciple faith father fatwa fiqah Firangi Mahal followers Ghulam God’s grave Hadith Hanafi Hasan Raza Hijrat Hindus holy Hussain ijtihad Imam Ahmad Raza Indian Muslims Islam issuing fatwa Jamaat kafir Khan’s Khilafat Kifayatullah Koran kufr large number leaders madrasas Marehara Maulana Abdul maulvi Mecca mosque movement mufti Mughal Muhammad murid murshid Muslim community mystic naat Naqi Nawab never non-Muslims opponents organised Pakistan Pathan person poem poet poetry political practice praise prayer question Rampur Raza’s recited religion religious revivalists Rizvi Rohilkhand rule saying Sayyid scholars Shah Ale Rasul shariat Sheikh Shia shrines Sir Syed spiritual subcontinent Sufi Sufi orders Sufism sunnat Sunni tradition ulema Urdu verses Wahhabi wrote Zafaruddin