Ahmad Sirhindi
Ahmad Sirhindi (Arabic: أحمد السرهندي, romanized: Aḥmad al-Sirhindī; 1564 – 1624/1625) was a Punjabi Islamic scholar, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order.
Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruqi al-Sirhindi | |
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Painting of Ahmad Sirhindi (left), c. 16th or 17th century | |
| Title | Mujadid-i-Alf-i-Thani (Reviver of the Second Millennium). |
| Personal | |
| Born | 26 May 1564: 90 /1563 Sirhind, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire (modern-day Punjab, India) |
| Died | 10 December 1624 (aged 60) Sirhind, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire |
| Religion | Islam |
| Era | Mughal India |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Main interest(s) | Islamic Law, Islamic philosophy |
| Notable idea(s) | Evolution of Islamic philosophy Application of Islamic law |
| Tariqa | Naqshbandi |
| Muslim leader | |
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During the lifetime of Ahmad Sirhindi, there were religious heterodox movements within the Mughal court such as Din-i Ilahi, a new religion introduced by emperor Akbar. Ahmad Sirhindi took an immediate act to counter this doctrine by writing numerous letters towards the ruling elite circles of the Mughal court. His act of preserving orthodoxy of Islam within subcontinent has cemented his reputation by some followers as a Mujaddid, or a "reviver".
While early and modern South Asian scholarship credited him for contributing to conservative trends in Indian Islam, more recent works, such as Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi and commentaries from western scholars such as Ter Haar, Friedman, and Buehler, have pointed to Sirhindi's significant contributions to Sufi epistemology and practices.