شاہاسماعیشہیکمذہبفکراوراسکےہندوستانمسلمانوںپراثرات

Abstract

Shah Ismail Shahid, the grandson of Shah Waliullah Dihlavi, is a well-known figure in the South Asian Islam because of his various socio-religious endeavours. One of his works titled “Taqviyat-ul-Iman” is considered the most influential book of his times which paved the way of the present day “Ahl-i Hadith” school of thought on the one hand. On the other, he was criticized on the same degree by his coreligionists among the sunnis, because of his several religious opinions expressed particularly in the same book. Despite of his various social, religious and political contributions in the British India, he remained a controversial Islamic figure to an extent. This paper attempts to analyze impartially the circumstances under which Shah Ismail lived and played his role, in order to understand the grounds of the said controversy.