SHAHNAWAZ
AHSAN
SUFIAN KHATRI
SIR SYED AHMAD KHAN
BACKGROUND AND EARLY LIFE
Syed Ahmed Khan was born in Delhi, then the
capital of the Mughal Empire in October 17th 1817.
 Sir Syed earned a reputation as a distinguished
scholar while working as a jurist for the British East
India Company. During the Indian Rebellion of
1857, he remained loyal to the British and was noted
for his actions in saving European lives.
 After the rebellion, he penned the booklet Asbab-eBaghawat-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Mutiny)
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Syed Ahamad Khan was depressed by the
backwardness of the Muslims.
 He stressed the need for English education
among the Muslims and opposed social
prejudices which kept the community backward.
 All his life, he was guided by three aims
1. Remove British hostility towards the Muslims
and ensure good relations between the two.
2. Introduce reforms for the advancement of
Muslims.
3. And finally, induce the Muslims to accept these
reforms.
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All his life, Syed Ahmad Khan protested
against the practices of purdah, polygamy
and easy divorce.
 Promotion of modern western education,
however, was his priority.
 He believed that progress was possible
only if the Muslims adopted western
scientific knowledge and culture.
 In AD 1864, he founded the Translation
Society at Aligarh. It was later renamed the
Scientific Society.
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PHILOSOPHY.
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His main argument was that the Quran was the word of God and
nature too was the work of God. a disparity between the two was
therefore unthinkable.
According to him, Vahee (revelation) and reason are identical. The
reason operates in man's scientific investigations as much as in
his concept of the divinity, his distinction between good and evil,
his views on divine judgment and retribution, and his belief in life
after death.
For him reason alone was the right instrument for judging truth.
Although Sir Syed accepted the term Vahee, he did not attach any
special significance to it.
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As a result he put forward the view that
revelation was not something external brought
to a prophet by an angel, as was generally
believed, but a natural phenomenon like other
human faculties.
Sir Syed rejected the Fiqh totally. He says that in
the past religiously minded scholars thought
that, as far as possible, every thing should be
done with the support of some religious
authority. Therefore, when any problem arose,
they searched for some religious sanction and
with the help of far-fetched arguments and
interpretations; they placed it under some
religious ruling or subjected it to some general
principle laid down by themselves.
The sayings and arguments of those
religious scholars began to be collected
and assumed the shape of Fiqh and
books relating to the principles of Fiqh.
 As a thoughtful and enlightened writer on
a wide variety of subjects encompassing
political, social, religious and literary
topics he may rightly be called the father
of Urdu prose.
 He replaced the long-winded and
bombastic style of writing with an
impressive style, polished and of fine
articulation.
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He was also the ancestor of a new style of
declamation. His most famous book is Asar-alSanadeed, dealing with 125 historical buildings of
Delhi and its suburbs.
Syed Ahmad possessed a very rich and precious
collection of books on all subjects: literature,
history, science and philosophy of oriental and
Muslim scholars.
Allama Shibli and others used to spend
considerable time in his library in quest of
knowledge and new information. Even foreign
scholars used to study in the library and spoke
highly of its collection.
CONTRIBUTION IN JOURNALISM AND
LITERATURE.
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Sir Syed was a government civil servant and a scholar. The
1857 revolt was a turning point in his life. The following are
his important works:
1) ‘’ASARUS SANADEED’’: It is an archaeological
masterpiece providing a wealth of information on countless
historical monuments in Delhi from the eight hundred long
Muslim rule. This book was published in 1847.
2) ‘‘ASBAB-E-BAGHAWAT-E-HIND’’- (The causes of Indian
Revolt) This book was published in 1859 after the 1857
revolt after witnessing the atrocities committed by the British
on the inhabitants of Delhi. Muslims were the main targets
of the government’s wrath.
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3) THE ALIGARH INSTITUTE GAZETTE - It was
an organ of the Scientific Society started in
1866. It made the people think and use their
wisdom.
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4) ‘’TEHZIB-UL-AKHLAQ’’ – It succeeded in
making people realise the value of modern
knowledge. It also gave new directions to
Muslim social and political thoughts.
TEHZIB-UL-AKHLAQ AND OTHER IMPORTANT
WORKS OF SYED BADSHAH.
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Sir Syed Ahmad Khan sponsored the "Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq" in
December 1870.
This-eight-to-twelve page fortnightly in Urdu, printed wholly
in "type", was started on non-profit basis and aimed at the
following:
1. To acquaint the Muslims with the new values of
civilization and culture in order, to make them better men.
2. To impress upon them the virtues of self
respect, punctuality, cleanliness, truthfulness-conduct
in society, good behaviour towards others, welfare of
women and to stress the need For interest-in business and
commerce and Improvement of farming practices.
3. To bring home to the people the
desirability of doing away with evils like
selfishness, polygamy and useless customs
opposed to their religious values.
 4. To make efforts for promoting rational
approach to religion, freedom of
expression and free discussion on the
problems of the day.
 5. To encourage 'western learning and at
the same time to remind the Muslims of
their glorious past.
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EFFECTS OF TEHZIB-UL-AKHLAQ
Free discussion led to a great controversy that,
promoted free exchange of views through
journals for and against Sir Syed's line
of thought.
 The Mohammadan College was established in
Aligarh. This was followed by a number of other
institutions where western learning
was promoted.
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Changes were introduced in the
syllabi of religious educational
institutions and even Sir Syed's
opponents began to realise the need for
modern education for the ulema.
 Religious literature began to accept the
new style of lucid and simple Urdu
language. With this Urdu literature
embraced a welcome renaissance
exploring new techniques of
expression and content.
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SPECIAL ISSUES OF TAHZIBUL AKHLAQ
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THANK YOU!