Content area
Full Text
The century-old intellectual and, to a lesser extent, spiritual legacy of the Ahl-i-Hadith movement in Kashmir has in many ways influenced the contemporary socio-religious history of the geographically isolated people living there. The movement created fissures in traditional religious leadership, in which mullahs, muftis, mujjawirs, babaz, babzadas, pits, pirzads and khadims had strict control over all religious matters. For centuries, Kashmiri Muslims had functioned without questioning whether or not the guidance of these traditional leaders was consistent with the injunctions of the Qur'an and Hadith. However, this age old hege mony of religious leadership was seriously challenged by Ahl-i-Hadith reformists who exhorted Muslims not only to go back to the Qur'an and Hadith for guidance, but also emphasized the fundamental importance of Ijma' and Qiyas, two hitherto unutilized sources of Islam in Kashmir.
Founded by Sayyid Husain Shah Batku at the turn of the nineteenth century, the Ahl-i-Hadith movement forms a significant part of the history of Islam in Kashmir. This is not only because of the movement's emphasis on the Qur'an and the Hadith, but also because of its prohibition against the worship of shrines (asthan parasti), worship of tombs (mazar parasti) and excessive veneration of Sufi and Rishi saints, in addition to the observance of a certain set of rituals and ceremonies associated with Muslim life, marriage and death.
The Ahl-i-Hadith was the first reformist movement of its kind in Kashmir since the introduction of Islam to the region at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The movement's goal was unique in that it advocated purging Islam of its accretions, customs, practices, superstitions, ceremonies, etc. with a view to restoring its pristine purity. It also stood for a strong affirmation of the unity of God (tawhid), the rejection of bid ahs (innovations) and polytheism (shirk).
The impact of this movement has not hitherto been seriously dealt with by contemporary historians and scholars of Islamic history. The present paper is thus an attempt to examine this reformist-revivalist movement from an historical perspective in light of extant sources on the subject. The focus of attention, however, will be the socio-historical significance of the movement rather than its theological impact. In so doing, this paper will also consider the initial reaction of Sunni Muslims (the majority...