Shāh Walī Allāh as a Central Figure between the Intellectual Centers of the Indian Subcontinent and the Ḥaramayn in the 18th Century: His Identity as a Musnid al-Hind and His Work al-Irshād

Authors : Nuran Sarıcı Doğan

Pages : 245-280

Doi:10.33718/tid.1773618

View : 253 | Download : 549

Publication Date : 2025-11-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article examines the scholarly interactions between the Indian Subcontinent and the Ḥaramayn during the eighteenth century through the musnid identity of one of the most prominent figures of the period Abū ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Quṭb al-Dīn Shāh Walī Allāh Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥīm b. Wajīh al-Dīn al-Dihlawī al-Fārūqī (d. 1176/1762) with particular reference to his treatise al-Irshād ilā muhimmāt ʿilm al-isnād. At a time when the Mughal Empire was entering a phase of political and social disintegration, Shāh Walī Allāh endeavored, on the one hand, to preserve the intellectual tradition of India, while on the other, he established direct contact with the leading ḥadīth authorities of the Ḥaramayn, thereby assuming a central role in the revival of ḥadīth scholarship in the Indian Subcontinent. During his journey to the Ḥijāz, Shāh Walī Allāh studied ḥadīth under the foremost traditionists of the Ḥaramayn, most notably Abū Ṭāhir al-Kūrānī (d. 1145/1732). Through the ijāzas and isnāds he received from them, he transmitted this intellectual heritage to India and passed it on to subsequent generations. The isnād chains of nearly all scholars engaged in ḥadīth studies in the Subcontinent ultimately trace back to him. For this reason, Shāh Walī Allāh has been referred to as Musnid al-Hind—the “Musnid of India”—or, in another expression, as madār al-isnād fī’l-Hind, “the central axis of ḥadīth transmission in India.” Although al-Irshād is a concise work in size, it stands as a remarkably profound source that reveals, from an isnād-based perspective, the intellectual exchange between the Ḥaramayn and the Indian Subcontinent. This study explores Shāh Walī Allāh’s life, scholarly activities, and the academic connections he established through his teacher Abū Ṭāhir in the Ḥaramayn. It also demonstrates how he served as an intellectual bridge between India and the Ḥijāz and how the transmission network shaped along the Ḥaramayn–India axis spread widely through his sons and students. Shāh Walī Allāh regarded the isnād tradition as both a scholarly and religious trust entrusted to the Muslim community. In this respect, he emerges as a pivotal figure in ensuring the continuity of Islamic learning, both theoretically and practically, and as one of the key scholars who safeguarded the transmission of authentic religious knowledge in the modern era.
Keywords : Hadis, Şah Veliyyullah ed-Dihlevî, el-İrşâd ilâ mühimmâti ʿilmi’l-isnâd, Ebû Tâhir el-Kûrânî, Hint Alt Kıtası.

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