Ahmad Sirhindi
Imām Rabbānī Shāykh Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Ahad al-Fārūqī al-Sirhindī
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أحمد بن عبد الأحد | |
Painting of Shaykh Ahmad al-Sirhindi c. 16th-17th Century | |
| Title | Mūjaddīd al-Alf al-Thanī (Reviver of the Second Millennium). |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 26 May 1564/1563 |
| Died | 10 December 1624 (aged 60) Sirhind, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire |
| Era | Mughal India |
| Main interest(s) | Islamic Law, Islamic philosophy |
| Notable idea(s) | Evolution of Islamic philosophy Application of Islamic law |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Tariqa | Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Predecessor | Khwaja Baqi Billah |
| Successor | Khawaja Muhammad Masum |
| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | Ahmad أحمد |
| Patronymic (Nasab) | Abd al-Ahad عبد الأحد |
| Epithet (Laqab) | Imām Rabbānī الإمام رباني |
| Toponymic (Nisba) | al-Fārūqī al-Sirhindī الفاروقي السرهندي |
Imām Rabbānī Shāykh Aḥmad ibn 'Abd al-Ahad al-Fārūqī al-Sirhindī Mūjaddīd al-Alf al-Thanī or simply known as Ahmad Sirhindi (1564 – 1624/1625) was an Indian Islamic scholar, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order who lived during the era of Mughal Empire.
Ahmad Sirhindi opposed heterodox movements within the Mughal court such as Din-i Ilahi, in support of more orthodox forms of Islamic Law. His act of preserving and urging the practice of Islamic orthodoxy and challenging Akbar and later Jahangir by rejecting Din-i Ilahi has cemented his reputation among South Asian Muslims 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.