Shāh Walī Allāh, also spelled Shah Waliullāh, (born 1702/03, Delhi [India]—died 1762, Delhi), Indian

theologian and promulgator of modern Islamic thought who first attempted to reassess Islamic theology
in the light of modern changes.

Walī Allāh received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the
Qurʾān at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz
(now in Saudi Arabia) to study religion with eminent theologians. He reached adulthood at a time of
disillusionment following the death in 1707 of Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor of India. Because
large areas of the empire had been lost to Hindu and Sikh rulers of the Deccan and the Punjab, Indian
Muslims had to accept the rule of non-Muslims. This challenge occupied Walī Allāh’s adult life.

Walī Allāh believed that the Muslim polity could be restored to its former splendour by a policy of
religious reform that would harmonize the religious ideals of Islam with the changing social and
economic conditions of India. According to him, religious ideas were universal and eternal, but their
application could meet different circumstances. The main tool of his policy was the doctrine of taṭbīq,
whereby the principles of Islam were reconstructed and reapplied in accordance with the Qurʾān and
the Hadith (the spoken traditions attributed to Muhammad). He thereby allowed the practice of ijtihād
(independent thinking by theologians in matters relating to Islamic law), which hitherto had been
curtailed. As a corollary, he reinterpreted the concept of taqdīr (determinism) and condemned its
popularization, qismat (narrow fatalism, or absolute predetermination). Walī Allāh held that man could
achieve his full potential by his own exertion in a universe that was determined by God. Theologically,
he opposed the veneration of saints or anything that compromised strict monotheism (see tawḥīd). He
was jurisprudentially eclectic, holding that a Muslim could follow any of the four schools of Islamic law
on any point of dogma or ritual.

00:01

02:45

The best known of Walī Allāh’s voluminous writings was Asrār al-dīn (“The Secrets of Belief”). His
annotated Persian translation of the Qurʾān is still popular in India and Pakistan.

Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.

Subscribe today

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam
Zeidan, Assistant Editor.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

 World distribution of Islam.

Islamic world: Precolonial reform and experimentation from 1683 to 1818

Its best exemplar was Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi (1702–62), the spiritual ancestor of many later Indian
Muslim reform movements. During his lifetime the collapse of Muslim political power was painfully
evident. He tried to unite the Muslims of India, not around Sufism as Akbar had tried to do…

World distribution of Islam.

Islamic world

Islamic world, the complex of societies and cultures in which Muslims and their faith have been
prevalent and socially dominant. Adherence to Islam is a global phenomenon: Muslims predominate in
some 30 to 40 countries, from the Atlantic eastward to the Pacific and…

Qurʾān

Qurʾān

Qurʾān, (Arabic: “Recitation”) the sacred scripture of Islam. According to conventional Islamic belief,
the Qurʾān was revealed by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad in the West Arabian towns
Mecca and Medina beginning in 610 and ending with Muhammad’s death in 632 ce. The word…

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Shāh Walī Allāh

Quick Facts

born

1702 or 1703
 Delhi, India

died

1762

Delhi, India

subjects of study

Islam

Religion

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Shāh Walī Allāh, also spelled Shah Waliullāh, (born 1702/03, Delhi [India]—died 1762, Delhi), Indian
theologian and promulgator of modern Islamic thought who first attempted to reassess Islamic theology
in the light of modern changes.

Walī Allāh received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the
Qurʾān at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz
(now in Saudi Arabia) to study religion with eminent theologians. He reached adulthood at a time of
disillusionment following the death in 1707 of Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor of India. Because
large areas of the empire had been lost to Hindu and Sikh rulers of the Deccan and the Punjab, Indian
Muslims had to accept the rule of non-Muslims. This challenge occupied Walī Allāh’s adult life.
Walī Allāh believed that the Muslim polity could be restored to its former splendour by a policy of
religious reform that would harmonize the religious ideals of Islam with the changing social and
economic conditions of India. According to him, religious ideas were universal and eternal, but their
application could meet different circumstances. The main tool of his policy was the doctrine of taṭbīq,
whereby the principles of Islam were reconstructed and reapplied in accordance with the Qurʾān and
the Hadith (the spoken traditions attributed to Muhammad). He thereby allowed the practice of ijtihād
(independent thinking by theologians in matters relating to Islamic law), which hitherto had been
curtailed. As a corollary, he reinterpreted the concept of taqdīr (determinism) and condemned its
popularization, qismat (narrow fatalism, or absolute predetermination). Walī Allāh held that man could
achieve his full potential by his own exertion in a universe that was determined by God. Theologically,
he opposed the veneration of saints or anything that compromised strict monotheism (see tawḥīd). He
was jurisprudentially eclectic, holding that a Muslim could follow any of the four schools of Islamic law
on any point of dogma or ritual.

00:01

02:45

The best known of Walī Allāh’s voluminous writings was Asrār al-dīn (“The Secrets of Belief”). His
annotated Persian translation of the Qurʾān is still popular in India and Pakistan.

Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.

Subscribe today

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam
Zeidan, Assistant Editor.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

World distribution of Islam.

Islamic world: Precolonial reform and experimentation from 1683 to 1818

Its best exemplar was Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi (1702–62), the spiritual ancestor of many later Indian
Muslim reform movements. During his lifetime the collapse of Muslim political power was painfully
evident. He tried to unite the Muslims of India, not around Sufism as Akbar had tried to do…

World distribution of Islam.

Islamic world
 Islamic world, the complex of societies and cultures in which Muslims and their faith have been
prevalent and socially dominant. Adherence to Islam is a global phenomenon: Muslims predominate in
some 30 to 40 countries, from the Atlantic eastward to the Pacific and…

Qurʾān

Qurʾān

Qurʾān, (Arabic: “Recitation”) the sacred scripture of Islam. According to conventional Islamic belief,
the Qurʾān was revealed by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad in the West Arabian towns
Mecca and Medina beginning in 610 and ending with Muhammad’s death in 632 ce. The word…

newsletter icon

History at your fingertips

Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox!

Email address

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.

Learn More!

Shāh Walī Allāh

Quick Facts

born

1702 or 1703

Delhi, India

died

1762

Delhi, India

subjects of study
 Islam

Religion

Media

Print

Feedback

Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires
login).

Select feedback type:

SHARE

HomePhilosophy & ReligionReligious B

Shāh Walī Allāh, also spelled Shah Waliullāh, (born 1702/03, Delhi [India]—died 1762, Delhi), Indian
theologian and promulgator of modern Islamic thought who first attempted to reassess Islamic theology
in the light of modern changes.

Walī Allāh received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the
Qurʾān at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz
(now in Saudi Arabia) to study religion with eminent theologians. He reached adulthood at a time of
disillusionment following the death in 1707 of Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor of India. Because
large areas of the empire had been lost to Hindu and Sikh rulers of the Deccan and the Punjab, Indian
Muslims had to accept the rule of non-Muslims. This challenge occupied Walī Allāh’s adult life.

Walī Allāh believed that the Muslim polity could be restored to its former splendour by a policy of
religious reform that would harmonize the religious ideals of Islam with the changing social and
economic conditions of India. According to him, religious ideas were universal and eternal, but their
application could meet different circumstances. The main tool of his policy was the doctrine of taṭbīq,
whereby the principles of Islam were reconstructed and reapplied in accordance with the Qurʾān and
the Hadith (the spoken traditions attributed to Muhammad). He thereby allowed the practice of ijtihād
(independent thinking by theologians in matters relating to Islamic law), which hitherto had been
curtailed. As a corollary, he reinterpreted the concept of taqdīr (determinism) and condemned its
popularization, qismat (narrow fatalism, or absolute predetermination). Walī Allāh held that man could
achieve his full potential by his own exertion in a universe that was determined by God. Theologically,
he opposed the veneration of saints or anything that compromised strict monotheism (see tawḥīd). He
was jurisprudentially eclectic, holding that a Muslim could follow any of the four schools of Islamic law
on any point of dogma or ritual.

00:01

02:45

The best known of Walī Allāh’s voluminous writings was Asrār al-dīn (“The Secrets of Belief”). His
annotated Persian translation of the Qurʾān is still popular in India and Pakistan.

Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.

Subscribe today

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam
Zeidan, Assistant Editor.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

World distribution of Islam.

Islamic world: Precolonial reform and experimentation from 1683 to 1818

Its best exemplar was Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi (1702–62), the spiritual ancestor of many later Indian
Muslim reform movements. During his lifetime the collapse of Muslim political power was painfully
evident. He tried to unite the Muslims of India, not around Sufism as Akbar had tried to do…

World distribution of Islam.

Islamic world

Islamic world, the complex of societies and cultures in which Muslims and their faith have been
prevalent and socially dominant. Adherence to Islam is a global phenomenon: Muslims predominate in
some 30 to 40 countries, from the Atlantic eastward to the Pacific and…

Qurʾān

Qurʾān

Qurʾān, (Arabic: “Recitation”) the sacred scripture of Islam. According to conventional Islamic belief,
the Qurʾān was revealed by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad in the West Arabian towns
Mecca and Medina beginning in 610 and ending with Muhammad’s death in 632 ce. The word…
newsletter icon

History at your fingertips

Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox!

Email address

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.

Learn More!

Shāh Walī Allāh

Quick Facts

born

1702 or 1703

Delhi, India

died

1762

Delhi, India

subjects of study

Islam

Religion

Media

Print
Feedback

Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires
login).

Select feedback type:

SHARE

HomePhilosophy & ReligionReligious B