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The Reformers of Islam (Mujaddid) 

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Talib Ghaffari 

In his short essay entitled Tuhfat al-Mujtahidin bi Asma’ al-Mujaddidin (“The Gem of theStriving Scholars: the Names of the Renewers of the Religion”) al-Suyût.î listed the

Renewers as follows:

  1st century: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

  2nd century: Imam al-Shafi’i 

  3rd century: Imam Ibn Surayj and Imam al-Ash`ari

  4th century: Al-Baqillani, Sahl al-Su`luki, and Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini

  5th century: Imam al-Ghazzali

  6th century: Imam Fakhraddin al-Razi and al-Rafi`i

  7th century: Ibn Daqiq al-`Id (625-702)  8th century: Al-Bulqini and al-Iraqi

  9th century: Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti (849-911 A.H)

The above mentioned centuries are according to the birth of those scholars. But a Mujaddid

of a century is known to be the one who is born in the previous century but his Tajdid

(revival) occurs in the next century. Hence the above names be considered the Mujaddids of 

the next centuries.

I will continue this list by the century in which the Mujaddid did the revival of Islam.

First Century

The first century of Hijri calendar marks the start of Islam. The line of Mujaddids starts from

the 2nd century (after the first hundred years of the demise of Rasoolullah s.a.w.).

Second Century

  The great caliph of Islam, Imam Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (61-101 AH) is widely

acclaimed to be the very first Mujaddid of Islam. He was a caliph for a very short

duration (1 to 2 years), but he did great works in that short while.

Other suggested names:

  Imam Abu Hanifa (80-148 A.H) – the greatest Imam of Fiqh

Third Century

  The great Imam and founder of the 2nd largest Sunni school of jurisprudence, Imam

al-Shafi’i 

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Fourth Century

  Imam Ibn Surayj and Imam al-Ash`ari

Fifth Century  Al-Baqillani, Sahl al-Su`luki, and Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini (considered by Imam al-

Suyuti)

Sixth Century

  Imam al-Ghazzali (considered by Imam al-Suyuti)

  Hadhrat Abu Yusuf Hamadani (440-535 A.H) – He was the shaykh of Sayyidina

Abdul Qadir Jilani, Khwaja Mueenuddin Ajmeri, as well as the grandsheikh of 

Naqshbandi tariqah Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghijdwani. All the major Sufi orders havedirectly benefited from him.

Seventh Century

  Imam Fakhraddin al-Razi and al-Rafi`i (considered by Imam al-Suyuti)

  Khwaja Mueen al-Din al-Hasan al-Sanjri al-Ajmeri (535-633 A.H) – He was the

Imam of the Chishti sufi tariqah, and with his efforts a significant part of the Indian

population converted to Islam

Eighth Century  Ibn Daqiq al-`Id (625-702) (considered by al-Suyuti)

Ninth Century

  Al-Bulqini and al-Iraqi (considered by al-Suyuti)

Tenth Century

  Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti (849-911 AH)

Eleventh century

  Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruqi of Sirhind, India (d. 1034) – unanimously accepted as the

only Mujaddid of 11th century as well as the 2nd millennium of Islam, hence called

Mujaddid Alf Thani (Mujaddid of the 2nd Millenium). He received this noble post of 

Mujaddid in 1010 AH, exactly after 1000 years of the demise of the Messenger of 

Allah, peace be upon him. He is the Mujaddid of a millenium, not only a century.

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Twelfth century

  Al-Qutb `Abd Allah al-Haddad of Hadramawt, Yemen

  The great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir Mujaddidi Masoomi of Delhi, India.

He established the Islamic governance in India, and he was a murid (disciple) of 

Imam Muhammad Masum al-Sirhindi in the Naqshbandi path, and was also revered

by most Sufi saints of his time.

Thirteenth century

  Hadhrat Abdullah Mujaddidi alias Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi of Delhi, India (1158-

1240 A.H) – most widely acclaimed, as he was the Shaykh of Khalid al-Baghdadi and

lived almost the same times

  Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi al-Mujaddidi of Damascus (1193-1242 A.H) – acclaimed

by the Khalidi Naqshbandis

  Shaykh Muhammad Amin `Abidin (Ibn `Abidin) of Damascus – a student of ShaykhKhalid al-Baghdadi

(Shaykh G.F Haddad has named both of them, shaykh Khalid and his student Ibn

Abidin, as the Mujaddids of 13th century)

  Shaykh Usman Dan Fodio (1168-1232 AH) who revived Islam in Africa and

established Islamic government

Fourteenth century

  Imam Ahmad Rada Khan Barelvi of India, most widely acclaimed for his defending

the right path of Ahl as-Sunnah against the widespread fitna of Wahhabism  Shaykh Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari of Turkey

  Shaykh Badr al-Din al-Hasani of Damascus, Syria

  Sheikh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-Alawi (1869 – 1934)

  Hadhrat Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi Naqshbandi of India (d.1934), the greatest Naqshbandi

shaykh in India in the fourteenth century

Fifteenth century

Today, there are numerous great scholars of Islam continuously reviving the spirit of Islam

and working hard day and night to reform the Muslims in the whole world. It is hard todecide or single out one of them, and only time will show the real Mujaddid or Mujaddids of 

15th century.

Allah then His Prophet know better!

References:

http://www.livingislam.org/fiqhi/fiqha_e96.html 

http://www.islamimehfil.info/index.php?/topic/10135-concept-of-revivalist-mujaddid-in-

islam/