Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires

Leaving aside Indian and Pakistani nationalist interpretations, this paper reinstates the millenarian dimension of the career of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831). This Naqshbandi Sufi, who was successively a soldier and a religious reformer, launched ajihâdin 1826 against the Sikhs and the British p...

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Main Author: Marc Gaborieau
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université de Provence 2000-07-01
Series:Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/259
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author Marc Gaborieau
author_facet Marc Gaborieau
author_sort Marc Gaborieau
collection DOAJ
description Leaving aside Indian and Pakistani nationalist interpretations, this paper reinstates the millenarian dimension of the career of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831). This Naqshbandi Sufi, who was successively a soldier and a religious reformer, launched ajihâdin 1826 against the Sikhs and the British presence in India : he mysteriously disappeared in a battle, and his disciples awaited his reappearance as a mahdi for more than half of a century. Sayyid Ahmad's messianic career is reinterpreted here in four steps. It is shown how the political and social context facilitated the development of millenarian ideas. Then the religious thought of this period is examinated during a time when eschatological preoccupations were important. In a third step, the posthumous career of Sayyid Ahmad as a mahdi is reconstitued through colonial sources. Finally, a study of Persian documents written before the death of Sayyid Ahmad corrects the colonial view, but also proves that, in his lifetime, Sayyid Ahmad was already considered by his disciples as a mahdi « of the middle of the ages », akin in many ways to the mujaddidas conceived by the Naqshbandis.
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spelling doaj-art-20b44b8260ca4e14bbd6c3c78debb7832025-08-20T02:47:28ZengUniversité de ProvenceRevue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée0997-13272105-22712000-07-01919425727410.4000/remmm.259Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversairesMarc GaborieauLeaving aside Indian and Pakistani nationalist interpretations, this paper reinstates the millenarian dimension of the career of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831). This Naqshbandi Sufi, who was successively a soldier and a religious reformer, launched ajihâdin 1826 against the Sikhs and the British presence in India : he mysteriously disappeared in a battle, and his disciples awaited his reappearance as a mahdi for more than half of a century. Sayyid Ahmad's messianic career is reinterpreted here in four steps. It is shown how the political and social context facilitated the development of millenarian ideas. Then the religious thought of this period is examinated during a time when eschatological preoccupations were important. In a third step, the posthumous career of Sayyid Ahmad as a mahdi is reconstitued through colonial sources. Finally, a study of Persian documents written before the death of Sayyid Ahmad corrects the colonial view, but also proves that, in his lifetime, Sayyid Ahmad was already considered by his disciples as a mahdi « of the middle of the ages », akin in many ways to the mujaddidas conceived by the Naqshbandis.https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/259
spellingShingle Marc Gaborieau
Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires
Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
title Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires
title_full Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires
title_fullStr Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires
title_full_unstemmed Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires
title_short Le mahdi oublié de l'Inde britannique : Sayyid Ahmad Barelwî (1786-1831), ses disciples, ses adversaires
title_sort le mahdi oublie de l inde britannique sayyid ahmad barelwi 1786 1831 ses disciples ses adversaires
url https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/259
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