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intermediate📚 67 articles⏱️ 33 hours

Islam in South Asia

Journey chronologically through thirteen centuries of Muslim history in the Indian subcontinent — from the conquest of Sindh and the Delhi Sultanate through the Mughal Empire to the reform movements, the independence struggle, and the scholars and public figures of the decades since.

Start LearningBegins with Muhammad ibn al-Qasim: The Conqueror of Sindh

Learning Sequence

Articles are ordered so each builds on the one before. You can also read them in any order that suits you.

  1. Muhammad ibn al-Qasim: The Conqueror of SindhpersonUmayyad CaliphateMuhammad ibn al-Qasim (695-715 CE) was the teenage Umayyad general who conquered Sindh in 711 CE, establishing the first permanent Muslim political presence in the Indian…
  2. Mahmud of Ghazni: Conqueror and Patron of LearningpersonMedieval Islamic WorldSultan Mahmud of Ghazni (361-421 AH / 971-1030 CE) was the most powerful Ghaznavid ruler, campaigning into the Indian subcontinent for nearly thirty years and making Ghaz…
  3. Muhammad of Ghor: Founder of Muslim Rule in IndiapersonMedieval Islamic WorldMu'izz al-Din Muhammad ibn Sam (1149–1206 CE), known as Muhammad of Ghor, was the Ghurid sultan whose conquests in northern India laid the foundations of the Delhi Sultan…
  4. Delhi Sultanate: Islamic Rule in Medieval IndiadynastySouth Asian IslamThe Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE) was a series of five successive Islamic dynasties that ruled northern India for over three centuries, establishing Muslim political pow…
  5. Qutb ud-Din Aibak: The First Sultan of DelhipersonSouth Asian IslamQutb ud-Din Aibak (d. 607 AH / 1210 CE) was the Turkish slave-commander who governed the Ghurid conquests in northern India for Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad of Ghor and, after …
  6. Mu'in al-Din Chishti: The Shaikh of AjmerpersonSouth Asian IslamMu'in al-Din Hasan Sijzi (d. 1236 CE) settled at Ajmer in Rajasthan and is held by the Chishti order to be its founder in India. His shrine became the most visited Muslim…
  7. Iltutmish: The True Founder of the Delhi SultanatepersonSouth Asian IslamShams al-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211–1236 CE) was the third sultan of Delhi and the ruler who consolidated the Delhi Sultanate into a stable, independent state. A former slave…
  8. Razia Sultana: The First Female Sultan of DelhipersonSouth Asian IslamRazia Sultana (1205-1240 CE) was the first and only female Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, ruling from 1236 to 1240 CE. She demonstrated exceptional administrative skill a…
  9. Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki: The Saint of MehraulipersonSouth Asian IslamQutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki (c. 1173-1235) was a Chishti Sufi from Farghana who settled in Delhi under Sultan Iltutmish after training under Mu'in al-Din Chishti. His grave a…
  10. Bahauddin Zakariya: The Suhrawardi Shaikh of MultanpersonSouth Asian IslamBaha al-Din Zakariya (d. 1262 or 1265 CE) was sent from Baghdad to Multan by his master Umar Suhrawardi and, with Jalal al-Din Tabrizi, established the Suhrawardi order i…
  11. Nizamuddin Auliya: The Chishti Master of DelhipersonSouth Asian IslamNizam al-Din Awliya (1239-1325 CE) was the Chishti master whose hospice outside Delhi became the centre of Sufi life in the subcontinent. He outlived a dozen sultans, def…
  12. Amir Khusraw: Poet of the Delhi Sultanate, 1253–1325personSouth Asian IslamAmir Khusraw (1253–1325) was a Persian-language poet of Delhi who wrote at the courts of the Balbanid, Khalji and early Tughluq sultans, and a disciple of the Chishti sha…
  13. Alauddin Khalji: Sultan of Delhi, 1296-1316personSouth Asian IslamAlauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316) was the second ruler of the Khalji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. His reign brought Gujarat, Rajasthan, Malwa and much of peninsular India…
  14. Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq: Founder of the Tughluq DynastypersonSouth Asian IslamGhiyath al-Din Tughluq (r. 1320-1325) rose from the Mongol frontier at Dipalpur to seize Delhi after the murder of the last Khalji sultan, founding the Tughluq dynasty. H…
  15. Muhammad bin Tughluq: The Scholar Sultan and His Failed ProjectspersonSouth Asian IslamMuhammad bin Tughluq (r. 1325-1351) ruled the Delhi Sultanate at its greatest extent and presided over its fragmentation. An unusually learned sultan, he attempted a seco…
  16. The Kingdom of Mysore: Dynasty and StatedynastySouth Asian IslamThe Kingdom of Mysore, ruled by the Hindu Wodeyar dynasty from 1399, became the most powerful state in southern India under its Muslim rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan be…
  17. The Mughal Empire: Three Centuries of Islamic Rule in the Indian SubcontinentdynastyMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire (1526-1857) ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for three centuries, from Babur's victory at Panipat to the deposition of Bahadur Shah Zafar. At its h…
  18. Babur: The Tiger of HindustanpersonMughal EmpireBabur (1483-1530), a Timurid prince who lost his Central Asian homeland, conquered Kabul, and founded the Mughal Empire in India after his victory at Panipat in 1526 — eq…
  19. Sher Shah Suri: The Administrator Who Interrupted the MughalspersonSouth Asian IslamSher Shah Suri (c. 1486-1545) drove the Mughal emperor Humayun out of India and ruled the north from 1540 to 1545. In five years he built a revenue system based on land m…
  20. Humayun: The Emperor Who Lost and Regained an EmpirepersonMughal EmpireHumayun (1508-1556), the second Mughal emperor, inherited Babur's unconsolidated conquests in 1530, lost them to Sher Shah Suri by 1540, spent some fifteen years in exile…
  21. Akbar: The Third Mughal EmperorpersonMughal EmpireAkbar (r. 1556-1605) turned the Mughal foothold in India into an empire of fifteen provinces. He rebuilt the central government, created the mansabdari service and the da…
  22. Jahangir: The Fourth Mughal EmperorpersonMughal EmpireJahangir (r. 1605-1627) succeeded Akbar as the fourth Mughal emperor. He issued twelve ordinances, hung a chain of justice at Agra, blinded and then had physicians treat …
  23. Shah Jahan: The Builder Emperor and the Limits of Mughal PowerpersonMughal EmpireShah Jahan (1592-1666), fifth Mughal emperor, ruled from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. His reign brought Mughal architecture to its height and drained the treasury i…
  24. Taj Mahal - Monument to Eternal LovebuildingMughal EmpireThe Taj Mahal (1632-1653 CE) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Located in Agra, India, this master…
  25. Aurangzeb Alamgir: The Last Great Mughal EmperorpersonMughal EmpireAurangzeb Alamgir (1618-1707 CE) was the sixth Mughal emperor, ruling nearly fifty years over the empire at its greatest extent. He commissioned the Fatawa-i Alamgiri, an…
  26. Shah Waliullah DehlawipersonSouth Asian IslamShah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703-1762 CE), pioneering Indian Islamic scholar and reformer who revitalized Islamic thought through synthesis of Islamic sciences, emphasis on i…
  27. Hyder Ali: The Rise of Mysore's Greatest RulerpersonSouth Asian IslamHyder Ali (1720-1782), the self-made military genius who rose from a minor officer to become the effective ruler of Mysore, transforming it into the most powerful state i…
  28. Ahmad Shah Durrani: Founder of the Durrani EmpirepersonSouth Asian IslamAhmad Shah Durrani (c. 1722-1772) founded the Durrani Empire at Kandahar in 1747 and is generally regarded as the founder of the modern Afghan state. He invaded India rep…
  29. Siraj-ud-Daulah: The Last Independent Nawab of BengalpersonSouth Asian IslamSiraj-ud-Daulah (c. 1729-1757) was the last independent Nawab of Bengal, whose brief reign ended in defeat at Plassey after his commander Mir Jafar defected to the Britis…
  30. Tipu Sultan: The Tiger of MysorepersonSouth Asian IslamTipu Sultan (1750-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, was a military innovator, administrative reformer, and one of the most formidable opponents of British colonial expansion in…
  31. Akbar Shah II: A Mughal Emperor Without an EmpirepersonMughal EmpireAkbar Shah II (r. 1806-1837) was the penultimate Mughal emperor, holding a Delhi court that kept its ceremonial and literary life while the East India Company reduced its…
  32. Bahadur Shah Zafar: The Last Mughal EmperorpersonMughal EmpireBahadur Shah Zafar (r. 1837-1857) was the last Mughal emperor, a calligrapher and celebrated Urdu poet reigning over a Delhi court stripped of real power. Reluctantly mad…
  33. Begum Hazrat Mahal: Regent of Awadh in the Revolt of 1857personModern EraBegum Hazrat Mahal (c. 1820-1879) was a consort of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh who, after the British annexation of 1856, became regent for her son Birjis Qadr and led …
  34. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: Reformer, Educator, and Architect of Muslim Modernity in IndiapersonModern EraSir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was an Indian Muslim reformer and educator who founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875, which became Aligarh Musl…
  35. The Sufi Orders in South Asian IslammovementSouth Asian IslamFour Sufi orders shaped religious life in the Indian subcontinent: the Chishti, Naqshbandi, Qadiri and Suhrawardi. This article traces how they functioned there in the ei…
  36. Zulfiqar Ali DeobandipersonSouth Asian IslamAn Indian scholar, educator and writer associated with the founding of Darul Uloom Deoband and with its first consultative council for nearly four decades. He taught at B…
  37. Darul Uloom Deoband: The Seminary and the School of ThoughtinstitutionSouth Asian IslamDarul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary founded in northern India in 1866 or 1867 and the origin of the Deobandi school of thought. Its innovation was institutional: i…
  38. Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi and the Barelvi MovementmovementSouth Asian IslamAhmed Raza Khan of Bareilly (1856-1921) was an Indian Hanafi jurist, Sufi of the Qadiri order and prolific writer whose defence of the veneration due to the Prophet and t…
  39. The Ahl-i Hadis MovementmovementSouth Asian IslamA nineteenth-century Indian Sunni movement that set aside the authority of the historic schools of law in favour of direct recourse to the Qur'an and hadith. Led by schol…
  40. The Deobandi MovementmovementSouth Asian IslamA school of Sunni thought and practice that grew from the seminary founded at Deoband in northern India in 1866 or 1867. Its scholars combined the roles of jurist and Suf…
  41. Mahmud Hasan DeobandipersonSouth Asian IslamThe first student of Darul Uloom Deoband, afterwards its chief teacher and rector, known by the title Shaykh al-Hind. He organised the Silken Letters scheme of 1916 again…
  42. Abadi Bano Begum (Bi Amma): Mother of the Khilafat MovementpersonModern EraAbadi Bano Begum (1852-1924), known affectionately as Bi Amma, was the mother of the Ali Brothers and one of the first Muslim women to enter Indian nationalist politics, …
  43. Shaukat Ali: The Organizer of the Khilafat MovementpersonModern EraShaukat Ali (1873-1938) was an Indian Muslim leader who co-led the Khilafat Movement with his brother Mohammad Ali Jauhar. Known as the organizational force behind the mo…
  44. Hasrat Mohani: The Revolutionary Poet of Indian IndependencepersonModern EraHasrat Mohani (1875-1951) was an Indian Muslim poet, journalist, and freedom fighter who coined the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' and was the first to demand complete indepe…
  45. Mufti Kifayatullah DehlawipersonSouth Asian IslamAn Indian Hanafi jurist widely titled Mufti-e-Azam, or Grand Mufti of India. He led Madrasa Aminia in Delhi for nearly half a century, was a founder and twice president o…
  46. Anwar Shah KashmiripersonSouth Asian IslamA Kashmiri scholar of hadith who rose to be chief teacher and shaykh al-hadith at Darul Uloom Deoband, and led it after 1915. His lectures became the Arabic commentaries …
  47. Shaykh al-Islam Husain Ahmad Madani: Scholar of Hadith and Advocate of Composite NationalismpersonSouth Asian IslamHusain Ahmad Madani (1879-1957) was an Indian scholar of hadith who taught in Medina, was interned by the British on Malta, and led Darul Uloom Deoband as Shaykh al-Hadit…
  48. Allama Iqbal: The Poet-Philosopher of the EastpersonSouth Asian IslamAllama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938 CE) was a poet-philosopher and political leader considered the spiritual father of Pakistan. His poetry, philosophical works, and vision …
  49. Mohammad Ali Jauhar: The Voice of the Khilafat MovementpersonModern EraMohammad Ali Jauhar (1878-1931) was an Indian Muslim leader, journalist, and orator who co-led the Khilafat Movement with his brother Shaukat Ali, forged a Hindu-Muslim a…
  50. Muhammad Ilyas KandhlawipersonSouth Asian IslamThe Indian scholar who founded the Tablighi Jamaat in the Mewat region during the 1920s. Trained at Darul Uloom Deoband under Mahmud Hasan, he built a movement of lay rel…
  51. Shabbir Ahmad UsmanipersonSouth Asian IslamA scholar of hadith and Qur'anic commentary, chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. He completed Mahmud Hasan's Qur'an glosses, began the Arabic commentary Fath al-Mulhim on …
  52. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: Scholar, Theologian, and Architect of Indian EducationpersonModern EraMaulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958) was a leading Islamic scholar and independence leader of the twentieth century. A theologian, journalist, and statesman, he served as …
  53. Abdul Ghaffar Khan: The Frontier Gandhi and Apostle of Non-ViolencepersonModern EraKhan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890–1988), known as Badshah Khan and the Frontier Gandhi, was a Pashtun independence leader and apostle of non-violence who founded the Khudai K…
  54. Zakir Husain Khan: Educationist, Philosopher, and President of IndiapersonModern EraDr. Zakir Husain Khan (1897–1969) was an educationist, philosopher, and statesman of independent India. A founder and Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Vice-Chance…
  55. Mufti Muhammad ShafipersonSouth Asian IslamA Hanafi jurist who served as head mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband and founded Darul Uloom Karachi in 1951. His Urdu commentary Ma'arif al-Qur'an, which began as a radio pro…
  56. Muhammad Zakariya KandhlawipersonSouth Asian IslamA hadith scholar of Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur who taught for over fifty years and wrote a six-volume Arabic commentary on Malik's Muwatta. His Urdu devotional tracts, coll…
  57. Muhammad Idris KandhlawipersonSouth Asian IslamA scholar of hadith and Qur'anic commentary who taught at Darul Uloom Deoband, Hyderabad State, Bahawalpur and Lahore. He wrote an eight-volume Urdu tafsir, an Arabic com…
  58. Ashfaqulla Khan: Poet and Revolutionary of the Kakori ConspiracypersonModern EraAshfaqulla Khan (1900-1927) was an Indian Muslim revolutionary and poet who co-organized the 1925 Kakori train robbery with Ram Prasad Bismil to fund the anti-colonial Hi…
  59. Abul A'la MaududipersonSouth Asian IslamA journalist, Qur'anic commentator and political thinker who founded the Jamaat-e-Islami at Lahore in 1941. His six-volume Urdu commentary Tafhim al-Qur'an and his writin…
  60. Muhammad Yusuf KandhlawipersonSouth Asian IslamThe second leader of the Tablighi Jamaat, who directed it from 1944 to 1965 and oversaw its spread beyond South Asia. A graduate of Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur, he compiled …
  61. The Tablighi JamaatmovementSouth Asian IslamA movement of lay religious preaching founded by Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi in the Mewat region of northern India in the 1920s. Built on short preaching tours undertaken by…
  62. The Jamaat-e-IslamiorganizationSouth Asian IslamAn organisation founded by Abul A'la Maududi at Lahore in August 1941 to form a disciplined body of Muslims who would remake society according to Islamic norms. After the…
  63. Shah Ahmad ShafipersonSouth Asian IslamA Bangladeshi scholar of hadith who led the seminary at Hathazari in Chittagong for more than three decades and chaired the country's Qawmi madrasa education board. Train…
  64. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: The People's President and Missile Man of IndiapersonModern EraAvul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam served as India's eleventh President (2002–2007) and was a principal architect of the country's missile programme and a coordinator of…
  65. Muhammad Rafi UsmanipersonSouth Asian IslamA Pakistani Hanafi jurist who led Darul Uloom Karachi as its president from 1986 until his death in 2022. Titled Grand Mufti, he served on Pakistan's Council of Islamic I…
  66. Muhammad Taqi UsmanipersonSouth Asian IslamA Pakistani Hanafi jurist and writer on Islamic law, trained at Darul Uloom Karachi and in economics and law at Karachi and Punjab. He served on Pakistan's higher courts,…
  67. Islamic Education in the Modern EraconceptModern EraIslamic learning from the nineteenth century to the present. The classical pattern of mosque school, madrasa and scholarly circle met colonial and state education systems…

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