The Need for an Additional Qualification

his efforts to stabilizing the Muslim empire. He urged the Muslim rulers of his era to take up arms and fight their enemies to defeat them. (Al-Tafhimat al-Ilahiyyah by Shah Waliullah, 1936, Vol. 1, pp. 215-216). He also encouraged Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Kabul, to invade India to diminish the power of the Sikhs and Marathas, thereby securing the Mughal Empire. However, Shah Waliullah’s approach appears to have been shaped by immediate and visible circumstances. He remained unaware of the new global wave that was gradually emerging—what may be called the era of democracy. Shah Waliullah regarded himself as Qayem-uzZaman, the reviver of his age (Fuyooz ul Haramain, p. 111). Yet his overall thought process continued to operate within the framework of a bygone monarchical order. He did not grasp the significance of the coming democratic age, in which the principle of popular sovereignty would become dominant and give rise to the critical question of majority and minority relations. Had Shah Waliullah understood the direction of these changing times, he might have concentrated his efforts on introducing Islam to the world. The essence of this work was that, even if the Mughal Empire were to fall, Muslims could still maintain a strong and influential position. Unfortunately, Shah Waliullah failed to recognize the transformative importance of introducing Islam to the world. His renowned book Hujjatullah al-Baligha covers