Abstract
Ibn Taymiyyah (661-728) is one of the most dynamic and seminal personalities in the history of Islam. Born in an age which was characterized by large number of distortions and riots in the Muslim society, he struggled hard to revive Muslim society through inward animation and re-interpretation of its values in the light of a new spirit of ijtih┐d (interpretation of law) based on direct recourse to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He came to be hailed as the mujaddid of his age whose thoughts influenced not only his contemporaries in the Muslim heartlands but reached far beyond. After Shah Wali Ullah, the most powerful advocate of Ibn Taymiyyah's ideology was Nawab Sayyid Muhammad Siddiq Hasan Khan (1832-1890), a veteran scholar and prolific writer from Bhopal. He strove hard to propagate Ibn Taymiyyah's ideas and, moreover, to remove misunderstandings by presenting them in their proper historical perspective. His Ittihaf al Nubala, Abjad al-'Ulum, Tiqsar Juyud al Ahrar and al-Taj al-Mukallal contain eloquent tributes to Ibn Taymiyyah’s contribution to Islamic thought. He considered him and his pupil Hafiz Ibn Qayyim as the mujaddids of the seventh century AH. Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan had Nu'man Alusi's Jala'al-'Aynayn published in Cairo. He strengthened the ideological prominence of Ibn Taymiyyah by undertaking the publication of a number of works which either elucidated his thought or provided ideological arguments for defending his religious views. Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan also concentrated his attention on rejection of taqlid, return to the Qur'an and Hadith as sources of law, and rejection of bid'at. He was in touch with the 'Ulama of Hadith in Yemen and through them would keep himself fully informed of the numerous works of Ibn Taymiyyah and his distinguished followers. Nawab Siddique Hassan Khan was himself not only a king but also a great reformer of his age. His contibution about revival and reformation of Islamic society is also admirable. This article is a brief study of struggles of Nawab Siddiq Hasan khan for promoting and dissiminating the thoughts of Ibn Taymiyyah in the Indian historical context.