(b. 1564, Sirhind, Patiala; d. 1624, Sirhind), Indian mystic and theologian largely responsible for the reassertion and revival in India of orthodox Sunni Islam as a reaction against the syncretistic religious tendencies prevalent during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar.
Initially educated at home, Shaykh Ahmad received instructions in the Holy Quran, Hadith, and theology in Sirhind and Sialkot. Later, he devoted himself to the study of Hadith, Tafseer, and philosophy. He joined the mystical order, Naqshbandiyah Silsilah, the most important of the Indian Sufi orders, under the discipleship of Khawaja Baqi Billah, in 1593-94. Emperor Akbar's religion, Din-i-Ilahi, an amalgamation of Hindu and Muslim beliefs, had taken a strong hold in the country. Shaykh Ahmad spent his life preaching against the inclination of Akbar and his successor, Jahangir (1605-27), towards pantheism and Shia Islam (one of that religion's two major branches). Of his several written works, the most famous is Maktubat , a compilation of his letters written in Persian to his friends in India and the region north of the Oxus river.
A measure of his importance in the development of Islamic orthodoxy in India is the title that was bestowed posthumously on him, Mujaddid-e-Alfe Sani (Renewer of the Second Millennium), a reference to the fact that he lived at the beginning of the second millennium of the Muslim calendar. His teachings were not always popular in official circles. In 1619, by the orders of emperor Jahangir who was offended by his aggressive opposition to Shiite views, Shaykh Ahmad was temporarily imprisoned in the fortress at Gwalior. His burial place at Sirhind is a site of pilgrimage.
Shaykh Ahmad's greatest contribution was opposing the unorthodox Sufism and mystic beliefs. He organized the Naqshbandiya order to reform the society and spread the Sharia among the people. Among the many books he wrote, his greatest work on Islamic philosophy was the Tauheed-i-Shuhudi .
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