Taqvia tul Eman (Strengthening of the Faith) A controversial book on Scholastic Philosophy.

Abstract

Mawlānā Muḥammad Ismā’īl Shāhīd was a scholar, writer, orator and a soldier of Islam. He was martyred at Balakot in 1831. He was the continuity of Tajdīd movement of Mujaddid Alif Thānī. He fought against the customs which were not authorized by the practice of Haḍrat Muḥammad peace be upon him.

Shāh Ismā’īl wrote a book on Tawḥid wa Sunnah in Persian language which was named “Radd ul-Ishrāk”. He wrote the first chapter with more details in Urdu and named this book “Taqwiyyah-tul-Īmān”. He preached the Tawḥid (Monotheism) and rejected the Shirk (Polytheism). This book was written in or before 1817 A.D. Some of the Ulama of Dehli opposed the book for some reasons. Shāh was blamed for using the improper language. A paragraph of that book was declared unacceptable according to the Islamic faiths and creeds. He justified his views and tried to prove his point of view.

Shāh Ismā’īl, although, was writing on faith, but it is his achievement that he also depicted the social and socio religious life of the people of India. Moreover, he wrote his book in such an idiom and language which is living style of prose up to date. It is concluded that his book is an example of modern prose.