Syed Ahmad Barelvi

Syed Ahmad Barelvi
Grave of Syed Ahmad in 2014
Personal life
Born(1786-11-29)29 November 1786
Died6 May 1831(1831-05-06) (aged 44)
Main interest(s)Islamic fundamentalism, Anti-Shi'ism, Hadith, jihad
Known forIslamic revivalism
Other namesShaheed-e-Balakot, Imam-ul-Mujahidin
Religious life
ReligionSunni Islam
JurisprudenceAhl-i Hadith
CreedAthari
Senior posting

Syed Ahmad Barelvi, also known as Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, (1786–1831) was an Indian Islamic revivalist, scholar, and military commander from Raebareli, a part of the historical United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (now called Uttar Pradesh). He launched the Indian jihad movement that waged a decades-long Islamic revolt against colonial rule across various provinces of British India. Sayyid Ahmad is revered as a major scholarly authority in the Ahl-i Hadith and Deobandi movements. The epithet 'Barelvi' is derived from Raebareli, his place of origin.

Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi wrote Seerat-i-Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed, the first historical biography of Syed Ahmad Barelvi.