Ahmad Sirhindi

"It is therefore enjoined upon every Muslim to wage a regular crusade against all innovations."

"Therefore, it is necessary that infidelity should be cursed in order to serve the faith (Islam). Cursing unbelief in the heart is the lesser way. The greater way is to curse it in the heart as well as with the body. In short, cursing means to nourish enmity towards enemies of the true faith, whether that enmity is harboured in the heart when there is fear of injury from them (infidels), or it is harboured in the heart as well as served with the body when there is no fear of injury from them. In the opinion of this recluse, there is no greater way to obtain the blessings of Allah than to curse the enemies of the faith (be impatient with them). For Allah himself harbours enmity towards the infidels and infidelity… Once I went to visit a sick man who was close to death. When I meditated on him, I saw that his heart was layered with darknesses. I intended to remove those darknesses. But he was not yet ready for it… When I meditated more deeply, I discovered that those darknesses had gathered due to his friendship with the infidels. They could not be dispersed easily. He had to suffer torments of hell before he could get purged of them…"

"As Ayesha Jalal points out, he was “a firm believer in the need to use state power to enforce Islam”."

"Sirhindi argues one should adhere to the Prophet’s sunna and to the shari‘a, which was most comprehensive and “the essence of all heavenly books was included in the Koran Hence all those who pinned their faith on the Shari‘a were superior to all peoples and nations who did not He condemned the study of philosophy and the beliefs of the Mutazilas and their followers, in most emphatic terms”"

"His is perhaps the most distinct contribution of Indian Islam to the religio-mystical thought of Islam in general. But, on the other hand his easy victory, especially the one against the rationalists, gave to Indian Islam the rigid and conservative stamp it bears today. In a way he was the pioneer ot what modern Islam is today in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent—isolationist, self-confident, conservative, deeply conscious of the need of a reformation but distrustful of innovations, accepting speculation in theory but dreading it in practice, and insular in its contact with other civilizations. This is not surprising because at one time or other the intellectual leaders of modern Muslim India, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Iqbal and Abu’l Kalam Azad, widely different though their religious and political solutions have been, had come under the influence of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi."

"Every person cherishes some longing in his heart. The only longing which this recluse (meaning himself) cherishes is that the enemies of Allah and his Prophet should be roughed up. The accursed ones should be humiliated, and their false gods disgraced and defiled. I know that Allah likes and loves no other act more than this. That is why I have been encouraging you again and again to act in this way. Now that you have yourself arrived at that place, and have been appointed to defile and insult that dirty spot and its inhabitants, I feel grateful for this grace (from Allah). There are many who go to this place for pilgrimage. Allah in his kindness has not inflicted this punishment on us. After giving thanks to Allah, you should do your best to ruin that place and their false gods… whether the idols are carved or uncarved. Let us hope that you will not act slow. Physical weakness and severity of the cold weather, comes in my way. Otherwise, I would have presented myself, and helped you in doing the job. I would have liked to participate in the ceremony and mutilate the stones…"