While continuing to work as a junior clerk, Sir Syed began focusing on writing, from the age of 23 (in 1840), on various subjects (from
mechanics to educational issues), mainly in Urdu, where he wrote, at least, 6000 pages. He also wrote a well known book on archaeology called Athar-ul-Sandeed. He also developed interest in literature as he met a few of India's well known writers.
Religious works Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's career as an author began when he published a series of treatises in Urdu on religious subjects in 1842. In his early religious writings his religious thoughts were more orthodox; over time, with his increasing contact with the West, his views gradually became more independent. His early works show the influence of
Sufism and his upbringing in Delhi. The main themes of these works are popularisation of the practices of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad as the one true path and the desire to reform the lives of Indian Muslims from religious innovations, thus endeavoring for the purity of Islamic belief in India. in line with the reformist ideas of
Shah Waliullah. It was prose for recitation on
Mawlid written in idiomatic Urdu. He published his second treatise
Tuhfa-i Hasan (
The Gift to Hasan) in 1844 on the encouragement of his friend Nur al Hasan. The tenth chapter deals and answers the Shia accusations against the
Sahabi and Hazrat
Aisha and the twelfth deals with the Shia doctrines of
tawalli and
tabarri. His third treatise, entitled
Kalimat al-Haqq (
The True Discourse), was published in 1849. The first part of the work is devoted to the concept of
piri. In this part, he argues that Muhammad is the only valid pir. The work's second part is focused on
muridi and the notion of ''
bay'ah.
He calls for reforms in the pir-murid relationship and the associated practises. Rah i Sunna dar radd i Bid'a
(The Sunna and the Rejection of Innovations
), his fourth treatise, was published in 1850. In this work, he expressed his opposition to certain religious practices and beliefs of his fellow Muslims, which he felt were mixed with innovation and deviated from the true Sunnah. In 1852 he published Namiqa dar bayan masala tasawwur-i-Shaikh
(A Letter Explaining the Teaching of tasawwur i shaikh
), in which he defended tasawwur-i-Shaikh'', the Sufi practice of visualising within, the image of one's spiritual guide. In 1853 he translated some passages of
al-Ghazali's ''
Kimiya al-Sa'ada (The Alchemy of Happiness
). It was published in Urdu and English in three parts from 1862 to 1865 under the title Tabin al-al-kalam Fi tafsir altawrat Wa ‘I-injil’ala millat al Islam
(Elucidation of the World in Commentary of the Torah and Gospel According to the Religion of Islam''). While the first part deals with the Islamic approach towards biblical writings, the second and third part contains commentary on the
Book of Genesis and the
Gospel of Matthew respectively.
Essays on the Life of Muhammad In 1869 he wrote ''Al-Khutbat al-Ahmadiya fi'l Arab wa'I Sirat al-Muhammadiya
(A Series of Essays on the Life of Prophet
Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary Therein'') as a rejoinder to
William Muir's widely known four-part book,
The Life of Mahomet published in 1864. He was deeply distressed by Muir's portrayal of Islam and the character of Muhammad. He was concerned that the book might create doubts among the younger generation of Muslims. In order to prepare for the book, he accompanied his son to England, as he wanted to get a first-hand impression of Western civilisation. He was also a reader of
Darwin and, while not agreeing with all of his ideas, he could be described as a sort of
theistic evolutionist like his contemporary
Asa Gray. Syed Ahmad was one of the first in the Islamic world to adopt this view. His arguments in favour of the idea were based on both findings from his own scientific research and quotes from earlier Islamic scholars like
Al-Jahiz,
Ibn Khaldun and
Shah Waliullah.
Tafsir-ul-Quran Sir Syed started working on a
tafsir, or commentary on the
Quran, in 1877. It was published as
Tafsir ul-Quran in seven volumes; the first volume appeared in 1880 and the last volume was published six years after his death in 1904. In this work, he analysed and interpreted 16
paras and 13
surahs of the Quran.
Historical works History was Sir Syed's preferred area of study and in 1840, Sir Syed compiled a book of chronological tables about the Timurid rulers of Delhi from
Timur to Bahadur Shah Zafar at the behest of Robert N. C. Hamilton, his patron. It was later published under the title
Jam-i-Jum (''Jamshed's Cup
). In Silsilat-ul-Mulk'' he compiled the biographical data of all the rulers of Delhi in history. During his stay in Bijnor, he wrote a history on the city of Bijnor, but it was destroyed during the 1857 rebellion. He also wrote critical editions of books like
Ziauddin Barani's
Tarikh-e-Firoz Shahi published in 1862, and
Tuzk-e-Jahangiri published in 1864. However, his most important historical works that brought him fame as a scholar were the two editions of
Asar-us-Sanadid and that of the
Ain-e-Akbari.
Asar-us-Sanadid In 1847, he published the book
Asar-us-Sanadid (
The Remnants of Ancient Heroes) documenting antiquities of Delhi dating from the medieval era. The work is divided into four sections: the first describes the buildings outside the city of Delhi; the second describes the buildings around the Delhi Fort; the third describes the monuments in Shahjahanabad; and the last section presents a brief historical account of the various settlements of Delhi It also contained around 130 illustrations drawn by Faiz Ali Khan and Mirza Shahrukh Beg, which were the first lithographically produced book illustrations in India. Syed Ahmad released the second edition of
Ansar-as-Sanadid in 1854. However, the second edition was radically different from the first – the second was abbreviated and more factual. This work brought Sir Syed a wider fame and earned him the reputation of a cultured scholar. In 1861, it was translated into French by
Gracin de Tassy in Paris. Having finished the work to his satisfaction, and believing that
Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib was a person who would appreciate his labours, Syed Ahmad approached the great Ghalib to write a
taqriz (in the convention of the times, a laudatory foreword) for it. Ghalib obliged, but what he did produce was a short Persian poem castigating the A'in-e Akbari, and by implication, the imperial, sumptuous, literate and learned Mughal culture of which it was a product. The least that could be said against it was that the book had little value even as an antique document. Ghalib practically reprimanded Syed Ahmad Khan for wasting his talents and time on dead things. Worse, he praised sky-high the "sahibs of England" who at that time held all the keys to all the a’ins in this world. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan never again wrote a word in praise of the ''A'in-e Akbari
and in fact gave up taking an active interest in history and archaeology. He did edit another two historical texts over the next few years, but neither of them was anything like the A'in'': a vast and triumphalist document on the governance of Akbar.
Political works During the uprising of 1857, Sir Syed was posted as a chief assessment officer at the court in
Bijnor. He recorded the history of the mutiny in
Tarikh i Sarkashi-ye Bijnor (
History of the Bijnor Rebellion), which was published in 1858. He was deeply worried about the consequences of the mutiny for his fellow Muslims in particular.
Causes of the Indian Revolt Sir Syed supported the
East India Company during the
1857 uprising, a role which has been criticised by some nationalists such as
Jamaluddin Afghani. In 1859 Sir Syed published the booklet
Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (
The Causes of the Indian Revolt) in Urdu in which he studied the causes of the Indian revolt. In this, his most famous work, he rejected the common notion that the conspiracy was planned by Muslim elites, who resented the diminishing influence of Muslim monarchs. He blamed the East India Company for its
aggressive expansion as well as the ignorance of British politicians regarding Indian culture. Sir Syed advised the British to appoint Muslims to assist in administration, to prevent what he called ‘haramzadgi’ (a vulgar deed) such as the mutiny. Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali wrote in the biography of Sir Syed that: "As soon as Sir Syed reached Muradabad, he began to write the pamphlet entitled
The Causes of the Indian Revolt (
Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind), in which he did his best to clear the people of India, and especially the Muslims, of the charge of Mutiny. In spite of the obvious danger, he made a courageous and thorough report of the accusations people were making against the Government and refused theory which the British had invented to explain the causes of the Mutiny." When the work was finished, without waiting for an English translation, Sir Syed sent the Urdu version to be printed at the Mufassilat Gazette Press in Agra. Within a few weeks, he received 500 copies back from the printers. One of his friends warned him not to send the pamphlet to the British Parliament or to the Government of India. Rae Shankar Das, a great friend of Sir Syed, begged him to burn the books rather than put his life in danger. Later, Sir Syed was invited to attend Lord Canning's
durbar in Farrukhabad and happened to meet the foreign secretary there. He told Sir Syed that he was displeased with the pamphlet and added that if he had really had the government's interests at heart, he would not have made his opinion known in this way throughout the country; he would have communicated it directly to the government. Sir Syed replied that he had only had 500 copies printed, the majority of which he had sent to England, one had been given to the government of India, and the remaining copies were still in his possession. Furthermore, he had the receipt to prove it. He was aware, he added, that the view of the rulers had been distorted by the stress and anxieties of the times, which made it difficult to put even the most straightforward problem in its right perspective. It was for this reason that he had not communicated his thoughts publicly. He promised that for every copy that could be found circulating in India he would personally pay 1,000 rupees. At first, Beadon was not convinced and asked Sir Syed over and over again if he was sure that no other copy had been distributed in India. Sir Syed reassured him on this matter, and Beadon never mentioned it again. Later he became one of Sir Syed's strongest supporters. Many official translations were made of the Urdu text of
The Causes of the Indian Revolt. The one undertaken by the India Office formed the subject of many discussions and debates. The pamphlet was also translated by the government of India and several members of parliament, but no version was offered to the public. A translation which had been started by
Auckland Colvin, a government official was finished by Sir Syed's friend, Colonel G.F.I. Graham, and finally published in 1873.
Loyal Muhammadans of India In 1860, Sir Syed wrote a series of bilingual pamphlets called the Risala Khair Khwahan-e Musalmanan-e-Hind (An Account of the Loyal Mohammedans of India) from Meerut containing episodes in the life of those Muslims who stood by the British during the 1857 uprising. The first issue highlighted the bravery of those Muslims who stood by the British while the second issue carried an article on jihad in which he makes a clear distinction between jihad and rebellion. and argued that the Muslims were a threat to the Empire. Hunter links Wahhabism with rebellion and terms them as self-stylised jihadis. His accusations led to the prosecution of Muslims in India especially in the North Western Provinces and those associated with Wahhabism were severely punished. Sir Syed based his arguments upon Muhammad's own conduct during holy wars. ==Muslim reformer==