Born Under a Fading Empire, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Lit the Torch That Transformed Muslim India Forever

October 17 is the birthday of famous Islamic reformer, philosopher, educator, scholar and the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Date of Birth: 17 October 1817

– Place: Delhi, Mughal Empire

– Ruling Monarch: Akbar II, the penultimate Mughal emperor (reigned 1806–1837)

At the time of Sir Syed’s birth, the Mughal Empire was a shadow of its former glory—its authority largely symbolic, with real power held by the British East India Company. Akbar II’s court was more ceremonial than sovereign, and Delhi had become a city caught between fading grandeur and colonial encroachment.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

Sir Syed’s birth under a declining Mughal regime deeply influenced his worldview. He witnessed firsthand the erosion of Muslim political power and the rise of British dominance. This backdrop shaped his reformist zeal—his push for modern education, scientific thinking, and Muslim upliftment through institutions like the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (later Aligarh Muslim University).Sir Syed is considered as one of the most important architects of modern India.

Sir Syed was born in a family that had previously served the Mughal court for nearly two and a half centuries. He was descended from the family of Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah and Ali. As a child, he was brought up in a Sufi household by his maternal grandfather Khwaja Fariduddin who was among the descendants of the 12th Sufi scholar of Naqshbandi Tariqa, Khwaja Mohammad Yusuf Hamdani.

The Indian Uprising of 1857 was one of the major turning points in Syed Ahmed’s life. He foresaw the imperative need for the Muslims to acquire proficiency in the English language and modern sciences, if the community were to maintain its social and political clout, particularly in Northern India.

He began to prepare the road map for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. He instituted Scientific Society in 1863, launched The Aligarh Institute Gazette in 1866, and founded the Madrasatul Uloom in Aligarh in 1875. The Madrasatul Uloom later became the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1877.

He patterned MAO College after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he went on a trip to London in 1869. Later, the same MAO College turned into the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. The year 2020 marks the 100 years of the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University.

Apart from education and social reforms, Sir Syed contributed a lot to the religious, legal, historical, and political disciplines of learnings. He wrote several books, journals, and articles on different subjects. Today, Sir Syed is not only celebrated by the Indians or Pakistanis but by the peoples from all around the world. He died on March 27, 1898, and lies buried next to the main mosque at AMU.