Shah Wali Allah of Delhi’s Hujjat Allah al-Baligha

The Conclusive Argument from God is the master work of Shah Wali Allah of Delhi (1762), considered to be the most important Muslim thinker of pre-modern South Asia. This work, originally written in Arabic, represents a synthesis of the Islamic intellectual disciplines authoritative in the eighteenth century. In order to argue for the rational, ethical and spiritual basis for the implementation of the Hadith injunctions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Shah Wali Allah develops a cohesive scheme of the metaphysical, psychological, and social knowledge of his time. This work provides an extensive and detailed picture of Muslim theology and interpretive strategies on the eve of the modern period and is still evoked by numerous contemporary Islamic thinkers. Marcia K. Hermansen, Ph. D. (1982) in Islamic Studies, University of Chicago, is Professor at Theology Department, Loyola University, Chicago. She has published numerous articles on classical Islamic thought, mysticism, Islam in South Asia, Muslims in North America, and other topics.