Machine summary:
At the age of four years, four months, and four days, Syed Ahmad was sent to school, but despite this meticulous· observance of a popular custom, he proved the despair of his teachers.
When the Syed presented himself to Shah 'Abdul- 'Aziz for this purpose, the latter remarked, 'Though God has not willed to place the Syed under the obligation of following any leader in this path, yet in order to satisfy the public I formally accept his allegiance.
But for the study of the social conditions of Indian Muslims in particular we have to turn to another book, namely Herklots' Islam in India.
have been largely engrafted on the system prescribed in the Koran Thus in Northern India tribes like the Rajputs and Jats or other castes which have accepted Islam have both a Hindu and a Muslim branch, and members of the latter often supplement the orthodox ritual of Islam by Hindu marriage or death rites, follow Hindu rules of succession to real and personal property, and particularly in times of trouble reverence the local village deities.
Such were the Social condition and the people whom Syed Ahmad, Shah Isma'il and 'Abdul-Hayy sought to reform.
Early in the morning, next day, the Syed found his fifty Qandharis fighting against an overwhelming majority of the Sikhs, while Khadai Khan's followers, burdened with goods, were escaping in various directions.
A man was sent, as soon as the attack was made, to inform the Syed, but he conveyed the message at a time when the Sikhs had already occupied the entrance.