Mujaddid

A mujaddid (مجدد), is an Islamic term for one who brings "renewal" (تجديد) to the religion. According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revitalize Islam, cleansing it of extraneous elements and restoring it to its pristine purity. In contemporary times, a mujaddid is looked upon as the greatest Muslim of a century.

The concept is based on a hadith (a saying of Islamic prophet Muhammad), recorded by Abu Dawood, narrated by Abu Hurairah who mentioned that Muhammad said:

"Allah will raise for this community at the end of every 100 years the one who will renovate its religion for it."

Ikhtilaf (disagreements) exist among different hadith viewers. Scholars such as Al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani have interpreted that the term mujaddid can also be understood as plural, thus referring to a group of people.

Mujaddids can include prominent scholars, pious rulers and military commanders.

List of Sunni claimants and potential mujaddids
While there is no formal mechanism for designating a mujaddid in Sunni Islam, there is often a popular consensus. The Shia and Ahmadiyya have their own list of mujaddids.

First century (after the prophetic period) (August 3, 718)

 * Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (682–720)

Second century (August 10, 815)

 * Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i (767–820)
 * Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855)

Third century (August 17, 912)

 * Muhammad al-Bukhari (810–870)
 * Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936)

Fourth Century (August 24, 1009)

 * Hakim al-Nishaburi (933–1012)
 * Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani (950–1013)

Fifth century (September 1, 1106)

 * Ibn Hazm (994–1064)
 * Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111)
 * Abdul Qadir Jilani (1078–1166)

Sixth century (September 9, 1203)

 * Salauddin Ayyubi (1137–1193)
 * Ibn Qudamah (1147–1223)
 * Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji (1148–1206)
 * Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1210)
 * Abu al-Qasim al-Rafi'i (1160-1226)

Seventh century (September 15, 1300)

 * Ibn Daqiq al-'Id (1228–1302)
 * Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328)
 * Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292–1350)

Eighth century (September 23, 1397)

 * Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini (1324–1403)
 * Tamerlane (Timur) (1336–1405)
 * Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (1372–1448)

Ninth century (October 1, 1494)

 * Shah Rukh (1377–1447)
 * Mehmet II (1432–1481)
 * Zakariyya al-Ansari (1420-1520)
 * Jalaludin Al-Suyuti (1445–1505)

Tenth century (October 19, 1591)

 * Selim I (1470–1520)
 * Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566)
 * Shams al-Din al-Ramli (1513-1596)
 * Ahmad Sirhindi (1564–1624)

Eleventh century (October 26, 1688)

 * Khayr al-Din al-Ramli (1585–1671)
 * Mahiuddin Aurangzeb Alamgir (1618–1707)
 * Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad (1634–1720)

Twelfth century (November 4, 1785)

 * Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703–1762)
 * Murtaḍá al-Zabīdī (1732–1790)
 * Shah Abdul Aziz Delhwi (1745–1823)
 * Tipu Sultan (1750–1799)
 * Usman Dan Fodio (1754–1817)
 * Syed Ahmad Barelvi (1786–1831)
 * Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (1796–1861)

Thirteenth century (November 14, 1882)

 * Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905)
 * Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (1851–1920)
 * Ahmad Raza Khan (1856–1925)
 * Amadou Bamba (1853–1927)

Fourteenth century (November 21, 1979)

 * Ashraf Ali Thanwi (1863–1943)
 * Said Nursî (1878–1960)
 * Abdul-Rahman al-Sa'di (1889–1957)
 * Abul A'la Maududi (1903–1979)
 * Murabit al-Hajj (1913 - 2018)
 * Muhammad 'Alawi al-Maliki (1944–2004)

Claimants in other traditions

 * Mulla Sadra Shirazi (1571–1640)
 * Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898)
 * Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908)