Syed Ahmad Khan and Muslim Modernism

Multiple-Choice Questions

1 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was born in:
(a) Delhi (b) Aligarh
(c) Lahore (d) None of these

2 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was born in:
(a) 1817 (b) 1877
(c) 1898 (d) None of these

3 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan is particularly associated with:
(a) The Aligarh Movement (b) The Deoband Movement
(c) The Faraizi Movement (d) None of these

4 Sir Syed’s father was:
(a) Mir Muttaqi (b) Shah Abdul Rahim
(c) Sheikh Noor Muhammad (d) None of these

5 Sir Syed joined the service of:
(a) The British East India Company (b) The Mughal army
(c) The Ottoman navy (d) None of these

6 Sir Syed’s famous work on the causes of the Indian uprising was:
(a) Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (b) Hujjat Allah al-Baligha
(c) Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa (d) None of these

7 Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind examined:
(a) Causes of the uprising of 1857 (b) The French Revolution
(c) The decline of the Abbasid dynasty (d) None of these

8 Sir Syed established the Scientific Society in:
(a) 1864 (b) 1875
(c) 1886 (d) None of these

9 The Scientific Society was initially established at:
(a) Aligarh (b) Ghazipur
(c) Delhi (d) None of these

10 The Scientific Society aimed to:
(a) Translate modern scientific works into Indian languages (b) Abolish scientific education
(c) Promote military recruitment (d) None of these

11 The journal Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq was launched by:
(a) Muhammad Iqbal (b) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
(c) Abul Kalam Azad (d) None of these

12 Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq began publication in:
(a) 1870 (b) 1857
(c) 1906 (d) None of these

13 Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq focused on:
(a) Social and intellectual reform among Muslims (b) Military strategy
(c) Agricultural taxation (d) None of these

14 The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School was established in:
(a) 1866 (b) 1875
(c) 1886 (d) None of these

15 The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was founded in:
(a) 1875 (b) 1857
(c) 1906 (d) None of these

16 The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was established at:
(a) Deoband (b) Aligarh
(c) Lucknow (d) None of these

17 The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College became:
(a) University of Delhi (b) Jamia Millia Islamia
(c) Aligarh Muslim University (d) None of these

18 Aligarh Muslim University received university status in:
(a) 1920 (b) 1875
(c) 1886 (d) None of these

19 The All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference was founded in:
(a) 1886 (b) 1906
(c) 1920 (d) None of these

20 The Muhammadan Educational Conference aimed to promote:
(a) Modern education among Indian Muslims (b) Military expansion
(c) Colonial taxation (d) None of these

21 Sir Syed’s educational philosophy emphasised:
(a) Combining modern knowledge with Muslim cultural identity (b) Rejecting all modern subjects
(c) Ending English-language education (d) None of these

22 Sir Syed encouraged Muslims to study:
(a) Science and modern disciplines (b) Only military history
(c) Only classical poetry (d) None of these

23 Sir Syed’s approach to modern education was influenced by:
(a) His experience of British institutions and intellectual life (b) The Abbasid court
(c) The Safavid dynasty (d) None of these

24 Sir Syed’s religious thought is often described as:
(a) Modernist and rationalist in orientation (b) Strictly medieval scholasticism
(c) Ancient Greek paganism (d) None of these

25 Sir Syed emphasised the compatibility of:
(a) Reason and religious understanding (b) Superstition and scientific method
(c) Colonial rule and religious revelation (d) None of these

26 Sir Syed’s interpretation of nature and revelation sought to:
(a) Reconcile religious principles with rational inquiry (b) Reject all scientific discoveries
(c) Abandon religious interpretation (d) None of these

27 The Urdu journal Aligarh Institute Gazette was associated with:
(a) The Scientific Society (b) The Muslim Brotherhood
(c) The Deoband movement (d) None of these

28 Sir Syed’s commentary on the Bible was titled:
(a) Tabyin al-Kalam (b) Tafsir al-Manar
(c) Al-Khilafah (d) None of these

29 Sir Syed’s commentary on the Qur’an is commonly known as:
(a) Tafsir al-Manar (b) Tafsir al-Qur’an
(c) Al-Musawwa (d) None of these

30 Sir Syed’s historical work on the monuments of Delhi was:
(a) Athar al-Sanadid (b) Asrar-i-Khudi
(c) Javid Nama (d) None of these

31 Athar al-Sanadid is concerned with:
(a) Historical monuments and antiquities of Delhi (b) Islamic political theory
(c) Medical science (d) None of these

32 Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College with the aim of:
(a) Providing modern higher education to Muslims (b) Establishing a military academy
(c) Teaching only commercial accounting (d) None of these

33 The Aligarh Movement contributed to:
(a) The emergence of a modern Muslim educated class (b) The abolition of Muslim education
(c) The decline of all educational institutions (d) None of these

34 Sir Syed’s response to the events of 1857 included:
(a) Explaining political and administrative causes of the uprising (b) Supporting the abolition of education
(c) Rejecting all historical analysis (d) None of these

35 Sir Syed believed that Muslim advancement required:
(a) Education, social reform and intellectual engagement (b) Isolation from all knowledge
(c) Rejection of science (d) None of these

36 Sir Syed’s political outlook generally favoured:
(a) Cooperation with the British government in his later reform strategy (b) Immediate armed rebellion as his educational policy
(c) Abolition of all political discussion (d) None of these

37 Sir Syed’s position on the Indian National Congress was:
(a) Strongly supportive from its foundation (b) Critical of its representative claims and opposed Muslim participation in its early phase
(c) Founder of the Congress (d) None of these

38 Sir Syed’s views on Hindu-Muslim relations evolved and included:
(a) Advocacy of educational cooperation alongside distinct political concerns (b) Rejection of all social contact
(c) Support for permanent religious conflict (d) None of these

39 Sir Syed died in:
(a) 1898 (b) 1875
(c) 1906 (d) None of these

40 Sir Syed died in:
(a) Delhi (b) Aligarh
(c) Lahore (d) None of these

41 Sir Syed’s educational movement was centred on:
(a) Aligarh (b) Deoband
(c) Cairo (d) None of these

42 Sir Syed’s reformist ideas were directed particularly towards:
(a) Educational and social advancement of Indian Muslims (b) The restoration of the Roman Empire
(c) The abolition of modern science (d) None of these

43 The term modernism in relation to Sir Syed refers particularly to:
(a) Engagement with modern knowledge and rational interpretation (b) Rejection of all intellectual development
(c) Exclusive reliance on medieval political institutions (d) None of these

44 Sir Syed’s movement helped prepare the ground for:
(a) Muslim educational and political mobilisation in South Asia (b) The establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate
(c) The French Revolution (d) None of these

45 Sir Syed’s educational initiative was inspired partly by:
(a) Oxford and Cambridge educational models (b) Ancient Spartan military training
(c) The Roman gladiatorial system (d) None of these

46 The Aligarh Movement is historically associated with:
(a) Modern Muslim education in colonial India (b) The spread of Buddhism in Central Asia
(c) The establishment of the Ottoman Empire (d) None of these

47 Sir Syed’s intellectual contribution included:
(a) Promoting scientific learning and rational debate (b) Rejecting all translation
(c) Opposing every form of modern education (d) None of these

48 Sir Syed’s approach to reform was primarily:
(a) Educational and intellectual (b) Military and territorial
(c) Monastic and isolationist (d) None of these

49 Sir Syed is remembered as:
(a) A major pioneer of Muslim modernism in South Asia (b) Founder of the Mughal Empire
(c) First Ottoman caliph (d) None of these

50 The Aligarh Movement’s central legacy was:
(a) The expansion of modern education among Muslims (b) The abolition of higher education
(c) The end of scientific research (d) None of these

Answer Key

1 (a) The Aligarh Movement
2 (a) 1817
3 (a) The Aligarh Movement
4 (a) Mir Muttaqi
5 (a) The British East India Company
6 (a) Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind
7 (a) Causes of the uprising of 1857
8 (a) 1864
9 (b) Ghazipur
10 (a) Translate modern scientific works into Indian languages
11 (b) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
12 (a) 1870
13 (a) Social and intellectual reform among Muslims
14 (a) 1866
15 (a) 1875
16 (b) Aligarh
17 (c) Aligarh Muslim University
18 (a) 1920
19 (a) 1886
20 (a) Modern education among Indian Muslims
21 (a) Combining modern knowledge with Muslim cultural identity
22 (a) Science and modern disciplines
23 (a) His experience of British institutions and intellectual life
24 (a) Modernist and rationalist in orientation
25 (a) Reason and religious understanding
26 (a) Reconcile religious principles with rational inquiry
27 (a) The Scientific Society
28 (a) Tabyin al-Kalam
29 (b) Tafsir al-Qur’an
30 (a) Athar al-Sanadid
31 (a) Historical monuments and antiquities of Delhi
32 (a) Providing modern higher education to Muslims
33 (a) The emergence of a modern Muslim educated class
34 (a) Explaining political and administrative causes of the uprising
35 (a) Education, social reform and intellectual engagement
36 (a) Cooperation with the British government in his later reform strategy
37 (b) Critical of its representative claims and opposed Muslim participation in its early phase
38 (a) Advocacy of educational cooperation alongside distinct political concerns
39 (a) 1898
40 (a) Aligarh
41 (a) Aligarh
42 (a) Educational and social advancement of Indian Muslims
43 (a) Engagement with modern knowledge and rational interpretation
44 (a) Muslim educational and political mobilisation in South Asia
45 (a) Oxford and Cambridge educational models
46 (a) Modern Muslim education in colonial India
47 (a) Promoting scientific learning and rational debate
48 (a) Educational and intellectual
49 (a) A major pioneer of Muslim modernism in South Asia
50 (a) The expansion of modern education among Muslims