In the 16th century, during the reign of Akbar, Islam was facing overwhelming threats. Akbar’s Din-i Ilahi had literally made the orthodox Muslims outcasts in the affairs of the state. The Infallibility Decree in 1579 and Din-i Ilahi in 1581 were considered to be grave threat to the religion of Islam. Din-i Ilahi, as propounded by Akbar, was a mixture of various religions. The new religion combined mysticism, philosophy and nature worship, it recognized no gods or prophets and the emperor was its chief exponent. Also, to believe in revelation was considered as taqlid or following authority blindly - a low kind of morality, fit only for the uneducated and the illiterate.

Akbar was influenced by Bhakti Movement started during the sultanate period, which propounded Hindu-Muslim unity. Many sufis of Akbar’s time condemned his religious innovations. Qazi Mulla Muhammad of Jaunpur, Qazi Mir Yaqoob of Bengal, opposed the new religion. However, the man who took upon himself to revive Islam by purification from within was Sheikh Ahmad of Sirhind, commonly known as Mujaddid Alf-Thani, or "the reformer of second millennium".

Sheikh Ahmad was born in Sirhind on June 26, 1564. He joined the Naqshbandiya Silsilah under the discipleship of Khawaja Baqi Billah. Then he dedicated his sincerity of purpose to purify and to rid Islam of the accretions of Hindu Pantheism as well as the philosophy of Wahdat-ul Wujud. He gave the philosophy of Wahdat-ush-Shuhud.

Mujaddid Alf-Thani wrote Ithbata-al-Nubuwwah. In this pamphlet, he quoted Imam Ghazali justifying the need for prophethood and explaining the inadequacies of human intellect. Through the medium of oral preaching and discussions and his maktubat addressed to important nobles and leaders of religious thought, he spread his message amongst the elite in particular.