tribal chiefs. Soon war broke out between Sikhs and "Wahhabi" Mujahideen. On 24 February 1828, one of the three leaders of Jihad, Maulvi Abdul Haei, the chief advisor to Syed Ahmed died as an old and ailing person. In his letters to Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh, Syed Ahmed clarified that he didn't seek a confrontation with Sikhs, but only their help in defeating the British. Ranjit Singh, for his part, respected Syed Ahmed as a "courageous, bold and determined person". By 1830, many Pathan tribal chiefs rose against the Wahhabi Mujahideen and committed massacres against the Wahhabi emigrants. Disillusioned by this, Syed Ahmed lost interest in the movement and made plans to migrate to Arabia. However, senior advisors such as Shah Ismail opposed the idea and sought to complete the objectives of the movement, despite the setbacks. On 17 April 1831, Syed Ahmed set out on his last journey for Balakot with the aim to capture Kashmir, accompanied by Shah Ismail. A Pashtun chieftain named Zabardast Khan who made a secret deal with the Sikh commander Sher Singh withheld promised reinforcements. On 6 May 1831, an ill-equipped army of 1,000 Mujahideen faced a 12,000 strong force of Sikh gunmen (Banduqchis) led by Sher Singh. On that day Syed Ahmed, Shah Ismail and prominent leaders of the Wahhabi movement fell fighting in the battlefield. Out of the 1000 Mujahideen, 300 died and Sikh casualties were 700 deaths. Sikh victory at Balakot arose jubilation in Lahore. The British government also congratulated Ranjith Singh in his victory. The defeat at Balakot made a devastating blow to the Wahhabi movement. After the death and defeats of both Sayyid Ahmed Shahid and Shah Ismail Dehlwi; many of his followers continued the Jihad movement across South Asia. Others became the followers of Shah Muhammad Ishaq (1778–1846 C.E), the grandson of Shah 'Abd al-Azeez and head of the Madrasa Rahimiyya in Delhi. Some of the disciples of Shah Muhammad Ishaq would formally establish the Ahl-i Hadith movement. Establishment of Ahl-i Hadith In the mid-nineteenth century, an Islamic religious reform movement was started in Northern India that continued the Tariqah-i-Muhammadiyya movement. It rejected everything introduced into Islam after Qur'an, Sunnah, Hadith and the early eras. This was led by Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan of Bhopal (1832–1890) whose father became a Sunni convert under the influence of Shah 'Abd al-Aziz (1746–1824) and Syed Nazir Husain (1805–1902) who was a