Muslims In India

With around 204 million Muslims (2019 estimate), India's Muslim population is about the world's third-largest and the world's largest Muslim-minority population. India is home to 10.9% of the world's Muslim population. According to Pew Research Center, there can be 213 million Muslims in 2020, India's 15.5% population.

The Mughal Empire ruled most of the Indian subcontinent between 1526 and 1707. The empire was founded by the Turco-Mongol leader Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last Pashtun ruler of the Delhi Sultanate at the First Battle of Panipat.

This Book looks in to the history of the following ruler Aurangzeb Alamgir  and the Historical Life of Hind

Aurangzeb Alamgir 

Sultan Aurangzeb’s full name was Abu’l-Muzaffar Muhiy ad-Deen Muhammad Alamgir, Sultan of the Moghal kingdom in the Indian subcontinent and environs. He was one of the descendants of Tamerlane (Timur Lang), the famous Mongol tyrant. He was born on 15 Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 1028 AH/24 October 1619 CE, and died on 28 Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 1118 AH/20 February 1707 CE. 

The meaning of the name Aurangzeb in Farsi is “adornment of the throne”. Aurang means “throne” and zeb means “adornment”. The meaning of the title Alamgir in Farsi is “conqueror of the world”. He was the son of Sultan Shah Jahan, one of the greatest sultans of the Muslim Moghul state in India; it is he who built the famous Taj Mahal tomb; which is considered one of the wonders of the world, in which to bury his wife who is known as Mumtaz Mahal, the mother of Sultan Abu’l-Muzaffar (Aurangzeb), with whom he was deeply in love. Because of the severity of his grief for her, he was no longer fit to rule, so his son, Sultan Abu’l-Muzaffar seized power whilst his father was still alive, after fighting battles with his brothers. 

Sultan Aurangzeb was not like the other Moghul sultans; rather what is known from his biography is that he was a scholar, a devoted worshipper, an ascetic, pious and a poet. He followed the Hanafi madhhab with regard to minor issues, so he was not like the other Moghul sultans; rather he was better than all of them. 

Among his great deeds is that he fought against innovations and myths. He stopped listening to music and singing – even though he was skilled in both – and he abolished idolatrous and innovated celebrations. He also abolished the customs of bowing and kissing the ground, which were done before rulers and kings before him. He issued orders that people should greet him with the greeting of Islam, as-salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you), and perhaps this is what made some writers who hated Islam describe him as a fanatic. It may be this that made some people regard him as a “salafi” – and in all these matters he was undoubtedly a “salafi” – but in fact he (may Allah have mercy on him) was a Hanafi in terms of madhhab, and what is well-known about the Hanafis in that land is that they are Maturidis in terms of beliefs (‘aqeedah). Many of those who have written biographies of him stated that he was a Sufi. Allah knows best about him and his beliefs. There is nothing that we know about that for certain. What is most well-known in his biography is his deeds and his qualities such as his devotion to worship, asceticism and commitment to religion. His biographers have mentioned many good things in that regard. If we add to that his fighting innovations and myths, and his putting an end to Raafidi statelets, and his banning of innovated and idolatrous celebrations, it will become clear that he was a ruler who is deserving of respect and honour, and of supplications for good. What he (may Allah have mercy on him) did was a practical application of the methodology of the salaf in his rule, and he was what one of the literati – namely Shaykh ‘Ali at-Tantaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) – called a “remnant of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.” He wrote an important biography of him in his book Rijaal min at-Tareekh (p. 277-237), which he concluded by saying: 

Allah guided him to do two things which none of the Muslim rulers before him had done: 

Firstly, he did not give any scholar a stipend or salary but he required him, in return, to do some work, such as writing books or teaching, so that the scholars would not take the money and become lazy, thus combining two evils, namely taking money undeservedly and withholding knowledge. 

Secondly, he was the first one to compile shar‘i rulings into a single book, to be taken as a law. So the fatwas were compiled for him, on his instructions and under his supervision and care, and were written in that book. Hence the book was called al-Fataawa al-Alamgiriyyah, after him, and became well known as al-Fataawa al-Hindiyyah, one of the most famous books of rulings in Islamic fiqh, and one of the most well organised of works. 

Rijaal min at-Taareekh (p. 236) 

One of the Sultan’s biographers who lived closest to his own time – and he described him as a Sufi – was Abu’l-Fadl Muhammad Khaleel ibn ‘Ali al-Muraadi (may Allah have mercy on him), who died in 1206 AH. He said in his biography of him: 

Ruler of India in our time, the ruler and leader of the believers, the pillar and guardian of the Muslims, the mujaahid who strove in Allah’s cause, the great scholar, the Sufi who had gnosis of Allah, the king who supported and defended the faith, who destroyed the disbelievers in his land, subduing them and demolishing their temples, and weakened their polytheism, and supported Islam and raised its banner high in India, making the word of Allah supreme. He collected the jizyah from the disbelievers of India, whereas previous Muslim rulers had not done so because of the strength and large numbers of the disbelievers. He carried out great conquests and did not cease launching campaigns against them; every time he headed towards a territory he would conquer it, until Allah took his soul whilst he was engaging in jihad. He spent all his time serving the interests of the faith and worshipping the Lord of the Worlds, by fasting, praying at night and doing other acts of worship; most people would not be able to do even some of what he did. That was by the grace of Allah that He bestows on whomever He will. He made good use of his time, allocating separate time for worship, time for teaching, time for military affairs, time for listening to complaints from people, and time for reading books and reports that came to him every day and night from across his kingdom. He did not mix one activity with another. 

To sum up, he was one of the shining stars of history; no one equalled him in administration of his domain, or even came close. Lengthy books were written about his rule and biography in Farsi and other languages; whoever wishes may read them. 

Silk ad-Durar fi A‘yaan al-Qarn ath-Thaani ‘Ashar (4/113) 

Then after that he said: 

He took power in 1068 AH, and Allah willed good for the people of India. He abolished wrongdoing and unjust taxes, and his dawn rose from the Indian horizon as he emerged from among the offspring of Tamerlane; his reign was magnificent and glorious. He took as prisoners most of the famous kings of India, and their country submitted to him. Wealth was collected for him and lands and people came under his domain. He continued striving in jihad and never returned to the seat of his kingdom after he left it. Every time he conquered a new territory, he would move on to another. His troops were innumerable, and his greatness and strength cannot be described in words. All sovereignty belongs to Allah alone. He established in India a state that was based on knowledge, and he went to extremes in showing respect to people of knowledge until people came to him from all directions. 

To sum up, he had no equal among Muslim rulers of his time in terms of good conduct, fear of Allah, may He be glorified, and striving in worship. 

He instructed the Hanafi scholars of his land to collect in his name, fatwas that dealt with shar‘i rulings according to their madhhab, and compile them in one book, which was called al-Fataawa al-‘Aalamgiriyyah. This book became famous in the regions of the Hijaz, Egypt, Greater Syria and Anatolia. The benefit of this book became widespread and it became a reference book for those who issue fatwas (muftis); it remained so until he died in Ahmednagar in the sacred month of Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 1118 AH, and was buried in the graveyard of his forefathers. His reign lasted for fifty years, may Allah have mercy on him. 

Silk ad-Durar fi A‘yaan al-Qarn ath-Thaani ‘Ashar (4/113) 

For more information on his biography, please see what was written by Professor ‘Abd al-Mun‘im an-Nimr in his book Tareekh al-Islam fi’l-Hind (p. 286-288)

The Historical Life of  Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Ulema of Hind.) (with special reference to Maulana Rahmatullah Kiranvi and Maulana Qasim Nanotwi.)

Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind, though formally launched in 1919, was inheritor of a rich legacy dating back to early 18th century when noted scholar and expert on Hadith of his time, Shah Waliullah of Delhi led a revolution to change the whole system by drawing attention of people to the depredations of European imperialism and colonialism as well as degeneration and corruption among oriental rulers.

During 1808 to 1915, the Ulama (Islamic Scholars) of his legacy fought organized battles against the mighty British for the freedom of the country. His son Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi issued an edict against the British government: “Our country has been enslaved and to free it from the foreign power’s yoke is the duty of everyone”. This fatwa (edict) gave impetus to the prominent Ulamas like Haji Imdadullah Mohajir Makki and his close disciples Maulana Qasim Nanotavi, Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Hafiz Zamin Shaheed etc for waging armed battles against imperialist powers.

After the defeat of 1857 revolt, Ulama were the main target of the British oppression. Maulvi and rebel had become synonymous in their eyes. Of the 200,000 people martyred during the revolt 51,200 were Ulamas. Edward Timus himself admitted that in Delhi alone 500 Ulamas were hanged. Between 1864 and 1871 there were five major sedition cases against the Ulama which are known as “the Wahabi Cases” and the “Ambala Conspiracy Case”. In all these cases the accused were either sentenced to death or to life imprisonment.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind a step forward from armed resistance to Non-violent struggle:

The Ulamas started their struggle with armed resistance, but repeated failure in such attempts motivated them to revise their approach and adopt a new strategy. Particularly the failure of Silk Letter conspiracy in 1916 and arrest of 222 Ulamas, prominent amongst them, Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hassan and his disciple Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, along with Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and others forced them to restructure their strategy for resistance opting for non-violent struggle for freedom with the support and cooperation of their fellow countrymen.

In November 1919, the revolutionary Ulama under the leadership of Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan, on the occasion of the Khilafat conference held at Delhi, resolved to constitute a new organization for carrying on non-violent freedom struggle in cooperation with fellow countrymen. The organization was designated as ‘Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind’. Mufti-e-Azam, Maulana Kifayatullah was elected as the first President. The establishment of the organization was a decisive turning point in their revolutionary movement. They gave up armed struggle and chose non-violent struggle and adopted non-co-operation. That strategy eventually led to freedom of the country.

• Relief to Mopillas of Malabar
• Boycott of Assemblies (December 1922)
• Call for complete independence by Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani (January 1924)
• Jamiat was the first to declare boycott of the Simon Commission (December 1927)
• Participation in all parties conference at Lucknow and rejection of Nehru Report (1928)
• Cooperation with congress (Amroha conference, May 1930)
• Civil Disobedience Movement where four prominent leaders of Jamiat were imprisoned (1930)
• Opposition to the infamous Sharda Act for it interference in Muslim Personal Law.

Composite nationalism and theory of territorial Nationhood:

Maulana Syed Hussain Ahmad Madani advocated the idea of composite nationalism and joint struggle of all religious communities against the British and justified inter-communal unity and cooperation on the basis of the Quran and the Hadith. At a time when ideas of religion-based nationalism were being advocated by the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani advanced “the theory of territorial national hood” saying that it is “not necessary that a nation, to be a nation, should share the same religion and culture”. Now a day he said, “nations are made by homelands.”

Maulana Madani and the Ulama like him have been described by Peter Haardy as representing “a sea change in the kind of assumptions Ulama were wont to make about the nature of solidarity of the Islamic community.”

Declaration of non-cooperation in the war effort (World War II, 1939-45).

Call for Complete Independence:

In the Jamiat Ulama Moradabad conference held at Bachhraon (April 23-25, 1940) Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani raised the question of Indian independence. As a result, he was arrested and imprisoned in Naini Jail.

Quit India movement:

On August 5, 1942 Jamiat gave a call to the British to quit India. Thereafter on August 9 the Bombay session of the Congress passed the famous Quit India resolution which led to the arrest and incarceration of the Congress and the Jamiat leaders.

Opposition to the idea of Pakistan:

After 1942, Jamiat Ulama resolutely opposed the idea of Pakistan and its leaders especially Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani were victims of Muslim League violence.

In 1945 at the 14th conference the Jamiat passed its alternative formula for partition.

About The Author

Mufti Afzal Hoosen Elias

Mufti Afzal Hoosen Elias was born in Muharram 1375 (September 1955) in Estcourt, Kwa-Zulu Natal. During his youth, Allah inspired him with a yearning for a thorough Deeni education. After fulfilling his parents’ wishes of obtaining a secular education, Mufti Elias left for Deoband, India in 1977.

Here he obtained the following Deeni qualifications:

• Fazil Alim Certificate from Darul Uloom Deoband, India, in 1983.
• A specialized course on the Tafseer (Commentary) of the Noble Quraan under Moulana Ghulamullaah Khan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 1983.
• Mufti Certificate from Darul Uloom Deoband, India, in 1984.
• (A specialized course in Islaamic Jurisprudence)
• During his student years, Mufti Elias began writing, translating, and simplifying Islamic literature. After completing his studies, Mufti Saahib returned to South Africa, to impart the knowledge he had gained.

Seeing his works further translated into languages that include (but are not limited to) Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Danish, and Braille.

Mufti Elias was also a senior member of many Islaamic organisations, for as long as those organisations’ focus was the upliftment of Deen.

Mufti Elias was a people’s Mufti, and his main concern was making Deen easy for all, and accessible to all. Mufti Elias always availed himself to answer questions and was easy-going and approachable.

Mufti Elias’s contributions to spreading Deen in the western world are innumerable and immeasurable. May Allaah accept his works, make it a means of guidance, and allow it to flourish until the end of time.

On the 9th Shabaan 1439 (25th April 2018), Mufti Elias completed his journey of this world, and passed on to the next.

About The Publisher

Share