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ISLAM IN INDIA: AN
OVERVIEW
Dr. Doris Jakobsh
Adherents.com
WORLD-WIDE MUSLIM POPULATIONS
900 MILLION
Country Number of Muslims (approximate)
Indonesia 170 million
Pakistan 137 million
Bangladesh 106 million
India 103 million
Turkey 62 million
ISLAM:� Meaning =
Submission/Surrender
� To ‘Allah’ (‘the God’)
� ‘God alone is great’
4
CONTEXT:
3 great ‘super-powers’:
� Byzantine Empire - Christian
� Ethiopian Empire – Christian
� Persian Empire – Zoroastrian, with Jewish and Christian minorities
� Arabia of Muhammad - polytheistic
5
HANIFS
� Already a movement towards monotheism,
due to the belief that worldview of the
‘super-powers’ was more progressive than
that of polytheism
� Movement that affirmed monotheism, but
distinct from Christianity, Judaism,
Zoroastsrianism
MUHAMMAD:
� 570-632 CE
� Born in Mecca
7
MUHAMMAD
� Merchant family
� Part of Quraysh tribe (custodians of
sacred places of Mecca)
� 25 years old – entered service of Khadija,
a wealthy widow much older than
Muhammad
� Fatima – their daughter
Muhammad leads a caravan
MUHAMMAD AND GABRIEL
� 611 CE
� Solitary meditations in
caves
� Archangel Gabriel
10
HIJRA
� 611-621 Muhammad preaches to fellow
Meccans about the oneness of God
� 622 – accepts an invitation to Yathrib
(Medina)
� This journey is called HIJRA
� This is the date from which the Muslim
calendar starts
MUHAMMAD IN MEDINA
MUHAMMAD RETURNS TO
MECCA
13
� USING MEDINA AS A BASE, ALL OF
ARABIA IS BROUGHT UNDER
MUHAMMAD’S CONTROL
� HE WAS THE RELIGIOUS LEADER,
POLITICAL RULER, MILITARY
COMMANDER
14
� HIS DIVINE REVELATIONS CONTINUE
TO THE END OF HIS LIFE
� THESE REVELATIONS TOGETHER
MAKE UP THE TEXT OF THE QUR’AN,
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OF ISLAM
MUHAMMAD’S DEATH
In 632, he was suddenly taken ill. on June 8, with his third wife Aishah beside him, the Messenger of God "died with the heat of noon."
ISLAM’S EXPANSION, 25 YEARS
MECCA TODAY
18
5 PILLARS OF ISLAM
�SHAHADA - WITNESS
�SALAAT - PRAYER 5 TIMES DAILY
� ZAKAT - ALMSGIVING
�SAWM OR SIYAM, FASTING,
RAMADAN
�HAJJ - PILGRIMAGE
1) SHAHADA: CORNERSTONE
OF ISLAM
“There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger (Quran, 48:29).’’
20
SHAHADA
� In Arabic, the first part is la ilaha illa'Allah -'there is no god except God'; ilaha (god) can refer to anything which we may be tempted to put in place of God--wealth, power, and the like. Then comes illa'Allah: 'except God', the source of all Creation. The second part of the Shahada is Muhammadun rasulu'Llah: 'Muhammad is the messenger of God.' A message of guidance has come through a man like ourselves. It is taken directly from the Qur'an:
21
QUR’AN 3:18, BEARING
WITNESS
� "God bears witness that there is no god
but God and so do the angels and those
possessed of knowledge. In justice, there
is no god but Him, He is the exalted, the
wise."
22
2) SALAAT: PRAYER
� dawn
� noon
� mid-afternoon
� sunset
� nightfall
� Prayers determine the rhythm of the entire day
� Prayers can be performed anywhere, but preferably in a mosque
23
SALAAT, POSTURES
� The Salaat consists of standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting positions.
� Before, during and after each of these positions, Muslims recite verses from the Holy Qur'an and glorify Allah as directed by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was taught the details by Archangel Jibril (Gabriel, pbuh).
� Muslims performing
Salaat facing
toward Ka'bah.
RIGHT: Pilgrims in
prostration.
25
CALL TO PRAYER:
� “God is most Great. God is most Great.God is most Great. God is most Great.I testify that there is no God except Allah.I testify that there is no God except Allah.I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.Come to prayer! Come to prayer!Come to success (in this life and the Here after)! Come to success!Allah is most great. Allah is most great.There is no God except Allah.”
� (heard in Muslim mosques)
MUSLIMS, CALCUTTA
27
3) ZAKAT: ALMSGIVING
� all things belong to God
� wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.
� Zakat literally means grow (in goodness) or 'increase', 'purifying' or 'making pure'.
� So the act of giving zakat means purifying one's wealth to gain Allah's blessing to make it grow in goodness.
28
ZAKAT: ‘RELIGIOUS PAYMENT’
� Zakat is a religious ‘payment’ made by Muslims from their wealth or income, or business, or crops,
� In the form of money or crops or animals –usually 2.5%
� Often Zakat committee set up, or, in Islamic countries, government
29
ZAKAT: QUR’AN 9:103
� "Take from their wealth a portion for
charity, in order to clean them thereby,
and sanctify them."
30
4) SAWM OR SIYAM
� Fasting
� Every year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from first light until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.
31
SAWM OR SIYAM
� Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and
women who are pregnant or nursing are NOT
required to complete the entire fast
� They can break the fast and make up an equal
number of days later in the year
� They can also feed a needy person for every
day missed.
32
RAMADAN
� Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim
calendar
� The Month of Ramadan is also when it is
believed the Holy Qur’an was sent down
from heaven to guide humankind and offer
the way of Salvation
33
RAMADAN
�Ramadan is a time when Muslims
concentrate on their faith and spend
less time on the concerns of their
everyday lives. It is a time of worship
and contemplation
34
QUR’AN
� One may eat and drink at any time during
the night "until you can plainly distinguish
a white thread from a black thread by the
daylight: then keep the fast until night."
35
ID/EID-AL-FITR
- Begins with the sighting of the new moon:
� Fasting is forbidden on this day, as it marks the end of the month long fast of Ramadan
36
EID:
� One is encouraged to rise early and eat a
light snack
� Then bathe, as always, but with the
remembrance that this is a special day.
� Muslims are encouraged to dress in their
best clothes, new if possible.
‘EID MUBARAK’
EID GREETING CARDS
38
5) HAJJ: PILGRIMAGE
� a once-in-a-lifetime obligation upon male
and female ADULTS whose health and
means permit it
� about two million people go to Makkah
each year from every corner of the globe
39
HAJJ: PREPARATIONS
�Before setting out, a pilgrim should
redress all wrongs, pay all debts, plan
to have enough funds for his/her own
journey and for the maintenance of
the family while he/she is away, and
prepare him/herself for good conduct
throughout the Hajj.
40
HAJJ: LUNAR CALENDAR
� Although Makkah is always filled with
visitors, the annual Hajj begins in the
twelfth month of the Islamic year
� so Hajj and Ramadan are at times
celebrated in the fall or winter
41
QUR’AN, 22:26-30
Behold! We gave the site to Abraham of the (Sacred) House (saying): "Associate not any thing (in worship) with Me; and sanctify My House for those who compass it round or stand up or bow or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer)."And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways;"That they may witness the benefits (provided) for them and celebrate the name of Allah through the Days appointed over the cattle which He has provided for them (for sacrifice): then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed ones in want."Then let them complete the rites prescribed for them perform their vows and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House."Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honors the sacred rites of Allah for him it is good in the sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in pilgrimage) are cattle except those mentioned to you (as exceptions): but shun the abomination of idols and shun the word that is false.
MINA:
� On the first day of the
Hajj, pilgrims sweep out
of Mecca towards Mina, a small uninhabited village
east of the city.
� Pilgrims generally spend
their time meditating and
praying, as the Prophet
did on his pilgrimage.
43
HAJJ: CLOTHING
� Pilgrims wear simple but special white clothes: simple because no distinctions of class and culture are to be shown
� ‘Ihram', a garment made of two seamless white sheets or towels symbolising purity and equality that must be worn by men
� all are equal before God
44
HAJJ: RITES
� Ablutions (as before prayer times)
� Abstention from any killing, sexual activity,
cutting hair or nails
45
TOUCH KA’ABA
� The Ka'aba is a stone building located near the center of the quadrangle of the Grand Mosque in the Holy City of Makkah. Set in a silver surround in the east corner of the Ka'aba, some four feet above ground level, is the Black Stone. This sacred Stone, the focal point of the Hajj, is the only remnant of the shrine which Abraham built when it was given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel.
� Kiss or touch KA’ABA
� Circumambulate 7 times (Tawaaf)
KA’ABA, DRAWING
Each year an Arab nation
provides the beautiful drapes
which cover the
Kab’ah for the Hajj.
47
REFLECTIONS AT KA’ABA
� “To touch and kiss the stone is to travel back in time and follow in the footsteps of all those pious and noble greats in history who have touched it. It is not easy to do that, though. It seems there are always too many people ahead who are trying to do the same. The closest we came to it was about ten feet and there we raised our hands in salutation and to say that 'God is great.”
Reflections of a devotee at the Haj,
http://users.erols.com/ameen/hajjexp.htm
HAJJ: KA’ABA
49
KA’ABA
� Islam's holiest place was not built by its
last Prophet Muhammad
� tradition has it that the Ka'bah was
originally built by Prophet Adam and was
rebuilt by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and
his eldest son Prophet Isma'il (Ishmael),
nearly four thousand five hundred years
ago.
50
TALBIAH (prayer during Tawaaf
circumambulation)
Here I am O Allah, at Thy Command. Here
I am, at Thy Command.
There is no partner unto Thee. Here I
am, at Thy Command.
Verily Thine is the praise, the blessings
and the sovereignty of the universe.
There is no partner unto Thee.
51
ZAMZAM
� Zamzam – well
� Where the water sprang up under
Ismael’s feet
� Now enclosed in a marble chamber in
the Ka'bah
52
REFLECTIONS, ZAMZAM
� “As we drink from
Zamzam, we know it
is the same well that
sprang up in the
middle of the desert
so Hagar and
Ishmael could drink
from it.”
http://users.erols.com/ameen/hajjexp.htm
53
SA’Y: ‘RUNNING’
� Run 7 times up and down a colonnade between 2 hills (450 yards apart) – SA’Y - ‘Hagar searching for water for Ishmael’
� Hagar, is said to have run back and forth seven times between two rocky hillocks, al-Safa and al-Marwah and then found the sacred water known as Zamzam
54
Reflections at Hajj
� “As we walk and run between Safa
and Marwah, the two hillocks in the
northeast of Ka'bah, we know
these are the same hills where
Hajerah (Hagar) ran to search for
water for infant Ishmael.”
Reflections of a devotee at the Hajj
http://users.erols.com/ameen/hajjexp.htm
56
RETURN TO MINA:
� Before daybreak on the third day, pilgrims move
back to Mina. There they throw white pebbles
that have been collected earlier.
� According to some traditions, this practice is
associated with Prophet Ibrahim.
� As pilgrims throw seven pebbles at each of
these pillars, they remember the story of Satan's
attempt to persuade Ibrahim to disregard God's
command to sacrifice his son.
57
REFLECTIONS AT MINA
� “As we gather pebbles at Muzdalfah to throw at the pillars designated as the place where Satan tempted Prophet Abraham, we realize that some of the very pebbles may have been touched by the Prophet and his companions. At this place, we are in the grip of history. We can see it, hear it, feel it, touch it and drink from it. It is in Mina where Satan tempted Prophet Abraham and he threw pebbles at Satan to keep him at bay. In the memory of that incident, we also throw pebbles at the symbolic Satan reminding ourselves the satan within us exploiting our weaknesses and tempting us with riches, pleasures, and non-productive activities. ”
http://users.erols.com/ameen/hajjexp.htm
58
FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE
� Following the casting of the pebbles, most
pilgrims sacrifice a goat, sheep or some
other animal. They give the meat to the
poor after, in some cases, keeping a small
portion for themselves.
CAMELS, FOR FESTIVAL OF
SACRIFICE
60
END OF HAJJ:
� Men either shave their heads or clip their hair, and women cut off a symbolic lock, to mark their partial deconsecration. This is done as a symbol of humility. All proscriptions, save the one of conjugal relations, are now lifted.
61
REFLECTION: END OF HAJJ
� “The most difficult time comes when
leaving the House of Allah. One is never
completely satisfied with the time spent
here. There is always a desire for visiting it
again and to enjoy the peace and
tranquility of this holy place of the
Prophets. We make the farewell Tawaaf
and pray that we come back here soon.”
http://users.erols.com/ameen/hajjexp.htm
62
HAJJ, REFLECTION"It would require a master pen to describe the scene, poignant in its intensity, of that great concourse of humanity of which I was one small unit, completely lost to their surroundings in a fervor of religious enthusiasm. Many of the pilgrims had tears streaming down their cheeks; others raised their faces to the starlit sky that had witnessed this drama so often in the past centuries. The shining eyes, the passionate appeals, the pitiful hands outstretched in prayer moved me in a way that nothing had ever done before, and I felt caught up in a strong wave of spiritual exaltation. I was one with the rest of the pilgrims in a sublime act of complete surrender to the Supreme Will which is Islam."
Lady Evelyn Cobbold, 1934
http://www.islam.org/Mosque/jlthajj/hajj.htm
ISLAM IN INDIA
FIRST MUSLIMS: 711
� Caliphate of Damscus
MAHMUD OF GHAZNI
� Afghanistan
� 1001 – 1026 CE
� 17 invasions
� ‘The Idol Breaker’
GHAZNI VICTORY TOWER, GHAZNI,
AFGHANISTAN
ANANDPAL, RAJA OF PUNJAB
� 1008 CE
� Peshawar
� Runaway
Elephant
TIMUR
"I am the scourge of God appointed to chastise you, since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity except me. You are wicked, but I
am more wicked than you, so be silent!"
Tamerlane
1398, India
BABUR
1526-1530
PURANA QILA, DELHI
Babur's Purana Qila, Delhi
HUMANYUN
� 1530-1556
AKBAR
� 1556-1605
� Son of Humayun
� Greatest of Mughal
line
Jahangir's birth, Rejoicing, Mughal,
c. 1590.
JAHANGIR
� 1605-1627
� Muslim emperor in
power when first
Europeans came to
India
� Built Sikandra,
Akbar’s tomb
SHAHJAHAN
� 1627-1658
� Shahjahan
� Mumtaz
TAJ MAHAL
AURANGZEB
� 1658 to 1707
77
BRIDGES: ISLAM AND
HINDUISM
� Kabir
� Nanak
� Akbar
KABIR, THE WEAVER
79
KABIR
“Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in stupas, not in shrine rooms, nor in temples:
Not in masses, nor kirtan, not in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly:
You will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.”
80
KABIR:
“Swan, tell me your story.
What country have you come from, swan, what shores are you flying to?
Where do you rest at night, and what are you looking for?
It’s dawn, swan, wake up, soar to the air, follow me!
There is a land not governed by sadness and doubt, where the fear of death is unknown.
Spring forests bloom there and the wind is sweet with the flower ‘He-Is-Myself’.
The bee if the heart dives into it and wants no other joy.”
81
KABIR:
� 1440 – 1518 CE
� Weaver caste in Varanasi
� (At an earlier time weaver caste of
Varanasi had converted to Islam)
� Advantageous to do so
� Kabir raised as Muslim
82
KABIR’S CRITIQUE OF ISLAM:“I’m asking you, Mr. Muslim
With your red and yellowRags and robes.
Now you, Mr. Qazi [religious administrator]
What kind of work is that,Going from house to house
Chopping heads?Who gave you the order for chickens and goats?
Who told you to swing the knife?
Aren’t you afraid to be called a sageAs you read your verses
And dupe the world?Kabir says, this high class Muslim
Wants to force this way on the world.
Fast all day
Kill cows at night,Here prayers, there blood –
Does this please God?”
83
- KABIR URGED PEOPLE OF
ALL FAITHS TO FIND
SALVATION IN TOTAL
SURRENDER TO GOD
- THIS ALONE IS THE TRUE
PATH
84
KABIR:
“O servant, where does thou seek me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque.
I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash.
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies,
Nor in yoga and renunciation.
If thou are a true seeker,
Thou shalt at once see me.
Thou shalt meet me in a moment of time.
Kabir says, ‘O Sadhu’
God is in the breath of all.”
85
AKBAR:
� Conquest is not what he is known for
� Unification and consolidation
� Policy of conciliation
86
AKBAR:
� Abolished jizya – special tax on non-
Muslims
� Sought out Hindu holy men
� Employed Hindus
87
GENUINE CULTURAL
SYNTHESIS:
� Began as a policy of conciliation
� Evolved into something much bigger:
� CULTURAL SYNTENSIS OF THE
FINEST ELEMENTS OF ALL THE
WORLD’S RELIGIONS
88
AKBAR LEADS BY EXAMPLE:
� Married 4 wives: Muslim, Buddhist,
Christian, Hindu
FATEHPUR SIKRI
- Visible model of
policy of cultural
fusion
- Combined elements
of both Muslim and
Hindu traditions
Diwan-i-kas - Akbar's audiences
Buland gate, entrance to Masjid
Din-i-Ilahi
� ‘divine faith’
� New religion
� One that would incorporate both the common and the BEST elements of the world’s religions
� Religious syncretism
94
FATEHPUR SIKRI: A DREAM?
� YET, IN A LITTLE MORE THAN 20 YEARS,
FATEHPUR SIKRI WAS ABANDONED
� POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE OF
WATER
� TODAY, IT IS QUIET AND DESERTED PLACE