M-Afzal
Sufi Face's
dr vivek arya
A. Conversion of Hindus by Sufis
Sufis are considered as messengers of god who believed in peace, harmony and nonviolence. But contrary to this we read many evidences of Sufis using all measures to convert Hindus towards Islam. From debates, stipends, grants, higher official posts, life threat, pardoning of life to brutal killings were main tools for them.
1. Gisu Daraz famous Chisti Sufi (born 30 July 1321 in New Delhi) learnt Sanskrit and acquired a knowledge of the Hindu epics in an attempt to refute the religious beliefs in Hinduism. He indulged in debates with Brahmins on the condition that whoever was beaten should embrace the religion of the victor. Gisu Daraz claimed to have defeated many Brahman scholars.
(Ref. Gisu Daraz, jawanmi’u’l-kilam, British museum MS.or 252, ff.9a, 87a-90a)
2. Shahjahan ordered Mulla Muhibib “ali sindi, an alim, poet and Sufi whom he deeply respected to convert willing Hindus to Islam which would make them eligible for stipends and revenue grants”
(Ref. tabaqat-I-shahjahani, f.316b)
3. Sheikh dawud of chati converted fifty to a hundred Hindus each day would make the number of converts annually an impossible neat 15,000
(Ref. supra, p.63)
Sheikh dawud’s successor, shah abu’l-ma’ali, and Sufis in other qadiriyya khanqahs certainly never hesitated in their proselytizing mission and even Mulla shah converted a number of Hindus to Islam
(Ref. supra, p.119-120)
4. Shah ‘abdu’l-’aziz himself claimed to have converted hundreds of hindus, but was not successful in recruiting more than half a dozen shi’is to the ranks of sunnism.
(Ref.- malfuzat-I-shah ‘abdu’l-’aziz, p.22)5. A Hindu zamindar Birbar was arrested for fomenting a rebellion and was given the death sentence. He requested a Sufi Miran Bhikh to save his life and promising to become a Muslim if he did so. He was pardoned and was rewarded with a rode of honor. Sufi Miran converted him to Islam and also made him his disciple.
(Ref. HSI vol. 2 p.272-273)
5. According to Dara -Sukoh, Sheikh ‘Abdul-qadir converted a large number of Hindus to Islam, as well as causing many wayward Muslims to adopt a pious life
(Ref. Muhammad dara-shukoh, safinatu’l-auliya’, lucknow, 1872,p.69)
6. Sheikh Mahmud bin Abdullah gujrati was for several years deeply in love with the son of a Hindu dancer. The sheikh’s success in subsequently islamizing the boy was a matter of great satisfaction to the orthodox.
(Ref. Gulzar-i-abrar, f.247a.)
7. Nawahun, the Hindu darogha of Uch once visited Makhdum Jahaniyan (also known as Saiyid Jalalu’d-din Bukhari, eminent Suhrawardiyya Sufi) on his deathbed. He in his previous discourse had expressed that a formal recitation of kalima did not make the speaker a Muslim. The Saiyid concluded that Nawahun’s statement amounted to a protestation of faith. Nawahun was not willing to accept Islam. He even made an unsuccessful attempt to prevent his conversion from sultan of Delhi. But makhdum’s younger brother Saiyid Raju caught and executed him.
(Ref. HSI .by SAA Rizvi vol. 1 p. 279,280)
8. We know that the Suhrawardiyya, Shaikh lalalu’d-din tabrizi, Makhdum Jahaniyan and his brother, Raju Qattal, were active propagators of Islam. The Sufis trained in the khanqahs of Shaikh alaud-dala Simnani, Mir Saiyid Ali Hamadani and his son and successors, Mir Muhammad, considered the conversion of Hindus to Islam as one of their main objectives. Shaikh Jalal of Sylhet and his Turkistani disciples were similarly imbued with missionary fervour, as were Khwajgan and the Naqshbandiyyas of central Asia, some of whom would devote a few years of their lives fighting against the non-Islamic Turkic tribes before converting them to Islam. The Sufis of the Shattariyya, qadiriyya and the naqshbandiyyas orders who began establishing their khanqahs during the fifteenth century were deeply aware of the proselytizing traditions of their ancestors in Persia and central Asia, and brought their knowledge to bear upon Indian conditions in order to gain converts.
(Ref. HSI by SAA Rizvi, vol.2, pp.426)
Sufi Face's
dr vivek arya
A. Conversion of Hindus by Sufis
Sufis are considered as messengers of god who believed in peace, harmony and nonviolence. But contrary to this we read many evidences of Sufis using all measures to convert Hindus towards Islam. From debates, stipends, grants, higher official posts, life threat, pardoning of life to brutal killings were main tools for them.
1. Gisu Daraz famous Chisti Sufi (born 30 July 1321 in New Delhi) learnt Sanskrit and acquired a knowledge of the Hindu epics in an attempt to refute the religious beliefs in Hinduism. He indulged in debates with Brahmins on the condition that whoever was beaten should embrace the religion of the victor. Gisu Daraz claimed to have defeated many Brahman scholars.
(Ref. Gisu Daraz, jawanmi’u’l-kilam, British museum MS.or 252, ff.9a, 87a-90a)
2. Shahjahan ordered Mulla Muhibib “ali sindi, an alim, poet and Sufi whom he deeply respected to convert willing Hindus to Islam which would make them eligible for stipends and revenue grants”
(Ref. tabaqat-I-shahjahani, f.316b)
3. Sheikh dawud of chati converted fifty to a hundred Hindus each day would make the number of converts annually an impossible neat 15,000
(Ref. supra, p.63)
Sheikh dawud’s successor, shah abu’l-ma’ali, and Sufis in other qadiriyya khanqahs certainly never hesitated in their proselytizing mission and even Mulla shah converted a number of Hindus to Islam
(Ref. supra, p.119-120)
4. Shah ‘abdu’l-’aziz himself claimed to have converted hundreds of hindus, but was not successful in recruiting more than half a dozen shi’is to the ranks of sunnism.
(Ref.- malfuzat-I-shah ‘abdu’l-’aziz, p.22)5. A Hindu zamindar Birbar was arrested for fomenting a rebellion and was given the death sentence. He requested a Sufi Miran Bhikh to save his life and promising to become a Muslim if he did so. He was pardoned and was rewarded with a rode of honor. Sufi Miran converted him to Islam and also made him his disciple.
(Ref. HSI vol. 2 p.272-273)
5. According to Dara -Sukoh, Sheikh ‘Abdul-qadir converted a large number of Hindus to Islam, as well as causing many wayward Muslims to adopt a pious life
(Ref. Muhammad dara-shukoh, safinatu’l-auliya’, lucknow, 1872,p.69)
6. Sheikh Mahmud bin Abdullah gujrati was for several years deeply in love with the son of a Hindu dancer. The sheikh’s success in subsequently islamizing the boy was a matter of great satisfaction to the orthodox.
(Ref. Gulzar-i-abrar, f.247a.)
7. Nawahun, the Hindu darogha of Uch once visited Makhdum Jahaniyan (also known as Saiyid Jalalu’d-din Bukhari, eminent Suhrawardiyya Sufi) on his deathbed. He in his previous discourse had expressed that a formal recitation of kalima did not make the speaker a Muslim. The Saiyid concluded that Nawahun’s statement amounted to a protestation of faith. Nawahun was not willing to accept Islam. He even made an unsuccessful attempt to prevent his conversion from sultan of Delhi. But makhdum’s younger brother Saiyid Raju caught and executed him.
(Ref. HSI .by SAA Rizvi vol. 1 p. 279,280)
8. We know that the Suhrawardiyya, Shaikh lalalu’d-din tabrizi, Makhdum Jahaniyan and his brother, Raju Qattal, were active propagators of Islam. The Sufis trained in the khanqahs of Shaikh alaud-dala Simnani, Mir Saiyid Ali Hamadani and his son and successors, Mir Muhammad, considered the conversion of Hindus to Islam as one of their main objectives. Shaikh Jalal of Sylhet and his Turkistani disciples were similarly imbued with missionary fervour, as were Khwajgan and the Naqshbandiyyas of central Asia, some of whom would devote a few years of their lives fighting against the non-Islamic Turkic tribes before converting them to Islam. The Sufis of the Shattariyya, qadiriyya and the naqshbandiyyas orders who began establishing their khanqahs during the fifteenth century were deeply aware of the proselytizing traditions of their ancestors in Persia and central Asia, and brought their knowledge to bear upon Indian conditions in order to gain converts.
(Ref. HSI by SAA Rizvi, vol.2, pp.426)