India our Land and its virtues - Historical Perspective

Discussion in 'Defence & Strategic Issues' started by ejazr, Aug 25, 2010.

  1. ejazr

    ejazr Stars and Ambassadors Stars and Ambassadors

    Oct 8, 2009
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    Hyderabad and Sydney
    This is an article that was written by Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani founder of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind in the 1940s to counter the propaganda unleashed by Muslim League on how they are seperate from India. It was also to counter the assertions of groups like Hindu Mahasbabha that casted doubts on loyalty of muslims and regarded muslims in general as invaders and not citizens ofthe soil or that they couldnot be loyal to India because Islam is not an "Indic religion". It is an interesting document precisely because he uses theological references regarding his position on this being an Islamic scholar himself. An interesting read nonetheless.

    India our land & its virtues I and II (16-31 Oct 02)
    Among all the communities residing in India, only Muslims have firm religious belief that they are the descendents of Adam, the first man on the planet Earth. It is inseparable part of their belief based upon Qurâ€™anic verses that entire humanity on this earth has originated from Adam. Contrarily, rest of the communities in India believe in the gradual evolution of homo sapiens.

    Islamic literature tells us that Prophet Adam descended directly from the heaven on Indian soil. India was his first domicile and the entire human race has spread from here. For this very reason the nomenclature Aâ€™dmi is used to denote human being. We find numerous references to this effect in Muslim magnum opus i.e. Subhatul Marjan Fi Tarikhe Hindustan, written by the celebrated Islamic scholar Allama Ghulam Ali Azad Bilgrami.

    Several references can be found in the Bible as well to support this claim--specially the chapter that deals with the ancient period. In Tafsir Ibne Kathir (Chapter 1, Page 80) it is written that when Adam descended upon this earth, he had with him Hijre Aswad (the black stone). While leaving the paradise, he felt sad. To keep the memory of paradise alive, he collected the leaves of different flowers and scattered them upon the land he descended upon. From these leaves, it is said flowers and fragrance have originated and spread in the world. And this is why all kinds of flora are found in India only.

    According to one Hadith (saying of the Prophet), the entire humanity on this planet is but one community. According to another, in each and every community a Prophet has been sent for guidance. In Subhatul Marjan, it is written that Adamâ€™s offsprings first spread on Indian soil and got engaged in agricultural work. Therefore, according to Islamic traditions and teachings, India is the original habitat of Muslims. Those who do not trace their origin from Adam cannot legitimately claim India as their original homeland.

    India is the homeland of Muslims by Virtue of their Faith
    As per Qurâ€™anic revelations and the teachings of Islam, all true Prophets professed Islam as their religion. Thus Adam and his descendants too followed Islam and were Muslims.

    The Holy Qurâ€™an informs that initially the whole human race belonged to one community. "Mankind was but one nation" (Surah Yunus: Verse: 19) Later on sharp religious differences crept in and as a result various religious communities came into existence. The Almighty Allah from time to time sent Prophets in different communities all over the planet for their guidance whenever and wherever they deviated from the true pathâ€”Islam. The deputation of Prophets among deviant communities was for the sole purpose of guiding them to the right path. "Innaddina Inda- Allah Al-Islam"- Sura Aale Imran, J.3.A.19

    It is, therefore, quite possible that before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (pubh) in Arabian Peninsula many prophets came to India to preach Islam at various intervals. It is said that many Sufi saints during their meditation, at different locations in India, have come across the graves of prophets. Numerous references to this effect exist in various books of Muslim scholars i.e. Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Thani and Mirza Mazhar Jane Jaâ€™na. Unfortunately, however, like Christians and Jews who due to interpolation in their religious scriptures have deviated from the right path, the Hindu community has also deviated from the original religion that was nothing but Islam.

    In short, India has been the cradle of Islam since time immemorial. The country, therefore by faith, is and shall remain the original homeland of Muslims.

    India: A country of Muslims by virtue of their domicile
    Unlike Hindus and Zoroastrians who completely destroy the dead body, either turning the corpse into ashes by placing upon a pyre and later throwing it into the rivers or by placing it on the Tower of Silence for birds to consume it, only Muslims bury the dead body into graves. Unlike them, even after death, a Muslim remains attached to the soil. Their graves remain intact. And as per Muslimâ€™s belief, on the Day of Judgement, it is from these graves that they would be resurrected into yet another life. Though the dead body of Muslims placed beneath the earth also gets destroyed, it is from the remaining particles that their new existence would come into being. Thereby, Muslimsâ€™ physical relationship to the land would remain till the dooms day.

    Contrary to this, the community that burns the dead body or feeds it to the birds cannot claim their physical relationship to India after death. And it is for this reason that we hardly find the vestiges of their ancestors at any place. However, the entire Indian subcontinent is dotted with graves and mausoleums that are zealously guarded by the Muslim community as remnants of their ancestors.

    India: A country of Muslims by virtue of their spiritual belief
    Contrary to Muslimsâ€™ belief, other communities living in India (especially Hindus) believe in transmigration of soul. According to Hindu Shastra, a human soul transmigrates and converts into other entity in order to receive reward and punishment. Therefore, human souls after death are converted (in accordance with their good and bad deeds) and given the shape of insects, birds, animals and even rebirth in the shape of human beings. However, the transmigration of a soul does not necessarily take place within the geographical boundary of his/her previous birth. Thus there is no guarantee that a Hindu soul dying on Indian soil will again take birth in India only. Therefore, according to this belief, a man who died in India can be reborn in America, Africa, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Thus the relationship of soul and body is completely ruptured after death. Besides, the soulâ€™s relation with his/her community, village, city, country is totally broken.

    According to Muslimâ€™s belief, the soul and body relationship (even though intangible) is maintained even after death. After death soul is kept intact in Alam-e-Barzakh, (Isthmus/Afterlife) where it receives reward and punishment in accordance with his/her good and bad deeds committed in the world. Though here also the soul and body relationship is superficial and intangible, there remains a distant relationship between these two. On the basis of this relationship, though distant and superficial, soul will rush to the grave and penetrate into remaining particles of the body--giving it a full fledged human shape. It is the same as when we leave our home and family, we still have some sort of relationship intact with them. Muslims, therefore, visit graveyard and pray for the peace and salvation of the departed soul. Does such emotional relationship exist with the dead man in communities that turn their dead into ashes and throw it into the rivers and oceans?

    Burning a dead body, however, is like displacing or making a soul homeless. Burying it into the grave is like making a permanent home for the departed soul.

    Thus for the departed soul of a Muslim, a grave is like radio station, which is connected with numerous centres, where messages are received and transmitted.

    Muslims association with the soil remains even after death
    According to Islamic faith and its teachings, a day (Doomsday) will come when every living being will die. Those who had died earlier (their bodies converted into soil) will be resurrected and restored to their original shape. With their regained physical status, they will be consigned either to hell or taken to heaven (according to their deeds). Therefore, in the very land where a man is born, found nourishment and fulfilment of all necessities, he would continue getting benefited even after death. Contrary to this belief of the Muslims, Hindus hold a view that is just opposite. They believe that their souls come into contact with the bodies that are made from soil which is different from the previous one. After penetrating into new found body, the soul altogether forgets the previous one.

    India: Muslims are its indigenous inhabitants like any other Community
    Like the Aryans, Greeks, Egyptians, Turks, Mongols et al who all have come to India from outside and have permanently settled in this country, Muslims too have made India their permanent homeland. Like others, they too have done cultivation, made it their permanent home and have rendered their valuable services in every walk of life. Like others, Muslims came a thousand years ago. Generations of Muslim have lived and died in this country and are thus an indivisible part of its history. It is an established fact that thousands of indigenous Indian inhabitants were attracted to the truthfulness of Muslimsâ€™ faith and embraced Islam. And today, the majority of Muslim population in India consists of the original inhabitants of this country.

    They and their generations will prosper in the same land where their ancestors have been buried for the centuries.

    A question, why do Indian Muslims maintain strong relationship with the Muslims of other countries? And why do Muslims residing in India cry whenever Muslims are persecuted in other parts of the world? A simple answer to these questions is: according to the teachings of Islam, Muslims are an Ummah ( a Community of Believers). Their relationship is the bond of spirituality that springs from their faith and religion. It is thus quite natural that Muslims of one country would express their solidarity with the Muslims of another country. It is exactly same as the relationship Indian Hindus have with the people of their faith residing in South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius etc. When Hindus in Fiji are persecuted, people residing in India become restless. If Muslims are emotionally tied up with their co-religionists in other countries, it does not affect their patriotism and love for their own motherland.

    India: The Land & Its Excellence
    In this article, an effort has been made to highlight the importance of India in the light of the Hadith (Prophetâ€™s sayings) and precepts of the Prophetâ€™s companions. The main source of this write-up is the book entitled â€˜Subhatul Marjan Fi Asare Hindustanâ€™, written in Arabic language by the celebrated Islamic scholar Allama Ghulam Ali Azad Bilgrami. In the first chapter of this book which consists of twenty pages, he discusses various Hadith and Tafaseer (exegeses) dealing with the excellence and importance of India.

    Undoubtedly Makkah, Madina and Jerusalem are the holiest cities for entire Muslim community of the world. As per Islamic tenets, no place is more sacred and revered to Muslims than these places. It is, therefore, obligatory on every Muslim to respect and revere these holy places. But the Islamic traditions also teach us that our country, India is a fountainhead of many great virtues.

    According to the sayings of the Prophetâ€™s companions such as Caliph Hazrat Ali, Ummul Momineen Hazrat Ayesha, Adam, the first human being and the first Propeht of Islam sent on earth, descended on Sarandeep island (now situated in Ceylon). Hawwa (Eve) descended somewhere in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Both, first ever inhabitants of earth, remained separated for quite some time. Wandering through the island and crossing through India, Adam reached Jeddah. And eventually their long drawn separation came to an end. Adam and Hawwa (Eve) met each other at a place called Muzdalifa (meaning meeting point in Arabic). At this place, it is obligatory on Haj pilgrims to stay put and spend one night to revive the memory of Adam and Eveâ€™s rendezvous.

    According to a tradition of Hazrat Ayesha, a red hillock had existed then at the place where now the holy Kâ€™aba stands. Adam received commandment from Allah to construct a Mosque at the same site and perform circumambulation of the mosque in the way he had witnessed angels circumambulating the Baite Maâ€™mur (Throne of Allah) in the heaven. Adam obyed Allahâ€™s commandment, constructed the mosque and prayed.

    After offering prayer Adam took Eve along with him, came back to India and permanently settled here. And it is from India that the progeny of Adam and Eve spread throughout the world. The incident of Habil (Abdel) and Qabil (Cain) (first ever assassination of human soul on earth) had also taken place on Indian soil. After this tragic incident, Allah blessed Adam with another son, Shish (meaning gift form Allah)

    Ayodhya is a place near Faizabad which is considered the birth place of Rama, a holy place for Hindu community today, where also exists a long grave. This grave is said to be the burial place of Hazrat Shish (Allah knows the best).

    It is said that Adam performed nearly forty Hajj from India, travelling on foot. Beside this he had performed seven hundred Hajj and Umrah while residing in Mecca.
    Indiaâ€™s prominence can be now summarised as under:

    (1) Since India is the place where Allahâ€™s first Caliph (Vicegerent of Allah) descended, it has acquired the status of the first capital of entire humanity.

    (2) Being the Vice Regent and the Prophet, Adam used to receive angels and revelations from Allah. Therefore, India acquires the status of being the first land where human soul ever received the enlightenment.

    (3) It is India where the angel descended for the first time and thus it is this land that has the honour of receiving the first revelation of Allah.

    (4) Adamâ€™s body had been created from the clay of â€˜Wajniâ€™ area. Researchers have opined that the place Wajni used here refers to a place in India. Therefore, the distinction of a Prophetâ€™s mortal body created by earthly clay also goes to India. Since Adam is the progenitor of human beings on earth and his mortal being was created from the Indian soil, the mortal bodies of all Prophets and holy men have been created from this earth.

    (5) The soul of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had been created before Adam in the Heaven. This pious soul had to appear on earth in physical form by passing through the most pious souls of succeeding generations. This pious soul ultimately appeared on the horizon, in Makkah, Arabian Peninsula. Since Adam and his son Shish had resided in India, the soul of Prophet Muhammad received nourishment from the Indian soil as well. The couplet of Kab bin Zahir, the famous poet and companion of the Prophet, in praise of India is important and noteworthy here.

    Undoubtedly the Prophet (pbuh) is the light, a source of enlightenment.
    He is like a naked sword, of Indian make.

    (6) Hazrat Abu Huraira narrated this Hadith from Prophet Mohammad that to console Adam, Allah had sent angel Gabriel to Adam. When he met Prophet Adam, he recited:
    Allaho Akbar Allaho Akbar, Ashahado An la Ilaha Illallah, Wa Ashhado Anna Mohammadur Rasoolullah.
    The recitation was the same as in Adhan (call for prayer) today. When Adam (pbuh) heard the name â€˜Mohammadâ€™, he inquired: Oâ€™ Allah! Whose name is this? Promptly came the reply: He is the one from among your progeny, who would be the last Prophet of humanity. (Tabrani, Abu Naeem, Ibn-e-Aâ€™skari).
    From this tradition, it becomes clear that the descent of Gabriel on earth, the declaration of unity of Allah and His Greatness and the proclamation of Mohammadâ€™s prophethood for the first time was made on the Indian soil, which fortunately today is our motherland.

    (7) It was reported by Hazrat Abdullah Ibn-e-Abbas and Hazrat Ali that India has the largest varieties of flora because Adam first descended from Heaven on the Indian soil. It is a fact that cardamom, clove, kewra, rose, cinnamon, camphor, jasmine, strawberry, ambergris, saffron and all types of such products are found only in India. Musk and ambergris find their mention in various traditions of Prophet (PBUH). Therefore, itâ€™s quite clear that Allah has bestowed all kinds of food grain, cereal and plants upon the land that was inhabited by Adam, the first human soul on earth. Prophet Adam had lived in this world almost for one thousand years.

    It is not necessary today to stress upon the importance of iron and iron industry in both war as well as peacetime. Today we find the pivotal role and use of iron in every walk of human life. The importance of iron has been described in the following verses of the holy Quran:
    Wa anzalna hadid fiha basun shadeed wa manfeh linnas.
    â€˜And we sent down Iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind (Sura Al-Hadid or Iron, J. 27 A.25)â€™

    In addition to iron as stated above, gold, silver, diamond and other metals and precious stones etc. were gifted to India in abundance. Arts and crafts, textiles, cloth weaving, building and construction, ship building activities etc. had all started in India right from the time of Adam who lived in this world for almost a thousand years and died in India. Hazrat Nooh (Noah) had spent his initial days in India and built his ark here. India, however, was safe from the great flood during his time.

    In the light of the above Islamic traditions, it becomes quite apparent that importance of India canâ€™t be denied from religious point of view. The question is: what are the duties of people residing on Indian soil? In other words, what is the demand of India from its citizens like us? The answer is the same that Palestinian Muslims have given to the Jews. The country demands that people should work hard to make it prosperous and defend it at the time of aggression from the foreign forces.

    After this, it is imperative to conclude this article with the observation of Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri. It might be a repetition but nevertheless it is worth it. I am reproducing here a passage form his presidential address at the session of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind held at Peshawar. He had said: "I want to make it clear that India is homeland of Muslims and Hindus alike. The ancestors of Muslims had come to this land centuries ago and ruled for a long time. They love this country as much as other communities do because it was prophetic tradition to love onesâ€™ own country.

    Thus Muslims love India from the core of their heart. Similarly other fellowmen of Muslims inhabiting this land should naturally love their homeland as much.
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2010
  3. samarsingh

    samarsingh Regular Member

    Jun 18, 2010
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    I personally have great respect for Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, they played a crucial part in the independence struggle and opposed the two nation theory. Recently Maulana Madani gave befitting reply to Musharraf too.
    However I differ on many of the points made in this post on academic grounds.


    Jews and Christians share this belief too and there were Jews and Christians in Pre Independent India too

    So the first man on the planet had a name which means he must have had an advanced language too. Such arguments seriously discredit the gradual advances humanity has made over a course of hundreds of thousands of years.

    The Hindus would like to believe that entire humanity originated from Manu, again that is only creating differences.

    They do not actually, I hope they did believe in gradual evolution of species, but it is good that in schools they teach all of us the gradual evolution (do not know about Madrasas)

    The Arabs might take strong objection to the first sentence. Manushya and Man are other nomenclatures used to denote to human beings and Hindutvavadis claim the term originates from Manu

    Do not mean to offend anyone here but let me just say that even nursery children wont believe in the simplistic argument about diversity of flora and fauna in India.

    Agree with the Prophet(PBUH)

    If that helps Indian Muslims sleep well at night then I don't mind them believing in such a thing.

    It is just because of such statements that there was a Hindu Mahasabha and we have RSS, BJP today

    Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 â€“ June 27, 1844) was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, He claimed that Garden of Eden was located in Missouri, USA and that Indians (Native Americans) were a lost tribe of Israelites.
    Such beliefs give the believers a sort of legitamacy, many such beliefs however in reality are ill founded.

    So Hindus and Zoroastrians should bury their dead to be more "Indians". Zoroastrians and Hindus believe in permanence of soul and impermanence of the body , hence their respective Cremation rituals.

    Sounds like "Mummy Returns", factually no mummy has ever risen from the dead

    So Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Zoroastrians are inconsiderate to their dead. Visit this permanent home after a year and you would find nothing but a skeleton. Zoroastrians feed their dead to vultures, People of the book feed it to bacteria and maggots. To me it doesn't matter whether you burn your dead or bury your dead, we should be more concerned about how we treat our living

    India: Muslims are its indigenous inhabitants like any other Community
    totally agree with the author here.

    In times of war such solidarity might come as a disadvantage to the nation. Consider this many Indians were more considerate to the cause of the Turkish Sultanate then their own independence. God forbid, but if India were ever to go to war with Nepal, do you think that the Nepalese or Indians would care that majority of them are Hindus.

    Ayodhya is controversial enough, lets not add fuel to the fire.

    no different from what Hindu Nationalists would have said, only that arguments given are based on Muslim mythology and theology

    The Muslims in India have been living here for hundreds of years, that is reason enough for them to be considered equals. In my view there is no need to resort to mythology and theology which can be questioned and countered. To me(and thankfully legally too) a naturalised Indian Citizen is as much an Indian as any Indian born Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Jain, Atheist whatever
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2010

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