The
exemplary role of the Awliya Allah (saints) in the propagation of religion and
Islam:
Friends
of Allah:
Awliya
is the plural form of wali; which means friend, defender, guardian, etc. From an
Islamic point of view, it refers to those who have been considered as truly
pious and God-fearing and therefore serve as role models for common people.
The Last
Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, was born in 570 AD. Moreover, the
proclamation of the Prophet Hood took place in 610 AD. The Holy Prophet
Mohammad (PBUH) migrated from Makkah to Madinah (cities in Saudi Arabia), and a
regular series of the preaching of Islam began in 622 AD.
Islam
began to spread from the Arabian Peninsula and then spread to Asian, African
and European countries over the coming years and centuries. Today, the number
of Muslims in the world has reached one and a half billion.
The Last
Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent his letters
from Madinah to different parts of the world to preach Islam. A delegation of
five companions of the Holy Prophet also brought a letter from the Holy Prophet
to Sindh and Pakistan, and many of the people of Sindh reverted to Islam on their
hands.
Two
of these companions returned to Madinah with the people of Sindh and the other
three remained and died there. Another delegation from Sindh appeared before
the Last Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Madinah
when a delegation from Africa also arrived.
Both
of these delegations happily reverted to Islam at the hands of the Holy Prophet
Mohammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). At the hands of some of
the Companions, the people of Sindh and India reverted to Islam in the Arabian
Peninsula.
In
the time of the second caliph Honorable Umar, two people from Lanka came and reverted
to Islam and returned to Lanka from Madinah with the light of Islam.
About
thirty Companions came to Pakistan and India in various campaigns and spread
Islam. These include the Companions. Rabi ‘ibn Ziyad al-Harisi, Asim ibn
Tamimi, Abdullah ibn Umayr al-Ashja’i, Sahl ibn’ Adi ibn Malik al-Khazraji,
Majasha al-Thaliyah Salmi, Abdul Rahman ibn Samra ibn Habib Qureshi and so on.
Apart
from the Prophet’s Companions, many followers, followers of the successors of
the Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) Companions (as the third link of the chain of
tradition narrators), narrators, and scholars of Hadith also came to Sindh and
Balochistan and spread the light of Islam.
Islam
had spread in Sindh and Balochistan before the arrival of Muhammad bin Qasim.
This can also be assessed from this incident. That an Arab chief Muhammad Alani
was present in the territory of Raja Dahir (a prince in India) with five
hundred members of his tribe and was very familiar with Raja Dahir.
The
people of Sindh, most of whom were followers of Gautama Buddha, were attracted
to Islam. So when Muhammad bin Qasim reached the shores of Sindh, some people
became Muslims.
Among
them was Islamic scholar Debli, who went to the royal palace of Raja Dahir as a
spokesperson with Muhammad bin Qasim’s Syrian ambassador. Apart from Sindh and
Balochistan, the eastern and western coasts of India, Muslims, also settled
Malabar, and Koro Mandal, before the arrival of Muhammad bin Qasim in Sindh in
the first century AH.
After
the arrival of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, people from far-flung areas
began to take a keen interest in Islam.
So
Abdullah bin Umar of Sindh, at the behest of the (prince, Raja of Kashmir, sent
an Iraqi Sindhi scholar to Kashmir, who translated the Holy Qur’an into Hindi
for the Raja (prince) and when he recited the translation of some verses of
Surah Yaseen (Quran Chapter: 36), he wept bitterly.
He
prostrated himself on the ground and later became a Muslim. This was probably
the first complete translation of the Qur’an in the history of the Holy Qur’an
by a scholar from Sindh in Kashmir.
In
Pakistan and India, the light of Islam first spread to Balochistan, Sindh, and
South India, and in these areas, especially in Sindh, in the first, second,
third, and fourth centuries, the preaching of Islam and the propagation and publication
of Islamic sciences continued.
These
noblemen are among the great scholars and shaykhs (the saint) of Sindh. Hazrat
Abdul Rahman Bin Abbas (1st Century) Shaykh Abu Hafs Bin Rabi Saadi Basri (2nd
Century) Shaykh Al-Kabir Abu Ali Sindhi (3rd Century) Shaykh Ahmad Bin Abdullah
Debli Sindhi (4th Century) etc.
From
the fifth century AH, Islam began to spread in Pakistan’s KPK (NWFP), Punjab,
and other parts of India and Bangladesh. Then an endless series of Saints
began.
These
noblemen (the saints) worked tirelessly for the promotion of Islam in the
subcontinent. With their character and good morals, they turned hearts towards
Islam and brought about a healthy revolution in society.
Whatever
they did without fear, for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, they did
nothing for himself. Even though the saints are human beings, they are higher
than human beings.
They
are friends (the saints) of Allah Almighty; they are close to Allah Almighty.
We must follow them. In this is the goodness of all of us and the salvation of
the Hereafter.
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