By: Mohammad Afzal Khan
Ghazwa-e-Hind has been misinterpreted and distorted by some radical scholars for provoking Indian Muslims to shed blood and take revenge in the name of Islam which in reality is dedicated for propagating peace, harmony, brotherhood, justice and equality disregarding caste, creed and religion. Ghazwa-e-Hind symbolizes conquering of Hind (Indian subcontinent) by Muslims. Relevance of Ghazwa-e-Hind faded with the arrival of Mohammad bin Qasim in 712 AD who was sent by the Islamic Head to invade the Indian subcontinent. Some extreme groups have been trying to wage war against India by misinterpreting the religion.
The definition of the term Hind is very complicated nowadays to expound its geographical background because its implication internationally in 7th century had comprised present Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and some neighbourhood countries. The world was entirely different geographically that cannot be applied on the present walled countries. Some extremist groups in Pakistan and other countries have been trying to wage war emotionally, psychologically via different online platforms for provoking innocent educated and young Muslims.
On the other, these self-proclaimed jihadists have failed to defend their own country and protect their own people’s lives; and they raise sympathetic voice to protect Muslims who have been living in India where they are enjoying all the facilities. Indian Muslims are true patriots.
Ghazwa-e-Hind should be understood by rational and analytical study of its historical background and context. According to Islamic constitution, Mufti e Aazam (chief judiciary person) can justify and decide the most significant contemporary issues by Ijma (The consensus of legal Muslim Scholars). So they should explain Ghazwa-e-Hind on the basis of today’s geographical confinement. All the Indian Muslims must understand their religious texts accurately and love and respect Indian constitution for building prosperous and peaceful society forsaking the path of extremist and radical organization and groups which sow seeds of destruction and disruption in India.
Sometimes one comes across annoying things that disturb not only mental but world peace as well. The essence and message of Islam is indeed peace and imagination of a world without evil, deception, chaos and turmoil. Nevertheless, the misappropriation of basic concepts and associating these to terrorism constructs a different image of Muslim and Islam, which is often proved to be antithetical to normalcy and peace. The irony is that a good number of Muslim countries are submerged in violence, socially divided and politically fragile. In these countries, external interventions are the norm, leading to internal divisions and power struggles; which sometimes become recruiting grounds for
extremists. This brings in the point that the extremist organisations like ISIS, through their violent actions defame Islam and Muslims, in general, justifying such action by misrepresenting excerpts from holy Quran.
Islam addresses the needs of humanity with its principles of morality, spirituality, justice, forbearance, brotherhood and peace. The prime focus of Islam is on the creation of an ideal humane society guided by reason were brotherhood and benevolence are the social basis under divine guidance for the betterment and salvation. In fact, in the holy Quran, God allows Muslims to be at peace with those who do not harm their existence. “Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous towards them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.” (60:8).
Therefore, peace is something which cannot be side-lined in any circumstances; it is not just the cessation of war and violence, rather encompasses germination of opportunities for prosperity. A Muslim is he who brings closer his adversaries through his noble character and teach them compassion and forbearance.
As mentioned in the Quran, there is no compulsion on anyone to accept Islam as their religion, and it is upon Allah to guide him/her on the righteous path. Therefore, the extremist organisations craft the literature with an appropriated interpretation to allure the recruits for doing what Islam forbids them to do. The publications of this nature intend to invent an emergency in which a threat is constructed, and offensive military action is presented to be the best alternative solution. Hence, need arises to counter such constructed simplification intellectually by exposing the redundant ideologies, which can only be done by teaching and living the actual message of the religion of peace, Islam.
