Epigraphic Evidence from the
inscriptions on numerous Mosques all over India.
In this article, I will deal with only the literary
evidence. A separate article will be devoted
to the epigraphic evidence.
This article is just one of the series of articles that
I will be publishing regarding the plunder and
conversion of Hindu temples to mosques.
Hundereds of Muslim historians have glorified
the deeds of their Muslim heroes all over India.
I will just cite a fraction of the literary evidence
available in these series of articles. This by no
means is an exhaustive list! To learn more about
this please read both the volumes of book,
Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them?,
authored by
Sita Ram Goel and many others.
We have elaborate literary evidence from the
Islamic sources which glorify the crimes committed by
the muslims in India. Crimes such as desecration of
the Hindu idols, looting of the temples, killing
devotees and raping have been well documented by the
Muslim historians
themselves. They have done
so because according to them these muslim rulers
by doing such deeds were following the tenets of
Islam and sunnah of the prophet Mohammed. This
brings me back to my original point which I have
made in my earlier articles: Islam not only justifies
rape, murder, plunder and destruction, but in fact,
it was originated to attract followers
with such inclination. To know more about
this read my previous article,
Excessive Kindness Of Islam.
The literary evidence stated below is in
chronological order with reference to the time
at which a particular work was written.
Name Of The Book:
Hindustan Islami Ahad mein (India under Islamic Rule)
Name Of The Historian:
Maulana Abdul Hai.
About The Author:
He is a
highly respected scholar and taken as an
authority on Islamic history. Because of his
scholarship and his services to Islam,
Maulana Abdul Hai was appointed as the Rector
of the Darul Nadwa Ullum Nadwatal-Ulama.
He continued in that post till his death in February 1923.
The following section is taken from the chapter
Hindustan ki Masjidein
(The mosques of India) of the above mentioned book.
Here we can see a brief description of
few important mosques in India and how each one
of them was built upon plundered Hindu
temples.
- Qawwat al-Islam Mosque at Delhi:
"According to my findings the first mosque of
Delhi is Qubbat al-Islam or Quwwat al_Islam
which, Qutubud-Din Aibak constructed in
H. 587 after demolishing the hindu temple built
by Prithvi Raj and leaving certain parts of the
temple outside the mosque proper;
and when he returned from Ghazni in H. 592
he started building, under orders from Shihabud
-Din Ghori, a huge mosque of inimitable red
stones, and certain parts of the temple were
included in the mosque..."
- The Mosque at Jaunpur:
"This was built by Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi
with chiselled stones. Originally it was a Hindu
temple after demolishing which he constructed
the mosque. It is known as the Atala Masjid.."
- The Mosque at Qanauj:
"It is well known that this mosque was built
on the foundations of some Hindu temple that
stood here. The mosque was built by Ibrahim
Sharqi in H. 809 as is recorded in Gharbat Nigar"
- Jami Masjid at Etwah:
"This mosque stands on the bank of the Jamuna
at Etawah. There was a Hindu temple at this
place, on the site of which this mosque was
constructed.."
- Babri Masjid at Ayodhya:
"This mosque was constructed by Babar at
Ayodhya which Hindus call the birth place of
Ramchandraji... Sita had a temple here in which
she lived and cooked for her husband. On that
very site Babar constructed this mosque in H.963 "
- Mosque at Benaras:
"Mosque of Benares was built by Alamgir Aurangzeb
on the site of Bisheshwar Temple. That temple
was very tall and held as holy among Hindus.
On this very site and with those very stones
he constructed a lofty mosque, and its ancient
stones were rearranged after being embedded in
the walls of the mosque. It is one of the
renowned mosques of Hindustan."
- Mosque at Mathura:
"Alamgir Aurangzeb built a mosque at Mathura.
This mosque was built on site of the Govind
Dev Temple which was very strong and beautiful
as well as exquisite.."
Name Of The Book:
Futuhu'l-Buldan
Name Of The Historian:
Ahmed bin Yahya bin Jabir
About The Author:
This author is also known as al-
Biladhuri. He lived at the court of Khalifa Al-
Mutawakkal (AD 847-861) and died in AD 893.
His history is one of the major Arab chronicles.
The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:
Ibn Samurah (AD 653)
Siestan (Iran)
"On reaching Dawar, he surrounded the enemy in
the mountain of Zur, where there was a famous
Hindu temple."
"...Their idol of Zur was of gold, and its eyes were
two rubies. The zealous Musalmans cut off its hands
and plucked out its eyes, and then remarked to the
Marzaban how powerless was his idol..."
Qutaibah bin Muslim al-Bahili (AD 705-715)
Samarkand (Farghana)
"Other authorities say that Kutaibah granted peace
for 700,000 dirhams and entertainment for the
Moslems for three days. The terms of surrender
included also the houses of the idols and the fire
temples. The idols were thrown out, plundered of
their ornaments and burned..."
Mohammed bin Qasim (AD 712-715)
Debal (Sindh)
"...The town was thus taken by assault, and the
carnage endured for three days. The governor of
the town, appointed by Dahir, fled and the priests
of the temple were massacred. Muhammad marked
a place for the Musalmans to dwell in, built a mosque,
and left 4,000 Musalmans to garrison the place..."
"...'Ambissa son of Ishak Az Zabbi, the governor of
Sindh, in the Khilafat of Mu'tasim billah knocked
down the upper part of the minaret of the temple and
converted it into a prison..."
Multan (Punjab)
"...He then crossed the Biyas, and went towards
Multan...Muhammad destroyed the water-course;
upon which the inhabitants, oppressed with thirst,
surrendered at discretion. He massacred the men
capable of bearing arms, but the children were taken
captive, as well as ministers of the temple, to the
number of 6,000. The Musalmans found there
much gold in a chamber ten cubits long by eight
broad..."
Hasham bin 'Amru al-Taghlabi
Khandahar (Maharashtra)
"He then went to Khandahar in boats and conquered
it. He destroyed the Budd (idol) there, and built in its
place a mosque."
Name Of The Book: Tarikh-i-Tabari
Name Of The Historian: Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin
Jarir at-Tabari
About The Author: This author is considered to be the
foremost historian of Islam. The above mentioned book
written by him is regarded as the mother of histories.
The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:
Qutaibah bin Muslim al-Bahili (AD 705-715)
Beykund (Khurasan)
"The ultimate capture of Beykund (in AD 706) rewarded
him with an incalculable booty; even more than had hitherto
fallen into the hands of the Mohammedans by the conquest
of the entire province of Khorassaun; and the unfortunate
merchants of the town, having been absent on a trading
excursion while their country was assailed by the enemy,
and finding their habitations desolate on their return
contributed further to enrich the invaders, by the ransom
which they paid for the recovery of their wives and children.
The oranments alone, of which these women had been plundered,
being melted down, produce, in gold, 150,000 meskals; of a
dram and a half each. Among the articles of the booty, is also
described an image of gold, of 50,000 meskals, of which the
eyes were two pearls, the exquisite beauty and magnitude
of which excited the surprise and admiration of Kateibah.
They were transmitted by him, with a fifth of the spoil to
Hejauje, together with a request that he might be permitted
to distribute, to the troops, the arms which had been found in
the palace in great profusion."
Samarkand (Farghana)
"A breach was, however, at last effected in the walls of the
city in AD 712 by the warlike machines of Kateibah; and
some of the most daring of its defenders having fallen by
the skill of his archers, the besieged demanded a cessation
of arms to the following day, when they promised to
capitulate. The request was acceded to the Kateibah; and a
treaty was the next day accordingly concluded between him
and the prince of Samarkand, by which the latter engaged for
the annual payment of ten million of dhirems, and a supply
of three thousand slaves; of whom it was particularly
stipulated, that none should either be in a state of infancy,
or ineffective from old age and debility. He further contracted
that the ministers of his religion should be expelled from their
temples and their idols destroyed and burnt; that Kateibah
should be allowed to establish a mosque in the place of
the principal temple...."
"...Kateibah accordingly set set fire to the whole collection
with his own hands; it was soon consumed to ashes, and
50,000 meskals of gold and silver, collected from the nails
which had been used in the workmanship of the images."
Yaqub bin Laith (AD 870-871)
Balkh and Kabul (Afghanistan)
"He took Bamian, which he probably reached by way of
Herat, and then marched on Balkh where he ruined (the
temple) Naushad. On his way back from Balkh he attacked
Kabul..."
"Starting from Panjhir, the place he is known to have visited,
he must have passed through the capital city of the Hindu
Sahis to rob the sacred temple -- the reputed place of
coronation of the Sahi rulers -- of its sculptural wealth..."
"The exact details of the spoil collected from Kabul valley are
lacking. The Tarikh [-i-Sistan]
records 50 idols of gold and
silver and Mas'udi mentions
elephants. The wonder excited in
Baghdad by baghdad by elephants and pagan idols forwarded
to the Caliph by Ya'qub also speaks for their high value."
Name Of The Book:
Tarikhu'l-Hind
Name Of The Historian:
Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Biruni al-Khwarizmi.
About The Author: This author spent 40 years in India
during the reign of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997 -
1030). His history treats of the literature and learning of
the Hindus at the commencement of the 11th century.
The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:
Jalam ibn Shaiban (9th century AD)
Multan (Punjab)
"A famous idol of theirs was that of Multan,
dedicated to the sun, and therefore called
Aditya. It was
of wood and covered with
red Cordovan leather; in its two eyes were
two red rubies. It is said to have been made
in the last Kritayuga
.....When Muhammad Ibn
Alkasim Ibn Almunaibh conquered Multan,
he inquired how the town had become so
very flourishing and so many treasures had
there been accumulated, and then he found
out that this idol was the cause, for there came
pilgrims from all sides to visit it. Therefore he
thought it best to have the idol where it was,
but he hung a piece of cow's flesh on its neck
by way of mockery. On the same place a
mosque was built. When the Karmatians
occupied Multan, Jalam Ibn Shaiban, the
usurper, broke the idol into pieces and killed
its priests..."
Sultan Mahmud of Gazni (AD 997-1030)
Thanesar (Haryana)
"The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by Hindus.
The idol of that place is called Cakrasvamin,
i.e. the
owner of the cakra, a weapon which we have already
described. It is of bronze, and is nearly the size of a
man. It is now lying in the hippodrome in Ghazna,
together with the Lord of Somnath, which is a
representation of the penis of the Mahadeva, called
Linga."
Somnath (Gujrat)
"The linga he raised was the stone of
Somnath, for
soma means the moon and
natan means master, so that
the whole word means master of the moon. The image
was destroyed by the Prince Mahmud, may God be
merciful to him! --AH 416. He ordered the upper part
to be broken and the remainder to be transported to
his residence, Ghaznin, with all its coverings and trappings
of gold, jewels, and embroided garments. Part of it has
been thrown into the hippodrome of the town, together
with Cakrasvamin
, an idol of bronze, that had been
brought from Taneshar. Another part of the idol from
Somnath lies before the door
of the mosque of Ghaznin,
on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and
wet."
Name Of The Book: Kitabu'l-Yamini
Name Of The Historian: Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn
Muhammad al Jabbaru'l-Utbi.
About The Author: This author's
work comprises the
whole of the reign of Subuktigin and that of
Sultan Mahmud down to the year AD 1020.
The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:
Amir Sbuktigin Of Ghazni
Lamghan (Afghanistan)
"The Amir marched out towards Lamghan, which is a
city celebrated for its great strength and abounding
wealth. He conquered it and set fire to the places in its
vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing
idol temples, he established Islam in them. He marched
and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches,
destroying the idolaters and gratifying the Musulmans."
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)
Narain (Rajasthan)
"The Sultan again resolved on an expedition to Hind,
and marched towards Narain, urging his horses and
moving over ground, hard and soft, until he came to
the middle of Hind, where he reduced chiefs, who, up
to that time obeyed no master, overturned their idols,
put to the sword the vagabonds of that country, and
with delay and circumspection proceeded to accomplish
his design..."
Nardin (Punjab)
"After the Sultan had purified
Hind from idolatry, and
raised mosques therein, he determined to invade the
capital of Hind to punish those who kept idols and
would not acknowledge the unity of God...He marched
with a large army in the year AH 404 (AD 1013) during
a dark night..."
"A stone was found there in the temple of the great Budda
on which an inscription was written purporting that the
temple had been founded 50,000 years ago. The
Sultan was surprised at the ignorance
of these people,
because those who believe in the true faith represent
that only seven hundred years have elapsed since the
creation of the world, and the signs of resurrection are
even now approaching . The Sultan asked his wise men
the meaning of this inscription and they all concurred in
saying that it was false, and no faith was to be put in
the evidence of a stone."
Thanesar (Haryana)
"The chief of Tanesar was...obstinate in his infidelity and
denial of God. So the Sultan marched against him with his
valiant warriors, for the purpose of planting the standards
of Islam and extirpating idolatry.."
"The blood of the infidels flowed so copiously, that the
stream was discoloured, not withstanding its purity, and
people were unable to drink it...The victory gained by
God's grace, who has established Islam for ever as the
best religions, notwithstanding that idolaters revolt against
it...Praise be to God, the protector of the world, for the
honour he bestows upon Islam and Musulmans."
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)
"The Sultan then departed from the
environs of the city,
in which was a temple of the Hindus. The name of this
place was Mahartul Hind... On both sides of the city
there were a thousand houses, to which idol temples
were attached, all strengthened from top to bottom
by rivets of iron, and all made of masonry work..."
"In the middle of the city there was a temple larger and
firmer than the rest, which can neither be described nor
painted. The Sultan thus wrote respecting it:
--'If any
should wish to construct a building equal to this, he
would not be able to do it without expending an
100,000,000 red dinars, and it would occupy 200 years
even though the most experience and able workmen were
employed'... The Sultan gave orders that all temples
should be burnt with naptha and fire, and levelled with
the ground."
Kanauj (Uttar Pradesh)
"In Kanauj there were nearly 10,000 temples, which
the idolaters falsely and absurdly represented to have
been founded by their ancestors two or three hundred
thousand years ago...Many of the inhabitants of the
place fled and were scattered abroad like so many
wretched widows and orphans, from the fear which
oppressed them, in consequence of witnessing the fate
of their deaf and dumb idols. Many of them thus effected
their escape, and those who did not fly were put to death."
Part II will follow next week.