Ghazwa-e-hind (the Conquest of India)
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Ghazwa-e-hind means "military conquest of India", and refers to a prophecy made by Muhammad as recorded in multiple, though mostly weak (daeef), hadith narrations.
Term and usage
In Arabic, ghazwa al-hind (غزوة الهند), but the concept is more well known in it's Urdu/Persian expression, ghazwa-e-hind, which uses the Urdu/Persian ezafe ("-e-" meaning "of"). Ghazwa means military expedition, attack or conquest [1] and hind means India [2]. This is because it is very often referenced by anti-Indian polemicists living in Pakistan.
An Islamist group in Pakistan called Lashkar-e-Taiba has declared that the Ghazwa-e-Hind prophecy refers to a forthcoming war in which India will be defeated and united with Pakistan, thus bringing the Indian subcontinent under unified Islamic rule.[3]
The hadiths
This one is graded hasan (good) by Islamic scholars. It promises Muslims being safe from fire, if they invade India:
It was narrated that Thawban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'There are two groups of my Ummah whom Allah will free from the Fire: The group that invades India (تَغْزُو الْهِنْدَ, taghzoo al-hind), and the group that will be with 'Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him.'"
From the same source there are another two weak hadiths:
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) promised that we would invade India (غَزْوَةَ الْهِنْدِ, ghazwa al-hind). If I live to see that I will sacrifice myself and my wealth. If I am killed, I will be one of the best of the martyrs, and if I come back, I will be Abu Hurairah Al-Muharrar."
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) promised us that we would invade India (غَزْوَةَ الْهِنْدِ, ghazwa al-hind). If I live to see that, I will sacrifice myself and my wealth. If I am killed, I will be one of the best of the martyrs, and if I come back, I will be Abu Hurairah Al-Muharrar." [1] [1] Al-Muharrar: The one freed (from the Fire).
References
- ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%BA%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%A9/
- ↑ https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D9%87%D9%86%D8%AF/
- ↑ Haqqani, Husain (27 March 2015). "Prophecy & the Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent - by Husain Haqqani". Hudson Institute.
For example, Lashkar-e-Taiba has often spoken of Ghazwa-e-Hind as a means of liberating Kashmir from Indian control. The group’s founder, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has declared repeatedly that “[i]f freedom is not given to the Kashmiris, then we will occupy the whole of India including Kashmir. We will launch Ghazwa-e-Hind. Our homework is complete to get Kashmir.” Pakistani propagandist Zaid Hamid has also repeatedly invoked Ghazwa-e-Hind as a battle against Hindu India led from Muslim Pakistan. According to Hamid, “Allah has destined the people of Pakistan” with victory and “Allah is the aid and helper of Pakistan.”