Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c7.s3.16

c7.s3.16

*Congregational Prayer in India* Five times a day namaz was performed by all Muslim kings, nobles and others. From the early days of Islam in Arabia there was insistence on compulsory namaz for all Muslims. Sultans Iltutmish and Balban said it and presided at Friday prayers. In his *wasaya* (precepts) Balban exhorted both his sons, princes Muhammad and Bughra Khan, that a king should not neglect the worship of God and five-time prayers should be offered punctually and in congregation. In his turn Bughra Khan told his son Kaiqubad that namaz and roza are very important. One who does not observe namaz is no Muslim; to kill him is justified.¹³⁹ All this refers to converted Indians who swelled the Muslim numbers since the days of Muhammad bin Qasim.¹⁴⁰ They were nominally converted as, for example, Barwaris whose leader Nasiruddin Khusrau Shah created *fitna* during and after the reign of Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah (1320 CE). It appears that they did not care to observe five-time namaz and were dubbed as low born. Muhammad Tughlaq kept a strict watch on their attending the Friday prayers. According to Ibn Battutah: "His standing orders were to the effect that prayers must be recited in congregations... even the menials - those who held the animals of the staff - were punished when they missed the prayers. The sultan issued orders that the people (newly converted) should learn the principles of ablution and prayers as well as the fundamentals of Islam, and they were interrogated on these... In the course of a single day he once killed nine persons for neglecting that (prayers)."¹⁴¹ As for Muhammad Tughlaq himself "the mottos and emblems of Islam are preserved by him, and he lays great stress on the performance of (the obligatory five prayers of the day)."¹⁴² All Muslim sultans and officers participated in Friday service, although this obvious fact may not have been mentioned by chroniclers about each and every member of the ruling class.