Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them v2.c19.s3.32

v2.c19.s3.32

Finally, we have a story which presents the Muslims as a persecuted community in the Hindu kingdom of Gujarat and Mahmuds invasion as a punitive expedition. The Raja of Gujarat, we are told, used to sacrifice a Muslim everyday in front of the idol of Somnath. So Prophet Muhammad appeared in a dream to Hajji Muhammad of Mecca and told him to go to the rescue of the Prophet's beloved people in Gujarat. The Hindu Raja tried to kill the Hajji but did not succeed. The Hajji, the story goes on, now invited Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna to come with his army and stop this iniquity. The Sultan came, reduced the idol of Somnath to powder which he fed to Raja Kunwar Ray in betel-leaves. The deputy he appointed at Somnatha before his return to Ghazni demolished the temple and set fire to it.¹⁶