Excerpts from the Book
"....Persecution of Hindus (see Chapter
4)
[It may be recorded] that the temples of
idol-worshippers, which had been destroyed and razed to the ground by the
religious-minded and justice-loving Sultan Sikandar, God bless his grave and
bless him, had been rebuilt and rehabilitated by Zainu'l 'Abidin. He had
permitted idolators and polytheists to revive the practices of infidelity and
they had propagated heresy (kufr) and false religion (din-i batil). With the
support of some more kings, the infidels had flourished day after day. But with
the support and authority of Malik Musa Raina, Amir Shamsu'd-Din Muhammad
undertook a wholesale destruction of all those idol-houses as well as the total
ruination of the very foundation of infidelity and disbelief. On the site of
every idol-house he destroyed, he ordered the construction of a mosque for
offering prayers after the Islamic manner. The idolatory and heresy which had
existed prior to his coming to this place were effectively replaced by his
preaching and propagation of Islamic laws and practices. He brought honour to
all the infidels and heretics (zandiqa) of Kashmir by admitting them to the
Islamic faith and bestowed upon them many kinds of rewards and benefactions. It
is publicly known as well as emphatically related that during his life-time,
with the virtuous efforts and elaborate arrangements made by the fortunate Malik
Musa Raina, twenty-four thousand families of staunch infidels and stubborn
heretics were ennobled by being converted to the Islamic faith. It is difficult
to compute the number of people who had hitherto indulged in corrupt practices
of a wrong (false) faith and dissent and were put on the right track under the
proper guidance of Mir Shamsu'd-Din 'Iraqi.
In fact the transmitter of (God's) grace (Mir Shams
'Iraqi) conferred favours upon the righteous Malik Musa Raina and gave him
blessings which enabled him to fulfill that cherished task. Indeed, fortunate is
one who has been able to become the recipient of such special consideration at
the hands of a highly venerable and elderly person like him (Amir Shamsu'd-Din).
After Sultan Sikandar, God's peace be upon him, no one among the Muslims who
wielded authority over this country rendered as much service to Islam by its
propagation and advancement as Malik Musa Raina did. Nobody was able to make as
organized an effort as he did towards the advancement and furtherance of the
Muhammadan religion.
|