When Islam Almost
Vanished
By Jawad Jafry
The genocide lasted decades. Historians
said that the world had never seen murder and destruction on
such a massive scale. Millions died and those left alive often
longed for death. People openly wondered whether the light of
Islam would be forever extinguished. But the course of history
changed through some of God’s most unassuming servants.
In the thirteenth century a tidal wave
of devastation swept over the Muslim world. City after city,
region after region disintegrated amidst a storm of iron and
fire. The death toll was incredible.
Nishapur 1,747,000
dead
Baghdad 1,600,000 dead
Herat 1,600,000 dead
Samarkand 950,000 dead
Merv 700,000 dead
Aleppo 50,000 dead
Balkh completely destroyed
Khiva completely destroyed
Harran completely destroyed
Baghdad was often described as the
jewel of the world. For six long weeks this jewel cracked and
shattered under the ferocious might of the Tartar hordes. The
rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates ran red with blood. Women who
had observed modest and chaste lives were savagely assaulted and
raped. Five centuries of knowledge accumulated from every
literate civilization and contained in the world’s largest
libraries was reduced to ashes. Many of humanity’s greatest
centers of education, commerce and culture became nothing more
than killing fields.
The architect of this colossal avalanche
of death was Genghis Khan. His barbaric legions were triggered
into a forty year bloodlust through the folly of the Muslim
ruler, Muhammad Khwarizm Shah. Once a powerful and mighty
monarch, Khwarizm Shah ordered the execution of Mongol caravans
that came to trade within his kingdom. When Genghis Khan sent a
delegation of envoys to lodge a formal protest, Khwarizm Shah
executed most of them. These two inhuman acts were avenged at
the cost of millions of innocent lives.
The Tartar Holocaust began in 1218 CE six
centuries after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him. It moved westward from Mongolia across Central Asia and the
Persian Gulf, southward toward Delhi and northwest to Budapest
and Moscow. People as far away as Sweden shuddered at the
thought of a Mongol invasion. Muslims were so overawed by their
power that one Mongol could kill over a hundred Muslims and none
would dare defend himself. In Arabic a proverb sprang up which
meant that if someone tells you the Mongols have suffered a
defeat don’t believe him.
On the eve of the Mongol invasion, the
spiritual state of the Muslim world was pathetic. Corruption,
disunity, and materialism were rampant. Khwarizm Shah was not
the only example of insufferable leadership. The Abbasid Caliph,
Al-Mustasim, was reportedly pleased to hear of the collapse of
Khwarizm Shah’s empire because of his personal dislike for the
monarch. Before the Mongols reached Baghdad, the Caliph's
advisors had convinced him to seriously scale back the army. The
city was in no way prepared to withstand what lay in store for
it.
And yet Islam did not die.
Genghis Khan who proclaimed himself as the Scourge of God, who
delighted in the rape of conquered women could not exterminate
the Muslim ummah. Within a generation the tide had begun to turn
in Islam’s favour. Baghdad was destroyed by Genghis’ grandson
Halaku but his great grandson
Berek became a Muslim.
In fact, Berek withdrew his forces from
Halaku’s army after the fall of Baghdad which contributed to the
first defeat the Mongols suffered against the Muslims during the
battle of Ayn Jalut in 1260. The aura of the Mongols’ terrifying
invincibility was broken. Three years later Berek himself would
defeat Halaku’s forces in the Caucus region. Those who tried to
destroy Islam became its protectors.
The role that ordinary Muslims played in
this miraculous recovery cannot be ignored. The entire ummah
owes a debt of gratitude to those men and women who never forgot
the centrality of their faith or the importance of sharing it
with others. Berek or Baraka Khan
was introduced to Islam by two unknown merchants. Their efforts
eventually led Islam to reach Russia and Eastern Europe.
If the Tartars are regarded as part of
Islam’s universal brotherhood today, one can thank the efforts
of unsung heroes like Jamal Uddeen. The vast Mongol empire was
divided amongst the various descendants of Genghis. In certain
parts of the empire, the Mongols regarded Muslims as no better
than animals while Christianity or Buddhism were expected to
become the official state religion. But the sincerity of
ordinary believers like Jamal was to outshine all else.
Jamal was a Persian who was travelling
through the Middle Kingdom or Chaghatay Khanate known for its
animosity toward Muslims. With his small band of travellers he
mistakenly travelled through the game preserves of the Mongol
Prince Tuqluq. Jamal was arrested and brought before Tuqluq. In
his anger the prince told Jamal that a dog was worth more than a
Persian. Jamal replied, “Yes. If we did not have the true faith,
we would indeed be worse than dogs.” Tuqluq was struck by the
reply. He inquired what Jamal meant by the true faith. When
Jamal explained the message of Islam Tuqluq was convinced. He
asked Jamal for some time to unite the fractured Middle Kingdom
and then he would proclaim his faith. Jamal returned home and
later fell ill. As he was dying, he instructed his son Rasheed
to remind the prince of his promise when he became king. When
Tuqluq ascended the throne Rasheed set out to meet him. An
ordinary person had little access to royalty and after many
efforts Rasheed risked his life to enact a plan. He called out
the adhan at fajr nearby the royal compound. He was brought
before the king and there he invited him to fulfill his promise.
On that very morning Tuqluq Timur Khan, king of the unified
Middle Kingdom, became a Muslim.
Death and destruction are ravaging Baghdad
once more. The innocent victims of this injustice must not be
forgotten. We owe it to them to follow in the footsteps of the
Last Prophet, in the footsteps of ordinary believers like Jamal
and Rasheed Uddeen and share Islam with each and every human
being. The beauty of our character and our sincere conduct need
to be the beacons that attract those around us to this Divinely
prescribed system of life. True it is Allah alone who guides; it
is also true that Allah does not change the condition of a
people until they change what is within themselves. For us to do
anything less would be to disgrace those who are dying before
our very eyes.
Historical Sources:
Saviours of the Islamic Spirit, Volume 1, by Abul Hasan Ali
Nadwi
History of Islam, Volume 2, by Masudul Hasan
A Short History of the Saracens, by Amir Ali
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