they learnt the Kashmiri language and, adjusting to the prevailing
circumstances, they took pains to find a place in this alien land. In
this way, leading a life of patience and forbearance, they continued
their peaceful
dawah
mission.
Discussing this with an educated Kashmiri Muslim, I told
him that the right path for the Kashmiris to follow was to recall
the peaceful
dawah
mission of Shah Hamadan in Kashmir. If Shah
Hamadan achieved extraordinary success in Kashmir, it was because
dawah
was his sole mission. Many kinds of problems existed in
the times of Shah Hamadan, both political and non-political. But,
ignoring all these problems, he made
dawah ilallah
(calling people to
God) his sole target. Consequently, he achieved tremendous success
in Kashmir.
ThisKashmiri Iwas inconversationwith, said that a largenumber
of non-Muslims formerly lived in Kashmir, whereas today only
Muslims lived there. Then to whom should they direct their
dawah
efforts? I said that Kashmir afforded opportunities for international
dawah
work. A case in point was the Indian army which was there
in Kashmir in full force. All of its members were in the position of
being
madu
. Besides, as is well known, Kashmir is a tourist spot, and
therefore receives tourists from all over the world. Furthermore, a
number of Hindu Pundits are still living there. Then a large number
of pilgrims visit its ancient mandirs (shrines) the whole year round.
All these people are
madu
for us. If dawah consciousness is awakened
within one, one will find that there are
madu
all over Kashmir in large
numbers.
Similarly, there is another field of
dawah
work in Kashmir-- that
of Muslims who are suffering from intellectual discontent regarding
Islam, due to their exposure to modern thought. These people also
have the status of
madu
for you. For non- Muslims, Islam has to be
made a matter of discovery, while for Muslims Islam has to be made
a matter of re-discovery.
It is a fact that the Muslims of Kashmir are twice blessed.
Firstly, Kashmir is called Jannat Nazir (similar to Paradise), which
means that God has given the Kashmiris the paradise of this world.
Secondly, God has sent to Kashmir
madus
from all over the world
in order that the Kashmiris may secure the paradise of the next
world by performing
dawah
work. The present world is the world of
the printing press. This, in present times has rendered
dawah
work
extremely simple. The translation of the Quran, and other books on
Islamare all available in print.You can keep these books with you and
give them to people on all occasions. Similarly, use all opportunities
for the peaceful propagation of Islam, especially, by distributing the
The Call to Truth
55
