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This book seeks to trace the relationship between the injunctions contained in Islamic religious literature and the attitudes and actions of Muslim Kings and conquerors.

Ordinarily , historians writing on medieval Indian history refer to Muslim chronicles and histories as their only source materials. The study of Islamic scriptural literature like the Quran, the Hadis, the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Shariat is ignored in historical studies as it is considered to belong to the domain of religion rather than to that of history. However, the study of this literature reveals that Muslim rulers were not cruel or fanatical by themselves as such , but they became so by pursuing the ideology as projected in the Quran and the Hadis against non-Muslims.

Muslim invaders and rulers of India belonged to different races and different countries. They belonged to different sects. Their rule extended for about a thousand years in various parts of the country. Their chronicles are written in different languages. But their behavior follows a uniform pattern. Even those rulers and nobles who had converted to Islam from Hinduism, considered their bloody acts against Hindus as acts of righteousness. The source of this uniformity of actions is the Quran, the Hadis and the Sunnah which they quote with pride. These scriptures do not belong only to the past. They are in operation even now. Pious Muslims in all places and at all times seek or provoke Jihad with an appeal to Islamic scriptures.

Hence the importance of both the theory and practice in the study of Muslim state in India. The theory part is traced to the Quran, the Hadis and the Sunnah of the Prophet; the practice part to the principal activities of Muslim rulers in India as narrated by their chroniclers.

Muslim state in India has not ceased to exist even in modern times and Indian Muslims on account of Islamic laws and separate identity almost form a separate state within the Indian State.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Part I: History

Introduction: The Rise of Islam, The Spread of Islam, The Advent of Muslims in India ' The State: Nizam-I-Mustafa, The Government / Obligations of the State: Islamic War of Jihad, Justice, Friday Service / Income of the State: Khams, Jiziyah, Kharaj, Zakat, Other Sources of Income, Trade in Slaves, Trade in Grains, Cloths and Other Articles, Estimate of Income of the State / Expenditure of the State: Monuments, The Army, Royal Karkhanas, Royal Benevolences, Gifts to Caliphs, Mecca and Medina, Kings & Nobles, Notes

Part II: Politics

Muslim State in India Today: Separate Identity, Muslim Personal Law, Hajj Pilgrimage, Imams as Government Servants, Friday Congregational Service, Extra-Territorial Loyalty, Proselytization, Iconoclasm, Notes

Part III: Reposte on Reviews/ The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India, Growth of Muslim Populations in Mediaeval India, The Mughal Harem, History of the Khaljis and Other Books, Notes + Bibliography, Index