Punjabi Muslims

At the advent of Islam, Punjab was part of the Taank Kingdom. According to local traditions, Baba Ratan Hindi, who was a trader from Bhatinda, Punjab, was one of the Sahaba of Prophet Muhammad.[19][20][21][22][23] He was later ordered by the Prophet Muhammad to return to his homeland, where his shrine exists till today at Bhatinda.[24] Jats were earliest people to interact with Muslims, as their trading communities already existed in pre-Islamic Arabia during the lifetime of Muhammad.[25]

A king of Al-Usaifan, identified with the kingdom of Taxila by some authors, is said to have converted to Islam during the reign of Al-Mu'tasim by Al-Biladhuri.[26][27] However, Islam as a political power got introduced via southern Punjab in the 8th century after the Umayyad conquest of Sindh. The first Muslim state in Punjab was the Emirate of Multan, which got independent in 855 during the disintegration of the Abbasid Caliphate. In the 11th century, Islam entered northern Punjab after the defeat of the Hindu Shahis by the Ghaznavids. The city of Lahore emerged as a thriving city, rivalling Ghazni and effectively acted as a second capital of the empire.[28][29] Under their patronage, poets and scholars from Kashgar, Bukhara, Samarkand, Baghdad, Nishapur, Amol and Ghazni congregated in the region.[30]

Buddhism had declined after the fall of the Kushans and largely disappeared by the turn of the 10th century.[31][32] Forms of Hinduism began to become prevalent in parts of the society during the rule of the White Huns. With the arrival of Islam, conversion occurred mostly amongst pastoralist or agricultural groups that were not integrated into the Hindu Varna social class hierarchy.[15] The tribes of the Bar region would be contacted by Sufi mystics like Fariduddin Ganjshakar over the centuries and converted to Islam, albeit a syncretic form. Gakhars of the Pothohar plateau were noted for their martial capabilities and gradually converted to Islam.[15]

The Shrine of Baba Farid, one of the most notable Punjabi Sufi saints

In 1161, the Ghurids conquered the city of Ghazni, forcing the Ghaznavids to shift their capital to Lahore. Soon, however, Muhammad Ghori invaded Punjab, conquering Lahore and Multan in 1186 and making them part of his expanding empire. In 1206, Muhammad Ghori decisively defeated the Punjabi Khokhārs at the Battle of Jhelum, prompting them to assassinate him at Damiak.[33] One of his Mamluk slaves, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, established the Delhi Sultanate and Punjab became a part of the empire. The early period of the Delhi Sultanate saw numerous Mongol invasions of Punjab. Ultimately, they were defeated during the rule of the Khalji dynasty under Alauddin Khalji.[34]

In 1320, Ghazi Malik rose to the throne with the support of the Khokhars, establishing the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.[35][36] During his reign, a war ballad was produced by Amir Khusrau, known as the Vaar in Punjabi, describing his rise to the throne fighting against Khusrau Shah.[37]

Territories of the Delhi Sultanate under Khizr Khan.[38][39]

Tughlaq power began to decline with Jauna Khan's death in 1351. Timur led a brutal invasion in 1398 and plundered Delhi.[40] Timur was met with resistance on the way in Punjab by Nusrat Khokhar and Shaikha Khokhar. However, both were killed and Shaikha's son Jasrath Khokhar was taken prisoner. Tughlaq power crumbled and resulted in nobles asserting formal independence. Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos, Khizr Khan, a Punjabi chieftain from Khokhār clan,[39] became Sultan of Delhi in 1414. He was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate after the fall of the Tughlaqs.[41] In 1407, Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, a Punjabi from the Tānk tribe,[42][43] declared independence and established the Gujarat Sultanate. The Khokhār chieftain Jasrath Khokhar was released from captivity by the Timurids and helped Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir to gain his throne. He asserted control over vast tracts of Jammu and North Punjab. Meanwhile, in 1445, the Punjabi Lāngah clan conquered south Punjab and established the Langah Sultanate in Multan.[44]

In 1525, the Mughal emperor Babur made an alliance with the Gākhar chieftains of Pothohar and invaded Hindustan during the reign of the Lodi dynasty under Ibrahim Khan Lodi. The Gākhars remained loyal to the alliance even when Sher Shah Suri overthrew the Mughals under Humayun. This caused Sher Shah Suri to invade Pothohar and Sarang Khan Ghakkar died fighting against him.[45] After his death, the Gakhars continued their resistance under Sarang's brother Adam Khan Ghakkar.[46] To subdue the Gakhars, Sher Shah Suri ordered the construction of the Rohtas fort in the region.[47][48] The Sur dynasty's struggle against the Gakhars continued after the death of Sher Shah Suri by his successor Islam Shah Suri, but this area was never subdued.[49] Kamal Khan Gakhar, who succeeded Adam Khan as the ruler of Pothohar Plateau, led several campaigns as a Mughal general against the Miyani Afghans in Malwa and participated with large contingents in the Second Battle of Panipat and against Muhammad Adil Suri.[50] Shaikh Gadai Kamboh, was an important figure at the court of the Mughal emperor Humayun, he would later be appointed the Sadr and Chief Qadi of the Empire in Akbar's reign.[51]

Rohtas Fort in Pothohar Plateau is a World Heritage Site

The Mughals divided Punjab into Subah of Lahore and Subah of Multan. During the Mughal era, Saadullah Khan, belonging to the Thāheem clan[52] became Grand Vizier (or Prime Minister) of the Mughal empire in the period 1645 to 1656. He oversaw construction of several Mughal monuments under the supervision of Punjabi architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori and also lead the Mughal army to Balkh in 1646 during Shah Jahan's war against the Safavids in the region.[53] He was the paternal ancestor of Muzaffar Jang Hidayat, the 3rd Nizam of Hyderabad.[54] Wazir Khan of Chiniot was also the Grand Vizier in the early Shāh Jahani era.[55] Other prominent Punjabi Muslims nobles include Adina Beg Arain,[56] Isa Khan Munj, Ikhlas Khan[57] and Shahbaz Khan Kamboh.[58] Sayyid brothers, the Mughal kingmakers in the 18th century, were descendants of Punjabi peasants who had migrated from Patiala to Muzaffarnagar.[59] Dulla Bhatti was a 16th-century Punjabi folk hero who may have led led a revolt against Mughal rule in Punjab (Sandal Bar) during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar.[60]

During these centuries of Mughal rule, Punjabi Muslims established great institutions of Islamic civilization in cities and towns such as Lahore and Sialkot. Punjabi Muslim scholars were "in high demand", teaching the Islamic sciences as far as Central Asia, in cities such as Bukhara, even being considered there as Awliya' within their lifetimes.[61] Influential Muslim scholars born in Punjab during that period include Abdul Hakim Sialkoti and Ahmad Sirhindi.

The death of Aurangzeb in 1707, began the decline of Mughal power in the 18th century. Mughal rule in Punjab remained in the hands of nawabs who gave nominal allegiance to the Mughal emperor in Delhi. After suppressing the Sikh rebellion of Banda Singh in 1715, Abd al-Samad Khan and his family remained in power as governors of Punjab until 1748 when his grandson Shah Nawaz Khan was defeated at the Battle of Lahore by the Durrani Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani. However, the Mughals were able to halt the Durrani invasion in the Battle of Manupur. The Grand Vizier Qamar-ud-Din and his son Mir Mannu were instrumental in the defeat of the Afghans despite Qamar-ud-Din being killed in the battle. Mir Mannu was subsequently appointed as governor of Punjab. Mughal rule collapsed in Punjab after Mir Mannu died in 1753. Ahmad Shah Durrani annexed the region directly from the Mughals. Punjab suffered from the eight invasions of the Durrani Afghans between 1748 and 1767 who after 1753 were busy fighting the Marathas and the Sikh Misls for control of Punjab. At the same time Hyder Ali, a Punjabi adventurer, rose to power in the Hindu Kingdom of Mysore and became its de facto ruler. He and his son Tipu Sultan are noted for the maximum expansion of the state, leading Mysore during the Anglo-Mysore Wars as well as pioneering modern rocketry.[62][63][64] Tipu Sultan was killed in the Siege of Seringapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War allowing the British East India Company to consolidate their rule over most of South Asia.

Map of Doabs in Punjab

Ahmad Shah Durrani and his successors failed to maintain control of Punjab except in Attock, Kasur and Multan where large Afghan colonies were based. Punjab was divided into petty Muslim and Sikh chieftancies. The situation remained as such till Ranjit Singh took Lahore in 1799.[65]

The two major Punjabi Muslim states that existed in 18th century Punjab were those of the Sials and the Gakhars. Sials with their capital at Jhang conquered the Lower Rachna and Sindh Sagar Doabs under their chief Inayatullah Khan (r.1747–1787)[66] whilst the Gakhars under Sultan Muqarrab Khan (r.1738–1769) established rule over Potohar and the Chaj Doab.[67] However, Sikhs gradually expanded westwards. The Bhangi Misl, which also controlled Lahore, launched an invasion of Gakhar ruled regions and took control of the cities of Rawalpindi (1767) and Gujrat (1765). The Sikh Misls were frequently fighting among themselves until Ranjit Singh campaigned to bring them all under control by first taking Lahore in 1799. Under Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs defeated their long time foes the Chattha and Bhatti tribes in 1801 who controlled Wazirabad and Hafizabad. The Sikhs also conquered Jhelum (1808) and Pharwala (1818) from the Gakhars, ending their rule.[68] The Sial ruled cities Chiniot (1810) and Jhang (1816) successively fell to the Sikhs after defeat of the last Sial chieftain, Ahmed Khan.[69][70] Sikhs also conquered the cities of Kasur (1807), Attock (1813) and Multan (1818) under Nawab Muzaffar Khan from the Durrani Afghans. The Sikhs reached their height under Ranjit Singh with their territories stretching from the Jalandhar Doab to Jamrud. With Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, Sikh power declined. After suffering defeat in the Anglo-Sikh wars, their territory was annexed in 1849 following the Treaty of Lahore by the British East India Company.

Views of the Sikh Empire rule, are mixed amongst different Punjabi Muslim groups. Ranjit Singh is seen favourably by a section of Punjabi activists in Pakistan but remains overall largely negative.[71]

The mid 19th-century Punjabi Muslim historians, such as Shahamat Ali who experienced the Sikh Empire first hand, presented a different view on Ranjit Singh's empire and governance.[72][73] According to Ali, Ranjit Singh's government was despotic, and he was a mean monarch in contrast to the Mughals.[72] His account portrays Ranjit Singh as leading his Khalsa army's "insatiable appetite for plunder", their desire for "fresh cities to pillage", and eliminating the Mughal era "revenue intercepting intermediaries between the peasant-cultivator and the treasury".[74] Bikramjit Hasrat describes Ranjit Singh as a "benevolent despot".[75] As a symbolic assertion of power, the Sikhs regularly desecrated Muslim places of worship, including closing of the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar and the conversion of the Bad shahi Mosque in Lahore to an ammunition store and horse stable, but the empire still maintained Persian administrative institutions and court etiquette; the Sikh silver rupees were minted on the Mughal standard with Persian legends.[76][77]

Historian Robina Yasmin, on the other hand, argues against the stereotypical narratives of claimed anti-Muslim oppression by the Sikh Empire.[78] After researching contemporary sources held in the Fakir Khana archives in Pakistan and England, she concluded that the Sikh rulers were secular and allowed their Muslim subjects to freely practice their religion.[78] She also points out the fact that during the reign of the Sikh Empire in Punjab, there was never a single case of rebellion against the Sikh authorities by Muslims.[78] She further claims any beliefs of maltreatment of Muslims is based upon misunderstandings of the condition of the Muslim community during the Sikh Empire.[78]

The news of the Rebellion of 1857 reached Punjab quite late. Jhelum in Punjab saw a rebellion in which 35 British soldiers were killed on 7 July 1857. Among the dead was Captain Francis Spring, the eldest son of Colonel William Spring.[79] On 9 July, most of the brigade of sepoys at Sialkot rebelled and began to move to Delhi.[80] They were intercepted by John Nicholson with an equal British force as they tried to cross the Ravi River. After fighting steadily but unsuccessfully for several hours, the sepoys tried to fall back across the river but became trapped on an island, they were defeated by Nicholson in the Battle of Trimmu Ghat.[81]^{: 290–293} However, the main opponent of British rule in Punjab was Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal who waged war against it for three months in central Punjab. He was de facto ruler of Jhamra. He was killed on 21 September, 1857 in the Battle of Noorey di Dall while inflicting heavy losses to the British. However, the rebellion died out eventually.[82]

Punjabi Muslims, classified as a "martial race" by the British colonialists,[83] made a substantial part of the British Indian Army, British academic David Omissi calling them the single largest group in both World Wars,[84] at the eve of World War II accounting for around 29% of its total numbers.[85]

Despite such collaboration, there was also a history of popular resistance from Punjabi Muslims against British colonialism, including during the 1857 Indian Rebellion with the likes of Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal, facts which historian Turab-ul-Hassan Sargana says have been undermined because the elites of Punjab who collaborated with the British are those who still rule Pakistan today.[86]

Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan was the first Premier of the Punjab

The Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy to Punjab replacing the system of dyarchy. It provided for the constitution of Punjab Legislative Assembly of 175 members presided by a Speaker and an executive government responsible to the Assembly. The Unionist Party under a Punjabi Muslim, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan formed the government in 1937. Sir Sikandar was succeeded by Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana in 1942 who remained the Premier till partition in 1947. Although the term of the Assembly was five years, the Assembly continued for about eight years and its last sitting was held on 19 March 1945.[87]

During the 1930s and the 1940s, the Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam, an anti-colonial Islamist political party founded in 1929 as an offshoot of the Khilafat Movement and a close collaborator of the Indian National Congress, became the dominant political force among Punjabi Muslims, especially among the lower middle echelons and the artisan classes, the Ahrar's having a diversity of Islamic schools but generally subscribed to a Deobandi interpretation with an Islamic socialist approach as well.[88]

During the Partition of 1947, millions also migrated from East Punjab to West Punjab to escape violence from Hindu and Sikh militias.[89] After independence, Punjabis formed the dominant ethnicity of Pakistan.

Sufism has also played a major role in the history of Punjab.[90] Many prominent Sufi saints were born in Punjab, including Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Waris Shah and Bulleh Shah.[91][92]

The shrine of 13th century Punjabi Sufi saint Rukn-e-Alam in Multan

Punjabi Muslims had a major contribution in the development of Punjabi language. Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179–1266) is recognised as the first major poet of the Punjabi language.[93] Roughly from the 12th century to the 19th century, many great Sufi saints and poets preached in the Punjabi language, the most prominent being Bulleh Shah. Punjabi Sufi poetry also developed under Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1630–1691), Shah Sharaf (1640–1724), Ali Haider (1690–1785), Waris Shah (1722–1798), Saleh Muhammad Safoori (1747–1826), Mian Muhammad Baksh (1830–1907) and Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845–1901).

The Punjabi language is famous for its rich literature of qisse, most of which are about love, passion, betrayal, sacrifice, social values and a common man's revolt against a larger system. The qissa of Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1706–1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qissas. Other popular stories include Sohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah, Mirza Sahiban by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658–1707), Sassui Punnhun by Hashim Shah (c. 1735–c. 1843), and Qissa Puran Bhagat by Qadaryar (1802–1892). In contrast to Persian poets, who had preferred the ghazal for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in the Kafi.[94]

Punjabi music is used by western musicians in many ways, such as mixing with other compositions. Sufi music and Qawali, commonly practiced in Punjab, Pakistan; are other important genres in the Punjab region.[95][96]

Folk music of Punjab is the traditional music of Punjab produced using traditional musical instruments like Tumba, Algoza, Dhadd, Sarangi, Chimta and more. There is a wide range of folk songs for every occasion from birth to death including marriage, festivals, fairs and religious ceremonies.

While the total population of Punjab is 127 million as noted in the 2023 Pakistan census,[99][100] ethnic Punjabis comprise approximately 44.7% of the national population.[101][102] Ethnic Punjabis, that is, discounting the local Kashmiris, Pashtuns and Baloch residents, thus number approximately 111,303,000 million in Pakistan; this makes Punjabis the largest ethnic group in Pakistan by population.[101][102]

Punjabi Muslim society is centered around the concept of biraderi (برادری), social brotherhood within the tribe and clan.

The major tribes and clans among Punjabi Muslims are the Jats, Rajputs, Arains, Ansari, Sheikh, Gujjars and Awans.[103]