During the early years of the 8th century A.D., men of Sind's Brahmin tyrant, Raja Dahir had intercepted some Arab navigation from Ceylone. They had confiscated the merchandise and enslaved Muslim families. Al-Hajjaj sent his son-in-law, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, with an army consisting of 1,000 horse and about the same number of camel-borne troops, altogether not more than 6,000 Mujahideen.
In 626, the Holy Prophet sent a message of goodwill and an invitation to accept Islam to Syrians. Ignoring all norms of decency, Byzantine Christian Governor of Syria put the messenger to death. The Prophet called a few thousand volunteers and sent them out under the command of his adopted son Zyed ibn Haritha in 630. Byzantinians brought one lac well trained and heavily armed army.
Major Shabbir Sharif was posted to the Frontier Force Regiment. On December 3, 1971 he was commanding a company 6 FF Regiment near Sulemanki Headworks when he was assigned the task of capturing the high bund overlooking the Gurmukh Khera and Beriwala villages in the Sulemanki Sector. These points were defended by more than a company of the Assam Regiment which was supported by a squadron of tanks.
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Born in village Sanghori, district Rawalpindi, in 1910, Captain Sarwar was commissioned into the Punjab Regiment in 1944. While serving as Company Commander in the 2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment during the Kashmir Operations he launched an attack, on July 27, 1948, against a strongly fortified enemy position in the Uri Sector. When his company was within fifty yards of the enemy, it came under heavy machine-gun, grenade and mortar fire, causing heavy casualties and frustrating their advance. Displaying remarkable courage and leadership, Captain Sarwar led a platoon in a flanking movement to within twenty yards of the enemy bunkers.
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On September 6, Major Raja Aziz Bhatti was commanding a company in the Burki area of the Lahore Sector. Although two of his platoons were located on the home bank of the BRB canal, he choose to move with the forward platoon. The enemy launched incessant attacks from September 7 with the full weight of his artillery and armour. But Major Bhatti and his men held on and continued to fight with grim determination. On the night between September 9 and 10, the enemy mounted a major attack all along the sector, throwing a whole battalion against Major Bhatti's
.platoon۔
The Muslims were late in realising that the independence according to Congress' conception would reduce them to the status of dependency, even worse than under the British rule. Muslim leadership, after having bitter experience from the Congress and British, decided to form their own political party. Muslim League was then formed in 1906. Innumerable Muslim Leaders, Muslim newspapers, Ulema, Heads of Muslim States, Anjumans and parties like Khilafat Movement and Khaksar
played a vital role within their sphere and met controversial treatment
with Congress and the British. By 1930 Muslims ceased to regard
themselves as minority and advocated that there .are Hindus and Muslims,
two nations living in India
After the first Crusade, the Muslims were subdued. Gradually Muslim world began to realise that stranger was in its midst, though it must not be forgotten that the Muslim world was no longer one continuous belt from Kashghar to Cordova as before. Imad Al-Din Zangi moved to West and had gradually made himself master of the area between Mosul and Aleppo. He was a strong man and a fearless fighter and was soon at grips with Christians. He conquered al-Ruha
town which lay on the .caravan route from Syria to Baghdad and was under
the rule of Christians
The great caravan routes across the Sahara kept Nigeria in touch with historic civilisations in the North. Besides trade, the routes brought ideas, culture and religion from the Muslim civilisation in the North. Thus, Islam came to North Nigeria in the eight century A.D. after a visit by the Portuguese in 1486, Benin became the entrepot for trade between Yorubaland and Europe. In 1804, Usman dan Fodio, a Fulani Muslim scholar and Wali-ullah, author of the famous book, the 'Ihya-us-Sunnath'
became the Sultan. His flag-bearers became the chiefs of Fulani states
and their .descendants are so until this day
Tippu Sultan was the first prominent leader of Hind-o-Pak to offer resistance to British imperialism and take active steps to liberate the people of the sub-continent from the yoke of foreign domination. He introduced military reforms of far reaching importance, promoted trade and industry and reorganized the civil administration. Tippu was convinced that the first problem of the people of the sub-continent was the expulsion of British. Nizam of Hyderabad Deccan and Marrathas fond his power a challenge to their own existence and allied with British.
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It was left to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who had already written several works of outstanding merit, to awaken the Muslims and make them realise that unless they got over their sense of defeatism and deprivation, the future of the community in the sub-continent would be dark. The only way is
.to reassert without abandoning their rich heritage of culture and civilisation
