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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ibnanv" data-source="post: 16498508" data-attributes="member: 218596">How the Mongols came into IslamThe Mongol empire quite understated the circles i’v come across. This  era truly fascinates me. Genghis Khan and his Mongol Hordes nearly  obliterated the Muslim empire and took it to the brink of extermination,  nonetheless Islam entered their hearts and eventually triumphed. I  suppose in many instances one could draw a comparison to the present day  times with our brothers & sisters being massacred in the  Palestines, Chechnyas, Kashmirs, Iraqs & so forth.Below is a brief overview of this ere, (source: <a href="http://www.youngmuslims.ca/articles/display.asp?ID=94" target="_blank">http://www.youngmuslims.ca/articles/display.asp?ID=94</a>)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 Godâ€™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 deadBaghdad 1,600,000 deadHerat 1,600,000 deadSamarkand 950,000 deadMerv 700,000 deadAleppo 50,000 deadBalkh completely destroyedKhiva completely destroyedHarran completely destroyedBaghdad 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 worldâ€™s largest libraries  was reduced to ashes. Many of humanityâ€™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  donâ€™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 Shahâ€™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 Islamâ€™s favour. Baghdad was destroyed by Genghisâ€™ grandson  Halaku but his great grandson Berek became a Muslim. In fact, Berek  withdrew his forces from Halakuâ€™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  Mongolsâ€™ terrifying invincibility was broken. Three years later Berek  himself would defeat Halakuâ€™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 Islamâ€™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, â€œYes. If we did not have the true  faith, we would indeed be worse than dogs.â€� 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.<a href="http://myummah.co.za/site/2008/03/03/how-the-mongols-came-into-islam/" target="_blank">http://myummah.co.za/site/2008/03/03/how-the-mongols-came-into-islam/</a></blockquote>

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