Jat people in Islamic History
Encyclopedia
The Jat people
and Med
s have been the oldest occupants of Sindh
. The first Persian
account of the 11th-century Mujmat ut-Tawarikh (1026), originally an ancient work in Sanskrit
, mentions Jats and Meds as the ancient tribe of Sind and calls them the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah
. The Ghaznavid poet, Farrukhi calls the Jats (Zatt in Arabic) as the Indian race. These Arabic/Persian accounts find support from the early–5th-century inscription which documented the Indianized names of the Jat rulers,
such as Raja Jeet, Salinder, Devangi, Sumbooka, Degali, Veera Narinder, Veera Handra and Salok Handra. Furthermore, the Mujmat ut-Tawarikh also mentions the Indianized name of one of their chiefs of the Jats in remote ancient time as Judrat. These textual references further strengthened the view of O'Brien, who opines that the names and traditions of certain Jat tribes seem to connect them more closely with Hindustan.
valley, stretching from the mouth of Indus to as far as the valley of Peshawar
. Traditionally Jats of Sind consider their origin from the far northwest and claimed ancient Garh Gajni
(modern Rawalpindi
) as their original abode. Persian chronicler Firishta
strengthened this view and informs us that Jats were originally living near the river of the Koh-i-Jud (Salt Range) in northwest Punjab. The Jats then occupied the Indus valley and settled themselves on both the banks of the Indus River
. By the 4th century the region of Multan
was under their control. Then they rose to the sovereign power and their ruler Jit Salindra, who promoted the renown of his race, started the Jat colonisation in Punjab and fortified the town Salpur/Sorpur, near Multan.
Ibn Hauqual mentions the area of their abode in between Mansura and Makran
. By the end of 7th century, Jats were thickly populated in Deybal region. In the early 8th century, when the Arab commander Muhammad bin Qasim
came to Sind, the Jats were living along both sides of the river Indus. Their main population was settled in the lower Sind, especially in the region of Brahmanabad (Mansura); Lohana
(round the Brahmanabad) with their two territories Lakha
, to the west of Lohana and Samma, to the south of Lohana; Nerun (modern Hyderabad
); Dahlilah; Roar
and Deybal. Further east, their abode also extended between Deybal, Kacheha (Qassa) and Kathiawar
in Gujarat. In upper Sind they were settled in Siwistan (Schwan) and Alor/Aror region.
In the 7th century, the Chinese traveler Xuanzang
reported that: "in a district of slopes and marshes to more than a thousand li beside the Sindhu River there live several hundred, nearly a thousand, families of ferocious people who made slaughtering their occupation and sustain themselves by rearing cattle, without any other means of living. All the people, whether male of female, and regardless of nobility or lowliness, shave off their hair and beards and dress in religious robes, thus giving the appearance of being bhikṣus (and bhikṣunīs), yet engaging in secular affairs." Earlier translators of this same passage gave differing accounts of the numbers of people, however. Beal says that "there are several hundreds of thousands families settled in Sind", while Watters says there were "some myriads of families"
Dr. Raza proposes that these unnamed people were Jats. The Chachnama, possibly dating originally to the 7th or 8th century CE, and translated into Persian in 1216 CE, stratified these people into 'the western Jats' (Jatan-i-gharbi) and 'the eastern Jats (Jatan-i-Sharqi), living on the eastern and western side of the Indus River.
Before the invasion of Sultan Mahmud
(1027), Jats had firmly established in the region of Multan and Bhatiya on the banks of Indus River. Alberuni mentions the Mau as the abode of Jats in Punjab, situated in between the river Chenab and Beas.
In the 13th century CE, chroniclers further classified them as 'The Jats living on the banks of the rivers (Lab-i-daryayi) and the Jats living in plain, desert (Jatan-i-dashti); and 'the rustic Jats' (rusta'i Jat) living in villages.
Professionally, they were classified on the basis of their habitats, as boatmen and maker of boats, those who were living in the riverside. However Jats of country side were involved in making of swords; as the region of Deybal was famous for the manufacture of swords, and the Jats were variously called as teghzan (holder of the swords). The rustic people were appointed by the Chach and the Arab commanders as spies (Jasus) and the caravan guide (rahbar). They used to guide the caravans on their way both during day time and at night.
In political hierarchy, the early–5th-century inscription refers to them as a ruler of Punjab
, part of Rajasthan
and Malwa. It further highlights their sovereign position with high sounded epithets such as Sal, Vira, and Narpati ('lord of men'). In the military hierarchy, the Chachnama placed them high on the covetous post of Rana
. During the war they were brought against enemy as soldiers. In Dahir
's army all the Jats living in the east of Indus River stood marshalled in the rear against the Arab commander Muhammad Bin Qasim. They were also involved in palace management, thus Chach appointed them as his bodyguard (pasdar).
By the end of fifth and the beginning of the 6th century, their southward migration, second in line, took place and they reached Kota in Rajasthan, probably via Bikaner regions. From Kota they migrated further east and established their rule at Malwa under the rule of Salichandra, son of Vira Chandra. Salichandra erected a minster (mindra) on banks of the river Taveli in Malwa. Probably after their defeat by Sultan Mahmud in 1027 AD, and later hard pressed by the Ghaznavi
Turkish Commander, the Jats of Sind again migrated to Rajasthan
and settled themselves in Bundi regions. The second inscription found at Bundi
probably dates from circa samvat 1191 (1135 AD) possibly refers to the Jats as opponents of the Parmara rulers of Rajasthan.
When Muhammad bin Qasim
attacked Dahlilah, a fortified town in between Roar and Brahmanabad, most of the inhabitants (the Jats) had abandoned the place and migrated to Rajasthan
via desert and took shelter in the country of Siru (modern Sirohi
) which was then ruled by King Deva Raj, a cousin of Rai Dahir. However, the third migration took place in early 8th century and Jats of lower Sind migrated to Rajasthan, probably via Barmer
regions. By the 12th century, the Jats settled in western Punjab, as the native poet Abul Farj Runi mentions them along with the Afghans. Meanwhile, they also extended their abode in the eastern part of the Punjab (now Haryana
), as in the end of the 12th century they resisted Qutab Din Aibek in the region of Hansi
.
The Jats of the lower Indus comprise both Jats and Rajputs, and the same rule applies to Las-Bela where descendants of former ruling races like the Sumra Dynasty and the Samma Dynasty of Sind and the Langah
of Multan
are found. At the time of the first appearance of the Arabs they found the whole of Makran
in possession of Zutts. On phonetic grounds, this maybe Jats.
According to a Hadith, Abdulla Bin Masood, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
saw some strangers with Muhammad and said that their features and physique were like those of Jats. This indicates that Jats may have been in Arabia even during Muhammad's time. It is mentioned in the Abadis i.e., the authentic traditions of Mohammad compiled by Imam Bukhari (died 875 AD - 256 A.H) that an Indian tribe of had settled in Arabia before Mohammad’s times . Bukhari also tells us that an Indian Raja (king) sent a jar of ginger pickles to Muhammad. This shows that the Indians resided in an adjacent area. Furthur writing about the period of the Companions in his book "Al adab al Mufarrad" has stated that once when Aisha
(Muhammads's wife) fell ill, her nephews brought a Jat doctor for her treatment. We hear of them next when the Arab armies clashed with the Persian forces which were composed of Jat soldiers as well. The Persian Command Hurmuz used Jat soldiers against Khalid ibn al-Walid
in the battle of 'salasal' of 634 AD (12 hijri
). This was the first time that Jats were captured by the Arabs. They put forward certain conditions for joining the Arab armies which were accepted, and on embracing Islam they were associated with different Arab tribes. This event proves that the first group of people from the Indian subcontinent to accept Islam were Jats who did it as early as 12 hijri (634 AD) in the time of `Umar ibn al-Khattāb.
The Persian King Yazdgerd III
had also sought the help of the Sind ruler who sent Jat soldiers and elephants which were used against the Arabs in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
.
According to Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
(Tabari), Ali ibn Abi Talib A.S had employed Jats to guard Basra
treasury during the battle of Jamal. Amir Muawiya had settled them on the Syria
n border to fight against the Romans
.
It is said that 4,000 Jats of Sind joined Mohammad Bin Qasim's army and fought against Raja Dahir. Sindhi
Jats henceforth began to be regularly recruited in the Muslim armies.
The line of rulership before Islam
runs: Siharus
, Raja Sahasi II
, Chach
, Raja Dahir
. The first two were Buddhist Rajputs and the last two Hindu Brahmins. There is a difference of opinion among historians concerning the social dynamic between the Jatts and the Brahmins. Some historians suggest that the relationship was an adversarial one, with Brahmins using their high caste status to try to exploit and oppress the Jatts, Meds
and Buddhists, who formed the bulk of the peasantry when ever they got the opportunity. According to a quote by historian U.T Thakkur, "When Chach, the Brahmin chamberlain who usurped the throne of Rajput King Sahasi II went to Brahmanabad, he enjoined upon the Jats and Lohanas not to carry swords, avoid velvet or silken cloth, ride horses without saddles and walk about bare-headed and bare-footed".
However, Thakkur also writes that Hinduism and Buddhism existed side by side, suggesting a more complex dynamic between the endogamous groups. [The king followed early Hinduism, but a majority of his advisers were a mix of Buddhists, and other faiths. The ruler of Brahmanabad, a Jatt, also had professed Buddhism as his spiritual guide. Nonetheless, there was a strong sense of "ideological dualism" between them, which he wrote was the inherent weakness that the Arabs exploited in their favor when they invaded the region.
It was because of this internal dissension that that Muhammad bin Qasim
received cooperation from some of the Buddhists as well as some of the Jats and Meds during his campaign in Sind http://worldcat.org/oclc/33848827&referer=brief_results(An advanced history of India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar; Hemchandra Raychaudhuri; Kalikinkar Datta Delhi
: Macmillan India
, 1973) In fact he was hailed as deliverer by several sections of local population. The position of the Buddhists in Sind seeking support from outside can be read in the Chach Nama
.
. Its is interesting to note here that calling upon allies to wreak vengeance upon a dynasty that had been built upon treachery itself in the first place and that cohorted its own fellow countrymen "not to carry swords, avoid velvet or silken cloth, ride horses without saddles and walk about bare-headed and bare-footed" has been labelled as treachery by the writer of the said Panegyric work though viewed from other angle it can be justified as poetic justice.Sind had a large Buddhist population at this time but the ruler, Dahir, followed Brahminism, and to te Arabs was a Brahmin. It is said that the Buddhists been receiving wrong information from their co-religionists in Afghanistan
and Turkistan
about the liberal treatment meted out to them by the Arab
conquerors of those regions. Thus, bin-Qasim received cooperation from the Buddhist population. The Buddhist ruler of Nerun (Hyderabad) had secret correspondence with Muhammad Bin Qasim. Similarly, Bajhra and Kaka Kolak Bhagu/Bhangu
, Buddhist Rajas of Sewastan, allied themselves with Muhammad Bin Qasim.
Taqwin al-Buldan observed that in the ancient period the Jats were also found in Baluchistan
in a large number in addition to Sind But he did not agree with those historians, who traced their origin to the Middle East and treated this region as their native place. He fully supports Maulana Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi, the distinguished disciple of Allama Shibli Nomani and the author of a scholarly work on the Indo Arab relations (Arab wa Hind ke Toalluqat) that during the occupation of Sind and Baluchistan by the Persian Kings (Chosroes), the Jats of this region came to be employed in Persia or Iran in army and state administration. He considered it an established fact that the Jats originally belonged to India but it could not be denied that in course of time a large number of them had settled in other parts of Asia for different purposes.
It is quite evident from the account of the Arab geographers, particularly Ibn Khurdazbeh, that their population was mainly concentrated in Makran
, Baluchistan
, Multan
and Sind and that for about thousand miles from Makran to Mansurah the whole passage was inhabited by them. Moreover, on this long route they rendered great service to the travellers as huffaz al-tariq or road-guards. In the same way, Al Istakhari, the author of an important geographical work Al-Masalik wal-Mamalik, had stated that the whole region from Mansura to Multan was full of the Jats. In view of Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri, it was form these places that many Jats had migrated to Persia and different parts of Arab and settled there long ago.,
The studies of Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri also bring to light that the Jats did not remain confined to Persia. They got settlement in different Parts of Arab land, which was under the Persian rule in those days. The Arab geographers testified that fact that in the coastal region of the Persian Gulf from Ubullah to Bahrain
they had many pockets of their population and that they engaged themselves in different kind of work including cattle breeding., It is also confirmed by the Arab historians that in pre Islamic period their largest concentration was found in Ubullah, a fertile and pleasant place near the city of Basrah. Their second big settlement was in Bahrain
where they had been residing in large numbers prior to the period of Muhammad as we are informed by Al-Baladhuri and other historians In the same way, there are clear evidences for their settlement in Yemen
before the advent of Islam and their important role in socio- political life of those days Yemen. In the times of pious Caliphs when Persia and many parts of the Arab region (previously ruled by Persian and Roman Kings) came under the Muslim army and a number of them got converted to Islam also. It is confirmed by different historical and geographical works, as cited by Maulana Mubarakpuri that they had settled in large number in Antioch
and coastal town of Syria
under the patronage of the pious and Umayyad
caliphate
(Khilafat-e-Rashidah and Banu Umayyad),
Very important and useful information that comes forth through the researches of Maulana Mubarakpuri is that the people of Makkah and Madinah in the times of Muhammad were not only familiar with the Indians, the Jats were also well known to them. On the authority of Sirat-i-Ibn-i-Hisham, Maulana has stated that once some people came from Najran
to Madinah. Looking at them, Muhammad asked who are they ? They are just like Indians.,
These Indians were assumed to be Jats (Zutt). In the same way, it is recorded in Jami-i-Tirmezi, the well known collection of Hadith that the famous Sahabi Sazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood once saw some persons in the company of Muhammad in Makkah, he observed that their hair and body structure is just like the Jats. There are also some other references in the Arabic source to the existence of the Jats in Madinah in that period. They also included a physician (Tabib) who was once consulted during the illness of Aisha
, the wife of Muhammad.
Some Arab writers have referred to the Jats peculiar style of hair cut which had been adopted by some Arabs. In the same way some special clothes were known after them and so called al-Thiyab al-zuttia (Jats cloths), which were available in the Arab Markets. But our author is not quite sure that whether the Jats prepared these clothes or these were part of their special dress like the Chadra. Moreover, the learned author has also come to the conclusion, in the light of some references in the Arabic poetical works, that certain form of Indian song were known of the Arabs since the ancient period and these were most probably introduced by the Jats as this was called Song of Jats (Ghina al –Zutt) These points are enough to suggest that the Jats were fully free in the Arab lands to follow and observe the customs and tradition of their native land. This is also supported by the fact that the Jats who had been living in the places around Basrah continued to talk in their original language at least up to the period of the pious caliphs. We are informed by the author of Majma al-Bahrain that they had once spoken even to the fourth caliph Ali in their own language.
It is very interesting that we come to know through the studies of Maulana Mubarakpuri that the Jats residing in Bahrain
, Yemen
and other coastal regions in a large number had influenced the local Arabs by their language to such extent that the latter lost the originality and eloquence of their language. For the same reason the language of the people of the tribes of Banu Abd Qais and Azd was declared to be diluted and unauthentic due to their mingling and frequent interaction with Persian and Indian people.,
The studies of Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri give a clear impression that the Jats who had settled in different parts of the Persian and Arab land had left their socio cultural impact on the local people
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...
and Med
MED
-Medicine:* Medicine * Medication, often used in the plural "meds"* Title of Medic, the first Physician degree in Argentina* Medical Extrication Device, a device for extricating an injured patient from an accident site, such as the Kendrick Extrication Device* Minimal Erythemal Dose, the minimum...
s have been the oldest occupants of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. The first Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
account of the 11th-century Mujmat ut-Tawarikh (1026), originally an ancient work in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, mentions Jats and Meds as the ancient tribe of Sind and calls them the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah
Nuh
Noah, , is a prophet and messenger in the Qur'an. He is a highly important figure in Islamic history, as he is counted amongst the earliest prophets sent by God to mankind. According to Islam, Noah's mission was to a wicked world, plunged in depravity and sin...
. The Ghaznavid poet, Farrukhi calls the Jats (Zatt in Arabic) as the Indian race. These Arabic/Persian accounts find support from the early–5th-century inscription which documented the Indianized names of the Jat rulers,
such as Raja Jeet, Salinder, Devangi, Sumbooka, Degali, Veera Narinder, Veera Handra and Salok Handra. Furthermore, the Mujmat ut-Tawarikh also mentions the Indianized name of one of their chiefs of the Jats in remote ancient time as Judrat. These textual references further strengthened the view of O'Brien, who opines that the names and traditions of certain Jat tribes seem to connect them more closely with Hindustan.
History
According to Dr. Raza, Jats appear to be the original race of SindhSindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
valley, stretching from the mouth of Indus to as far as the valley of Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. Traditionally Jats of Sind consider their origin from the far northwest and claimed ancient Garh Gajni
Ghazni
For the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni ProvinceGhazni is a city in central-east Afghanistan with a population of about 141,000 people...
(modern Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
) as their original abode. Persian chronicler Firishta
Firishta
Firishta or Ferishta, full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah , was born in 1560 and died in 1620 and he was a Persian historian. The name Firishta means angel or one who is sent in Persian.-Life:...
strengthened this view and informs us that Jats were originally living near the river of the Koh-i-Jud (Salt Range) in northwest Punjab. The Jats then occupied the Indus valley and settled themselves on both the banks of the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
. By the 4th century the region of Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
was under their control. Then they rose to the sovereign power and their ruler Jit Salindra, who promoted the renown of his race, started the Jat colonisation in Punjab and fortified the town Salpur/Sorpur, near Multan.
Ibn Hauqual mentions the area of their abode in between Mansura and Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
. By the end of 7th century, Jats were thickly populated in Deybal region. In the early 8th century, when the Arab commander Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
came to Sind, the Jats were living along both sides of the river Indus. Their main population was settled in the lower Sind, especially in the region of Brahmanabad (Mansura); Lohana
Lohana
The Lohana also referred to as Luvana are an Indian caste,largely classified as merchants and are categorized as Vaishya or Bania caste although their ancient history proves that they are Kshatriya of Suryavanshi descant, claiming their lineage from Lava, son of Rama...
(round the Brahmanabad) with their two territories Lakha
Lakha
Lakha is a Southern Tibetan language spoken by about 8,000 people in Wangdue Phodrang and Trongsa Districts in central Bhutan. Lakha is spoken by descendants of pastoral yakherd communities....
, to the west of Lohana and Samma, to the south of Lohana; Nerun (modern Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
); Dahlilah; Roar
Roar
Roar may refer to :*Roar , a sound produced by certain animals such as lions and tigers* Roar, the King's College London student newspaper*Brisbane Roar FC, an Australian football club...
and Deybal. Further east, their abode also extended between Deybal, Kacheha (Qassa) and Kathiawar
Kathiawar
Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...
in Gujarat. In upper Sind they were settled in Siwistan (Schwan) and Alor/Aror region.
In the 7th century, the Chinese traveler Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
reported that: "in a district of slopes and marshes to more than a thousand li beside the Sindhu River there live several hundred, nearly a thousand, families of ferocious people who made slaughtering their occupation and sustain themselves by rearing cattle, without any other means of living. All the people, whether male of female, and regardless of nobility or lowliness, shave off their hair and beards and dress in religious robes, thus giving the appearance of being bhikṣus (and bhikṣunīs), yet engaging in secular affairs." Earlier translators of this same passage gave differing accounts of the numbers of people, however. Beal says that "there are several hundreds of thousands families settled in Sind", while Watters says there were "some myriads of families"
Dr. Raza proposes that these unnamed people were Jats. The Chachnama, possibly dating originally to the 7th or 8th century CE, and translated into Persian in 1216 CE, stratified these people into 'the western Jats' (Jatan-i-gharbi) and 'the eastern Jats (Jatan-i-Sharqi), living on the eastern and western side of the Indus River.
Before the invasion of Sultan Mahmud
Sultan Mahmud
Sultan Mahmud may refer to:*Mahmud I , Sultan of the Ottoman Empire*Mahmud II , Sultan of the Ottoman Empire*Mahmud of Ghazni , Sultan of Persia in the 11th century...
(1027), Jats had firmly established in the region of Multan and Bhatiya on the banks of Indus River. Alberuni mentions the Mau as the abode of Jats in Punjab, situated in between the river Chenab and Beas.
In the 13th century CE, chroniclers further classified them as 'The Jats living on the banks of the rivers (Lab-i-daryayi) and the Jats living in plain, desert (Jatan-i-dashti); and 'the rustic Jats' (rusta'i Jat) living in villages.
Professionally, they were classified on the basis of their habitats, as boatmen and maker of boats, those who were living in the riverside. However Jats of country side were involved in making of swords; as the region of Deybal was famous for the manufacture of swords, and the Jats were variously called as teghzan (holder of the swords). The rustic people were appointed by the Chach and the Arab commanders as spies (Jasus) and the caravan guide (rahbar). They used to guide the caravans on their way both during day time and at night.
In political hierarchy, the early–5th-century inscription refers to them as a ruler of Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, part of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Malwa. It further highlights their sovereign position with high sounded epithets such as Sal, Vira, and Narpati ('lord of men'). In the military hierarchy, the Chachnama placed them high on the covetous post of Rana
Rana (title)
Rana is a Princely title of Royalty in Sanskrit. Rana is used by the Jats and Rajput of South Asia. The name is usually interpreted to mean "Prince".Compound titles Rana Sahib, Rana Bahadur, and Maharana.-Royal title in India:...
. During the war they were brought against enemy as soldiers. In Dahir
Dahir
A Dahir is a Moroccan King's decree.-List of Dahirs:* August 12, 1913 - Criminal proceedings* March 11, 1915 - Education * November 17, 1915 - Creation of the 5-branch Seal of Solomon Flag of Morocco....
's army all the Jats living in the east of Indus River stood marshalled in the rear against the Arab commander Muhammad Bin Qasim. They were also involved in palace management, thus Chach appointed them as his bodyguard (pasdar).
Migration from Sind
As for the migration of Jats from Sind, it may be assumed that natural calamity and increase in population compelled them to migrate from their original abode in search of livelihood. Hoernle has propounded the 'wedge theory' for the migration of most of the ancient tribes. This wedge theory tends us to believe that the Jats were among the first wave of the Aryans, and their first southeast migration took place from the northwest, and established their rule at Sorpur in Multan regions. Further they migrated towards east and stretched their abode from Brahmanabad (Mansura) to Kathiawar. As Jataki, the peculiar dialect of the Jats, also proves that the Jats must have come from the NW Punjab and from other districts (e.g. Multan) dependent upon the great country of the Five rivers.By the end of fifth and the beginning of the 6th century, their southward migration, second in line, took place and they reached Kota in Rajasthan, probably via Bikaner regions. From Kota they migrated further east and established their rule at Malwa under the rule of Salichandra, son of Vira Chandra. Salichandra erected a minster (mindra) on banks of the river Taveli in Malwa. Probably after their defeat by Sultan Mahmud in 1027 AD, and later hard pressed by the Ghaznavi
Ghaznavi
Ghaznavi Missile is a short range ballistic missile with an optimal range of 290 km, produced by Pakistan and named after the 11th century Afghan conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni. The missile has a length of 9.64m, diameter of 0.99 m, launch weight of 5256 kg and is powered by a single stage solid fuel...
Turkish Commander, the Jats of Sind again migrated to Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and settled themselves in Bundi regions. The second inscription found at Bundi
Bundi
Bundi is a city and a municipality of approximately 88,000 inhabitants in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. It is of particular architectural note for its ornate forts, palaces, and stepwell reservoirs known as baoris...
probably dates from circa samvat 1191 (1135 AD) possibly refers to the Jats as opponents of the Parmara rulers of Rajasthan.
When Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
attacked Dahlilah, a fortified town in between Roar and Brahmanabad, most of the inhabitants (the Jats) had abandoned the place and migrated to Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
via desert and took shelter in the country of Siru (modern Sirohi
Sirohi
Sirohi is a city in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District, and was formerly the capital of the princely state of the same name. Nearest railway station to Sirohi is Sirohi Road station.-Geography:...
) which was then ruled by King Deva Raj, a cousin of Rai Dahir. However, the third migration took place in early 8th century and Jats of lower Sind migrated to Rajasthan, probably via Barmer
Barmer district
Barmer is a district of Rajasthan state, India. Barmer is the district headquarters. Balotra, Guda Malani, Baytoo, Siwana, Jasol and Chohatan are other major towns.-Geography:...
regions. By the 12th century, the Jats settled in western Punjab, as the native poet Abul Farj Runi mentions them along with the Afghans. Meanwhile, they also extended their abode in the eastern part of the Punjab (now Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
), as in the end of the 12th century they resisted Qutab Din Aibek in the region of Hansi
Hansi
Hansi is a city and a municipal council in Hisar district in the Indian state of Haryana. Its 2011 population is estimated to be 1,34,568. It is located at a distance of east of Hisar on National Highway 10. Geographically, it is semi-arid with around 46 cm of annual rainfall. It appears...
.
The Jats of the lower Indus comprise both Jats and Rajputs, and the same rule applies to Las-Bela where descendants of former ruling races like the Sumra Dynasty and the Samma Dynasty of Sind and the Langah
Langah
Langah is a city in located in the Jhelum District of the Punjab, Pakistan.-See also:* Langah, a tribe in Sindh and Punjab ....
of Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
are found. At the time of the first appearance of the Arabs they found the whole of Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
in possession of Zutts. On phonetic grounds, this maybe Jats.
According to a Hadith, Abdulla Bin Masood, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
saw some strangers with Muhammad and said that their features and physique were like those of Jats. This indicates that Jats may have been in Arabia even during Muhammad's time. It is mentioned in the Abadis i.e., the authentic traditions of Mohammad compiled by Imam Bukhari (died 875 AD - 256 A.H) that an Indian tribe of had settled in Arabia before Mohammad’s times . Bukhari also tells us that an Indian Raja (king) sent a jar of ginger pickles to Muhammad. This shows that the Indians resided in an adjacent area. Furthur writing about the period of the Companions in his book "Al adab al Mufarrad" has stated that once when Aisha
Aisha
Aisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
(Muhammads's wife) fell ill, her nephews brought a Jat doctor for her treatment. We hear of them next when the Arab armies clashed with the Persian forces which were composed of Jat soldiers as well. The Persian Command Hurmuz used Jat soldiers against Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khālid ibn al-Walīd also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl , was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is noted for his military tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar...
in the battle of 'salasal' of 634 AD (12 hijri
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
). This was the first time that Jats were captured by the Arabs. They put forward certain conditions for joining the Arab armies which were accepted, and on embracing Islam they were associated with different Arab tribes. This event proves that the first group of people from the Indian subcontinent to accept Islam were Jats who did it as early as 12 hijri (634 AD) in the time of `Umar ibn al-Khattāb.
The Persian King Yazdgerd III
Yazdgerd III
Yazdegerd III or Yazdgerd III was the twenty-ninth and last king of the Sassanid dynasty of Iran and a grandson of Khosrau II . His father was Shahryar, whose mother was Miriam, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice...
had also sought the help of the Sind ruler who sent Jat soldiers and elephants which were used against the Arabs in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah was fought in 636; it was the decisive engagement between the Arab muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia, and was key to the conquest of Iraq...
.
According to Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
(Tabari), Ali ibn Abi Talib A.S had employed Jats to guard Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
treasury during the battle of Jamal. Amir Muawiya had settled them on the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n border to fight against the Romans
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Jat clashes with Muhammad Qasim in the Chachnama
There are extensive accounts of Jat clashes with Qasim in various books by respected Muslim Historians.It is said that 4,000 Jats of Sind joined Mohammad Bin Qasim's army and fought against Raja Dahir. Sindhi
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
Jats henceforth began to be regularly recruited in the Muslim armies.
The line of rulership before Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
runs: Siharus
Siharus
Not to be confused with Siharas, ruler of Kannauj during the same period.Siharus was the father of the last Rajput ruler of Sindh Raja Sahasi II and was a follower of Buddhism....
, Raja Sahasi II
Raja Sahasi II
Raja Sahasi II, was the last Rajput ruler of Sind his empire extended up to Kashmir and he believed in Buddhism as did his father Siharus. The rule of Raja Sahasi II ended in 632 AD. He was succeeded by his Hindu Brahmin chamberlain, Chach of Alor, who developed illicit sexual relations with...
, Chach
Chach of Alor
Chach is the name of the Brahmin Chamberlain and Secretary to Rai Sahasi the Second, of the Rai Dynasty who succeeded him to the throne of Sindh. The history of Chach is related in the Chach Nama as part of the history of Sind. Several places along the Sindhu river are named after the adored king...
, Raja Dahir
Raja Dahir
Raja Dahir , born 661 AD — died 712 AD, was the last Hindu ruler situated in Sindh and parts of Punjab in modern day Pakistan. During the beginning of the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent his kingdom was conquered by Muhammad bin Qasim, an Arab general, for the Umayyad Caliphate.- Reign...
. The first two were Buddhist Rajputs and the last two Hindu Brahmins. There is a difference of opinion among historians concerning the social dynamic between the Jatts and the Brahmins. Some historians suggest that the relationship was an adversarial one, with Brahmins using their high caste status to try to exploit and oppress the Jatts, Meds
Meds
Meds is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo, released in 2006 on Virgin Records. It was released in most countries on 13 March 2006, although it was released three days earlier in Australia and New Zealand...
and Buddhists, who formed the bulk of the peasantry when ever they got the opportunity. According to a quote by historian U.T Thakkur, "When Chach, the Brahmin chamberlain who usurped the throne of Rajput King Sahasi II went to Brahmanabad, he enjoined upon the Jats and Lohanas not to carry swords, avoid velvet or silken cloth, ride horses without saddles and walk about bare-headed and bare-footed".
However, Thakkur also writes that Hinduism and Buddhism existed side by side, suggesting a more complex dynamic between the endogamous groups. [The king followed early Hinduism, but a majority of his advisers were a mix of Buddhists, and other faiths. The ruler of Brahmanabad, a Jatt, also had professed Buddhism as his spiritual guide. Nonetheless, there was a strong sense of "ideological dualism" between them, which he wrote was the inherent weakness that the Arabs exploited in their favor when they invaded the region.
It was because of this internal dissension that that Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
received cooperation from some of the Buddhists as well as some of the Jats and Meds during his campaign in Sind http://worldcat.org/oclc/33848827&referer=brief_results(An advanced history of India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar; Hemchandra Raychaudhuri; Kalikinkar Datta Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
: Macmillan India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 1973) In fact he was hailed as deliverer by several sections of local population. The position of the Buddhists in Sind seeking support from outside can be read in the Chach Nama
Chach Nama
Chach Nama also known as the Fateh nama Sindh ,and also known as Tarekh-e-Hind wa Sindh Arabic is a book about the history of Sindh, chronicling the Chacha Dynasty's period, following the demise of the Rai Dynasty and the ascent of Chach of Alor to the throne, down to the Arab conquest by...
.
. Its is interesting to note here that calling upon allies to wreak vengeance upon a dynasty that had been built upon treachery itself in the first place and that cohorted its own fellow countrymen "not to carry swords, avoid velvet or silken cloth, ride horses without saddles and walk about bare-headed and bare-footed" has been labelled as treachery by the writer of the said Panegyric work though viewed from other angle it can be justified as poetic justice.Sind had a large Buddhist population at this time but the ruler, Dahir, followed Brahminism, and to te Arabs was a Brahmin. It is said that the Buddhists been receiving wrong information from their co-religionists in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Turkistan
Türkistan
*Türkistan is the local name for Turkestan, a region of Central Asia.*Türkistan, Kazakhstan is a historic city and place of pilgrimage in southern Kazakhstan...
about the liberal treatment meted out to them by the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
conquerors of those regions. Thus, bin-Qasim received cooperation from the Buddhist population. The Buddhist ruler of Nerun (Hyderabad) had secret correspondence with Muhammad Bin Qasim. Similarly, Bajhra and Kaka Kolak Bhagu/Bhangu
Bhangu
Bhangu, Bhangoo, or Bhango is a Jat gotra or clan mainly found in the Punjab state of North India, Sindh and Punjab province of Pakistan.-History:...
, Buddhist Rajas of Sewastan, allied themselves with Muhammad Bin Qasim.
Taqwin al-Buldan observed that in the ancient period the Jats were also found in Baluchistan
Balochistan (region)
Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...
in a large number in addition to Sind But he did not agree with those historians, who traced their origin to the Middle East and treated this region as their native place. He fully supports Maulana Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi, the distinguished disciple of Allama Shibli Nomani and the author of a scholarly work on the Indo Arab relations (Arab wa Hind ke Toalluqat) that during the occupation of Sind and Baluchistan by the Persian Kings (Chosroes), the Jats of this region came to be employed in Persia or Iran in army and state administration. He considered it an established fact that the Jats originally belonged to India but it could not be denied that in course of time a large number of them had settled in other parts of Asia for different purposes.
It is quite evident from the account of the Arab geographers, particularly Ibn Khurdazbeh, that their population was mainly concentrated in Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
, Baluchistan
Balochistan (region)
Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...
, Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
and Sind and that for about thousand miles from Makran to Mansurah the whole passage was inhabited by them. Moreover, on this long route they rendered great service to the travellers as huffaz al-tariq or road-guards. In the same way, Al Istakhari, the author of an important geographical work Al-Masalik wal-Mamalik, had stated that the whole region from Mansura to Multan was full of the Jats. In view of Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri, it was form these places that many Jats had migrated to Persia and different parts of Arab and settled there long ago.,
Jat Conflicts with Arab Invaders
Jat conflict with the Ghaznavids
Jat settlements in Islamic countries
Giving an account of the Jats’ settlement in Persia, Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri had stated that they had been living in this region since a long time and they had developed many big and flourishing towns of their own as we are informed by Ibn-i-Khurdazbeh (d.893AD) that at about sixty miles away from the city of Ahwaz, there is a big city of the Jats, which is known after them as al-Zutt. Another geographer of the same period had also observed that in the vicinity of Khuzistan there was a grand city Haumat al-Zutt. These evidences given by the eminent author are enough to suggest that the Jats who settled in Persia gradually built up their economic resources and made significant contribution to urbanization of that country.The studies of Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri also bring to light that the Jats did not remain confined to Persia. They got settlement in different Parts of Arab land, which was under the Persian rule in those days. The Arab geographers testified that fact that in the coastal region of the Persian Gulf from Ubullah to Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
they had many pockets of their population and that they engaged themselves in different kind of work including cattle breeding., It is also confirmed by the Arab historians that in pre Islamic period their largest concentration was found in Ubullah, a fertile and pleasant place near the city of Basrah. Their second big settlement was in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
where they had been residing in large numbers prior to the period of Muhammad as we are informed by Al-Baladhuri and other historians In the same way, there are clear evidences for their settlement in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
before the advent of Islam and their important role in socio- political life of those days Yemen. In the times of pious Caliphs when Persia and many parts of the Arab region (previously ruled by Persian and Roman Kings) came under the Muslim army and a number of them got converted to Islam also. It is confirmed by different historical and geographical works, as cited by Maulana Mubarakpuri that they had settled in large number in Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
and coastal town of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
under the patronage of the pious and Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
(Khilafat-e-Rashidah and Banu Umayyad),
Very important and useful information that comes forth through the researches of Maulana Mubarakpuri is that the people of Makkah and Madinah in the times of Muhammad were not only familiar with the Indians, the Jats were also well known to them. On the authority of Sirat-i-Ibn-i-Hisham, Maulana has stated that once some people came from Najran
Najran
Najran , formerly known as Aba as Sa'ud, is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated a New town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen from 47,500 in 1974 and 90,983 in 1992 to...
to Madinah. Looking at them, Muhammad asked who are they ? They are just like Indians.,
These Indians were assumed to be Jats (Zutt). In the same way, it is recorded in Jami-i-Tirmezi, the well known collection of Hadith that the famous Sahabi Sazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood once saw some persons in the company of Muhammad in Makkah, he observed that their hair and body structure is just like the Jats. There are also some other references in the Arabic source to the existence of the Jats in Madinah in that period. They also included a physician (Tabib) who was once consulted during the illness of Aisha
Aisha
Aisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
, the wife of Muhammad.
Socio cultural impact of Jats on Arabians
It also appears from authentic sources that the Jats not only lived in different parts of the Arab Land, they also observed their social customs and traditions in their daily life and that the local people got influenced by them in different ways as the studies of Qazi Ather Mubarakpuri show.,Some Arab writers have referred to the Jats peculiar style of hair cut which had been adopted by some Arabs. In the same way some special clothes were known after them and so called al-Thiyab al-zuttia (Jats cloths), which were available in the Arab Markets. But our author is not quite sure that whether the Jats prepared these clothes or these were part of their special dress like the Chadra. Moreover, the learned author has also come to the conclusion, in the light of some references in the Arabic poetical works, that certain form of Indian song were known of the Arabs since the ancient period and these were most probably introduced by the Jats as this was called Song of Jats (Ghina al –Zutt) These points are enough to suggest that the Jats were fully free in the Arab lands to follow and observe the customs and tradition of their native land. This is also supported by the fact that the Jats who had been living in the places around Basrah continued to talk in their original language at least up to the period of the pious caliphs. We are informed by the author of Majma al-Bahrain that they had once spoken even to the fourth caliph Ali in their own language.
It is very interesting that we come to know through the studies of Maulana Mubarakpuri that the Jats residing in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and other coastal regions in a large number had influenced the local Arabs by their language to such extent that the latter lost the originality and eloquence of their language. For the same reason the language of the people of the tribes of Banu Abd Qais and Azd was declared to be diluted and unauthentic due to their mingling and frequent interaction with Persian and Indian people.,
The studies of Quzi Athar Mubarakpuri give a clear impression that the Jats who had settled in different parts of the Persian and Arab land had left their socio cultural impact on the local people