The Politicization Of The Ghazwah Al-Hind Traditions in Pakistan: Ḥadīth Criticism and Social Movement Analysis

Safri Nur Jannah; Muhammad Zeb Khan

doi:10.24235/7kp56t07

Authors

Safri Nur Jannah UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta
Muhammad Zeb Khan University of Malakand, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24235/7kp56t07

Keywords:

Ghazwah al-Hind, politicization of ḥadīth, Social Movement Theory

Abstract

This article critically examines the politicization of the Ghazwah al-Hind ḥadīth in Pakistan, particularly in relation to the Kashmir conflict. Using qualitative library research and Social Movement Theory, the study analyzes two narrations recorded by al-Nasāʾī in Kitāb al-Jihād: the report of Abū Hurayrah concerning an expedition to India and the report of Thawbān concerning a group that would invade India. Ḥadīth criticism is combined with analysis of militant discourse, religious and political publications, news reports, books, and digital media. The findings show that the two narrations have different authentication statuses: the Abū Hurayrah report is assessed as ḍa’īf, while the Thawbān report has received assessments ranging from ḥasan to ṣaḥīḥ based on corroborating chains. Neither report explicitly identifies modern India, Pakistan, or Kashmir as the fulfillment of the narrated expedition. Through the dimensions of framing, mobilizing structures, and political opportunity structures, the study demonstrates how particular actors connect the ḥadīth to the Kashmir conflict, circulate this interpretation through religious and media networks, and amplify it during periods of heightened India–Pakistan tension. The study concludes that the political significance of Ghazwah al-Hind emerges through processes of interpretation and mobilization rather than directly from the ḥadīth text itself.

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