Balahar (Muslim traditions) in India

Introduction / History

Ancestors of the Balahar were Persian and Arab traders who arrived in India centuries ago.

They live in Uttar Pradesh and speak Urdu.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Balahar are skilled workers who produce woven goods out of cotton and silk. Others are carpenters or metal workers. Each of their clans is led by a patriarch.

What Are Their Beliefs?

This community is Sunni Muslim. They believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.

The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.

Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.

In most of the Muslim world, common people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well they live on a daily basis. For that reason, some Muslims appease spirits using charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces. More orthodox Muslims consider these practices heretical and un-Islamic.

What Are Their Needs?

Muslims are being threatened today by militant Hinduism. That affects the Balahar and other Muslim communities that some regard as a threat. They are trying to defend themselves by forming political action groups.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to bless this community economically and spiritually.

Ask God to raise up Balahar who are more desirous to know the truth than to stay on the broad road.

Ask God to send loving, committed workers to the Balahar in the near future.

Pray the Balahar would no longer be hidden away from the influence of Christ.

Pray for many of them to make disciples who will make even more disciples.

Text Source:   Joshua Project