The Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India (1999) is K. S. Lal’s comprehensive study arguing that the behaviour of Muslim rulers in India was not driven by personal whim or political expediency but by the ideological framework of Islamic scriptures—the Quran, Hadis, and Shariat.

Central Thesis

Muslim invaders and rulers of India belonged to different races (Arabs, Turks, Uzbegs, Pathans, Africans, Persians, Mughals) and different sects (Shia, Sunni, Wahabi), yet their behaviour follows a uniform pattern. Even converts to Islam from Hinduism behaved towards their erstwhile co-religionists like any Afghan or Turk. The source of this uniformity is the Quran, the Hadis, and the Sunnah.

Structure

Part I: The Muslim State in Medieval India

  • The State — Islamic theory of state
  • Obligations of the State — Jihad, enforcement of Shariat
  • Income of the State — Taxes, booty, jizya
  • Expenditure of the State — Military expansion, Islamic institutions
  • Justice — Shariat courts, treatment of non-Muslims

Part II: Politics

  • Muslim State in India today — How Islamic laws and separate Muslim identity create a “state within a state”
  • Contemporary relevance of classical jihad doctrine

Part III: A Riposte on Reviews

  • Rebuttals to critics who challenged Lal’s use of Islamic scriptural sources

Method

Lal relies on Islamic scriptural sources translated by Muslims themselves (not Western scholars accused of bias), and lets “the Muslims speak, giving extensive quotations from their classical authors.” He draws on:

  • The six authentic Hadis collections
  • Ibn Ishaq’s biography of the Prophet
  • Muslim chronicles of medieval India

Key Concepts

  • Jihad — Holy war as a religious obligation
  • Kafir/Mushrik — Categories of non-Muslims
  • Zimmihood — The subordinate status of non-Muslims in an Islamic state
  • Hate words in contemporary usage — These scriptural concepts “are in operation even now”

See Also