Dream of Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra

Mahmood Shah Begra ascended to the throne in Gujarat in 861 Hijri. In the Gregorian calendar, it was 1855 A.D.

Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra successfully confronted the Portuguese forces when they invaded Gujarat by sea. The Portuguese forces suffered defeat and their most powerful warship was destroyed. The Portuguese forces were compelled to retreat because of their defeat. Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra attained fame because of his extraordinary victory over the Portuguese forces. During his reign, the Sultan built up formidable ground and naval forces.

In 871 Hijri, Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra was blessed with an auspicious dream. In the dream, the Sultan saw that the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) was feeding him delicious food with his blessed hand.

Islamic scholars later interpreted this dream and stated that the Sultan would go on to accomplish many remarkable battle victories. Subsequently, this turned out to be true. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gave the Sultan such outstanding victories that few rulers had seen before.

Muhammad Sadeq Hussain Siddiqui recounts Sultan Mahmood’s dream in the fifth volume of “Tarikh-e-Alam-e-Islam.” According to the book, the Sultan dreamt the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) in 872 Hijri. In the dream, the Beloved Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) affectionately gave the Sultan two dishes. A few days afterwards, the Sultan conquered two renowned areas. One of these was Gornal and the other was Japanir. In both of these areas, Hindu rulers persecuted the Muslims. The non-Muslim rulers prevented local Muslims from growing beard and from sacrificing cows. The rulers also forced the Muslims to worship the Hindu deity Shiva Linga in mosques.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala brought these two areas under complete Muslim control. King Raimonda, the ruler of Gornal, subsequently accepted Islam. To celebrate this, Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra built a new town in the vicinity of Gornal which he named as Mustaphabad.

Japanir was conquered on the 20^th of Dhu al-Qi'dah in 889 Hijri. The Hindu Rajputs suffered defeat in this area. The Sultan also built a city nearby which he named as Muhammadbad.

Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra died after the Asr Prayer at the age of 61 on the 2^nd of Ramadan in 917 Hijri. The Sultan manifested many noble qualities. In 1946, Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, a renowned Muslim scholar of the Indian subcontinent, presented a treatise on the victories of Sultan Mahmood Shah Begra.

Emperor Aurangzeb called Gujarat Jint-e-Hindustan.