Gandharb (Muslim traditions) in India

Introduction / History

Their name, Gandharab, derives from a Sanskrit word meaning a race of divine singers. However, few today pursue a musical profession. Most live in Gujarat today.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Most Muslim Gandharps now make a living in the service sector while others farm.

Gandharp culture is undergoing change. Dress is changing. Some customs are being abandoned as too expensive. Bride price is not always part of the marriage. Perhaps as a result, marriageable Gandharp girls are sometimes given to Sindhi men instead of members of their own community.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Gandharb people are Sunni Muslims who 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 that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.

In most of the Muslim world, 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 we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

They need the Holy Spirit to open their spiritual eyes so they can see Jesus for who he is.

Prayer Points

Pray for loving workers to go to the Gandharb people, and for their hearts to be ready to receive their savior.
Pray for families of believers loving and serving others to grow reproducing churches.
Pray for a chain reaction of families reaching families that result in thousands of new disciples who share their faith with others.
Pray for grace and truth expanding into their entire society as all believers learn to love others.

Text Source:   Joshua Project