Tarkhan (Muslim traditions) in India

Introduction / History

Traditionally the Tarkhan people had the status of low-caste artisans such as carpenters.
Though most Tarkhan people live in Muslim Pakistan, a large number are living in India. There are smaller numbers of them in the UK who blend in with other South Asian Muslim populations. In India, their numbers are small. They live in India's Punjab state.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Muslim Tarkhan community has risen higher than their modest roots in Pakistan. This happened largely because they have excelled in Pakistan's military. Those in India are not as fortunate.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Tarkhan 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 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?

The Tarkhan people in India need the opportunity to hear about the only savior, Jesus Christ, who offers life to the full. As it stands, they must depend on the teachings of the Koran and their own obedience to Koranic laws and regulations.

Prayer Points

Pray for rising literacy rates within the Tarkhan community, and for the necessary skills to make them more employable in the modern world.
Pray for the Tarkhan people to be given the blessings of spiritual hunger and discernment that will lead them to seek and find Jesus Christ.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers to go to them and remain until there are believers who can disciple their entire people group.

Text Source:   Joshua Project