Section Three

Evidence from Historical Writings which Show that Jesus’ Journey to the Punjab and Neighbouring Territories was Inevitable

The question naturally arises as to why Jesus, after his escape from the cross, should have come to this country and what could have induced him to take such a long journey? This question requires a little detailed answer and should, therefore, receive a little fuller treatment in the present volume.

Let it be noted, therefore, that it was extremely necessary, by reason of his office as divine messenger, for Jesus to have journeyed to the Punjab and its neighbourhood because the ten tribes of Israel, who in the Gospels have been called the lost sheep of Israel, had migrated to this country. It is a fact which no historian has been able to deny. It was necessary, therefore, that Jesus should have journeyed to this country and, after finding the lost sheep, should have conveyed to them the divine message vouchsafed to him. Had he not done so, the purpose for which he had been sent by God would have remained unfulfilled. His mission was to preach to the lost sheep of Israel. His passing away from the world without seeking the lost sheep, or, after finding them, failing to teach them the way to salvation, would have been quite like the case of a man who had been charged by his king to go to a desert tribe to dig a well and supply them with water, but who goes instead to some other place where he spends three or four years, taking no steps to search for the concerned tribe. Does such a man carry out the command of the king? Not in the least. The man cares not for that tribe, he merely looks to his own comfort.

If, however, it is asked, how and why it should be supposed that the ten tribes of Israel had come to this country, the answer is that the supporting evidence of this thesis is so strong and incontrovertible that even a dullard will not deny it. It is too well known that people like the Afghans and the old inhabitants of Kashmir are in fact of Israelite origin. For example, the people of Alai Kohistan which is at a distance of two or three days’ journey from the district of Hazara, have called themselves Beni Israel from time immemorial. Similarly, there is another hilly tract in this region known as Kala Dakah, whose inhabitants also take pride in being of Israelite origin. Then in the Hazara district itself, there is a tribe which claims to belong to the house of Israel. Similarly, the inhabitants of the mountain range between Chillas and Kabul also call themselves Israelites. Dr. Bernier’s view about the people of Kashmir, which is based on the authority of some English scholars, and is expressed in the second part of his book Travels, is only too true. According to him, the Kashmiri people are the descendants of Israel; their dress, their features and some of their rituals conclusively point to the fact that they are undoubtedly of Israelite origin.1 An Englishman, Forster by name, writes in his book that during his stay in Kashmir he felt as if he was living amidst a tribe of the Jews.2 H. W. Bellews C.S.I. in his book The Races of Afghanistan, published by Thacker Spink & Co. Calcutta, states that the Afghans came from Syria. Nebuchadnezzar took them prisoner and settled them in Persia and Media, from whence at a later date they moved to the East and settled in the Ghor hills, where they were known as Beni Israel. In proof of this there is the prophecy of the Prophet Idris (Enoch), which says that the ten tribes of Israel who were taken prisoner, escaped from captivity and took refuge in the territory called Arsarah which appears to be another name of the area known as Hazara today, part of the region being called Ghor. In Tabaqaat-i-Naasri, there is an account of the conquest of Afghanistan by Genghis Khan. It is stated that in the times of the Shabnisi dynasty there lived a tribe known as Beni Israel, some of whom were big businessmen and good traders. In 622 A.D., which is the year of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s(sa) Call, these people were to be found in the eastern part of Herat. A Quraish chief Khalid bin Walid brought to them the tidings of the Prophet’s Coming with a view to bringing them under the banner of the Divine Messenger(sa). Five or six chiefs were elected to accompany him, of whom the principal chief was Qais, whose other name was Kish. After accepting Islam, these people fought bravely for the cause of Islam and made many conquests. The Holy Prophet(sa) gave them many presents on their return journey, blessed them, and prophesied that they would attain great power and ascendancy. The Holy Prophet(sa) also prophesied that the chiefs of this tribe would always be known as Maliks. He gave Qais the name of Abdul Rashid and conferred upon him the title Pahtaan. Afghan writers say that this is a Syriac word which means a rudder. As the newly converted Qais was, like the rudder of a ship, a guide to his tribe, he was awarded the title Pahtaan.

It is not known at what point of time the Afghans of Ghor advanced farther and came to settle in the territory around Kandhar, which is their home today. This happened probably in the first century of the Islamic calendar. The Afghans maintain that Qais married the daughter of Khalid bin Walid, by whom he had three sons whose names were Saraban, Patan, and Gurgasht. Saraban had two sons, called Sacharj Yun, and Karsh Yun. It is their descendants who are today known as the Afghans or Beni-Israel. The people of Asia-Minor, and Muslim historians of the West, call Afghans Sulaimanis.3

In The Cyclopaedia of India, Eastern and Southern Asia, by Edward Balfour, Vol. III,4 it is stated that the Jewish people are spread all over the central, southern, and eastern regions of Asia. In early times these people were settled in large numbers in China; they had a synagogue at Yih Chu, the headquarter of the district of Shu. Dr. Wolf, who wandered for a long time in search of the ten lost tribes of Beni Israel, is of the opinion that if Afghans are the progeny of Jacob, they belong to the tribes of Yahuda and Bin Yamin. Another report proves that the Jews were exiled to Tartary; they were found in large numbers in the territories round about Bukhara, Merv and Khiva. Prester John, Emperor of Tartary, in his letter to Alexis Comminus, the Emperor of Constantinople, writing about his dominions, says that beyond the river Amu there are the ten tribes of Israel who, though they claim to be under their own king, are in reality his subjects and vassals. Dr. Moore’s researches show that the Tartar tribe named Chosan is of Jewish origin and that among them are to be found traces of the ancient Jewish faith. For example, they still practise the rite of circumcision. The Afghans have a tradition that they are the ten lost tribes of Israel. After the sack of Jerusalem, the king Nebuchadnezzar took them prisoner and settled them in Ghor, near Bamiyan. Before the arrival of Khalid bin Walid they had consistently held fast to the Jewish faith.

In appearance, the Afghans resemble the Jews in all respects. Like them, the younger brother marries the widow of the elder brother. A French traveller, Ferrier by name, who passed through Herat, states that Israelites are found in large numbers in that territory, and that they have full liberty in the practice of their religion.5 The Rabbi Bin Yamin of Toledo, Spain in the twelfth century A.D. ventured out in search of the lost tribes. He states that these Jews are settled in China, Iran and Tibet. Josephus, who wrote the ancient history of the Jews in 93 A.D., in the course of his account of the Jews who escaped from bondage along with the Prophet Ezra, states in his eleventh book that the ten tribes were settled beyond the Euphrates even at that time, and that their numbers were uncountable.6 By ‘beyond the Euphrates’ he meant Persia and the eastern territories. St. Jerome who lived in the fifth century A.D., writing about Prophet Hosea says in the margin, in support of his thesis, that since that day the ten tribes (of the Israelites) have been under king Parthya or Paras, and have not been released from bondage. In the first volume of the same book, it is stated that Count Juan Steram testifies on page 233-34 of his book that the Afghans admit that Nebuchadnezzar, after the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem, exiled them to the territory of Bamiyan (which is adjacent to Ghor, in Afghanistan).

On page 166 of the book, A Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul and Afghanistan by G. T. Vigne, F.G.S. (1840), it is stated that one Mullah Khuda Dad quoted in his presence from a book called Majma-ul-Ansaab, that the eldest son of Jacob was Judas, whose son was Usrak; Usrak’s son was Aknur; Aknur’s son was Maalib; Maalib’s Farlai; Farlai’s Qais, Qais’ Talut; Talut’s Armea, and Armea’s son was Afghan whose descendants are the Afghan people and after whom the latter are named. Afghan, a contemporary of Nebuchadnezzar, was known as a descendant of Israel, and had forty sons. In the 34th generation of his genealogical tree, after some 2000 years, was born Qais who lived in the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa). His descendants multiplied down to 64 generations.7 Afghan’s eldest son, Salm, migrated from his Syrian home and settled in Ghor Mashkoh, near Herat, and his descendants spread into Afghanistan.8

In A cyclopedia of Geography by James Bryce, F.G.S. (London, 1856), on page 11, it is stated that the Afghans trace their genealogy to Saul, the Israelite King, and call themselves the descendants of Israel. Alexander Burns says that the Afghans state that they are of Jewish origin; that the King of Babel captured them and settled them in the territory of Ghor which lies to the northwest of Kabul; that up to 622 A.D. they continued to hold on to the Jewish faith, but that Khalid bin Abdullah (Abdullah has been written mistakenly instead of Walid) married the daughter of a chief of this tribe and made them accept Islam in that year.9

On page 39 of Col. G. B. Malleson’s book History of Afghanistan (London 1878), it is stated that Abdullah Khan of Herat, the French traveller named Ferrier, and Sir William Jones, a recognised orientalist, agree that the Afghan people are descended from the Beni-Israel, and that they are the descendants of the ten lost tribes.10 The book History of the Afghans, by G. P. Ferrier,11 translated by Capt. William Jesse, and published in London (1858), records on page 1 that the majority of oriental historians are of the opinion that the Afghan people are the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel and that the Afghans too hold the same opinion. The same historian says on page 4 of this book, that Afghans possess evidence that at Peshawar, during his invasion of India, Nadir Shah was presented by the chiefs of the Yoosoofzyes tribe with a Bible written in Hebrew as well as several other articles preserved by their families for the performance of religious rites of their old faith. There were also Jews in Nadir Shah’s camp, who, on seeing the articles, readily recognised them. Again, the same historian states on page 4 of his book that in his opinion Abdullah Khan’s view is highly reliable. Briefly stated this view is as follows: Malek Thalut (Saul) had two sons, Afghan and Djalut. Afghan was the patriarch of these people. After the reigns of David and Solomon, the Israelite tribes started fighting one another. As a result, each tribe became separated from the other. This state of affairs continued up to the time of Nebuchadnezzar who invaded and killed 70,000 Jews. He sacked the city, and took the remaining Jews with him to Babel as prisoners. After this catastrophe, the children of Afghan fled in fear from Judea to Arabia and remained there for a long time. But as water and land were scarce, and man and beast suffered great hardship, they decided to migrate to India. A party of Abdalees remained in Arabia, and during the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakr one of their chiefs established matrimonial relationship with Khalid bin Walid…. When Iran fell to Arabia, these people migrated from Arabia and settled in the Iranian provinces of Fars and Kirman. They stayed there till Genghis Khan’s invasion. As the Abdalees were helpless against the atrocities of Genghis Khan, they left for India via Makran, Sindh and Multan. But here too they couldn’t find peace. They eventually arrived at Koh Sulaiman and settled there. The other members of the Abdali tribe also joined them. They consisted of 24 tribes, all descendants of Afghan who had three sons, Tsera-Bend (Saraban), Arkash (Argoutch) and Karlen (Batan). They had eight sons each who multiplied into twenty-four tribes, each tribe was named after each son. The names of the sons and the tribes are given below:12

The book, Makhzan-i-Afghani13 by Khawaja Nimatullah of Herat, was written in 1018 Hijra during the reign of the Emperor Jahangir, and was translated and published by Prof. Bernhard Doran of Kharkov University in 1836 in London. It contains the following statements in the chapters mentioned below:

In chapter 1 there is the history of Jacob Israel with whom starts the genealogy of the Afghans.

In chapter II there is the history of King Talut, the genealogy of the Afghans is traced to Talut. On pages 22 and 23 it is stated: Talut had two sons, Berkhia and Ermiah. Berkhia had a son, Asif and Ermiah’s Afghan and on page 24 it is stated that Afghan had twenty-four14 sons and no one among the Israelites could compare in numbers with the descendants of Afghan. On page 6515 it is stated that Bokhtnasser16 occupied the whole of Sham (Syria), etc., exiled the Israelite tribes and forced them to settle in the mountainous regions of Ghor, Ghazneen, Kabul, Candahar and Koh Firoz, where the descendants of Asif and Afghan particularly took up their abode.

The third chapter contains the statement that when Bokhtnasser expelled the Israelites from Syria, some tribes who were the descendants of Asif and Afghan took refuge in Arabia. The Arabs used to address them as Beni Israel and Beni Afghan.17

On pages 37 and 38 of the same book, on the authority of the author of Majma‘ul Ansaab, and that of Mestoufi, the author of Taareekh Gozeeda, it is stated that in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(sa), Khalid bin Walid invited the Afghans to Islam, who, after Bokhtnasser’s invasion, had taken up residence in the Ghor territory. The Afghan chiefs under the leadership of Qais, who was Talut’s descendant in the 37th generation, came to pay their homage to the Holy Prophet(sa). Qais was named Abdul Rashid by the Holy Prophet(sa) (Here the genealogy of Abdul Rashid Qais is traced back to Talut — Saul). The Holy Prophet(sa) also conferred the title of Pathan on the chiefs which means ‘ship’s rudder’. After some time the chiefs returned to their territory and began to preach Islam.

In the same book Makhzan-i-Afghani on page 63, it is recorded that Farid-ud-Din Ahmad makes the following statement concerning the titles Beni Afghanah or Beni Afghan, in his book Risalah Ansaab-i-Afghaniyyah: After Nebuchadnezzar, the Magian, had subjugated the Israelites, conquered the Syrian territories and sacked Jerusalem, he took the Israelites prisoners and exiled them as slaves. He took away with him several of their tribes who followed the Mosaic Law, and ordered them to renounce their ancestral faith and to worship him instead of God, which they refused to do. Consequently, Nebuchadnezzar put to death two thousand of the most intelligent and the wisest from among them and ordered the rest to leave his kingdom and Syria. Some of them left Nebuchadnezzar’s territory under a chief and went away to the Ghor hills. Their descendants settled down in that place, multiplied at a fast rate, and people began to designate them as Beni Israel, Beni Asif and Beni Afghan.

On page 64, the same author says that reliable records like Taarikh-i-Afghani, Taarikh-i-Ghori, etc., contain the assertion that the Afghans are mostly Beni Israel and some of them are of Coptic origin. Moreover, Abul Fazl also states that some Afghans regard themselves as of Egyptian origin, the reason given by them being that when the Beni Israel returned to Egypt from Jerusalem, this tribe, namely, the Afghans migrated to India. On page 64 Farid-ud-Din Ahmad writes about the title ‘Afghan’ that some writers are on record having said that after exile (from Syria) they used always to ‘bewail and cry’ in remembrance of their home. That is why they were named Afghans.18 Sir John Malcolm is also of the same opinion; vide History of Persia, Vol. I, page 101.

On page 63, is given Mahabat Khan’s statement that: ‘As they are the followers and relations of Solomon, they are, therefore, styled Sulaimanis by the Arabs’.

On page 65, it is written that investigations of almost all oriental historians show that the Afghan people’s own view is that they are of Jewish origin. Some of the present day historians have adopted the same view and regard it as true or very nearly true….

The translator Bernard Dorn’s contention that the adoption of Jewish names by Afghans is due to their having accepted Islam is not sustained by evidence. In north western and western Punjab, there are tribes of Hindu origin who have become Muslims but whose names are not after the names of the Jewish people, which clearly shows that by becoming Muslim people do not necessarily adopt Jewish names.

That in features the Afghans have a surprising resemblance to the Jews, is a fact which is admitted even by such scholars as do not at all subscribe to the Afghan claim that they are of Jewish origin. This is the only proof strong enough to establish that the Afghan are of Jewish origin. Sir John Malcolm’s remarks in this connection are as follows: “Although the Afghans’ right to this proud (Jewish) descent is very doubtful, it is evident from their personal appearance and many of their customs that they (the Afghans) are a distinct race from the Persians, Tartars and Indians and this alone seems to give some credibility to the Afghan claim which is otherwise contradicted by many strong facts, and of which no direct proof has been produced. If similarity of features between one people and another can point to anything, the Kashmiris with their Jewish features would certainly be found to be of Jewish origin. This has been mentioned not only by Bernier but also by Forster, and possibly by other scholars.” Although Forster does not accept Bernier’s opinion, he concedes that when he was among the Kashmiris he thought he was living amidst a Jewish people.19

Under the word ‘Cashmere’, on page 250 of A. K. Johnston’s Dictionary of Geography, there is this statement:

The natives are of a tall, robust frame of body, with manly features, the women full-formed and handsome, with an acquiline nose and features, resembling the Jewish.20

The Civil & Military Gazette of 23 November 1898 on page 4 under the heading Sawati and Afridi, reproduces a very valuable and interesting paper presented to the Anthropological section of the British Association at one of its recent meetings, which will be read at its winter session before the Committee on Anthropological Research. The Gazette says:

The original Pathan or Paktan inhabitants of these western gates of India are recognised in very early history, many of the tribes being mentioned by Herodotus and the historians of Alexander. In mediaeval times the rough uncultivated wilderness of mountains they held was called Roh, and its inhabitants Rohillas, and there can be little doubt that most of these early Rohilla or Pathan tribes were in their places long before the overlying Afghan tribes were thought of. All Afghans whatsoever now counted as Pathans, because they all speak the Pathan language, Pushto, they acknowledge no direct kinship, claiming themselves to be Beni Israel, the descendants of those tribes who were carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. All of them have, however, adopted the Pushto tongue, and all recognise the same Pathan code of common civil observances called Paktanwali, which is, in many of its provisions, curiously suggestive both of the old Mosaic dispensation and of ancient observances of the Rajput races.

Thus the Pathans, with whom we have lately been so largely concerned, may be divided into two great communities, i.e. tribes and clans such as Waziris, Afridis, Orakzais, etc. who are of Indian origin, and those who are Afghans, who claim to be Semitic and who represent the dominant race throughout our frontier; and it seems at least to be possible that the Paktanwali, which is an unwritten code and which is acknowledged by them all alike, may be of very mixed origin indeed. We may find in it Mosaic ordinances grafted on to Rajput traditions and modified by Moslem custom. The Afghans, who call themselves Duranis and who have done so ever since the foundation of the Durani Empire about a century and a half ago, say that they trace their descent from the Israelitish tribes through an ancestor named Kish (Qais), to whom the prophet Mohomet gave the name Pathan (which is Syriac for a rudder), because he was to steer his people into the currents of Islam.… It is difficult to account for the universal prevalence of Israelitish names amongst Afghans without admitting some early connection with the Israelitish nation. Still more difficult is it to account for certain observances, such for instance as the keeping of the Feast of the Passover (which, by the Yusufzai branch of the Afghan race, is at most curiously well imitated) or for the persistence with which the least educated Afghans maintain this tradition, without some original basis of truth for it. Bellew thinks that this Israelitish connection may be a real one, but he points out that one at least of the three main branches of the Afghan family traditionally sprung from Kish (Qais), is called by the name Sarabaur, which is but the Pushto form of the ancient name applied to the solar race of Rajputs, colonies of whom are known to have immigrated into Afghanistan after their defeat by the Chandrabans, the lunar race in the great contest, the Mahabharat of early Indian records. Thus the Afghan may possibly be an Israelite absorbed into ancient Rajput tribes, and this has always appeared to me to be the most probable solution of the problem of his origin. Anyhow, the modern Afghan takes his stand, on the grounds of tradition, to be one of the chosen race, a descendant of Abraham….

We have reproduced all these quotations from the writings of well-known authors, and if considered together, they will convince the impartial reader that Afghans and Kashmiris, who are to be found in India, on the frontier and in its neighbourhood, are really the Beni Israel. In the second part of this book, God willing, I shall prove in greater detail that the ultimate object underlying Jesus’ long journey to India was that he might discharge the duty of preaching to all the Israelite tribes, a fact to which he has alluded in the Gospels. It is not surprising, therefore, that he should have come to India and Kashmir. On the contrary, it would indeed be surprising if, without discharging his duties as prophet, he should have ascended to the heavens and taken his seat there. With this, we close this part of the discussion.

Peace be on those who are guided aright.

MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD,
The Promised Messiah,
Qadian, District Gurdaspur.