The Quam-e-Punjab live in Delhi and other places such as Mumbai and Lucknow. Urdu is their language and they read and write in Perso Arabic.
They are mostly landless. Some of them work in agriculture, some are self-employed and some do other work.
Boys can marry at nineteen and girls at fifteen. Marriages are by discussion or exchange. Only husbands can divorce. The divorced and bereaved can marry again. The women help with finances and housework.
They are not vegetarians. They eat wheat and rice as staple foods.
These 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.
These people need to realize that they cannot please God without being empowered by the Holy Spirit. They cannot have the Holy Spirit without Jesus Christ.
Pray for a movement of Jesus to heal and strengthen Quam-e-Punjab communities.
Pray for the Quam-e-Punjab people to understand and embrace that Jesus wants to bless their families and neighborhoods.
Pray for Holy Spirit anointed believers from the Quam-e-Punjab people to change their society from within.
Pray for a movement in which the Holy Spirit leads and empowers disciples to make more disciples.
Scripture Prayers for the Quam-e-Punjab in India.
Singh, K. S., ed. "India's Communities A-Z", Oxford University Press, USA 1999
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
