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Abstract

In the preservation of Islam, its beliefs and tenets, firstly the ulama and secondly the Sufis played a dominant role. In the capital cities, Where the upper class of Muslim society lived, the ulema were the custodians of religion, and in the remote places among the masses, the sufis worked most effectively, generation after generation only to preserve the inner spirit of lslam among the Muslims but also to win thousands of converts from the downtrodden Hindu masses to whom even elementary human rights had been denied by their co-religionists. The spread of Islam in the subcontinent is the story of the tireless efforts of the numerous saints and sufis who dedicated their lives to the cause of the service of humanity. In winning converts these holy men were helped by two important factors. The evils of the caste system among the Hindus were at their worst on the eve of the Muslim conquest and because of the simple and unassertive life pattern of sufis, their devotion to the love and worship of the Almighty God and their love for suffering humanity, were tremendously devoted to fulfil this humanitarian and liberating mission of Islam.