[7] These terms are not part of the sociological vocabulary in regions such as Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, and say little about the functioning of Muslim society.
[8] The South Asian Muslim caste system includes hierarchical classifications of khandan (dynasty, family, or lineage).
[7] Although Islam does not recognize any castes (only socio-economic classes),[9] existing divisions in Persia and India were adopted by local Muslim societies.
Evidence of social stratification exists in later Persian works such as Nizam al-Mulk's 11th-century Siyasatnama, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's 13th-century Akhlaq-i Nasiri, and the 17th-century Jam-i-Mufidi.
[7] After this, a determinant for social stratification in Arab society included being part of Muhammad's close family (ahl al-bayt).
[11] According to M. N. Srinivas (1986) and R. K. Bhattacharya, Indian Hindu converts to Islam brought their caste system to the region's Muslim society.
"[13] Ziauddin Barani, a 14th-century Indian political thinker in the Delhi Sultanate, suggested that the "sons of Mohamed" receive a higher social status than the low-born.
He developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of imperial officers (wazirs), primarily based on caste.
Mughal emperor Jahangir wrote, "Some people make remarks about their lineage, but their bravery is a convincing proof of their being Sayyids".
[24] Another type of ashrafization is the establishment of caste associations to promote a community's interests and provide social support.
[7] Definitions of caste vary, and opinions differ on whether the term can be used to denote social stratification in non-Hindu communities.
[27] He described how people in the following occupations were considered paji (contemptible): elephant caretaking, bread- and perfume-making, and dealing in bazaars.
McKim Marriott said that a social stratification that is hierarchical, closed, endogamous, and hereditary is prevalent, particularly in western Pakistan.
[41] In the Rasum-i Hind, a textbook compiled by Master Pyare Lal in 1862, four firqa (ashraf subdivisions) are explained and nasl (lineage) is described.
[27] Zamindars (a landowning class) and Kammis, service-providing castes, are hierarchical groups in Pakistani Punjabi villages[42] which are based on parental occupation.
[42] In the Seyp system (contract labour), the Kammis provide work and services and receive favours, food, money, crops, and grains.
Campaigns exist to include lower Muslim social classes among groups eligible for affirmative action.
[41] Ghiyas ud din Balban kept low-birth people from important offices, and criticized the appointment of Kamal Mohiyar as mutassarrif of Amroaha.
[41] A letter by Sayyid Ashraf Jahangiri explains that Balban researched the ancestry of his government servants and officers with genealogists in Delhi.
[41] According to Sayyid Ashraf Jahangiri, The Sultan went to the extent of offering the most responsible and distinguished offices of the kingdom – for instance, those of a Wazir, a Dabir, a military commander, a judge, a professor of theology, or a Shaikhul-Islam – to almost any foreigner of some learning.