Introduction / History
Some people consider the Bhopa Rabaris to be on the same social level as high caste Rajputs. Bhopa Rabaris can be identified by their dress. There are specific ornaments for young, adult and old males which differ with regard to their marital status and number of children.
Muslim Rabari people live in India and Pakistan.

What are their lives like?
Married women can be identified by their dress and by face veiling before older relatives. The Bhopa Rabaris marry only within their own people group. Bride prices tend to be high because of their high status.
Women do not have inheritance rights to parental property. They are mostly engaged in household work and looking after milk cows, etc. However, women are closely involved with important family decisions.

What are their beliefs?
The Rabari 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.

What are their needs?
The obstacles are many, and it's only by the Lord's Spirit that they will be overcome. Access to the peoples of Pakistan by outsiders is limited, and hostility to gospel witness is strong. Perhaps the most important way to reach the peoples of Pakistan with the gospel is via fervent, sustained focused prayer.
Even though there are probably no followers of Jesus among the Bhopa Rabaris in either Pakistan or India, we can trust there soon will be followers. These new believers will need our prayers.

Prayer Points
Pray new Rabari believers in Pakistasn will become zealous disciples of Jesus Christ, being obedient to his commands and depending on the Lord's Spirit for power to live an abundant life.
Pray the Muslim Rabaris will be drawn to Jesus (whom Muslims call Isa al-Masih) as the Koran is read. Pray they will understand he is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by him.