‘Beyond The Babri’: Ayodhya Is As An Abode Of Shared Religious Heritage And Spiritual Symbiosis In Indo-Islamic Tradition!
By
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam
29 January
2024
Why should
Muslims in India associate themselves with Ayodhya only because of the
bulldozed Babri Masjid? Why can’t they look at Ayodhya—beyond the Babri— as the
land of Ambiya and Auliya as well as Rishi-Munis; an oasis
of spiritual symbiosis, an abode of shared spiritual heritage? Why should we
allow the episode of Babri Masjid dominate our religious thoughts and colour
our collective cultural understanding?
Ram
Mandir, Ayodhya
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After the
consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, which has been hailed by the
President of India Droupadi Murmu as a “Landmark in India’s continued
re-discovery of its civilisational heritage”, now the question is what’s next?
What is the road ahead for India and its dense population of different faith
practitioners? It is about time for all
of us citizens—especially Hindus and Muslims of India— “to pledge to build a
capable, magnificent, and divine India [which is] a step towards
nation-building”, said the Prime Minister, finding a way forward from here.
While delivering his ‘new mantra’—Dev Se Desh, Ram Se Rasthra (from God
to country and from Rama to the Nation-building), the PM offered some rays of
hope to the nation when he stated: the opening of Ram Mandir was not just a
moment of “victory” (Vijay) but also “humility” (Vinay). But the
frenzied fringes driven by this ‘victory’ are going haywire in some parts of
the country. In a crazy bid to reclaim all the lost heritage sites of Hinduism,
mostly based on Aastha (belief) and Manyta (legends), they are bound to
be at the loggerheads with local Muslims as if they were the centuries-old
invaders from Arabia or Central Asia. This will keep the present Indian Muslims
further intimidated. They are clearly not accountable for the past mistakes
that some Muslim invaders or Mughal rulers did centuries ago.
However, I
find a note of introspection on part of Indian Muslims too completely missing.
Now after the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has called for conflict-resolution and an
end to the long-standing ‘dispute’ and ‘bitterness’ as part of the campaign
called “reconstruction of Bharatvarsha”, it is an opportunity for
bonhomie. Both Hindus and Muslims must look at Ayodhya as an Indian oasis of
shared spiritual heritage. The collective belief of Hindus and Indian Muslims
in the divinity or prophethood of Shri Rama will be the beginning of this
‘reconstruction’.
In my
previous piece, I have highlighted how Muslim mystics, established ulema and
Sufi saints of India have revered Rama as Rasool and as an Indian Prophet. See
my article: The
Discerning Eye Sees in Ram, Rasool! Now
I would like to share my reflections on the spiritual historicity and sanctity
of the city of Ayodhya from an Indo-Islamic perspective:
As a
madrasa student in Jamia Islamia, Raunahi Faizabad in 2005, I had an exposure
to visit the birthplace of Shri Rama in Ajodhya. This so happened that I was
appearing for an examination called, maulvi/Munshi as part of Uttar Pradesh
Board of Madrasa Education where I met a local Muslim leader and social
activist from Ayodhya, Dr Ambar Siddiqui. He took me to the Ram Janmabhoomi,
and revealed that in Indo-Islamic tradition, Ajodhya had assumed a paramount
position. Prominent prophets and messengers of Allah such as Nabi Sheesh A.S
(Prophet Sheth) were buried in this sacred city. Thus, the historicity and
sanctity of Ajodhya stands out in my memory and spiritual consciousness since
my Madrasa student life. According to numerous reports, the grave of Nabi Nooh
A.S (Prophet Noah) locally known as “26 Ghazi Mazar”, which I visited,
is also there.
The moment
I entered the marked birthplace of Shri Rama, my early mystical experience at
the age of 15 knew a new dimension. It was the first time I explored India as
the land of Ambiya (Prophets) and Auliya (Saints), and Shri Rama as one
of the earliest Indian Prophets who were a Divine Light to the people of this
age-old civilisation.
In Sufism,
a Prophet is actually a Noori Bashar (a person of divine light) whereas in the
Wahhabi view, every prophet is merely a Bashar (just like a common human
being). Some Sufi saints of India went to the extent of believing Prophets as
‘Avtars of Allah’ (the descendants of the Divine Himself), and thus they
understood the Islamic concept of Prophethood in terms of ‘Avtarvad’.
For instance—famous Sufi poet Sheikh Abdul Aleem Aasi Ghazipuri, a revered
elder of Khanqah-e-Rashidiyya, composed an Urdu couplet in praise of Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) as follows:
Wahi Jo Mustawwi-e-Arsh Hai Khuda Ho Kar
Utar Pada Hai Madine Mein Mustafa Ho Kar
(Translation:
The One who ascends the Throne/Arsh as Allah has ascended in Madina as
Mustafa/Muhammad PBUH)
The above
esoteric Sufi couplet and its interpretation, of course, is a matter of
contention with orthodox Muslims, but it is close to what Hindus would easily
absorb. In fact, for Hindus who collectively believe in the divinity of all
Avtars, this should not be contentious at all.
Therefore,
I find that it is incumbent upon Muslims in today’s India to revisit the
spiritual historicity and sanctity of Ayodhya. They must look at Ayodhya as an
abode of spiritual symbiosis and not allow the episode of Babri Masjid dominate
their thoughts and colour their understanding.
Ayodhya has
been the land of both Rishi-Munis as well as Ambiya and Rusul (Prophets and
Messengers of Allah) in the ancient ages. Needless to state that every nation
was bestowed with a Prophet according to Qur’an: “And We certainly sent into
every nation a messenger”.
In fact,
Ayodhya has been considered the land of Ambiya and Awiliya Allah as recorded in
Abul Fazl’s Aaain-e-Akbari. It has been looked up to with great
veneration in the undivided India by not just Hindus but also Muslims.
According to Aaain-e-Akbari, Ayodhya has assumed great significance in
Muslim history and religious consciousness. Apart from scores of mosques
(around 100 big mosques and 54 small ones), the historic city houses 22 Sufi
shrines, several dargahs and Mazars, 15 Imam Baadas as well as 100 Qabristans
(Muslim cemeteries). In the Mughal period, the Muslim population in Ayodhya was
around 67% thus making the city a Muslim-majority part of the country. It is
quite interesting to note that even today, a great many Mohallas and Qasbas in
Ayodhya are named after Prophets and Sufi Saints. For instance, “Nabi Nooh
Mohalla”, “Nabi Sheesh Mohalla”, “Mohalla Shah Qalandar”, “Shamsuddin Mohalla”,
“Syed Ibrahim Nagri”, “Syed Shah Mohalla” are some of the most noteworthy Mohallas
in the densely populated city of Ayodhya. The history of Indian Sufi saints
shows us that Ayodhya also has been the birthplace of several prominent pupils
of the chief Chishti Saint of Delhi, Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (R.A).
Famous among them was Hazrat Khwaja Naseeruddin Chiragh Dehlvi, popularly known
as “Chiragh-e-Dilli”. All of these Chishti saints showed great reverence for
the city of Ayodhya, not because it had the Babri Masjid in it, but rather
because it has been an abode of Ambiya and Auliya, just as it was greatly
venerated among the Rishi-Munis and Hindu mystics. Some of the prominent Sufi
shrines located in Ayodhya are as under:
Dargah
Hazrat Nooh A.S.
Dargah
Hazrat Sheesh A.S.
Syed
Shah Muqaddas Dargah
Teen
Darveshon Ki Dargah
Makhdoom
Shah Dargah
Shah
Jamal Dargah
Shah
Qalandar Dargah
Jamaluddin
Qazi Dargah
Qazi
Muhiyuddin Kashani Dargah
Zainuddin
Ali Dargah
Kamaluddin
Awadhi Dargah
Dargah
Syed Muhammad Ibrahim
Shaheed
Martaba Dargah
Shamsuddin
Faryad Dargah
Fathullah
Shah Dargah
Syed
Alauddin Qarsani Dargah
Sultan
Moosa Dargah
Alauddin
Ali Dargah
Shaikh
Fathullah Awadhi Dargah
Jamaluddin
Ghazi Dargah
Aastana
Hazrat Sheikh ul Aalam Makhdoom
Dargah
Hazrat Sayyed Makhdoom Shah Bheeka Makki
Astana
Shaikh Sayyah Baba
Hazrat
Faizullah Shah Badi Dargah. ...
Mazar
Hazrat Aashiq Shah Madni Warsi
Dargah
Saheed E Millat
Ayodhya has
historically been famous for the festivals and occasions where Muslims and
Hindus have jointly gathered in great joy and festivity. Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh,
author of Tareekh-e-Farah Bakhsh notes that Hindus had a big mela (gathering)
in which thousands of Muslims used to participate. In his Masnawi, Mir
Hasan Dehlvi has also made a special mention of those Hindu occasions in Awadh
and Ayodhya where Muslims took part in great numbers.
On January
22, during the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Iqbal Ansari—the
son of Hashim Ansari who spent a lifetime in courts as a litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri
Masjid title suit case—was invited as a special guest. Similarly, the chief of
All India Imams Organisation (AIIO) which claims to represent half-a-million
imams across three lakh mosques in India was also there. This deports our
memory back to the Ayodhya where Hindus and Muslims were equally and jointly
participating in religious rites and ceremonies. This indeed should be the face
of New India!
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A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam
Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu writer with a
background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism