The Discerning Eye Sees In Ram, Rasool!

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam

20 January 2024

Hai Ram Ke Wajood Pe Hindustan Ko Naz,

Ahl-e-Nazar Samajhte Hain Jinko Imam-E-Hind!

(The land of India takes its pride on Rama’s existence, the discerning eye sees in Ram, a prophet)

Allama Iqbal

It is about time Muslims in India revisit the historicity and sanctity of their beautiful abode; Mother India, Bharat or Hindustan as the land of their Prophets too. Needless to state that every nation was bestowed with a Prophet according to the holy Qur’an: “And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger” (Surah An-Nahl: 36).

India is thus the land to which Allah has sent most Messengers in all likelihood and strong probability. If an ancient philosophy of religious pluralism (Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava) and peaceful coexistence of various faith traditions has historically been recorded here, the reason is not difficult to see. The Message of all Seers and Sage—from Rishi Munis, Prophets, Mystics, to the Sufis—was One. Mahatma Gandhi interpreted this concept as the one that embodies the equality of the destination of the different paths followed by different people. “The Truth is One but the Wise call it by many names”, says the Maha Upanishad.

An over 5,000-year-old civilisation with various faith traditions, Mother India birthed Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism (along with other new variants of them) and widely embraced Islam which converged in a spiritual synergy of Sufism. And it was only in India where the pluralistic Persianite strain of Islam emerged with the coming of Sufi saints from Central Asia. There were some sages and mystics among them who saw Rasool (prophet) in Rama and Krishna. Take a look at the following flowing passage (Letter No. 14, Maqamat-e-Mazhari, Page No. 259) authored by Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlvi. This shows how our ancient indigenous Indic tradition was looked at through the prism of purely Sufi Islamic perspective. This book has been compiled in the light of the letters written by Mirzā Mazhar Jaan-e-Janan:

“India and the Hindu community from a theological viewpoint: In the Indian territories, Prophets and Messengers were sent by Allah Almighty. Their accounts are recorded in their books and several other signs and indicators tell us that the Hindu people had reached high culminations [in faith and spirituality]. The Divine mercy did not forget this vast land or its people and their state of affairs. Needless to say, before the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), every nation was bestowed with a Prophet, and every community was entitled to follow their own Prophet rather than anyone else”.

Mirzā Mazhar Jaan-e-Janan (1699–1780) was an authoritative Islamic saint-scholar of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, which was established in India by Khwaja Baqi Billah (d. 1603)—Delhi’s most prominent Naqshbandi master. He was instrumental behind the inclusivist legacy and pluralist theology of Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlvi—the 19th century Sufi master of the Naqshbandi Order in Delhi. For today’s Indian Muslims, Mirzā Mazhar Jaan-e-Janan (Soul of the Souls) and Ghulam Ali Dehlvi offers much to reflect upon, as proponents of Wahdat-e-Wahy (unity in scriptures and divine revelations) between the Qur’an and the Vedas. Consider the crucial memoir as follows:

He [Jaan-e-Janan] was staying at Sirhind (a city in Punjab popularly known as Fatehgarh Sahib). I sought and obtained the permission to visit the master. My heart was instantaneously enticed and ensnared by the charismatic saint. He tied the game of his heart to the saddle straps of my spiritual courser. I was particularly attracted to the teachings of his Exalted Presence [Jaan-e-Jana], that the Vedas were Holy Scriptures revealed by Allah, and that Shri Krishna and Shri Rama were Prophets; thus Jaan-e-Janan privileged the Hindus as the ‘People of the Book’.(As quoted in “The Mirror of Beauty”, By Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, 2014).

The Letter No. 14 in Maqamat-e-Mazhari examines the Vedic notion of Avatarvad, in accordance with the Islamic concept of Nubuwwat and Risalat (prophethood). Based on the Qur’anic verses such as "There is a Messenger for every community" (Surah al-R’ad: 07) and “There was not a Nation without a warner” (36:06), the letter premises that Allah has created no community in the world without a Prophet, and that belief in all Prophets, not just one, is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith. It then looks at the main characteristics of the Hindu belief of Avatarvad and Prophethood from an Islamic perspective.

This terrain of thought in Indian Muslim theology was later leveraged and further accentuated by Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the poet-philosopher popularly known as the Wise of Umma (Hakeem ul Ummat) in the Indian subcontinent. The Poet of the East (Shaer-e-Mashriq) took the temerity to proclaim the prophethood of Shri Rama and composed the following verses which speak volumes about his devoutness for Rama:

Labrez Hai Sharab-I-Haqiqat Se Jam-e-Hind!

Sab Falsafi Hain Khitta-i-Maghrib Ke Ram-e-Hind

Yeh Hindiyon Ke Fikr-i-Falak Ras Ka Hai Asar,

Rifat Men Asman Se Bhi Ooncha Hai Bam-e-Hind

Rifat Men Asman Se Bhi Ooncha Hai Bam-E-Hind

Is Des Men Huey Hain Hazaron Malak Sarisht,

Mashoor Jinke Dam Se Hai Duniya Men Nam-e-Hind

Hai Ram Ke Wujood Pe Hindostan Ko Naz,

Ahle Nazar Samajhte Hain Usko Imam-E-Hind!

Ejaz Us Chiragh-E-Hidayat Ka Hai Yahi

Raushan Tar As Sahar Hai Zamane Men Sham-E-Hind!

Talwar Ka Dhani Tha, Shujat Men Fard Tha!

Pakeezgi Men Josh-E-Mohabbat Men Fard Tha!

Translation:

The cup of Hind

overflows with the wine of truth.

Philosophers of the Western world

are its devotees.

The mysticism of her philosophers

makes Hind’s star soar above all constellations.

Thousands of angels have descended

to proclaim Hind’s name before the world.

And proud of his existence

the discerning eye sees in Ram, a prophet.

The glow from this lamp of wisdom

makes Hind’s evening more radiant

than the world’s daybreak.

Valrous, brave, a master swordsman!

In purity, in love, Ram, was unmatched.

The bowl of India is full to the brim with the wine of Truth

All the philosophers of the Western world have acknowledged India

It is owing to the refined thinking of Indians

That India’s stature is even higher than the sky

This country has seen many people of an angelic disposition

Who have made the name of India recognisable in the world

India is proud of Rama’s very name

To the discerning he is Imam-e-Hind

Such is the miracle of the light of righteousness

That the Indian evening is brighter than the morning elsewhere in the world

Accomplished in sword-play, unparalleled in bravery

Matchless in purity and spirit of love.

The above Urdu Nazm of Allama Iqbal is part of his poetic work, Bāng-e-Darā (The Call of the Marching Bell). It is seen as an unmatched and extraordinary tribute to the persona of Shri Rama.

However, while the Allama eulogises Shri Ram as Imam-e-Hind (Spiritual leader of India), in yet another poem, he cautions us against the waywardness of the priestly class Brahmins who misuse his name and are not true to his teachings and spiritual ideals and Dharmic legacy. Thus, this Muslim Sage and Poet of the East also wrote an Urdu Nazm “Naya Shivala” where he talks of Hindu-Muslim unity with a note of caution:

Sach Kah Dun Aye Brahman Gar Tu Bura Na Mane

(I Will Tell You The Truth O! Brahman, If You Do Not Mind)

Tere Sanam Kadon Ke Butt Ho Gaye Purane

(The Idols Of Your Temple Have Turned Old)

Apnon Se Bair Rakhna Tu Ne Buton Se Sikha

(You have learnt to nurse enmity towards own people)

 Jang-O-Jadal Sikhaye Waiz Ko Bhi Khuda Ne

(The god has even taught the preacher to battle)

Pathron Ki Muraton Mein Samjha Hai Tu Khuda Hai

(You believe that God exists in idols of stones)

Khak-e-Watan Ka Mujh Ko Har Zarah Devta Hai

(But for me every speck of our nation’s land is a god)

While it is an opportune time for Muslims to recall the Ummah’s Wise Man, Allama Iqbal’s six inspiring couplets on Shri Rama, it is also about time for Hindus of India to reflect on the actual meaning and essence of Ram-bhakti and discern between the veneration of Rama and its political expressions. While celebrating the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandir, let’s not forget the return to Ayodhya of Shri Rama after 14 years of exile in the forest. It offers us all a great learning to be evolved into a replica of the divine qualities; love, justice, forbearance, forgiveness and righteousness.

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A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu writer. He has graduated from a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India

 

URL:     https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/discerning-eye-ram-rasool/d/131552

  

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