Muharram, Martyrdom of Imam Hussain and the "Hussaini Brahmins": Strengthening the Beautiful Blend of Indo-Islamic Tradition
By
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam
31 July
2023
ہند میں کاش حسین ابن علی آجاتے
چومتے ان کے قدم پلکیں بچھاتے ہندو
جنگ کرنے یہاں شبیر سے آتا جو یزید
اس کو راونڑکی طرح دھول چٹاتے ہندو
(Translation:
Had Imam Hussain come to India, he would have been greatly venerated and
revered by the Hindus. If Yazid were here to wage a war against the Imam,
Hindus would have defeated him the way they humiliated the Ravana)
While
commemorating Muharram and recalling Imam Hussain’s martyrdom, we Muslims often
forget those who stood by Hussain in his harshest times. Those who exerted
concerted efforts to fight for truth and justice, though they did not belong to
Islam, the religion of Imam.
One of the
most notable, but regrettably forgotten supporters of Imam Hussain was an
Indian community historically traced as "Hussaini brahmins". A little-known
group and small in numbers, the Hussaini brahmins also known as Dutt community
and Mohiyals, mainly found in Punjab, are traced back to the event of Karbala
which occurred in 680 AD. These Punjabi Brahmins are those whose ancestors
fought for Imam Hussain in Karbala. The story goes on:
Fast as wind,
carving their way through the sand, dunes at lightning speed, a caravan of few
Indian sons in a noble pursuit, was making its way towards Karbala to register
their names in the pages of history.
’Hal Min
Nasirin Yansurna’:
Is there anyone who can help me?
When
Prophet Muhammad's Grandson Imam Husain posed this question to humanity,
History witnessed that while Kalma-reciting Muslims were out there to slit his
throat, far from his battlefield in Karbala, some brave Indians left their
homes to support Imam Husain striving for the truth and righteousness. These
were those brave Indians who travelled to Karbala to write a golden page in the
history of age-old Hindu-Muslim Unity.
The ongoing
Islamic month of Muharram marks a turning point in our Indian history too. On
the auspicious 10th of Muharram, Imam Hussain attained martyrdom and rescued
the humanity from the clutches of evil. He refused to surrender to the Tyrant
Yazid, who created dictatorial dynasty deviating from the consensual democracy
(Shur’a) in Islam. Therefore, the noble sacrifice of Imam Hussain is looked up
as the revival of the true Islamic principles of democracy, justice, fairness
and mutual consensus in the matters of governance.
The Tyrant
Yazid, high on his power was adamant on bringing shame to humanity. But he knew
as long as Imam Husain was alive, he wouldn’t succeed in his nefarious ends. It
was because of this fear that Yazid cornered Imam Husain and his family at
Karbala and forced him to bow down to his tyranny. A living example of valiance
and indefatigable determination, Imam Husain proposed that either he would live
in Madina on his conditions, or he would migrate to India (Hindustan).
None of
these peaceful proposals was accepted by the Tyrant Yazid. Rather, the innocent
Imam and all his clan and noble family was cornered near the River of
Euphrates, Dariya-e-Furat in Iraq. They were tortured and persecuted so much so
that even water was denied to their little children, toddlers and their
mothers. Even 6-month-old Ali Asghar, the youngest son of Imam was killed by
the Tyrants in an extreme hunger and thirst for water. And all these atrocities
were executed on a written order from Yazid.
As they
say, people remember the dearest ones and the real well-wishers in their tough
times.
While Imam
Husain wrote a letter seeking help from his childhood friend Habib in Arabia,
his elder son Ali Akbar wrote a similar letter and sent it far away from
Karbala…very far to India..... to a Hindustani Sapoot and King of India, Raja
Samudargupt who happened to be a cousin-brother of Ali-ibn-e Husain.
Strange as
it may sound, History is witness to this unlikely relationship. Over 1400 years
ago, the king of Iran, a Parsi by faith, had two daughters--Maher Bano and
Shaher Bano. Maher Bano was married to King Chandragupt and was renamed Chandralekha.
A few years later, Canderlekha’s younger sister, Shaher Bano, was married to
Imam Husain A.S. Chandralekha and Chandergupt’s son Samudargupt was the King of
India when he got the letter from his cousin Ali ibn-E-Husain.
King Samudargupt
swiftly arranged for a group of brave Indian soldiers and ordered them to
depart towards Karbala. The army commander was Rehab Dutt, a Mohiyal Brahmin.
Unfortunately, by the time Rehab Dutt and his brave-heart soldiers reached
Karbala, Imam Husain was killed. This news disheartened the entire Indian
troupe. They decided to run their swords on their own necks. “When the one we
came to help is no more, what should we do with these swords? they asked. Just
then, an Arab admirer of Imam Husain persuaded them to take the swords off
their necks and join the force of Janab-e-Mukhtar. Thus, these Indian soldiers
fought a memorable battle, exhibiting the best of Hindustani swords in Karbala
to avenge the death of Imam Husain A.S.
Even today,
the place of Karbala where these brave Brahmins resided is called ‘ad-Dayar-ul-Hindiyya’.
Some of these Brahmins were martyred at Karbala, some stayed back, while few
returned to Mother India. History remembers these Brave Brahmins by the name of
‘Husaini Brahmins’. Today, we must salute this lesser known but truly great
saga of Hindu-Muslim Unity.
These
Rajput Mohiyals or the Dutt family from India fulfilled the sacred vision of
holy Prophet when he said: I feel the fragrance coming from India. These
"Hussaini brahmins" also strengthen the beautiful blend of our
Indo-Islamic tradition. In the words of a Hindustani poet:
Wah Dutt
Sultan,
Hindu ka
Dharm, Musalman ka Iman,
Adha
Hindu, Adha Musalman!
(Bravo! O
Dutt, the king who follows the Hindu religion as well as the Muslim faith, and
is a half Hindu and a half Musalman)
Famous
Indian film actor Sunil Dutt also belonged to Rahab Dutt's family, and hence
was a 'Hussaini brahmin'. He used to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain
by himself in the footsteps of his ancestors on the occasion of the holy month
of Muharram. In this context, the Muharram processions and commemorations
organized by Husaini Brahmins in memory of Imam Hussain is the best example of
the inclusive of Indo-Islamic tradition. Most notably, the members of the Dutt
family did not leave their religion and while being Hindus, they told the
humanity that Hussainiyyat is an integral part of their faith. Besides the
Indian celebrities Sunil Dutt and his son Sanjay Dutt, Hindu Urdu writers such
as Sabir Dutt and Nand Kishore Vikram are also some of the notable Hussaini
brahmins.
------
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, and acquired Diploma
in Qur'anic sciences and a Certificate in Uloom ul Hadith from Al-Azhar
Institute of Islamic Studies. He has also participated in the 3-year “Madrasa
Discourses” program initiated by the University of Notre Dame, USA.
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