A Prudent Recipe for Qaumi ITTIHAAD
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
25 May 2022
Spirituality
Relates To Spirit And Inner Consciousness. It's Your Heart To Heart Tete-A-Tete
With Your Creator. So, Why On Earth Does A Muslim Need A Traditional Stone-Wall
Structure Called Mosque and A Hindu, A Temple?
Main
Points:
1. Worship The
God That's Immanent And Not Outside.
2. Humans Need
To Evolve Spiritually.
3. Just Leave
Places That Are Shrouded In All Sorts of Controversies.
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But Bhi Rakkhe Hain, Namazein Bhi Ada Hoti Hain
Dil Mera Dil Nahin Allah Ka Ghar Lagta Hai
(Idols are kept there and Namaz is also offered/My heart has become
Allah's abode).
The
aforementioned couplet by Bashir Badr is the perfect example of Qaumi
Ittihaad and defiance of religio-structural symbolism for both Hindus and
Muslims in these exceedingly turbulent times of rabid communal antagonism. When
every other day, some brainless person claims to find a temple under a mosque
and communal hatred increases immediately, isn't it advisable that both Hindus
and Muslims should stop visiting their respective shrines and offer their
religious obeisance at their homes?
Didn't Rumi
famously say in Persian, ' Dil Dairo-Haram Ast ' (Heart is temple and
mosque) or Sanai in Pashto Tarke-ifa'ar, Khuda Zakaar (Abandon all shrines, yet
find the Supreme Being). Ifa'ar is the plural of Ifar (a shrine)
and Zakaar is realization in classical Pashto. A very sagacious advice,
I must say. I don't urge people to leave their religions and gods. That's
well-nigh impossible for most of the humans on earth. But at least, they can
bid adieu to their shrines, esp. in these times when even a speculative
presence of a shrine (of other faith) can wreak havoc.
Moreover,
all shrines are structural symbolism of spirituality. When we talk about spirituality,
it goes a notch beyond the primitive and literal religiosity. Spirituality
relates to spirit and inner consciousness. It's your heart to heart tete-a-tete
with your Creator. So, why on earth does a Muslim need a traditional stone-wall
structure called mosque and a Hindu, a temple? Ancient ecclesiastical historian
Eusebius of Caesarea, used to say, ' Le'est emi flema evita' (I carry my own
shrine). Yes, you carry your own shrine.
You don't
require a place to worship at. This has been the motto of all mystics and
Gnostics for centuries. The great mystic Kabir aptly said, ' Kaankar-Paathar
Jori Ke Masjid Lai Chunay/Ta Chadhi Mulla Baang De Kya Bahira Hua Khuday?
‘(After building a mosque of pebbles and stones, the Muazzin shouts from
the rooftop/Is Allah hard of hearing?).
So many
centuries have elapsed, yet the Mulla is still unchanged and now he
resorts to loudspeakers to call the faithful followers to mosque! Whether Hindus or Muslims, all are Lakeer
Ke Faqeer (dyed in the wool). Now when places of worship have become bones
of contention, shouldn't they be left? But don't leave your religion, god,
books and all that jazz. Just leave places that are shrouded in all sorts of
controversies. Humans need to evolve spiritually. Muslims will concur with me
that the logic behind remembering the entire Al-Furqan and becoming
Hafiz-e-Quran was that even if all the physical copies of the Book were
destroyed, yet there'd be people who memorized all the verses to recreate the
Book. That the Muslims, esp. the youngsters, still memorise the Quran like
parrots and waste their precious time is inconsequential. To cut the matter
short, sacredness is in your heart and divinity is within. Your heart itself is
a holy place: Baith Ke Farsh-E-Dil Pe Padh Lee Namaaz Maine (sitting on
the floor of heart, I offered my Namaz). You needn't go anywhere. Furthermore,
nowadays all shrines are symbols of ostentation, pomp and grandeur. Nida Fazli
aptly said in one of his Dohas:
Bola Baccha Dekh Ke Masjid Aalishaan/Allah Tere
Rahne Ko Itna Bada Makaan! (Seeing a grand mosque, a child exclaimed, Allah, you require such an
enormous place to live in!).
An innocent
query, but full of profundity. Ruminate over it and worship the god that's
immanent and not outside. Your god or Allah, if at all it does exist, will not
be so fussy, finicky and fastidious like you as to be annoyed if you don't
visit a shrine to worship it (sorry, no Him/Her.......why sexualise god and
give it a masculine gender?).
----
An
occasional columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/recipe-qaumi-national-unity/d/127085
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