Amir Khusro: An Epitome of ‘Divine Union’ (Wisal-e-Ilahi) with the ‘Divine Beloved’ (Mahboob-e-Ilahi)
By
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam
30 April 2024
As “Urs”
Connotes Divine Union Of The Saint With His Most Beloved, Khusro Attained Wisal-E-Ilahi
(Union With The Divine) Along With The Divine Beloved (Mahboob-E-Ilahi) Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia RA.
Main
Points
1.
The 720th Urs (death anniversary known as ‘divine
wedding’ in Sufism) of Hazrat Amir
Khusro was celebrated from 27th to 30th April with great gusto at his shrine in
Delhi.
2.
Amir Khusro, prominent Indian Muslim mystic,
Persian and Hindawi poet and Chishti Sufi saint, was originally named Abul
Hasan Ameenuddin Dehlvi and is popularly known today as “Tuti-e-Hind” (India’s
parrot), a poet who was a proponent of universal mysticism and higher spiritual
consciousness in Chishti-Sufi tradition in India.
3.
Initially, Khusro was not all that
mystically-inclined in his poetry when he served seven Sultans of the Delhi
Sultanate, including Sultan Alauddin Khilji until he met his Sufi master Hazrat
Nizamuddin Auliya. He transformed his inner world which created a tremendous
spiritual urge in his heart and poetry.
4.
Khusro also strengthened the foundational
principles of Chishti Sufi Order such as the two key precepts of
“Khidmat-e-Khalq” (service to mankind) and “Sulh-e-Kul” (reconciliation with
all)—as taught by his Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia RA and conceived by Hazrat
Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Moinuddin Chishti, the founder of Chishti Order in India.
5.
Many of his Hindawi, Persian and Avadhi Kalams
(verses) focused on an inclusivist and pluralistic tradition which emanated
from the universal essence of Wahdat-ul-Wujud or Unity of the Existence.
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The 720th
Urs Mubarak (death anniversary known as ‘divine wedding’ in Sufism) of Hazrat Amir Khusro (1253-1325) was celebrated
from 27th to 30th April with great gusto at his shrine in Delhi's Dargah Hazrat
Nizamuddin Aulia. Prominent Indian Muslim mystic, Persian and Hindawi poet and
Chishti Sufi saint, Abul Hasan Ameenuddin Dehlvi more popularly known today as
“Hazrat Khwaja Amir Khusro” and also eulogized as “India’s parrot”
(Tuti-e-Hind) was a proponent of universal mysticism and higher spiritual
consciousness in the Chishti Sufi tradition in India. The founder of Ganga-Jamni
Hindustani Tehzib—India’s composite culture—as well as the Hindawi language
and Hindustani vocal and musical genres including Tabla and Sitar, Khusro
epitomised spiritual unity, mystical oneness, religious harmony, socio-cultural
cohesion, national and communal integration deeply embedded in his Chishti Sufi
lineage. This is showcased for more than seven centuries in the 5-day
celebration of his deah anniversary called “Urs-e-Khusrawi” which
includes Fatiha, Qul Shareef, Qawwali and Langar distribution at his holy
shrine adjacent to the grave of his spiritual master Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
RA.
Born in
653, Khusro was not all that mystically-inclined in the beginning of his poetic
career at the Shahi Darbars where he served earlier. He served no less than
seven Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate, including Sultan Alauddin Khilji
(1296-1316). But his inner world was transformed an a tremendous spiritual inclination
was created in his poetry only when he came close to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia,
and later became his dearest disciple. This deeper spiritual relationship
between a Murshid (master) and Murid (seeker) birthed a beautiful blend of
mystical oneness, spiritual unity and harmony in the Indian Sufi tradition.
This can be seen and experienced in many of the Avadhi and Farsi verses of Amir
Khusro such as in the following:
Khusro
Raen Suhaag Ki, Jaagi Pi Ke Sung,
Tun Mero
Mun Pi-U Ko, Dovu Bhaye Ek Rung.
(Khusrau,
the bride, spends the eve of her wedding Awake with her beloved, (in such a way
that) The body belongs to her, but heart to the beloved, The two become one)
This is the
celebration of the divine union of Hazrat Amir Khusro which is manifest in his
Urs every year so much so that even Pakistan’s Sufi devotees and
shrine-visitors try to turn up at the Dargah of this Indian mystic. This year,
a group of 70 Pakistani Zaireen (Sufi pilgrims) visited India to
participate in his 720th Urs celebrations. A traditional Chadar on
behalf of the government and people of Pakistan was laid by the Charge d’
Affaires of Pakistan to India. This shows the strength and significance of
Hazrat Amir Khusro’s legacy and his tolerant tradition in complete harmony with
the composite culture of the country.
In fact,
Amir Khusro strengthened the solid bedrock of harmonious humane values
ingrained in the ancient Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. It was
reinterpreted and clearly reflected in the nuanced Chishti conception of
“Khidmat-e-Khalq” (service to mankind) and “Sulh-e-Kul” (reconciliation with
all)—the two integral parts of the Chishti Sufi tradition taught by Khusro’s
Murshid or Master Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia RA and conceived by Hazrat
Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Moinuddin Chishti, the founder of Chishti Order in India.
He said: “If you truly want to love and worship the Creator, care for all His
creations”. This was promulgated as the basic premise of Amir Khusro’s poetry
and philosophy. He says in one his Persian couplets: “Almighty holds dear those
who love Him for the sake of human beings, and those who love human beings for
the sake of Almighty.” He also articulated the broader Chishti notion of
Sulh-e-Kul in one of his Persian couplets as follows:
Kafir-E-Ishqam
Musalmani Mura Darkaar Neest;
Har
Rag-E-Man Taar Gashta Hajat-E-Zunnaar Neest.
(I’m a
pagan in my worship of love; I do not need the creed of Muslims). Every vein of
mine has become taunt like a wire, I do not need the Hindu girdle)
If we delve
deeper into the meanings of his Persian poetry including Masnawis and
Hindawi Dohas, he actually popularised the beautiful Sufi notion of Wahdatul
Wajud—Unity of the Being—which has close resemblance to the Vedantic concept of
Advaita (non-dualism). Many of Khusro’s Hindawi, Persian and Avadhi Kalams
(verses) lay greater emphasis on an inclusivist and pluralistic tradition which
emanated from the universal essence of Wahdat-ul-Wujud—Unity of the Being or
Existence.
Notably,
Khusro was well versed in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Sanskrit and several other
languages. But he chose to express his experience of the spiritual unity in an
indigenous poetic style using Hindawi Kalaam, Avadhi, Khari Boli
and Brij Bhasha in which he composed Dohas extensively, besides the
different forms of Persian poetry like Rubai and Masnavi (rhymed pairs).
Much like Jalaluddin Rumi’s world-famed Persian collection Masnavi-i-Ma’anawi
which is considered the second Qur’an in Sufism, Khusro’s Kalam (verses) are
replete with anecdotes and stories derived from the Qur’anic wisdom, prophetic
traditions, and the tales of early Sufi sages. Significantly, he composed a
large part of his work to illustrate a crucial point; India’s sanctity in
Islamic tradition and its centrality in universal spirituality, and each aspect
of it is explained in detail in his Dohas.
It is a
common knowledge that the saddest part of Khusro’s life came after the demise
of his Murshid Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia RA. Even his own death was
nothing as compared to his Murshid’s. Bereaved Khusro, in an extreme pain of
separation from his most beloved, painted his pain in a lyrical miniature:
Gori
Sove Sej Par, Mukh Par Daley Kes;
Chal
Khusrau Ghar Aapnay, Saanjh Bhaee Chahu Desh.
(The fair
maiden rests on a bed of roses, Her face covered with a lock of hair; Come
Khusrau let’s go home now, darkness settles on the world now)
As per the
will of his Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, Khusro was never allowed to come close to
his grave, as he feared that his body would forget the laws of the mortal world
and break open the grave to embrace his closest disciple. But then after his
death, Khusro was buried just next to Hazrat Nizamuddin. Today, every visitor
to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia’s shrine has to first pay obeisance to the grave of
Hazrat Amir Khusro in order to complete his or her Zeyarat. His death
anniversary which is known as Urs-e-Khusrawi or the “Divine Wedding of
Amir Khusro” begins from the 16th Shawwal six months after Hazrat Nizamuddin’s
Urs. As “Urs” in Sufism connotes the divine union of the saint with his most
beloved, Khusro attained Wisal-e-ilahi (union with the Divine) with the Divine
Beloved (Mahboob-e-Ilahi) Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia RA in a divine play of
love, as he beautifully sang before his death:
Khusro
Baazi Prem Ki, Main Kheli Pi Ke Sang,
Jeet
Gayi To Piya Mere, Haari To Pi Ke Sang
I play the
game of love with my beloved. If I win he is mine. And even if I lose, I’m his)
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A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam
Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar, Sufi poet and
English-Arabic-Urdu-Hindi 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