Maulana Hasrat Mohani—An Aashiq-e-Rasool (the Prophet’s Lover) And At The Same Time A Krishna-Bhakt (Krishna Devotee)!
By
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam
11 May 2024
The
Maulana Was Not Just A Revolutionary And Visionary Nationalist Thinker. He Was
Also An Equally Strong Champion Of Communal Harmony And National Integration
And, Therefore, He Denounced Communalism On All Fronts
Main
Points:
1. India’s
prominent Sufi mystic, Urdu and Persian poet and Muslim freedom fighter and an
embodiment of communal harmony with his syncretic concept of divine love,
Maulana Hasrat Mohani is an interestingly unique name in the annals of
Indo-Islamic history!
2. India’s
Muslim mystics, Urdu poets, spiritual theorists and philosophers such as
Maulana Hasrat Mohani must be remembered today at a time when communal
disharmony and political polarisation are rocking the country.
3. His
pluralistic messages should be revitalized in India, with the view to creating
an environment in which love and harmony are the only religion.
------
درویشی و انقلاب مسلک
ہے میرا
صوفی
مومن ہوں،اشتراکی مسلم
Darweshi-O-Inqilab Maslak Hai Mera
Sufi Momin Hun, Ishtiraki Muslim
(Mysticism and revolutionism is only my creed.
I’m a Sufi believer and a secular Muslim)
~Hasrat Mohani
An
Aashiq-e-Rasool (lover of Prophet Muhammad PBUH) and at the same time a Krishna-Bhakt
(Krishna devotee)”, prominent Indian Muslim scholar, Urdu poet and freedom
fighter—Maulana Hasrat Mohani, originally named Syed Fazal-ul-Hassan—was an
interestingly rare character in the annals of Indo-Islamic history. The Maulana
can aptly be included in the list of Sufi mystics who taught us Indian Muslims
how to celebrate divine love and syncretic devotion in Islam. Born in 1875 to a
Zamindar family in Unnao, near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, wrote scathing
criticism of the British Raj in his articles and poetry and was imprisoned for
coining the revolutionary anti-colonial Urdu slogan Inqlab Zindabad!
However,
the Maulana was not just a visionary nationalist thinker. He was also an
equally strong champion of communal harmony and national integration and,
therefore, he denounced communalism on all fronts. He was vehemently opposed to
radical views such as the concept of ‘swaraj’ (self-rule) as coined by Bal
Gangadhar Tilak. A sincere supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity and a pluralist at
the core of his heart, Mohani did not hesitate in publicly pronouncing his
stands against even his close friends who went against the nation's interests,
according to him.
For
instance—even as a Congress leader, Maulana Mohani objected to concessions
being given to his friend Sheikh Abdullah in the name of Article 370. This
provision was numbered as Article 306A in the draft, and later revised to
Article 370 in the Indian Constitution. The Maulana, himself a hardcore
Kashmir-lover who wrote Urdu couplets on Kashmir eulogising its beauty, asked a
straightforward question on Article 370: “Why this discrimination after the
accession of Jammu & Kashmir into India”? Participating in a Constituent
Assembly debate on October 17, 1949, to draft the Constitution, the Maulana
expressed his lone views against this move. The Maulana averred:
“I am
neither opposed to all these concessions being granted to my friend Sheikh
Abdullah, not am I opposed to the acceptance of the Maharaja as the ruler of
Kashmir......But what I object to is this. Why do you make this discrimination
about this Ruler?”.
Till his
last breath, the Maulana remained steadfast on this stand in his political
career. Once again he argued in the Indian Assembly: “When you make all these
concessions for Kashmir, I most strongly object to your arbitrary act of
compelling the Baroda State to be merged in Bombay”.
It was the
Maulana who coined the revolutionary slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad!' with an
aim to ignite passion for the freedom of India. His revolutionary idea of Inquilab
was intertwined with his beautiful concept of Darweshi (mysticism) which
he showed as the ultimate path for the freedom of India as well as the
liberation of Indian people’s souls. This is precisely what he called for in
many of his captivating couplets in his spectacular Urdu.
As a
revolutionary ideologue of the 1947 freedom movement, the Maulana envisaged to
bring together the two different religious communities—Hindus and
Muslims—through his beautiful mystical concept of love for the ‘Indian
Prophets’ which, in his view, included Shri Krishna. He called him ‘Hazrat Krishna’
and venerated him as a Prophet, and a noble, righteous, beloved messenger of
God. He also offered theological bases, as laid out by several Indian Sufis
like Hazrat Mazhar Jan-e-Janan, to prove that Krishna is a source of unity and
accord between Hindus and Muslims in India. Mohani exhorted Indian Muslims not
to forget the earlier prophets who had been sent down to various territories,
according to the Qur’an. Thus, the Maulana’s Urdu poetry is full of love and
expression of his deep devotion for ‘Hazrat-e-Krishna’ in which he is
revered as an embodiment of divine compassion, tenderness and mercy. Here is
one such instance of Mohani’s Urdu couplets in love for Krishna:
To-Se
Lagaai Kanhaai Preet
Kahu Or
Kisurati Ab Aai Kaahe
Hasrat
Tan Man Dhan Sab Waar-Ke
Mathura Nagar
Ramaai Chali Dhooni
(My heart
has fallen in love with Kanhaiya. Why would anyone else think of it now?
Hasrat, give up all that is yours for him and go to Mathura and become a
Mystic)
The Maulana
also composed these couplets in praise for Krishna:
Irfan-E-Ishq
Hai Mere Ka Maqam
Hamil Hoonkis
Ke Payaam Ka Naghma-E-Nai Ke
Labrez-E-Noor
Hai Dil-E-Hasrat, And Zahe-Naseeb
Ikhusn-I-Mushkfaam
Ke Ka Shauq-e-Tamaam
(I stand
where the perfect knowledge of love is found. Who is the flute whose melody
fills me? What a good fortune, Hasrat, that your heart brims with a glowing
love for the beauty of musk!)
Maulana
Mohani also knew he would face an attack of "Fatwas" from the
short-sighted Maulvis and religious fanatics who may criticise his
devotion to Krishna. Therefore, he tried to legitimise his love for Krishan in
a philosophically theological way in the following verses:
Puna Hoe
Na Kipreet Ka Paap Shyam
Kou Kaahe
Pashchatap Karat Hai
Neha Ki
Aag Maatan-Pupa
Jalat Rahi
Chup-Chaap Kab Lag
(Loving
Shyam is not a sin, nor a virtue. So why do people repent? How long do I have
to burn silently in the fire of love, oppressing my heart and my body?)
Maulana
Mohani also composed several beautiful Na’at-e-Pak in Urdu i.e. poems in praise
of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Manqabat (in praise of the Sufi saints)
and other spiritual invocations (Munajat). In one of his Na’ats,
Mohani invokes the holy Prophet as follows:
Khyaal e
Yaar Ko Dil Se Mita Do Yaa Rasool Allah
Khird Ko
Apna Deewana Bana Do Yaa Rasool Allah
(O Apostle
of Allah, purge my heart of the metaphorical love and all worldly thoughts.
Draw my attention towards yourself as your devotee, O Apostle of Allah)
On the
other, he did not forget the earlier prophets who had been sent down to various
territories, especially India. An embodiment of compassion, tenderness and
divine love, Krishna as the prophet of India is greatly revered in the
Maulana’s Urdu poetry: Some of his moving poems on Krishna are reproduced here:
To Se
Lagaai Kanhaai Preet
Kahu Or
Kisurati Ab Aai Kaahe
Hasrat
Tan Man Dhan Sab Waar-Ke
Mathura
Nagar Ramaai Chali Dhooni
Translation:
My heart has fallen in love with Kanhaiya. Why would anyone else think of it
now? O Hasrat, give up all that is yours for him. Then go to Mathura and become
a mystic.
عرفانِ عشق نام ہے
میرے مقام کا
حامل ہوں کس کے نغمۂ
نئے کے پیام کا
گوکُل کی سرزمیں بھی
عزیزِ جہاں بنی
کلمہ پڑھا جو اُن کی
محبّت کے نام کا
برندا کا بن بھی روُ
کشِ جنّت بنا کہ تھا
پامالِ ناز اُنھیں
کے بہارِ خرام کا
لبریزِ نور ہے دِلِ
حسرت زہے نصیب
اِک حسنِ مشک فام کے
شوقِ تمام کا
Translation:
I stand
where the deep knowledge and realisation of love is found,
Who is the
one whose flute’s melody fills me?
Gokul's
land also became the beloved of the world,
When I
recited the Kalima in the name of his love.
Vrindavan
too turned out to be a picture of heaven,
Because of
his feet, there is a spring that becomes a harbinger of paradise.
What a good
fortune, Hasrat,
Your heart
brims with a glowing love for the beauty of Musk!
Indian
Muslims should never forget these true mystics and spiritual luminaries of
Islam in India. Today they need to be remembered more than ever before, to help
mitigate the communal tensions and political polarisation in this country.
Their pluralistic messages in India should be rejuvenated, creating an
atmosphere in which selfless service, love and harmony are one’s only religion.
Maulana Mohani is immortalised by his abiding legacy of love and devotion for
Shri Krishna, his coinage of Inquilab Zindabad, his deep mystical inclinations
and last but not the least, his timeless Urdu Ghazal which says:
Chupke
Chupke Raat Din, Aansu Bahana Yaad Hai
(I vividly
remember when I used to cry secretly, day in and day out)
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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