Deconstructing The Myths Surrounding The Lives Of (Religious) Icons
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
23July 2022
It's Time To Deconstruct The Myths And Fables
Surrounding Muhammad Or Any Other Prophet's Life; Remove The Cobweb Of Lies And
Over-Embellished ' Facts'
-----
"
Maharana Pratap was 7 ft. 5 inches tall. His weight was nearly 200 kg and his
sword weighed 55 kg."
(Though a
remarkable warrior, this is plain exaggeration about the legendary
Rajput/Commented by Colonel James Todd in his tome, 'Annals and antiquities of
Rajasthan', from the original copy at Bikaner State Library)
"
Birbal is very witty but I dare say, after a few centuries, there'll be endless
fabricated stories about his great wit."..... (So prophetic!)
(Faizi to
his brother Abul Fazal, translated from Persian by Colin Swinton, Source: India
House, London).
Naushad
claimed that his composition Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya from the film
Shahjahan (1946) was played at the funeral procession of the legendary singer
Kundan Lal Saigal ‘as per his wish’. This claim took a life of its own and
became folklore because no one could challenge a composer of Naushad’s stature.
But the eminent film music historian late Nalin Shah, in spite of having a
close relationship with the music director, wasn’t convinced. He talked to
Chaman Puri, the eldest of the famous Puri brothers Madan and Amrish. Puri was
related to Saigal and was present at the funeral. He didn’t remember any song
played during or after the procession (Urvish Kothari, The Print).
The great
Rafi didn't bleed from the mouth while singing ' O’, Duniya Ke Rakhvale...' Call it a coincidence, the composer was again
Naushad Ali, who had this habit of fibbing and fabricating. Today, this fib is
a popular fact!
The above-mentioned instances refer to Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi's piece, doubting the veracity of a story
involving Muhammad and a cultured objection to it by one Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi.
I fully
agree with Mr Siddiqi that concocted and fabricated stories in the scriptures
must be revisited and re-analysed in the light of modernity, logic, reasoning
and new findings.
The above
examples of Maharana Pratap, Birbal, Naushad and Rafi can be cited as Formation
of Legend Calcification in the parlance of Archaeology and History. Layers of
concoctions pile up and become calcified/ossified with the passage of time and
get fossilized in the collective memory of the generations to come.
"Over
glorification o a famous character, esp. a religious icon, is a natural human
tendency in which the romanticism of the past contributes greatly. Fallacy of
time or duration further adds an element of exaggeration to the whole
phenomenon," observed Congdon and Regan in a long essay, " Historical
and Religious Lies and Legends." In short, with the passage of time, a
herring becomes a whale.
Whether
it's Maharana Pratap's gigantic height and Leonidas-type valour,
seven-hundred-odd stories of Akbar and Birbal, emphasising Birbal's Oedipus
like brain ( yes, Oedipus is not just known for the Oedipus Complex made famous
by Sigmund Freud, but he was also the wittiest man ever born as he had all the
answers to Sphinx's posers), there're distinct elements of hyperbole. Heresy,
myths or Kimvadanti/ Dantkatha ( in Sanskrit) constitute legends and to the
posterity, these legends become axioms like Gospel truths. No one questions and
when it comes to the legends related to a religious figure, one dares not, lest
Nupur Sharma's fate should befall him/her!
Remember,
no one, not even your so-called prophet/s, is irreproachable. Jacques Derrida,
the great French linguist, stated in his famous 'Theory of Deconstruction' that
an object, revered figure or a person must be shorn of the false additions of
myths and stories (called, 'lingual disrobing') for an honest narrative. It's
worthwhile to mention that he was the first modern intellectual in the public
domain to give the word ' narrative ' ( Le narrateur in French) a contemporary
connotation every Tom, Dick and Harry is resorting to nowadays.
So, it's
time to deconstruct the myths and fables surrounding Muhammad or any other
prophet's life. Remove the cobweb of lies and over-embellished ' facts.' We're
all unnecessarily in awe of our revered figures. Bring them down to the level
of the commoners for the sake of Truth. No one is greater than the Truth.
----
A regular 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/spiritual-meditations/deconstructing-myths-religious-icons/d/127547