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Our great heritage
By Abbas Haider Jafri:
Dismissing outright the contention of conversion was forcible, Eaton ascribes it to the influence of living qazis and buried saints, arguing that the shrines of saints who had died, exercise a great hold on population then a living saint.
There is much support to Eaton’s contention. The Sultan could vanquish the Raja, but he could not vanquish the Sadhu. To meet the Indian people at the spiritual level, a Sufi was needed. As we have seen, Khwaja Moinudin chishti could enter the domain of Prithviraj Chohan before Ghauri. The sword of Sultan was a double edged. It created the political space for conversion and simultaneously created ill-will among Hindus, not a sentiment inductive of a change in religion. So an impetus of change was created in reality by the love, harmony and kindness of Sufis. (Writes Mr. Kazmi in his book Concise History of Pakistan Oxford publication in chapter of conversion from Hindus to Muslim)
The word Sufi is derived from the word Safa, meaning purity in Arabic. Sufis are mystics who aim for a closer union with a God. The earliest historical figure to be identified as a Sufi was Hasan Al Basri ( 728 A.D) reputedly a disciple of Imam and caliph Ali Ibne Abi Talib. It was the figure of Ali which encouraged Sufis to be called Wali ( plural Awlia). Leaving the luxuries, flamboyance and extravagance of the world and leading the life of austerity, humbleness and chasteness are the hallmark of Sufism. Sufism is the aspect of Islam which makes me proud of being a Muslim. Sufism is the feather in Islam’s cap and no doubt Sufis are the protagonists of Islam and cultural heritage of sub-continent.
I am vivified when I see Amir Khusro`s contribution to the music. Khusro composed new ragas, he was hailed as a Nayak, one proficient in theory and practice of past and present music. He contributed equally to the evolution of folk music and Qawwali, the devotional Sufi music. He is also credited with inventing, among the other instruments, the sitar .It makes me ebullient when I see the likes of Madhu Lal Hussein, his name was Shah Hussein but he is known to the world as Madhu Lal Hussein. It was because Shah Hussein’s love for a Hindu boy Madhu Lal that they both are often referred to as a single person. Madho`s tomb lies next to Hussein’s in the shrine. This shows how Muslim Sufis were cheek by jowl with other religions like Hinduism. We are lovers of humanity our ancestors have shown this, we do not make differences on the basis of religion. I feel elated when I see the glory of Sakhi Shahbaz Qalandar, I see the people of every class, creed, caste and religion on his shrine together, dancing( dhamaals) , singing( qasidas) and giving the message of peace and harmony. There are no differences; everyone is welcomed with open arms. It makes me complacent when I see poor people from every section of society getting three times a day free of cost food( Langar) from the tomb of Data Ganj Bakhsh. These shrines are not only the sanctified graves but they are also institutions of social welfare. Likewise, the teachings of every saint or ascetic when came to light made me aware of serene ingenuity of my religion.
I am a Pakistani who is proud to have such a garish and eclectic cultural history of awlia Allah and Sufis. I am a Muslim and I am not a terrorist. My ancestors were not terrorists. They were the source of enlightenment to the whole world. They were ultra modern in providing me with the heritage of poetry, music, dance and the prodigious monuments. I represent Pakistan, my land is the symbol of love, it is the symbol of affection, it is the symbol of kindness, and it is the symbol of peace and friendship.
And I disown and curse the elements spreading hatred to mankind, whatever their religion may be. I lament over the killings of innocent. I anathemise over those who desecrated the grave of Rehman Baba, who attacked on the shrine of Data Ganj Baksh, Bari Imam and Hussein Shah Ghazi. I bemoan over the attacks on Mosques, Imam Bargahs, churches and temples. I execrate those who are killing the Hazara community. I detach myself from those who killed hundreds of Iraqi children, for killing two American soldiers who came to distribute candies among the children in the school. Pity on the bestial mindset which killed Salman Taseer and on General Jihad Molvi Zia Ul Haq during the reign of whom a blind girl was stoned to death, her only mistake was that she was raped but was unable to provide four pious Muslims as witnesses. Consequently, she was charged of adultery and stoned to death in the cover of Hadood Ordinance.
Mysticism is one of the surreal abstracts of Islam. Many people consider mysticism as heavenly abode for their soles and it gives them some surreptitious cherishment.
I am a Muslim and disown, refute, curse and condemn any tinge of hatred, bigotry and rigidity. My religion is the religion of the Saints who devoted their lives for humanity, who worked for the betterment of society, who never differentiated people on the basis of religion. I tell the world that there are some surly goons who have entered in a peaceful religion and are contaminating it. We don’t belong to these philistines but we belong to the hollowed saints and their secular teachings.
Our book Holy Quran Says
:There is no compulsion in religion ( Q2:256)
And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldn’t thou( Muhammad) compel men until they are believers?( Q10:99)
113 Responses to "Our great heritage"
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- NDelhi
said So Amjad, do you agree that the vertical and horiz... - amjad
said elhi says:
June 19, 2013 at 10:00 am
EP,
Lookin... - NDelhi said EP,
Looking at events of last 65 years , i feel pr...
- Ex-Paki
said Faiz was a great revolutionary poet, I don’t... - BaapReBaap
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- kaalchakra said Rex, Faiz speaks of Pakistan coming into existence...
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- Rex Minor
said Tajender,
Do you not know why the Poet Faiz mentio...
“Pluralism, liberalism? All these ‘isms’ are against Islam and it is compulsory for us to fight these,” Najib said
Najib Razak is fool. Islam is the epitome of pluralism. What can be a better example of pluralism and liberalism that 90% of Allah’s slaves do not speak Allah’s tongue.
Tajender,
I do not understand all the words you use about Indians and their Brahmans, nor have any interest to understand their customs and obligations. But what surprises me most is that I watch their eating culture in media, each one sitting on his own with his back to another family member and without women, which displays neither compassion nor any love towards each other, individuals the real sense. And yet their dislike of speific muslims and the overall hate towards Islam per say brings them togeher as one regardless of their caste and political affiliations. They fail to understand the bondage between muslims of different counries brought up in separate cultures showing love, compassion and solidarity, which is imbedded in the geist(soul and mind) when they are born. There can be nothing nobler than risking ones life to defend the honour and libe of ones famly and muslims throughout the world is a family. This is the stregnth of Islam, not necessarily physical but in spirtual sense and once this is in play, no worldly power on earth can withstand it. This is the heritage of every muslim and not the differences they have in politics or in interpretation of scriptres and their application in todays world.
Rex Minor
to rex
More muslims are killed or tortured by muslims than by non-muslims.
It is all your self-deceit that you believe that islam is about love. You can keep fooling yourself – but how long?
Islamic bonds are about terrorizing non-muslims and taking away their lands, booty and women and distributing them among muslims. That is how Mohammad himself attracted arabs to his cult.
There may be small groups of muslims who practise some fake love to one another. But islam as whole is terror, fascism, misogyny and arab imperialism. Neither the islamic god-concept nor Mohamad are about love. It is more of greed and pornography.
You have not lived among hindus and hence you have only a hate-view about them indoctrinated into you by islam. Will you be so honest as to admit that?
Umma news – Ummah has taken a decision to transport rohingya Muslims out of the Burma to be settled in Mecca until the matter is resolved. In a similar situation earlier, Pakistan rehabilitated the Bihari Muslims of Bangladesh within Pakistan.
Bangladesh has been removed from ummah membership for not helping rohingyas and for wrongly accusing Pakistani army of rape and torture.
Umma news – ummah has also decided to carve out a new country in Pakistan for ahmedis to stop their persecution. There is no compulsion in Islam. Ahmedis will now be treated with respect and be given full dhimmi rights.
Umma news – ummah has finally decided to stop selling oil to NATO countries because that NATO countries are killing Muslims.
“But we do not care. This country is the same to us as it was to Ahmad Shah Abdali: a foreign land to plunder and destroy.”
http://tribune.com.pk/story/411011/tilla-jogian/
Not All Pakistanis are brain dead zombies…
Tilla Jogian or sirinagar, the land around hindukush or in the feet of the Himalaya or around Mohengo Daro near the Arabian See, it is there for the plunderers and some admirers. The heritage for the humanity but a waste for the ignoran. What a shame and so the story goes on in the land of Avatars and Mythologies.
Rex Minor
I do not understand all the words you use about Indians and their Brahmans
brhmns are like muslims.they are not part of indian society.but they control everything in india.difference is like christian zoinists and christians.originally they are from central asia like ashknzis but hiding among indians adopting their names but slowly swallowing them.like wolves among sheeps.
http://populationmatters.org/
to rex
Are you not tired of tajender’s crazy claims? You often praised him as the epitome of muslim intelligence and fighting spirit. Next time you get a cough or a cold tajender will tell you that a brahmin or a jews must have conspired and caused it.
To be able to know how the current political leadership work and what role the lobbyists and the groups of common interest play, not only requires knowledge and intelligence but also the analyytical skill and foresight, and this is reflected in Tajenders commentries. Ahem and others have the opportunity to learn a plenty if they want to without being petty and childish. I appreciate his talent because I live in this world fully aware of what he is talking about.
Rex Minor
rex and tajender are like a crow and a donkey praising each others voice and beauty.
That is confirmed again.
If that is the kind of human minds that islam produces then it is no wonder that islam is spiralling towards more and more fascism, lies, perversions and killings.