[Reader-list] Religious Posters & Talisman (posting 4)

[Yousuf]

Sarai Fellowship 2004, posting No.4: Syncretism in
Muslim Religious Posters in India: Iconic Devotion in
an Iconoclastic Religion

Islamic tantras for everyday problems

A politician once came to a much sought-after
spiritual healer at the dargah of Nizamuddin in Delhi
and asked for a talisman and special prayers for his
success in the elections. The Sufi Baba prescribed a
complicated occult treatment of his problems and
charged him a whopping 51,000 rupees for the whole
affair. The candidate however lost in the election.
Furious, he came back to the Baba and asked for a
refund. The Baba’s reply was, “if you pay a doctor for
the treatment of a disease and do not get treated, do
you ask the doctor for a refund?”

This story, told by a local resident, reflects the
state of decadence and commercialization prevalent
today in institutions such as the tombs of saints in
much of south Asia’s Muslim localities. But the
traditional practice of treating or solving day-to-day
problems of health, business, family, security and so
on, through the use of talisman, amulets, wazaif
(invoking the divine through special incantations),
and even shaman-like rituals, have existed in the
Muslim societies since ages, despite being disapproved
by the tenets of Islam. When all possible efforts fail
to solve a particular problem in the people’s lives,
they are ready to go to any extreme – any god, deity,
priest or house of worship that may resolve their
crisis (the reason why they are also exploited by some
god men). Women in distress often help each other with
a little talisman. “I prayed for you…take this prasad
from Tirupati; I have got you some holy water from
Bibi ka Roza; here take this cross from Velankanni,
put it under the pillow; take this taweez from
Nizamuddin for your son – it will bring him a job.” 

The complex labyrinth of aalims, god men, their occult
methods, and their clients may need a more detailed
sociological analysis and is being avoided here. This
write-up deals mostly with the commonly available
religious posters that depict the Muslim talismans and
astrological charts for everyday use by the devotees.
However, a brief introduction to the Muslim systems of
spiritual healing, known by various names - taweez,
ganda, amal, tilism, jyotish, tantra, najoom, and so
on – is interwoven in the write-up. 

The contents and scope of a taweez depend upon the
belief of the aalim (priest) who wrote it, which may
range from strict monotheism to liberal polytheism.
Those who believe in a refined Wahhabi type Islam use
mostly the excerpts from the Qur’an, or the authentic
prayers prescribed by the Prophet himself. But others
may use complex elements such as astrologically
calculated numbers, geometrical designs, names of the
prophets, angels, spirits, and saints, sometimes along
with the use of medicines, precious stones, sacrifice
of animals, burning of clothes, or other odd rituals.
Needless to say that even though some of the Muslim
talismans may have originated in Arabia or central
Asia, the later influences of the Hindu or local
shaman practices of south Asia in them are almost
indistinguishable now.
 
Among the simplest and most commonly used and
available taweez are the Quranic texts called Ayat
al-Kursi (verse of the chair), and the Chahar Qul
(four short surahs or chapters called Qul),
beautifully calligraphed in many posters. Ayat
al-Kursi (so-named as it mentions that the God’s kursi
or chair extends over the heavens and the earth) is
considered one of the most important, and spiritually
potent, verses of the Qur’an. It is used by many for
the protection from evil, enemies, accidents, theft
and so on. The Chahar Qul are four of the most
concluding short chapters of the Qur’an – not longer
than 4-5 lines each – but considered to be carrying
the potency of the entire Qur’an in them. These two
prayers, besides being used in the talismans, are also
incanted by most believing Muslims for treating
health-related problems and for the success in exams
and other hardships. These are also available printed
on CDs (for your car), shiny stickers, metal plates
and so on. Their use could probably be compared to
that of the Hanuman Chalisa by the Hindus.
(Incidentally, the Chalisa or repeating a prayer or
ritual forty times is very common amongst Muslims.)

Numbers play a very significant role in the shape of a
tantra. In some cases, the numbers are easily
translatable into geometrical shapes – the four Quls
can simply be composed/calligraphed into the four
equal parts of a square, a circle, four corners, or
any other symmetrical alignment. The four corners or
sides are then assigned the four directions of the
earth, the four constituents of the world (earth,
fire, air, water), four colours, and so on, for
symbolic potency. Interestingly, the names of India’s
four major Chishti saints, Khwaja Moinuddin Ajmeri,
Hazrat Bakhtiar Ka’ki, Baba Farid, and Nizamuddin
Aulia are treated as four pillars of Indian Muslim
faith, and decorated in many posters in geometric
arrangements. Another favourite amongst Muslims
iconographers is the number five or khamsa. The shape
of a hand with five fingers symbolizing the five
members of the holy family – the Prophet Muhammad, his
cousin Ali, daughter Fatima, and grandsons Hasan and
Husain – is a very dear icon for most Shias, and a
favourite subject for our posters too. 

The value of numbers in Islamic folklore acquires
further significance as each digit has an equivalent
in Arabic letters in a system of encryption called the
abjad or chronogram. Hence ‘alif’ is equal to one,
‘bay’ to two and so on. Any verse, word or phrase can
be translated into numbers, which carry the same
potency as the words themselves. The most famous
example of this is 786, the chronogram (numerical
equivalent) of Bismillah arRahman arRahim (in the name
of God…). It works the other way around too – the
numbers of certain dates or measurements can be
encrypted into Arabic words, verses or names, and used
in talisman. “Basically, the taweez are supposed to be
the means of communication (letters) between man and
supernatural, hence they use complex language and
actions which the ordinary people cannot understand,”
says an experienced aalim. 

The Qur’an mentions 99 names or attributes of God,
which is a major fascination for the iconographers.
Besides using the 99 names in calligraphy, some of
these have also been illustrated to depict those
qualities of the God, of course, without making any
apparent sign of God himself. While His name al-Razzaq
(the One who nourishes) is depicted with the crops of
food grains and fruits, al-Qawi (the Strong) is
illustrated simply by a mighty mountain, and so on.
Many specific talismans use only those names of God
which serve their purpose – ‘Ya Razzaq’ is repeated
many times in a popular poster you can spot in many
Muslim shops, which is meant for “makan aur dukan ki
khair-o barkat” (the welfare and prosperity of the
home and the shop). The small print at the bottom of
the poster says, “the enemies of the
householder/shopkeeper would bite the dust; the shop
would prosper, the profits would soar; the home would
be secure from diseases; (other’s) spells would be
ineffective…” For its utility, one can’t help but
compare it with Hindu posters of the goddess Lakshmi
with coins dolling out from her hands, and small
numerical charts on the top corners of the frame.

One of the most important centres of Muslim
spiritual/occult healing and ‘production’ of
talismans, is the town of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh,
which houses the tomb of Imam Ahmad Raza Khan, whose
north Indian followers are popularly called the
Barelvis, or those who (according to the purists)
indulge in all sorts of bidd’at or innovations in
Islam. Many colourful talismans with complex geometry,
numerals, some undecipherable words and syllables,
found on the posters have been issued by the muftis of
Bareilly. One of them worth mentioning here is a
shield against the attack of an enemy – apparently a
very old talisman. It has one large circle followed by
further circles inside, divided by radial lines into
small sections, each having an Arabic letter or a
number. Further inside is a square divided into
hundreds of geometric cells with tiny letters, numbers
or prayers in them. From outside it does look like the
shape of a shield – the kind used with a sword in
wars. The small print at bottom says: Meant to shield
from enemies, jinns, fairies, theft, fire and
accident; prosperity at home, shop, and factory;
safety of trucks, buses etc., and fidelity of friends.
 

Most of the taweez are specifically issued for
specific problems and users. But do they still remain
effective when they enter the arena of mass
duplication in our urban milieu? Since the large sized
posters are also meant to decorate the walls, their
artist, who are usually not the original
designer/writer of the talisman, add their own visual
elements of decoration and attractiveness, “which may
not be a part of prescribed symbolism, and may even
affect the potency of an amulet”, says an experienced
aalim. Most old talismans were drawn or written by
hand in one colour. But when the publisher decided to
print these for mass consumption, the artist copying
them added colour, floral patterns, and of course, the
necessary elements of Muslim iconography – shrines of
Mecca and Medina, crescent and star, names of Allah,
Muhammad, and other saints. The common believers
buying them do not pay much attention to these, as
long as the poster describes in small print the
benefits of the talisman. For them, something that
looks beautiful on the wall and ‘benefits’ their lives
is even better. Hence a compact disc printed with the
safar-ki-dua (prayer for a safe journey) hanging from
your rearview mirror is the most attractive way to
show off your car as well as guard yourself from
horrible accidents. 

-----

I must admit that the above text provides only a brief
overview of the subject – a sort of tip of the iceberg
that the Indian Muslim iconography is. It is an
enormous subject that requires documentation,
decoding, and analysis by historians, linguists, and
visual anthropologists. If someone has already done
some work, or is working, on this subject, kindly
enlighten us some more. 

Yousuf Saeed
New Delhi, India
ysaeed7 at yahoo.com

For those who missed the first 3 postings: this
project seeks to collect the contemporary religious
posters and calendar art, depicting Muslim themes,
mostly in north India, and analyze their content,
focusing on the symbols of multi-faith or composite
culture, besides studying briefly the industry and the
artists who manufacture and sell them, the devotees
who buy them, the milieu where they are adorned, and
the reverence they evoke.

This posting is only a section of the research and may
not represent the holistic picture or the
chronological sequence of the findings. More details,
updates and a colourful poster gallery of the project
can be seen at: www.alif-india.com/popart





	
		
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