[Reader-list] Mysticism in Islam- a Paradox by Dr.G.L.Kaw

[rashneek kher]

>From the very inception of the human civilization, man has sought to find
the deeper meaning of life and the truth about the relationship between
himself and his creator. This very human quest has been the reason for the
birth and evolution of many a religion, faith, beliefs, philosophies and
sects. Throughout the course of prehistory and history, man has attempted to
unravel the mystery of creation and existence and the relation between the
cause and effect of various activities, both human and divine. Through the
march of human civilization, we see the rise and eclipse of so many
religions, faiths, principles and sects. But all along some universal truths
have got established, which have to be accepted and established by almost
all irrespective of their faith and belief.

In the plethora of these faiths, we see many as strict faiths and others
relatively more flexible and even vague as well. In the former group, one
faith or rather a religion in the strict sense of the word, with almost
tight compartment theories and edicts is Islam. Islam spread in seventh
century A.D. from Arabia to most of the eastern world and in the west upto
southern Europe. Being one of the youngest religions with a strict code of
conduct and principles, there is hardly any scope for philosophical
interpretation of the edicts apart from that accepted and established during
the times of Prophet Mohammed only.

Yet we see a man, a revolutionary, a real religious researcher, a loin
hearted human being who inspite of being a faithful and practicing Muslim
started asking awkward questions about human existence creation, creator,
truth and God, and their relationship with each other. And this happened
when Islam was only two and a half-century young only. This eternal
revolutionary, the fearless votary of mysticism, fierce thinker and
philosopher was one Hussein bin Mansoor famous as Halaaj.


Halaaj was born around 858 A.D. in a Persian city named Bezaa(In Faras
province of modern Iran) in an ordinary household. After his customary
primary education only, the child Hussein started asking difficult and
awkward questions. To satisfy his inner urges he came into contact with many
of the high priests (clergy) of the time, but nothing could satisfy him. As
a youth only he started travelling far and wide meeting the scholars and
clerics discussing and debating difficult issues. Finally he reached
Shouster (a small city in Khuzistan of modern Iran) where he studied under a
very famous cleric called Sahal-bin Abdullah Shoustari for a long time. From
here he came to Baghdad the capital of Islamic kingdom and seat of Khalifa
(Religious head as well as king of the kingdom). At that time most of modern
day Iran was a part of Baghdad Khilafat. From here he went to Basra as well
as to Arabia, but returned to Baghdad soon. In Baghdad he continued his
tirade of discussions and debates with highest clerics of the day. Soon he
left for a long and fruitful sojourn eastwards. He traveled to most of the
big cities of Persia including Khurasan (Easternmost province of Iran),
meeting all the scholars and religious heads of the time. From here he
entered Indian subcontinent and traveled many parts of northern India. Here
also, he continued his unsatiable quest. He is supposed to have traveled to
China and Far East also though we do not have any concrete evidence to
support this view.

On his return to Ahwaz, Khuzistan(southern Iran) and then to Baghdad he
started preaching his principles about secrets of existence and creation.
His words were unorthodox, difficult to understand and against the normal
beliefs of the common people. He would declare himself in union with his
lord, god and creator a very revolutionary idea for those times and places.
He won very few followers and a large number of enemies. But fearlessly,
soon he donned the attire of a Sufi Darvesh and startled everyone by
proclaiming, " AN-AL –HAQ" (I am the truth or God.) For majority it was
simply unacceptable and to others not understandable to say the least. Most
of the people branded him as an infidel, a magician or a person simply gone
astray of the real path. The clergy in general denounced him as well as his
utterances as anti-Islamic and thus the way was paved for his ultimate fate.
But nothing could stop this fearless soul. He would declare that he is in
mad love and devotion with his creator and has become one with Him—a core
principle of Sufism since then; an ideology not very unlike that of
mainstream Hinduism. Had Halaaj got influenced in India by Hindu thought? It
is difficult to say and to me it is needless to delve in it. He is supposed
to have done meditation for months together at a stretch, going without any
solid food for that period. Though majority of people and clergy were
against him and denouncing him as an infidel, there were still many who
followed him, asked for guidance from him, respected him and loved him. He
would narrate and sing out his edicts in couplets, collected afterwards by
his followers into a book called "Tawasin"in Arabic. This book is replete
with narrations of love, devotion, surrender, unison and ultimate detachment
from worldly things, the principles he preached and practised throughout his
life. This book has been translated in english by Aisha-ar-Rahman lately and
is available now in various libraries.

With the rising opposition from clergy and general people the Khalifa of the
time Al-Muqtadar-Bi-Alah ordered him to be imprisoned for one year. But
still some of his followers would throng the prison to take his advice and
guidance. This further infuriated Khalifa and he banned all the visitors to
him for five months. There are numerous stories of mysteries and miracles
about him of those days. It is recorded that on the first night in Baghdad
prison he was not seen anywhere in the prison, and on the second night
neither he nor the prison could be located, while on the third night he was
in the prison as expected. When asked about this phenomenon, he is supposed
to have said," On first night I went to see my lord, thus I was not here;
second night He came to see me, thus you could not see me; (i.e. when man
gets absorbed in God he is invisible.) and on the third night I am here to
respect the Shariat (worldly principles of religion), And now you do your
job." Again there is a story when he made three hundred of his co- prisoners
free by unlocking their chains and remained himself chained as usual. When
asked about this secret he is supposed to have said,"I have a secret to
divulge and that can be done at the altar of crucifixion only and not by
fleeing."

In 921A.D. (309 H.Q.) he was asked to apologise by Khalifa for his
infidelity and insane dictates. For this purposes an important religious
head by the name of Ibn- Atta and Abu Abdullah Khalif Shirazi were deputed
to prevail upon him, but the fearless Sufi could not be influenced and the
whole deed failed. Later on he was tried formally in royal court for the
charges of infidelity and contempt of prophet and religion. The court
proceedings lasted few months. The court debates and discussions make very
interesting reading and spiritual sense, but can not be accommodated here in
this article. Since Hussein did not show any signs of remorse or mellowing
and repeated his mantra of An-al Haq, he was ultimately sentenced to
flogging to death. But once flogging started it is said that with every flog
a voice would appear from some where saying,"Do not fear O, son of Mansoor!"
Infuriated by these incidents Khalifa had no choice but to order his
execution in the most brutal manner.


On the day of his execution thousands gathered in the ground, some merely to
witness the event and some to mourn and interact with their master. One
Darvesh asked him,"What is Devotion". He replied, "You will see it today,
tomorrow and day after." When his servant asked him for the will, he said."
Keep your heart busy with something worth doing (Dharam) otherwise it will
involve you in exactly the opposite. (Adharam). His son also asked a similar
question and the reply was,"Never work for interests, do work for Knowledge
of Truth." Then he was taken to the gallows. People noticed his graceful
gait and mild smile even though he was chained heavily (13 of them in all).
When asked about the reason for this unwarranted happiness he said," I am
going to the sacrificial ghat". And composed a couplet which can be roughly
translated as follows :

My rival and not enemy is not a non entity;
He nourished me, as a guest would serve the other guest;
Since we drifted, he sided with sword and arms;
Now this should be the punishment of somebody who
Lives and partakes with the pythons in the pit.

Once near the gallows people asked him as what you have to say for those who
agree with you and for those who do not and shall stone you right now? His
reply was, "Those who shall stone me will be bestowed with twice the
blessings than those who will not; because you simply want to agree with me,
while as the others are having full faith in Shariat and are acting
accordingly." Soon after people started stoning him. With each stone Hussein
would only grin. A very famous and learned cleric by the name of Shabli was
also present at that time. When he threw a small clayball only towards
Hussein he sighed a little. When asked for the reason of this reaction he
said,"Those who do not know can be accepted and excused while as those who
know, can not be excused or accepted."


Next day he was fixed on the gallows and his hands were cut and he laughed.
When asked for the reason he said," It is very easy to cut the hands of a
chained person. Can you cut the hand which connects me to my God?" Again
when his legs were cut he laughed and said," By virtue of these legs I would
walk on this earth but now I have to walk down only two steps to reach my
lord and can you severe those legs from me.?" Then he raised his bleeding
arms and smeared the blood on his face and forearms and smiled again. When
asked for the reason he said, " I know a lot of blood has got drained from
body and my face must be pale by now. I smeared my face red with blood so
that nobody thinks that pallor is due to fear of death." Then somebody asked
but why to smear blood on forearms? To this he replied," I am taking Wazu
(Ablutions taken before offering Namaz. Faithful have to wash face and
forearms with water before offering every namaz). He added in love and
devotion wazu with water only does not suffice, it has to be performed with
blood." After that his eyes were gouged out and still he maintained his
calm, but when his tongue was to be severed as a last act of brutality he
pleaded," Hold for a minute, I am to say some thing." Then he looked towards
the sky and prayed," Oh God allow these people to witness (enjoy) this whole
event". After that his last words are said to be '" One who is in love with
his creator, getting absorbed in Him is the ultimate goal". In the evening
he was beheaded. It is said that all the severed parts were crying
:An-al-Haq:.

The authorities of the time did not dare to bury his mortal remains, lest
the people erect a temple at the site of his burial.
Thus next day his remains were burnt down and his ashes thrown into the
river Tigris (an end he would have probably longed for). But by the evening
a fierce tide arose in Tigris flooding the neighboring areas and only when
his servant brought Hussien's gown (Khirqah) and touched the waters and
waters started receding and people heaved a sigh of relief.
Thus finishes or rather starts a legacy of philosophy of devotion in Islam.
This heralded the advent of Sufism as we know it today. Sufism is no
religion. It has the shadows of Islam, but it is not Islamic religion. It
may be safely said that Sufism is the inner mystical or psycho-spiritual
dimension of Islam. Complete detachment from thing material plus mad
devotion with the God's name is the corner stone of Sufism. The word Sufi
has may meanings and sources. A Persian word "Tasawuf' meaning being one
with God seems directly related to word Sufi. In Arabia to the west of Kaaba
there used to be a hillock called 'Safa'. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic
times people would go atop the place for meditation without any
consideration for hunger, thirst, pain or other material things. These
people were called Sufis. Sufis advocate "Mahaba" mode of worship (the love
and devotion route) in contrast to 'Maarfa' (the route of Knowledge) mode.
Mahaba can be translated in Hindi or Sanskrit as 'Bhakhti or Bhagti'.
Halaaj was executed in most brutal way but his legacy did not die with him.
No doubt his followers had to remain in-cognito in the society to avoid
persecution and execution for a long time. These followers called Darveshes
or Sufis had to hide in eastern Iran mostly and many from there reached the
safe havens of Indian subcontinent. From Iran we have many names but the
brightest star among them is Maulana Jalal-ud-din al-Rumi. He was born in
1207 A.D. He is the celebrated author of 'Masnavi Maanavi', a huge
collection of apparently short stories in verse form, but is full of
spirituality and deeper thought.

Many of these followers flourished in Northern India for centuries and
facilitated the spread of moderate Islam throughout the region. Khawaja
Moin-ud-din Chisti, Nizamudin Aulia and Amir Khusroo, to name a few bright
stars among them. There are millions of followers of these sufis till today
among all the faiths. Some of these very sufis, almost by accident, reached
Kashmir valley in early fourteenth century and by sheer dint of destiny and
the disparaging condition of the kings (Hindu) of Kashmir at that particular
time, they could usurp the throne of Kashmir 1339A.D. But still there were a
few who did not get lured to spoils of durbars and kingdom and continued
with their traditions of Sufism. In Kashmir, due to the strong Rishi
Tradition these people were called by the common people as Rishis. These
Rishis had followers from both, hindu and muslim faiths till recently. Most
respected and revered among these are Shiekh Noor-ud-din
Wali(Chrar-I-Sharief), Reshi Mol(Anantnag),Bab Shukardin (Watlab) and Baba
Farid (Kishtwar). The often quoted term of Kashmiriat in today's politics in
Kashmir has the roots in this rishi tradition only, though unfortunately
these very roots have been hollowed by the vested interests.
More than eleven hundred years back Halaaj lighted a candle in the darkness
of fundamentalism, and we need this light more than ever today, every where
in our modern world. The geopolitical problems of our world admixed with
religious frenzy and fundamentalism with its fatal and brutal results has
benumbed the humanity all over the globe. I dare to see a speck of light at
the end of this dark tunnel.

We have five hundred million muslims living in the south asian region, more
than all the muslims in the Arab world. These south asian muslims have been
reared in sufism and have evolved in an ancient pre-islamic civilisational
cradle. There is a lot of possibility of moderating these muslims because of
their roots and if they are moderated, it can become a powerful engine to
moderate muslims worldwide. Amen!
by Dr.G.L.Kaw

-- 
Rashneek Kher
http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com
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