Author: R.K. Ohri, IPS (Retd)
Publication: Patriotsforum.blogspot.com
Date: June 19, 2008
URL: http://patriotsforum.blogspot.com/2008/06/dark-side-of-sufism.html
For centuries the Sufi creed and Sufi music
have been tom-tomed as great symbols of spiritualism and promoters of peace
and harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims. The cleverly marketed concept
of Sufi spiritualism has been unquestioningly accepted as the hallmark of
Hindu-Muslim unity. It is time we studied the history of Sufis, tried to track
the narrative of their coming to India and analyzed their explicit missionary
role in promoting conversions to Islam. More importantly, it needs to be assessed
how did the Sufis conduct themselves during reckless killings and plunders
by the Muslim invaders? Did they object to the senseless mass killings and
try to prevent unremitting plunder of Hindu temples and innocent masses? Did
the Sufis ever object to the capture of helpless men and women as slaves and
the use of the latter as objects of carnal pleasure? These are some of the
questions to which answers have to be found by every genuine student of Indian
history.
Prominent Sufis in India
Most Sufis came to India either accompanying the invading armies of Islamic
marauders, or followed in the wake of the sweeping conquests made by the soldiers
of Islam. At least the following four famous Sufis accompanied the Muslim
armies which repetitively invaded India to attack the Hindu rulers, seize
their kingdoms and riches and took recourse to extensive slaughtering of the
commoners. Almost all Sufi masters were silent spectators to the murderous
mayhem and reckless plunder of temples ands cities by the marauding hordes
across the sub-continent. Taking advantage of the fact that the Hindu masses
are deeply steeped in spiritual tradition and mysticism, the Sufis used their
mystic paradigm for applying sort of a healing balm on the defeated, bedegralled
and traumatized commoners with a view to converting them to the religion of
the victors. The following well-known Sufi masters came to India along with
the invading Muslim armies which repetitively invaded India in wave after
wave:
1. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer had accompanied
the army of Shihabuddin Ghori and finally settled down at Ajmer in the year
1233 A.D.
2. Khawaja Qutubuddin came to Delhi in the year 1236 in the train of Shihabuddin
Ghori and stayed on to further the cause of Islam.
3. Sheikh Faridudin came to Pattan (now in Pakistan) in the year 1265.
4. Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin came to Delhi in the
year 1335 accompanying a contingent of the Muslim Invaders.
Additionally, the famous Sufi Shihabuddin
Suhrawardy of Baghdad was brought to India for carrying out the missionary
work of conversions by Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan several decades after
the Hindu ruler had been defeated and the kingdom laid waste after repetitive
plunder and manslaughter. Like all Sufi masters, his main task was to apply
the balm of spiritual unity on the traumatized Hindu population and then gradually
persuade them to convert to Islam. Not a single Sufi, the so-called mystic
saints, ever objected to the ongoing senseless manslaughter and reckless plunder,
or to the destruction neither of temples, nor for that matter to the ghoulish
enslavement of the so-called infidel men and women for sale in the bazaars
of Ghazni and Baghdad. Operating from the sidelines of spiritualism they even
participated in the nitty-gritty of governance to help the Muslim rulers consolidate
their authority in the strife torn country. And significantly, their participation
in the affairs of the State was not conditional upon the Muslim rulers acting
in a just and even handed manner. On the contrary, the Sufis invariably tried
to help the Sultans in following the path shown by the Prophet and the Shariah.
Sufis were practicing Muslims and not even
Secular
Another important objective of the spiritual and mystic preaching of the Sufi
masters was to blunt the edge of Hindu resistance and prevent them from taking
up arms to defend their hearth and home, their motherland and their faith,
through the façade of peace and religious harmony. The Naqashbandi
Sufis had very close relations with Jahangir and Aurangzeb. The well known
Sufi Saint of Punjab, Ahmad Sirhindi (Mujadid) of the Naqashbandi order (1564-1634)
held that the execution of the Sikh leader Guru Arjun Dev by Jehangir was
a great Islamic victory. He believed and openly proclaimed that Islam and
Hinduism were antithesis of each other and therefore could not co-exist. Even
the Chishti Sufi, Miyan Mir, who had been a friend of Guru Arjun Dev, later
on turned his back on the Sikh Guru when the latter was arrested by Jahangir
and sent for execution.
It may be recalled that the great Sufi master
of the eleventh century, Al Qushairi (A.D.1072) had unambiguously declared
that there was no discord between the aims of the Sufi 'haqiqa' and the aims
of the Sharia. The definition given by Al Hujwiri should be able to quell
any doubt about the commitment of Sufis in upholding the supremacy of the
Islamic faith over all other religions. That dogma has been the key component
of the philosophy of Sufism not only in India, but across the world - from
India to Hispania (i.e., the Spain). The great Sufi master, Al Hujwiri, laid
down the golden rule that the words "there is no god save Allah"
are the ultimate Truth and the words "Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah"
are the indisputable Law for all Sufis. In other words, the Sufism and the
ulema represent the same two aspects of the Islamic faith which are universally
accepted and obeyed by all Muslims. By definition therefore Sufi masters could
be no exception. The renowned ninth century Sufi master, Al Junaid, also known
as "the Sheikh of the Way", and widely revered as the spiritual
ancestor of Sufi faith, had categorically proclaimed that for Sufis "All
the mystic paths are barred, except to him who followeth in the footsteps
of the Messenger (i.e., Prophet Muhammad) [Source: Martin Lings, What is Sufism,
George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1975, p.101].
Sufis and Muslim Laws
As pointed out by Reynold A. Nicholson in the Preface to the famous tome,
'Kashaf al Mahjub' (Taj & Co., Delhi, 1982). "No Sufis, not even
those who have attained the highest degree of holiness, are exempt from the
obligation of obeying the religious law". In fact, the famous tome, 'Kashaf
al Mahjub' written by Ali bin Al-Hujwiri, who was also known as Data Ganj
Baksh, was widely regarded as the grammar of Sufi thought and practice. Most
Sufis have invariably drawn on the contents of this Treatise for preaching
the Sufi thought (also known as Sufi sisals). As already stated, on page 140
of Kashaf al Mahjub Al Hujwiri loudly proclaims that "the words there
is no God save Allah are Truth, and the words Muhammed is the Apostle of Allah"
are the indisputable Law.
Sufism leaves no scope for Hinduism
K.A. Nizami in his celebrated book, The Life and Times of Shaikh Nizamuddin
Auliya (Idarah-I Adabiyat-i-Delhi, Delhi) has stated that the Auliya openly
used to say that "what the ulama seek to achieve through speech, we achieve
by our behavior." The Auliya was a firm believer in the need for unquestioned
obedience of every Muslim, every Sufi, to the dictates of the ulema. According
to K.A. Nizami, another Sufi saint Jamal Qiwamu'd-din wrote that though he
had been associated with the Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya for years, "but
never did he find him missing a single sunnat …… " .The well
known authority on Sufism, S.A.A. Rizvi has recorded in his book, 'A History
of Sufism in India' that Nizamuddin Auliya used to unhesitatingly accept enormous
gifts given to him by Khusraw Barwar which implied that the Auliya was unconcerned
with the source of the gift, provided it was paid in cash. Yet the Auliya
was a firm believer in the need for a Muslim's unquestioned loyalty and obedience
to the ulema. As reiterated by K.A. Nizami, Auliya used to preach that the
unbeliever is the doomed denizen of Hell. In his khutba he would leave no
one in doubt that Allah has created Paradise for the Believers and Hell for
the infidels "in order to repay the wicked for what they have done".
It has been categorically stated on page 161 in the famous treatise, Fawaid
al-Fuad, translated by Bruce B. Lawrence (Paulist Press, New York, 1992) that
the Auliya confirmed on the authority of the great Islamic jurist, Imam Abu
Hanifa, that the perdition of the unbelievers is certain and that Hell is
the only abode for them, even if they agreed to confess total loyalty to Allah
on the Day of Judgment.
Sufis against Hindus
In the above mentioned treatise on Sufi philosophy, Fuwaid al-Fuad, a very
interesting instance of enslaving the kaffir Hindus for monetary gain has
been cited which shows how another Sufi, Shayakh Ali Sijzi, provided financial
assistance to one of his dervishes to participate in the lucrative slave trade.
He had advised the dervish that he should take "these slaves to Ghazni,
where the potential for profit is still greater". And it was confirmed
by Nizamuddin Auliya that "the Dervish obeyed". Obviously therefore,
neither spiritual ethics and nor justice to all, including the infidels, were
the strong points of Sufi saints.
If the narrative of the preaching and acts
of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer are taken as indication of his religious
philosophy and deeds, he emerges as a Sufi master who nursed a deep hatred
against the infidel Hindus and showed utter contempt for their religious beliefs.
As elaborated by S.S.A. Rizvi in 'A History of Sufism in India, Vol. 1 (Munshiram
Manoharlal, 1978, p. 117), there is a reference in the book, Jawahar-i- Faridi,
to the fact that when Moinuddin Chishti reached near the Annasagar Lake at
Ajmer, where a number of holy shrines of Hindus were located, he slaughtered
a cow and cooked a beef kebab at the sacred place surrounded by many temples.
It is further claimed in Jawahar-i-Faridi that the Khwaja had dried the 2
holy lakes of Annasagar and Pansela by the magical heat of Islamic spiritual
power. He is even stated to have made the idol of the Hindu temple near Annasagar
recite the Kalma. The Khwaja had a burning desire to destroy the rule of the
brave Rajput king, Prithiviraj Chauhan, so much so that he ascribed the victory
of Muhammad Ghori in the battle of Tarain entirely to his own spiritual prowess
and declared that "We have seized Pithaura alive and handed him over
to the army of Islam". [Source: Siyar'l Auliya, cited by Rizvi on page
116 of 'A History of Sufism in India'].
Sufis and Patronage of Muslim Rulers
Throughout the Muslim rule all Sufis enjoyed full confidence, royal favor
and patronage of the cruel Muslim rulers. Though foolishly accepted as "secular"
by most Hindus seeking spiritual solace after being battered, bruised and
marginalized, almost all Sufi saints dogmatically followed the commandments
contained in the Quran, the Hadith and Sharia. Historians have recorded that
many Sufi saints had accompanied armies of the Muslim invaders to use their
spiritual powers in furtherance of Islam's conquests. Not one of them raised
even a little finger to forbid slaughter of the innocents, nor did they question
the imposition of jiziya by Muslim rulers. In fact, most of them guided the
Muslim rulers in carrying forward their mission of conquest and conversion
by furthering their campaigns of plundering the wealth of Hindus, of which
many Sufis willingly partook share.
Sufis were not pro-Hindus
It was almost a taboo for Sufis, the so-called saints, to accept a Hindu ascending
the throne of any kingdom during the heydays of the Muslim rule. In an example
narrated by S.A.A. Rizvi on page 37 of his well researched book, The Wonder
That Was India (Vol.II, Rupa & Co, 1993, New Delhi) it is pointed out
that when the powerful Bengali warrior, king Ganesha, captured power in Bengal
in the year 1415 A.D., Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, attacked his kingdom at the request
of outraged ulema and numerous Sufis of Bengal. In the ensuing strife, the
leading Sufi of Bengal, Nur Qutb-i-Alam, interceded and secured a political
agreement to the benefit of the Muslim community and satisfaction of Sufis.
Under dire threat King Ganesha was forced to abdicate his throne in favour
of his 12 years old son, Jadu, who was converted to Islam and proclaimed as
Sultan Jalaluddin - to the satisfaction of the Sufi masters. Similarly Sultan
Ahmed Shah of Gujarat (1411-42), though a practitioner of Sufi philosophy,
was a diehard iconoclast who took delight in destroying temples, as stated
in the same tome, by S.A.A. Rizvi. The Sultan also used to force the Rajput
chieftains to marry their daughters to him so that they would become outcastes
in their own community. And the endgame of the Sultan could as well be that
perhaps some of the outcaste Rajputs might then opt to become Muslims.
Sufi Philosophy is one-way street
Unfortunately due to relentless colonization of the Hindu mind during 1000
years long oppressive Muslim rule, the Hindu masses till date have failed
to realize that the so-called Sufi philosophy of religious harmony is a one-way
street. This trend of Hindus praying at tombs and dargahs has been nurtured
by the strong undercurrent of belief in spiritualism among Hindu masses, even
educated classes. That is the crux of the matter. Deeply steeped in their
traditional belief in spirituality and mysticism, the Hindus have developed
the custom of visiting dargahs and continue to pray at the tombs of Sufis,
no Muslim, nor any Sufi, has ever agreed to worship in a Hindu temple, nor
make obeisance before the images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. For them it
would be an act of grossest sacrilege and unacceptable violation of the basic
tenets of Sufism. That is the truth about the Sufi saints and their philosophy
of inter-religious harmony.
