Shakeel Akhtar

bbc urdu.com, Delhi

Sarmad Kashani arrived in Delhi during the last days of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

He had established his abode near the steps of the east gate of the Jama Masjid.

He was a very popular Sufi in his time. In his late age, he started to live naked and used to read only the part of Kalima ‘La Ilaha’, meaning there is no God. (Kalima is the aphorism that every Muslim believes in. It is said throughout Kalima that there is no god but Allah.)

Upon Qazi’s denunciation of the Mughal Empire, Aurangzeb had ordered him killed for failing to recite the full Kalima. It is known from the books of that time that by order of Emperor Alamgir Aurangzeb, he was beheaded in 1660 on a platform under the steps of the Jama Masjid.

It is questioned whether he was killed for supporting Dara Shikoh in the battle for the crown of the Mughal Empire or whether his Sufian thoughts did not appeal to the emperor of that time. It is possible that for these two reasons he was punished for murder.

Sufi Sarmad’s tomb is built on the very spot where his head was written. Thousands of devotees and followers keep coming to that tomb.

Very little mention is found in contemporary books of Sarmad’s life. Sarmad was a good Farsi poet. There is also a collection of the Rubai from him.

Historian Irfan Habib says that Sarmad’s poetry was very classy and he used to do very bold poetry, which Aurangzeb may very well not like. Sarmad is mentioned in Tazkara-e-Shora-e-Punjab (Punjab Poets Discussion) under the name Sarmad Lahori.

These Sufiyana Shers of theirs became very famous:

Sarmad Bajha Base Naku Naam Shudi

Az Mazhab-e-Kufr, Sue Islam Shudi

Aakhir che khata didz Allah wa Rasool

Bargashta Murid, Lachhman and Ram Shudi

(Translation: Sarmad is your great name in the world

When you passed from disbelief to Islam,

What was wrong with Allah and Rasool?

That you became a follower of Laxman and Ram.)

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad wrote a long article titled Hayat-e-Sarmad in 1910 which was later published in pamphlet form.

In that article he wrote about Sarmad: “I studied the history of Aurangzeb’s time with a view to finding some incidents and information about Sarmad, but it seems that for political reasons the issue was not written down. Far from getting information about Sarmad’s condition, it seems that the pages of history have turned away from them with complete alacrity.

Contemporary books on Sarmad’s life include Sher Khan Lodhi’s ‘Miratul Khayal’ (Mirror of Thought), Vala Dagestan’s book, Quli Khan’s book ‘Riyazul Arifin’ and French writer Bernier’s memoirs and Persian writings.

Professor Irfan Habib says that the most detailed mention of Sarmad’s life and about him is in Dabistan-e-Mazahib, written in 1655. Sarmad met its author in Hyderabad.

Sarmad wrote a detailed chapter on Judaism for that book. The book’s author, Mir Zulfiqar Ardistani, has shed light on Sarmad’s life in his book.

Sarmad was an Iranian Jew of Armenian descent. He was born into a family of Jewish merchants and religious leaders in the Kashan region of Iran. Kashan had a large Jewish and Christian population in those days.

He had acquired proficiency in the Hebrew and Persian languages ​​in his childhood. In his youth, he made a deep study of Taurat and Injil (religious book of the Jewish and Christian community). In the curiosity of knowledge, he came into contact with the famous Islamic scholars of the time, Mullah Sadruddin Mohammad Shirazi and Fundreski.

Under the protection of both of them, Sarmad acquired knowledge of science, Islam, philosophy and logic etc. Sarmad is influenced by Sufism and spirituality. Perhaps this was the time when he accepted Islam, but his nature was spiritual.

Sarmad’s last name is unknown. Only the surname Sarmad has been mentioned in the discussions. It may be that the Islamic name for him is Saeed. The author of Dabistan-e-Mazahib has introduced him as Mohammad Saeed Sarmad in his book.

It was a mixture of Judaism and Sufian spirituality. He does not fit into the picture of any particular religion in today’s interpretation.

In contemporary books, he is often referred to as a ‘Jewish merchant’, ‘Sermad Jew’, ‘Jewish Sufi’ and ‘Jewish atheist’.

In her research paper ‘Life and Death of a Sufi’, Russian Oriental Studies researcher Natalia Peregerina writes: “After receiving an education, Sarmad came by sea to the Mughal Empire’s Thatha port in Sindh to trade in valuables. “There he fell in love with a boy named Abhichand. This boy was very handsome and adorable and was attracted to spirituality. Young Abhichand’s parents got scared by this situation and made them hide their son somewhere.”

“But Sarmad insisted on taking him with him. Eventually, Abhichand’s parents allowed him to go with Sarmad. Sarmad made him his disciple. Abhichand himself was influenced by Sufi ideas. He received all the information about the Hebrew language, Taurat and Judaism He helped Sarmad in the Persian translation of Taurat Abhichand stayed with Sarmad until his last breath.

Sarmad reached Delhi via Lahore and Hyderabad. By then, the fame of him as a Sufi had spread. He lived as a Majzoob (unconscious and lustful, Brahmalin) and began to live naked. Syed Mohammad Ahmed Sarmadi has written in ‘Sarmad Shaheed’: “Since he lived completely naked and was a miraculous saint, he became the center of attraction for even more people.”

His fame had reached Yuvraj Dara Shikoh.

Syed Mohammad Ahmad Sarmadi has also written that since Dara Shikoh, with the thought of ‘Ba Musalman Allah Allah, Ba Brahmin Ram Ram’ (Allah for Muslims and Ram for Brahmins), saints of all religions and sects have the same Faith and Accustomed to meeting respectfully, Hindu yogis and Muslim Darvesh lived in their own court.

“He considered yogis and sanyasis to be close to Allah. He used to offer water to the sun in the morning. He used to wear a ring with the word ‘Prabhu’ written on it. These things were such that a staunch Sunni believer would as Aurangzeb was very angry.Ruchi was not liked so they also caught Sarmad.

Medieval traveler Nicolai Manochi wrote about Dara Shikoh: “Dara had no religion of her own. If she is with the Muslims, she will speak according to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. If she is with the Jews, then Judaism.” if he is among the Hindus, he will talk about Hinduism.”

“Therefore Aurangzeb has declared him an infidel. He delights in conversing with the Jewish clergy and often takes them to debate with Muslims or Sarmad who is a highly qualified atheist and remains naked. In the presence of Prince Sarmad used to cover his waist with a cloth.

Ishq-e-haqiqi (true love) is mentioned in Sarmad’s poetry. He did not lay the foundation for any Sufi order or idea. But he certainly played an important role in the spiritual thought and development of India.

When Aurangzeb imprisoned Emperor Shah Jahan and war broke out between Yuvraj Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb for the throne of Delhi, Sarmad is said to have predicted Dara Shikoh’s victory.

After Aurangzeb became emperor, Prince Dara Shikoh was accused of blasphemy and his head was decapitated. In some books, a letter from Dara Shikoh that he wrote to Sarmad is mentioned.

The text of that letter was something like this: “Pir wa Murshid (Venerable Guru)! Every day I have the intention of your pilgrimage but it is not fulfilled. If I really am, then why is my specific intention or purpose not fulfilled? and me? If not, then what is my fault.”

“Qatl-e-Husain (murder of Hazrat Hussain in Karbala) is according to the will of Allah, so why was Yazid (the murderer) found guilty? And if there was no order from God, then what does it mean that God does not. What does He want? The Prophet of Islam (Hazrat Mohammad) used to fight against the infidels, but on many occasions the army of Islam had to face defeat. Why? The Ulema say it was a lesson, but a lesson for those who are complete in their personality What was the need?”

Sarmad replied in one line: “My dear friend! Everything we read, we have forgotten, except Zikr-e-Mahboob (Remembrance of the Beloved), which we do again and again.”

Sarmad was also listed in Dara Shikoh’s companions. As proof, this letter from Sarmad was obtained from Dara Shikoh’s library. Sometimes the reason why they are naked is given, and sometimes it is said that they do not believe in Sarmad Meraj (the journey of Hazrat Mohammad who met God).

Aurangzeb did not want to punish only on the basis of nudity. During that time, the Qazi of the Sultanate realized that when Sarmad recites Kalima, he only recites La Ilaha and stops reading beyond that. This thing had become famous.

When Chief Qazi Mulla Abdul Qavi asked why he doesn’t read further than this, Sarmad replied: I have reached the level of ‘Nakar’. “When I see God, I will read the entire kalima to accept it. How can I accept what I have not seen?”

Sarmad was asked to renounce nudity and apologize for not reciting Kalima in its entirety. He smiled and read a sher which read: “The story of Mansur (Sufi saint of ancient Iran) is out of date. Now a new story of hanging must be written.”

Aurangzeb ordered to behead. At the moment when his head was beheaded under the steps of the Jama Masjid, a large crowd of people gathered there to have a last darshan of Sarmad.

Now there is a Sarmad mausoleum in that place that keeps reminding us of this great character in history.

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