to attend a marriage, there I stole few hours to quench my old memory. The
mystic life story of Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed (R.A) was narrated by mother, when I
was a child.
was the fact that he was beheaded by powerful Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but
with his beheaded head he was moving ahead to enter Jama Masjid of Delhi.
started reciting the full kalima (La ilaha illa’llah- there is no God, but
Allah), showing that in death he had achieved his affirmation of faith.
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| Twin Dargah of Sarmad Shaheed (R.A) and Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah (R.A) |
For that reason, I drove
away to Dargah of Sufi Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed (R.A) to offer
my flower of reverence: The little-known Sufi ascetic and poet whose life was a
revolt against traditions is, just below the stairs of the Jama Masjid.
A
humble monument to the memory of Sarmad Shaheed resonates with legends and
myths woven around this striking figure from history.
Dargah of Sufi Sarmad Shaheed(R.A) and Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah(R.A),below stairs
of Jama Masjid of Delhi
by the open-air stalls of Meena Bazaar; the noise of people,
bargaining shopkeepers, venders’, spitting, yelling and cursing on the street
stands in stark contrast to the soothing hum inside the shrine.
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| Jama Masjid of Delhi |
Actually, this dargah is
home to two Sufi saints: Sarmad Shaheed and Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah, a
contemporary of Aurangzeb’s father Shah Jahan.
Hare Bhare Shah’s tomb, indicative
of his name, is made of green tiles. The entire shrine is halved into these two
colours—even the doorway gets its colours from this scheme, red and green
respectively. The red colour stands for the martyrdom of Sarmad Shaheed.
Lot of chaos: Biryani,
Halwa paratha and tea stalls.Muslim Bhakti songs, beggars and other sights and
sounds associated with Old Delhi. Sandwiched between the
imposing Jama Masjid and the chaotic Meena Bazaar, narrow lanes and by lane.Visitors
clicking selfies in background of this look, as a memory.
was Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed (R.A)
Jew Trader from Iran or Persia who came to India during 5th Mughal Emperor Shah
Jahan’s time for selling his items.
It is narrated that since Sarmad was a
trader from Iran or Persia who wanted to make money, he was told by his friends
about India where Persian is official language and people gave a lot of money
to purchase Persian goods.
Islam, so in order to get acquainted he read about it and got knowledge from
the Islamic scholars and eventually got converted and set off for India to sell
precious items.
Here he landed in Thatta province, Sind in in 1631 (Modern Day
Karachi, Pakistan).
fell in love with the local girl, but due to some unfortunate events lost every
possession, including the local girl. The impact of this destructive love made
him give up his clothes and worldly things. He would walk the streets of Thatta
naked. In this state of absolute renunciation, Sarmad achieved the heights of
spiritualism.
Sarmad meets
youthful Abhay Chand
At Thatta in a musical concert, Sarmad happened to see
the youthful Abhay Chand, who was the son of a rich Hindu trader. It was love
at first sight for Sarmad and Abhay.
Abhay Chand’s melodious voice that he rendered at a
ghazal pierced the tender heart of Sarmad so much that he never recovered from
the feeling of love.
that the ship on which he came had sailed away.
devotion and soon, the two began to live together at Sarmad’s place. Soon
gossips started to abound in Thatta about the two men living in unnatural
conditions. When this gossips spread, Abhay Chand’s parents took him away and
confined him in his house.
separation was too much for Sarmad who tore of his cloths and began to roam the
streets of Thatta in a state of frenzy seeking his beloved Abhay Chand.
Following the incident, he was to live in a state of total nudity for the rest
of his life.
Later they both left Thatta and finally reached Delhi
on 1657 and in couple of years started to have a massive following. He used to
reside near Delhi’s Meena Bazar (besides Jama Masjid).
son of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz (Taj Mahal Couple). Dara was supposed to be
crowned the next Mughal king. He was well read and had translated many texts to
Persians from Indian religions. The most prominent of his translation was
Upanishads. He was a devout Sufi of Qadiri order.
Sarmad Encounters With Aurangzeb
Fate had other plans for Dara and Sarmad, Dara’s
youngest brother ‘the more radical’ Aurangzeb became the next Mughal king.
Sarmad and Aurangzeb were ideological enemies, Sarmad stood for everything that
Aurangzeb hated.
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| Aurangzeb |
On story goes that as Aurangzeb’s procession was
passing through the streets of Delhi, he saw Sarmad sitting by the roadside.
Aurangzeb ordered march to halt and demanded the mystic to cover himself. The
peer or saint looked at him with wrathful eyes and said, ‘If you think I need
to cover my nudity so badly, why you don’t cover me yourself?’
side, he saw the bloodied heads of all the family members he had had secretly
murdered. Bewildered, Aurangzeb looked at Sarmad, who said, ‘Now tell me, what
should I cover — your sins or my nakedness?’
Shaheed in exchange of some Tobacco
Princess Zebunnisa (she was eldest daughter and inspired by Sufism), saw Sarmad
making clay houses on the roadside. After paying her respects, she inquired:
‘Are these for sale?’
‘I will sell them for some tobacco.’
border of one of the clay houses: This clay house is sold to Princess Zebunnisa
for some tobacco.
That night Emperor Aurangzeb saw a dream.He was roaming
around in Paradise, when he saw a beautiful palace. When he approached it, he
was barred from entering it. Then he noticed that the palace had Princess
Zebunnisa name written on it.
executed in 1661 AD, after having Dara Shikoh executed in 1659 AD. Sarmad’s
fearless attitude was too much for Aurangzeb who soon called on his chief Qazi,
Mullah Qawi, and plotted to do away with Sarmad.
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| Trial of Sufi Sarmad Shaheed |
The trial given to Sarmad was farce, orchestrated by
the Islamic Mullahs in Aurangzeb’s court, Aurangzeb himself wanted to get rid
of all those associated with his eldest brother Dara Shikoh.
accused of defying the shariah by living naked.Sarmad had befitting replies to
all of the Qazi’s accusations, and this frustrated him even more.
In order to make him
relent, the Mullah had Abhay Chand flogged in front of Sarmad. It is said that
the whip lashed Abhay Chand’s flesh, but the pain was inflicted on Sarmad.
inflexible laws (this is Salafi interpretation of Islam). For Sarmad, it was
nothing but a message of love (Sufi Interpretation of Islam).
Aurangzeb knew that public of Delhi was behind Sarmad
and if he gives him execution sentence on lesser crime like nakedness or being
with Abhay Chand, it will create a rebellion. Hence he instructed Mullah that
Sarmad be asked to recite Kalma-e-Tayyaba.
Aurangzeb knew Sarmad never use to finish the Kalima
and this would be good enough reason for apostasy or Atheism.
Execution of Sarmad by Aurangzeb’s Order(1660)
kalimah shahada (acceptance of oneness of God), which “La Ilaha Illallah,
Muhammad-ur-Rasul Allah” (there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad SWT is the
messenger of Allah), in order to prove that he was a true Muslim.
which means there is no God, as he had still not found the end of his search for
God. This enraged the Mullahs who awarded him death sentence. Hence, Sarmad was
dragged through the streets of Delhi and promptly beheaded.
His head rolled down the steps of the Jama Masjid.
Sarmad emerged victorious in death. He picked up his severed head much to the
fright of his executioners. Then he started to climb the stairs of the Jama
Masjid, while mocking the emperor and his false men of God all the while.
According to legend, his decapitated head started
reciting the full kalima (La ilaha illa’llah- there is no God, but Allah),
showing that in death he had achieved his affirmation of faith.
At the
moment he was about to enter the Jama Masjid mosque, a voice called him out
from the grave of Harey Bharey and asked him to relent as he had reached the
end of his journey and had united with God at last. Sarmad turned round and
went to Harey Bharey’s tomb. There he was buried by the side of Harey Bharey,
where they share a common Dargah today.
Empire gradually crumbled in front of his very eyes. He did not have any
peaceful day in his old life.
It is said that that the troubles which plagued
Aurangzeb throughout his reign and downfall of the Mughal Empire were due to
this unfortunate decision to behead Shah Sarmad.
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| A view of Meena Bazar (Around Dargah of Shaheed Sarmad) |
story of Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed (R.A) has ben written, photographed and posted
by Engr Maqbool Akram (wih the help of Wikipedia other materials and few photos
from other sources available on net,with thanks
