Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Sarmad lives on as the epitome of an indomitable fighter and intrepid spirit and intellect that challenges bigotry, calls the tyrant’s bluff and exposes him. He symbolises the fearless defiance of the brutal power wielded by rulers and states
Sarmad was an Armenian Jew from Kashaan who accepted Islam. Well-versed in Arabic, he had profound knowledge of the subjects in vogue then. His quatrains demonstrate the profundity of his grasp of both worldly and religious knowledge. He went to trade in Hindustan, but lost his heart to Abhay Chand, son of a Hindu trader in Thatta (Sindh). Possessed by love, he wandered aimlessly around Sindh’s deserts and the mountains and plains of Hindustan.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, in his biography of Sarmad, mentions this falling in love and adds: “The heart that has never fallen in love is but a slab of ice, which melts but never combusts the way the heart of love-smitten Sarmad did. Love of God demands severing ties with the world and only the blow of (the) angel of love severs all relations. Sarmad severed the last tie when he shed clothes.”
Sarmad reached Delhi at the tail end of Shah Jahan’s rule. Maulana says, “He knew it was here that he would drink from the destined vessel.” Dara Shikoh and Sarmad’s spiritual affinity and friendship thrived, as their fates were intertwined. They died resisting bigotry, which the obsequious clergy and sycophantic nobles abetted shamelessly. After assuming power on July 31, 1658, Aurangzeb unleashed his wrath on Dara and his supporters. Many accompanied Dara into exile, but Sarmad stayed put, ignoring Aurangzeb’s power. Those intoxicated with a sense of purpose and a belief in justice, transcend fear. The Baloch, Kurds, Palestinians, Saharvis, etc, who oppose tyranny, are intoxicated with the same brew. Fear is alien to those who believe in a rightful cause.
Maulana’s couplet explains:
“Dar ajaib hai taur-e-ishq, hikmat ha kam ast,
Ishq ra ba maslehat andeshi majnoon che kar.”
(“In the ways of love, wisdom, indisputably an oddity,
And prudent majnoons, definitely an obscenity.”)
Sarmad’s freethinking and his shocking nudity threatened the organised bigotry of Aurangzeb. His support of Dara worried the ruler, and seeking excuses to eliminate him, he sent his Qazi-ul-Quzzat Mulla Qavi to find pretexts. Mulla Qavi inquired of Sarmad why he, in spite of possessing knowledge and intellect, preferred to remain naked. Sarmad replied, “Shaitan qavi ast” (Satan is very powerful). Deliberately punning Qavi to belittle his inquisitor, he extemporarily recited:
“Khush balai karda chuneen past mara,
Chasmay ba do jam burda az dast mara;
Oo dar bhaghal-e-man ast o man dar talibish,
Duzday ajabay barhana karda ast mara.”
(“Alluring beauty hath vanquished me completely,
With enchanting eyes hath captivated me absolutely;
‘Tis a strange thief who hath disrobed me so subtly,
Him who but I seek without, is within me verily.”)
Humiliated, Mulla Qavi sought revenge. A debate had long raged about Sarmad’s thoughts on Mairaj, because it was thought he had rejected the Mairaj in his quatrain.
“Har kas ke sar-e-haqeeqatish bawar shud,
Oo pahntar az siphar-e-pahnawar shud;
Mulla goyad ke bar falq shud Ahmad,
Sarmad goyad falq ba Ahmad dar shud.”
(“One who has grasped truth and actuality,
From infinitesimal is transformed to infinity;
Though priests claim Ahmad went to the heavens,
Sarmad believes he encompassed them, verity.”)
This, they thought, gave them grounds for declaring him an apostate. An inquisition composed of spineless nobles and clergy was convened, and Aurangzeb, the chief inquisitor, inquired if Sarmad had claimed Dara would get the Sultanate. He replied, “Yes I did and was truthful for he attained the crown of the undying sultanate.” On questioning his nudity, Aurangzeb received the reply Mulla Qavi got. He was offered clothes, but he refused them. Aurangzeb realised that a person of Sarmad’s stature could not be declared an apostate on flimsy pretexts. Sarmad was then asked to recite the kalima, but he recited only ‘La Illah’, and there was uproar among the clergy. Raising his voice above the clamour, he thundered, “I am yet immersed in the state of negation and have not reached the acceptance stage yet. If I recite further than this I would be untruthful and how can the tongue say that which is not in my heart?” This gave the stalking monsters the opportunity to go for the kill.
He was offered repentance; but the ruthless tyrant and the heartless clergy did not realise that their acceptance or rejection of him as a Muslim was as immaterial to him as was their death threat for his rejection of repentance. On his refusal, the clergy gleefully gave a fatwa to execute him. Maulana Abul Kalam candidly adds, “Asian politics, tragically, have always been under the cover of religion and all the massacres and murders for political reasons have been sanctified in [the] name of religion.” He adds: “In the 1,300 years history of Islam, [the] pen of the clergy has remained unsheathed like the sword of the general and is responsible for countless murders of fighters for rights. History illustrates that whenever a ruler was bent upon blood shedding, the pen of the clergy and sword of the soldier served him equally well.”
A huge crowd had gathered to see Sarmad being taken for execution in 1660; he was oblivious of the impending death because fear is alien to one who consciously defies tyranny and bigotry. Once there, he looked squarely into eyes of the executioner, smiled and said,
“Fida-e-to sahavim!
Biya biya ke to har suratai me aayi,
Man tara khoob me shanasam.”
(“O, the pleasure of being sacrificed for your sake!
Welcome! Welcome! I recognise you in any guise you choose to come.”)
Then he recited this couplet and serenely laid his head on the block,
“Shoray shud o az khawab-e-adam chashm kashoodim,
Deedeem ke baqi ast shab-e-fitna, ghanoodeem.”
(“From my eternal slumber was I awoken as uproar prevailed,
Observed I, that night of tumult endured, so sleep prevailed.”)
Sarmad’s head, it is said, recited the full kalima when it was separated from the body. This, Maulana says, is not beyond belief as once in a while the mind overcomes the limitations of physical laws. Sarmad lives on as the epitome of an indomitable fighter and intrepid spirit and intellect that challenges bigotry, calls the tyrant’s bluff and exposes him. He symbolises the fearless defiance of the brutal power wielded by rulers and states. This conscious intelligent defiance is consistent and undying, though emotionally motivated defiance is easily appeased.
Nawab Nauroz Khan, Che Guevara, Balaach Khan Marri, Lawang Khan and other martyrs intoxicated with righteousness of their cause have similarly preferred the executioner’s sword to submission. The poets, intellectuals, editors and journalists who refuse to bow to dictatorial pressures keep his spirit of free thinking alive. Exemplary defiance occurs every day in Palestine, Balochistan, Kashmir, Kurdistan and the world over. All who defend their rights at the cost of their lives emulate Sarmad in life and death. Sarmad will eternally live on in the garb of the resisters of religious, political, economic and social injustices.
Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur has an association with the Baloch rights movement going back to the early 1970s. He can be contacted at mmatalpur@gmail.com |
