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COVER JAN 31ST 2009
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Religion
Hazratbal as an ideology 
While the major and numerous Sufi shrines of Kashmir have preserved the historical tradition of celebrating the ‘urses, Hazratbal continues to play a crucial role by way of cementing the bonds of the devotees not only with it, but also with the Sufi shrines. BY NIZAMI SALMAN “Ignorance is no bliss”. Until the publication of my research article titled “The Significance of the dargah of Hazratbal in the socio-religious and political life of Kashmiri Muslims” (Muslim Shrines in India, ed. Christian W Troll, Oxford University Press, 1987; reprint India’s Religions, ed. T.N. Madan, OUP, 2005), I considered veneration of the relic of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by a vast bulk of the Kashmiris to be an accretion of an ancient Buddhist practice. However, while researching on the Sufis of South Asia for the last 6 years or so, I have found abundant evidence for reverence but not “worship” of the holy relics of the Prophet and the Sufis in hagiographies. Suffice to say, no less a person than the redoubtable Mujjadid, Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, advised his disciples to show respect to the holy relics, including even his upper garment (qaba), after taking wuzu in order to derive numerous spiritual benefits from their use. Kashmir being traditionally known as the abode of the Rishis and Sufis thus developed its own traditions of preserving the relics of the Prophet (SAW) and the proteges of Allah in its specific spirituo-historical context. Kashmiris gave warm, emotional and grand welcome to the sacred hair of the Prophet on its arrival in the Valley in 1699 A.D. ‘Ulama and masha’ikh of Kashmir were part of a grand procession that carried the sacred hair to its first abode, the Khanqah-i-Naqshbandiyya in Srinagar. Considering the devotion of the people, the most venerable Sufi scholar of the time, Shaikh Muhammad Radhu Chisti, himself took the responsibility of exhibiting the relic on special occasions until his death. Keeping in view the public sentiment, the Mughal governor Sadiq Khan donated the Bagh-i-Sadiq Khan for fostering the tradition of venerating the relic. Accordingly, the relic was shifted from Naqshband Saheb to the mosque situated in Bagh–i–Sadiq Khan, since known as Hazratbal. A chronogram of contemporary poet Mirza Qalandar Baig in verse does not simply give the date of arrival of the sacred hair in Kashmir, but it also mirrors the popular sentiment i.e. Kashmir became Madina with the advent of the sacred hair (Kashmir Madina shud az mui Nabi). Since then the shrine of Hazratbal is also known as the Second Madina or Madina–i–Thani. A visit to Hazratbal is considered to be nothing short of a pilgrimage to Madina by an ardent devotee of the Prophet (SAW). For him the Prophet is spiritually alive, hayatan nabi. His whole life rests on the idea of seeking communion with his eternal spirit. Considering the Qur’anic dictum that the Prophet is the Mercy for humankind or the worlds, his spirit as well as body is therefore gifted with eternal grace. In such a context, hair of the Prophet is sacred and worthy of respect, not worship. The abode of the relic, therefore, continues to provide a space for disseminating belief in the spiritual eternity of the Prophet (SAW). The emergence of a priestly class of a unique category, unheard of in Islam, was, therefore, inevitable for perpetuation of some distinctive forms of rituals evolved at the shrine. Such rituals were necessary not only for preserving the relic but also for maintaining the privileged class of priests. Hazratbal thus provided ritual arena for the per formative ritualized communication between actors across social boundaries as well as affirmation of a collective Kashmiri Muslim identity. What does sanctification and conceptualization of Hazratbal mean in the context of Kashmiri Muslims’ spirituo-social and historical consciousness? The concept of Madina–i–Thani has, indeed, given a unique identity to Hazratbal as compared to the other shrines. While the major and numerous Sufi shrines of Kashmir have preserved the historical tradition of celebrating the ’urses, Hazratbal continues to play a crucial role by way of cementing the bonds of the devotees not only with it, but also with the Sufi shrines. |
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