porates Shaikh al-Akbar Ibn
Arab’s concept of the Arsh in
brick, hoped to see the Mughal
vision of religious harmony
materializing in his own crown
prince, Dara Shikuh, when his
youngest son Aurangzeb seized
the power, imprisoned his father
and killed the rightful heir of
Indian throne. Dara’s death
shook India. The founder of
scores of schools and universities, the ’traveler of the path of
wisdom’, the writer and interpreter of hundreds of philosophical treatises, the spiritual master of thousands of followers, in
short a dervish, the selfless principle of the society was overthrown by a hot blooded puritan.
Though Aurangzeb himself
finally evolved into a Faqir in his
last days (it is well known historically that he earned his living
by writing the Quran and making caps out of date palm), India
would never recover from the
shock of the death of the Dervish,
Dara.
Aurangzeb knew India would
not survive without Akbar’s
vision. He was the end of a
dream, but he did not want to be
the end of a dynasty. In that desperation when he was trying to
mend a lot through his personal
example,
Mehr
un-Nisa
appeared to be the only ray of
hope, embodying his Faqr and
Dara’s spiritual wisdom:
Do not dispute with me, Father,
like the father called Azar
None with eyes to see can follow
Fathers of the Din
When I hear (him) I leap up,
together with wisdom and wit
In trance I am lost, accompanied
by
Ilm(knowledge)
and
Aml(action)
Kaba is the foot print of those
who had gone on beyond
I am a sad angel, who from
intoxication of nearness
Has brought revelation in the
form of the the ghazals
These verses display a clear
commitment which proceeds
from soul to soul. The esoteric
context, the consciousness of a
dimension of the truth not perceivable without elevating self
above the exoteric and ritualistic
codes of life, could restore the
fast fading glory of India. But
India, though with a long history
of both Hindu and Muslim
female heads of regional powers,
had not seen an empress at the
centre of power politics. Besides,
the political opportunists like
Syed brothers, popularly known
as ’the king makers’, and the
strong lobby of religious hard
liners would never support the
accession of a woman to the
throne. But the emperor’s inclinations and the growing reputation of the princess among the
masses through her poetry made
her immediate successor of both
Aurangzeb and Dara Shikuh.
She rose as an image of political
and spiritual stability of Muslim
India. Had she succeeded, says
Dr. Ebadat Brelvi, India could
have entered the 20th century
with Mughals still as its rulers.
But she died. She died only to
make it easier for the Syed
brothers to bring Muhammad
Shah Rangeela (the clown) in
the lime light of Indian political
stage. This disgrace in the name
of a king was the last scene of all.
The sad angel was the angel of a
lost heaven:
Is the lack of anxiety is an
excuse for no lamentation
Is it that whatever breath we
had,
Has been spent and the melodious song of time
Has hid the scar of our hearts.
Shahab Yar Khan
Jesen, 1426./2005.
43