Compassion
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
We all know him well: Ali Bin Usman Hajveri, the most influential mystic of the subcontinent, the person who introduced Islam in northern India and enlightened thousands of people with his knowledge, wisdom and character. Although he was from Ghazni, Afghanistan, and probably spoke Persian throughout his life, Lahore is the city he is known for and the city of Lahore is undoubtedly known for him. Without any dispute, we can also concur that even after a millennium, he still rules Lahore through the hearts and minds of its inhabitants; he still inspires their souls, instilling a spiritual serenity in their chaotic lives.
In a way, the emergence of Lahore after his arrival as a great city can be regarded as a part of his services for north India and Pakistan. The other aspects of his favor for Islam and mysticism would include Kashaf-ul-Mahjoob (Revelation of the Veiled), his book on mysticism, and the motivation provided to Muin-uddin-Chishti to travel further east in India.
Kashaf-ul-Mahjoob (KM) introduced the people of the 10th century subcontinent to the prerequisites, framework, concepts and definitions of Islamic mysticism for the first time. In KM, Ali bin Usman enumerated the Sufis before his time chronologically, and introduced us to them through their short biographies. At that time, no Sufi order of the subcontinent was established and people were unaware of the basic ideology of Islamic Sufism. In addition, he briefly describes the mystic aspect of Khulafa-e-Rashdeen (the leaders of the righteous) and goes on to include the Ahl-e-Bait (the Family of the Prophet (PBUH)) as well. Surprisingly, he initiates his discussion about the family of the Prophet (PBUH) with an incident of blasphemy and elucidates the gracious response of Imam Hassan to such an assault. He focuses on their virtues of compassion and forbearance while dealing with these highly sensitive issues and emphasizes through the character of Imam Hassan how to show magnanimity in such a distressing situation.
As a great teacher of all times, Ali bin Usman must have envisioned the intolerant Pakistan of 2012 and as a person with great wisdom, he must have envisaged the need to promote clemency and stoicism as a part of his message for future generations. He narrates the story of Imam Hassan (RA), when he was suddenly reviled by an Arab Bedouin. Accordingly, once Imam Hassan was sitting at the doorstep of his house when a roaming Bedouin started swearing at him without provocation. Unfortunately, the Bedouin uttered profanities about the parents of Imam Hassan and ancestors as well. Listening to his execration, the grandson of the Prophet (PBUH) stood up, stepped closer to him and asked him gently, “Are you ill? Or are you hurting? Or is something else bothering you?” Sadly, even after this polite response from Imam Hassan, he did not stop cursing, as Imam Hassan listened to him patiently. He did not rebuke the Bedouin at all nor did he threaten him; instead, he instructed one of his slaves to get the Bedouin a bag of silver coins from home. He addressed the roaming Arab, apologetically referring to his inability to offer more. “This is all I have got at present, if I had any more left to give you, I would not have hesitated.” After taking the money, the Bedouin was finally impressed and announced, “I testify that you are really the son of Muhammad (PBUH) and I was humiliating you just to test your patience”(Kashaf-ul-Mahjoob Page138).
We can easily discern through Imam Hassan’s example that Ali bin Usman not only encourages Muslims to build some key elements in their characters — patience, generosity, kindheartedness and mercifulness — but he also raises more subtle issues through his story. First, the family of the Prophet (PBUH) was renowned for their extraordinary compassion across the Arab nation, unlike the present-day Muslims. Second, even the ordinary people at that time would feel free to evaluate the character and the moral rectitude of the family members before they submitted themselves to Islam. Third, they would not even apologize for their indignities about the Prophet (PBUH) and last, they would feel confident that they would stay alive and would not be persecuted for blasphemy even after committing such an act in front of the family members.
I am confident that Ali bin Usman Hajveri while writing the KM recognized the significance of blasphemy in his times. He must have understood the Islamic jurisprudence before referring to this incident. Being a Muslim himself, he must have been outraged by any disturbing comments and he must also have considered the act of insulting religious figures despicable and inexcusable, but his message was undoubtedly different. His objective clearly was to inculcate solicitude, tolerance and beneficence in his followers, a lesson that Muslim scholars have missed for decades. His focus was neither to prove the validity of Islam through scientific research, verify the existence of God through philosophical arguments, nor to promote a vengeful group of disciples to punish any sinner for his misdeeds.
(The writer is a US-based freelance columnist and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com )
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