Faith into literature : Contemporary Lens
Islam was first introduced in South Asia by Arabs, its large scale influence takes place only after the conquest of the Ghaznavid Sultans when the Sufi saints begins to pour into South Asia. The Muslim Sufis play almost the similar role as the Buddhist monks did in the earlier period.
Khurasani merchants acquire rare books from most parts of the globe and Central Asian Sufis establish their offshoots (silsilas) in different parts of the world. Renowned works like Chihar-Maqala by Nizami Uruzi Samarkandi, Sikandarnama of Nizami Ganjiui, Futuh-al-Buldan of Yaqut-al-Hamawi and Safarnama of Ibn Fadlan, besides providing a descriptive sketch of socio-cultural conditions of Medieval Central Asia refer to the quantum of relationship between India and Central Asia. Zia-ud-Din Barani’s Tarikh-e-Firoz-Shahi gives an account of the activities of the people of Central Asia with India during the 13th and 14th Centuries of the Christian era , Abul Fazal’s Aini-Akbari contains several themes formulating some important aspects of the history of Central Asia and India . These celebrated scholars give a long list of different varieties , cultural objects; embroidered clothes and carpets from Yazd, Kashan.
The conquest of multiple territories, intermixing of races and synthesis of various cultures, demonstrates a global vision of Islam. The process of cultural interaction vehemently lurks in the civilization of Islam. The nexus between Arabs and Central Asia, the spread of Islam and its subsequent consolidation in the region, by and large , pertain to Islam as a religion and a culture ; significant contributions are made by Central Asian, Iranian, and Indian scholars, and other artists to the enrichment of Asian culture and civilization.
The emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge and science in Islam encourages the growth of learning and the emergence of multifarious literature. Active relations and continuous exchange of ideas between the two regions lead to the opening of many new avenues of cultural creativity in literature and art, often producing a blend of two or more styles or even leading to the emergence of a unique pattern and genre.
The great translation movement that gets initiated at Baghdad as early as 2nd half of the 8th Century is one of the pioneering steps towards the cultural synthesisation and globalization of knowledge. The canons of learning from East and West are studied on a global level. The results of this movement started at Bait-ul-Hikmah are realised in the academies of Spain, Alexandria, Africa, Nishapur, Samarkand, Bukhara and Sindh . The biographical sketches found in the Ain-i-Akbari, the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh, the Tabaqat-i-Akbari (and at a later period the Maasir-ul-Umara, Zakhirat-ul-Khawanin) and other sources confirm the arrival and the sojourn of most of the renowned men of talent from Turan and Iran.
This historical process of cultural interaction and assimilation grants kiss of life to a process of acculturation and enculturation triggering the phenomenon of globalization.The Islamic culture comes in various forms and becomes part and parcel of the life of people adopting the religion. Primarily rituals and duties form the root and core of the Islamic faith and are obligatory on every Muslim, without consideration of men and women, and get prominence as important components. Then, there are other aspects of Islamic faith which are not obligatory and can be adjusted as per the local culture e.g. we can use local language to supplicate or mention the non-obligatory things.
One of the important components of religion of Islam is the love of prophet and his progeny, as mentioned in sura alshura verse. (Qul la as al lakum lil ajaral ilal mawadatafilqurba) “Oh Mohammad s.a.w tell them that I don’t require any thing in exchange for the service I did to you through bringing the message of Islam to you, except to love my relatives (progeny).” Thus Quran directs people to love (have muwadah, passions ) with the descendents of Prophet of Islam. In this regard prophet s.a.w. has several times mentioned that his daughter Fatima and her husband (Ali ) and her children are his progeny .Thus it is obligatory on every Muslim to have great affection and love of the prophet’s progeny. Their worries are the worries of the nation and their appeasement is the appeasements of the nation. The love must not fade away with the passage of time. As prophet s.a.w. is the prophet of all times , his descendents are to be revered and loved throughout the time span.
An important episode in the Islamic history was the battle of Karbala, wherein the grandson of Prophet s.a.w Imam Hussein (a.s) sacrificed his life along with his 72 companions in the desert of Karbala by fighting against a tyrant king (self-made Caliph) Yazid bin Muawiya ( 52C.E). This event is remembered in the history of Islam and is commemorated globally. It is since one year succeeding the event that the commemoration was held by the descendents of prophet initially at Karbala and later in Madina under the command of the leaders of the prophet’s progeny called Imams . Then with the dissemination of the Islam worldwide, the commemoration events begin to be held globally in the first month of Islamic calendar.
The commemoration includes the Quranic teachings, deliberation from Hadiths of the prophet (PBUH) , lectures regarding the prophet and his relation with his progeny,(consanguine and spiritual), importance of the jihad in Islam and the description of the jihad at Karbala along with the historical account in the aftermath of Karbala .The religio-political and spiritual importance of the event, description about Imam Husain and his great companions as true followers of Islam runs in line with what modern man needs and should acquire in a world panting after mundanity and dehumanization ; the event is supplemented with mourning ( as per local culture), self infliction , recitation of elegy of the martyrs .
The message of Imam Hussein has acquired a global resonance. As per renowned poet of sub-continent Alama Iqbal “Insan ko baidar ho lainay do har qoum pukaray gi humaray hayHussain.” (Let mankind awake, every nation will become Hussainist) It is the voice resounded in the world ; it is felt that the impact of martyrdom of Imam Hussain at Karbala along with his family members and companions has lifelong lesson for humanity; it will never end and sustain till the end of this material life on the earth. In time , the message of the martyrdom of Imam Husain happened in a solitary place, where 72 persons perished in a massacre ever found on earth within half a day of 10th Muharam (Ashura) , whose corpses arouse a faith among the oppressed, the suppressed and the coerced of the world : the voice of Husain resounds and has been resounding since then. It is observed in different forms worldwide. It is rightly said : every day is Ashura and every place is Karbala . It has acquired a place in the world cultures in different forms. As such drama heaves into view to depict such epic events and figures ; man sacrifices himself for the sake of doctrines and humanity , it is a kind of altruism at the face despots : here comes a great modern dramatist , Ridha Al-Khufaji , Iraq litterateur, to render these epic events into literature exploiting nothing but reality and the angles of realism under poetic devices, innovative and promising, Blood Effulgence in Karbala Chronicle commemorates the kinks and fissures of the atrocities committed on the desert of Karbala in terms of the thesis drama :
Never be poignant, worshipper,
It is I who am called the grandson of the messenger of Allah,
Christ gives glad tidings in the Gospel,
As thou know.
In the abovementioned excerpt the dramatist, Ridha Al-Khufaji , employs transparent diction and historical images to rock the interlocutors into one fact that the martyrdom of Husain is remembered by different communities worldwide and every culture has assimilated the voice of Husain within itself. No colour or race could fight being entangled with such a wave , global and cultural, the culture of living in peace and prosperity ;the ways and means of assimilation of voice of Husain within a culture are different in various societies. Every culture exhibits that Husain belongs to it. The voice of Husain resound in every language in the form of verses, elegy, play, painting, banner, dress, media, cassette, music, slogans, pictures, etc. Al-Husseinist theatre theory bears the brunt of promulgating the humanitarian message of such a figure ; iconic figure and finds existence in the meant drama, Blood Effulgence in Karbala Chronicle, as there are certain traits of humanity and human passions ; the dramatist averts tackling the adamant personality of the imam Al-Hussein ,or his prowess as a field to justice and fraternity and eschews pinpointing the main reasons of such a calamity for the sake of objectivity and truth that must out :
Friar:
Is it to kill a thirsty infant,
In front of all the soldiers?
Is that a deed of the brave?
Or has the rest died thirsty?
Harmala:
A desert in Taff valley,
In a land called Karbala,
We do encompass them from all directions,
We do prevent Euphrates water from them,
A river irrigates the land.
The persona in these lines invites the interlocutors to winnow the wheat from the chaff, no way but to trace the truth in the desert of Karbala reviving such events year by year ; it is a kind of stichomythia to manifest the real motive beyond such atrocities; people cast into a massacre without perpetrating a sin or a fault, it is the sword that repudiates an olive branch; it is the mind that obliterates sapience and persists in gripping one-dimensional vantage point of mundanity . In this context, man , in modern age, finds no being and feels dislocated and inspires to emulate someone worth being a paragon , Al-Hussein, here , is an iconic figure gleaning much veneration from all races and bloods that is why his blood revives , the birth days and martyrdoms days of prophet and his descendents are commemorated worldwide, by the Muslims in general and Shia Muslims in particular. The commemorations have become part of the culture of these people, the rituals, literary objects, celebrations, etc have become assimilated in the local culture, globally.
المادة المعروضة اعلاه هي مدخل الى المحاضرة المرفوعة بواسطة استاذ(ة) المادة . وقد تبدو لك غير متكاملة . حيث يضع استاذ المادة في بعض الاحيان فقط الجزء الاول من المحاضرة من اجل الاطلاع على ما ستقوم بتحميله لاحقا . في نظام التعليم الالكتروني نوفر هذه الخدمة لكي نبقيك على اطلاع حول محتوى الملف الذي ستقوم بتحميله .
ارجوع الى لوحة التحكم
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