Sarmad Kashani, or simply Sarmad (ca. 1590–1661) was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
-speaking
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
mystic and poet who travelled to and made the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
his permanent home during the 17th century. Originally
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, he may have renounced his religion to adopt
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. However "his conversion was probably only nominal and superficial, since he himself later warned the Jews not to convert themselves". Sarmad, in his poetry, states that he is neither Jewish, nor Muslim, nor Hindu.
[
]
Early life
Sarmad was born in Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
around 1590, to a family of Jewish Persian-speaking Armenian merchants. Sarmad had an excellent command of Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, essential for his work as a merchant, and composed most of his works in this language. He produced a translation of the Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
in Persian. He studied under Mulla Sadra
Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā ( fa, ملا صدرا; ar, صدر المتألهین) (c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, the ...
and Mir Findiriski
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
before migrating to the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
as a merchant.
Travels in the Mughal Empire
Hearing that precious items and works of art were being purchased in India at high prices, Sarmad gathered together his wares and traveled to the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
where he intended to sell them. In Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
, in present day Sindh, Pakistan
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of ...
, one of his close disciples was a Hindu called Abhay Chand. Although there is debate on the nature of their relationship very little is known about the life of Abhay Chand and no historical records to confirm the details of their encounter, except Sarmad's own poetry. Some scholars have argued that, while Sarmad employed Abhay Chand to translate the Torah as well as Old Testament and New Testament, it is possible that Abhay Chand converted to Islam or Judaism. It is important to note that, in later years, Sarmad grew critical of all religions and took a more spiritual position.
At some stage, he abandoned his wealth, let his hair grow, stopped clipping his nails and began to wander the city streets. Although it is widely speculated that Sarmad and Abhay Chand moved to Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
, then to Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, settling finally in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, however there are no credible sources to confirm the events.
Life in Delhi
The reputation as a poet and mystic he had acquired during the time the two travelled together, caused the Mughal crown prince Dara Shikoh
Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank" ...
to invite Sarmad at his father's court. On this occasion, Sarmad so deeply impressed the royal heir that he vowed to become his disciple.
Sarmad has been witnessed by the French physician and traveler, François Bernier
François Bernier (25 September 162022 September 1688) was a French physician and traveller. He was born in Joué-Etiau in Anjou. He stayed (14 October 165820 February 1670) for around 12 years in India.
His 1684 publication "Nouvel ...
, who reported Sarmad as a ''naked faqir Faqir may refer to:
People
* Fakir, Sufi Muslim ascetics
* Faqir (given name), Arabic masculine name
* Faqir (clan), Muslim ethnic group in South Asia
Places
* Faqir Mosque
Faqir Mosque ( bn, ফকির মসজিদ, ar, ) is an obl ...
''.
Sexuality
Abhay Chand was a Hindu disciple of Sarmad Kashani. The nature of their relationship is debated by historians. There are no historical records to confirm the details of their encounter, except Sarmad's own poetry. The biography of Sarmad Kashani published by caretakers of his shrine states that he had fallen for a Hindu boy named Abhai Chand whose father eventually relented and allowed them to be together.
Death
After the War of Succession
A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim the Order of succession, right of successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are typic ...
with his brother Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
(1658-1707) emerged victorious, killed his former adversary and ascended the imperial throne. He had Sarmad arrested and tried for heresy. Sarmad was put to death by beheading in 1661.[ His grave is located near the ]Jama Masjid
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.*
*
*
*
*
*
*
...
in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, India.
Sarmad was accused and convicted of atheism and unorthodox religious practice.
Aurangzeb ordered his Ulema to ask Sarmad why he repeated only "There is no God", and ordered him to recite the second part,"but Allah". To that he replied that "I am still absorbed with the negative part. Why should I tell a lie?" Thus he sealed his death sentence. Ali Khan-Razi, Aurangzeb's court chronicler, was present at the execution. He relates some of the mystic's verses uttered at the execution stand: "The Mullahs say Ahmed
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
went to heaven, Sarmad says that heaven came down to Ahmed." ... "There was an uproar and we opened our eyes from the eternal sleep. Saw that the night of wickedness endured, so we slept again."
Abul Kalam Azad on Sarmad
Abul Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini, Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian Indian independence movement, independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the ...
, one of the leading political personalities involved in the Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
, compared himself to Sarmad, for his freedom of thought and expression.Votary of freedom - Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Sarmad by V. N. Datta
Tribune India
''The Tribune'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Chandigarh and New Delhi. It was founded on 2 February 1881, in Lahore, Punjab (now in Pakistan), by Sardar Dyal Singh Majith ...
, 7 October 2007
See also
* ''Dabestan-e Mazaheb
The ''Dabestān-e Mazāheb'' ( fa, دبستان مذاهب) "school of religions" is a Persian language work that examines and compares Abrahamic religions, Dharmic religions and sects of the mid-17th century Southern Eurasia. The work, whose a ...
''
References
Bibliography
*''Rubā‘iyyāt-i Sarmad'', ed. Fazl Mahmud Asiri, with a preface by S. Qazvini, Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee Shantiniketan (Visva Bharati Series 11), Shantiniketan 1950.
*Abul Kalam Azad, ''Sarmad Shahid'' IN: S. S. Hameed, ''The Rubayat of Sarmad'', New Delhi 1991, p.18-41.
*Cook, D. (2007) ''Martyrdom in Islam'' (Cambridge) .
*
*Ezekial, I.A. (1966) ''Sarmad: Jewish Saint of India'' (Beas) ASIN B0006EXYM6.
*Gupta, M.G. (2000) ''Sarmad the Saint: Life and Works'' (Agra) .
*Katz, N. (2000) ''The Identity of a Mystic: The Case of Sa'id Sarmad, a Jewish-Yogi-Sufi Courtier of the Mughals'' in: ''Numen'' 47: 142-160.
*Rai, L. (1978) ''Sarmad. His Life and Rubais'', Hanumanprasad Poddar Smarak Samita, Gorakhpur.
*Schimmel, A. ''And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration Of the Prophet In Islamic Piety'' (Chapel Hill & London).
*Sarmad di Kashan. ''Dio ama la bellezza del mio peccato. Le quartine di un poeta mistico della tradizione indo-persiana'', ed. Carlo Saccone, Centro Essad Bey-Amazon IP, Seattle 2022
External resources
Sarmad, Mohammed Sa'id
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashani, Sarmad
Sarmad
Sarmad
Sarmad
Sarmad
1661 deaths
Year of birth unknown
17th-century Indian poets
Sufi mystics
Converts to Islam from Judaism
History of Delhi
Mughal Empire Sufis
People executed by the Mughal Empire
Executed Indian people
Converts to Hinduism from Islam
Iranian Hindus