‘Beyond The Babri’: Ayodhya Is As An Abode Of Shared Religious Heritage And Spiritual Symbiosis In Indo-Islamic Tradition!

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 29 January 2024 Why should Muslims in India associate themselves with Ayodhya only because of the bulldozed Babri Masjid? Why can’t they look at Ayodhya—beyond the Babri— as the land of Ambiya and Auliya as well as Rishi-Munis; an oasis of spiritual symbiosis, an abode of shared spiritual heritage? Why should we allow the episode of Babri Masjid dominate our religious thoughts and colour our collective cultural understanding? Ram Mandir, Ayodhya ------ After the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, which has been hailed by the President of India Droupadi Murmu as a “Landmark in India’s continued re-discovery of its civilisational heritage”, now the question is what’s next? What is the road ahead for India and its dense population of different faith practitioners? It is about time for all of us citizens—especially Hindus and Muslims of India— “to pledge to build a capable, magnificent, and divine India [which is] a step towards nation-building”, said the Prime Minister, finding a way forward from here. While delivering his ‘new mantra’—Dev Se Desh, Ram Se Rasthra (from God to country and from Rama to the Nation-building), the PM offered some rays of hope to the nation when he stated: the opening of Ram Mandir was not just a moment of “victory” (Vijay) but also “humility” (Vinay). But the frenzied fringes driven by this ‘victory’ are going haywire in some parts of the country. In a crazy bid to reclaim all the lost heritage sites of Hinduism, mostly based on Aastha (belief) and Manyta (legends), they are bound to be at the loggerheads with local Muslims as if they were the centuries-old invaders from Arabia or Central Asia. This will keep the present Indian Muslims further intimidated. They are clearly not accountable for the past mistakes that some Muslim invaders or Mughal rulers did centuries ago. However, I find a note of introspection on part of Indian Muslims too completely missing. Now after the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has called for conflict-resolution and an end to the long-standing ‘dispute’ and ‘bitterness’ as part of the campaign called “reconstruction of Bharatvarsha”, it is an opportunity for bonhomie. Both Hindus and Muslims must look at Ayodhya as an Indian oasis of shared spiritual heritage. The collective belief of Hindus and Indian Muslims in the divinity or prophethood of Shri Rama will be the beginning of this ‘reconstruction’. In my previous piece, I have highlighted how Muslim mystics, established ulema and Sufi saints of India have revered Rama as Rasool and as an Indian Prophet. See my article: The Discerning Eye Sees in Ram, Rasool! Now I would like to share my reflections on the spiritual historicity and sanctity of the city of Ayodhya from an Indo-Islamic perspective: As a madrasa student in Jamia Islamia, Raunahi Faizabad in 2005, I had an exposure to visit the birthplace of Shri Rama in Ajodhya. This so happened that I was appearing for an examination called, maulvi/Munshi as part of Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education where I met a local Muslim leader and social activist from Ayodhya, Dr Ambar Siddiqui. He took me to the Ram Janmabhoomi, and revealed that in Indo-Islamic tradition, Ajodhya had assumed a paramount position. Prominent prophets and messengers of Allah such as Nabi Sheesh A.S (Prophet Sheth) were buried in this sacred city. Thus, the historicity and sanctity of Ajodhya stands out in my memory and spiritual consciousness since my Madrasa student life. According to numerous reports, the grave of Nabi Nooh A.S (Prophet Noah) locally known as “26 Ghazi Mazar”, which I visited, is also there. The moment I entered the marked birthplace of Shri Rama, my early mystical experience at the age of 15 knew a new dimension. It was the first time I explored India as the land of Ambiya (Prophets) and Auliya (Saints), and Shri Rama as one of the earliest Indian Prophets who were a Divine Light to the people of this age-old civilisation. In Sufism, a Prophet is actually a Noori Bashar (a person of divine light) whereas in the Wahhabi view, every prophet is merely a Bashar (just like a common human being). Some Sufi saints of India went to the extent of believing Prophets as ‘Avtars of Allah’ (the descendants of the Divine Himself), and thus they understood the Islamic concept of Prophethood in terms of ‘Avtarvad’. For instance—famous Sufi poet Sheikh Abdul Aleem Aasi Ghazipuri, a revered elder of Khanqah-e-Rashidiyya, composed an Urdu couplet in praise of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as follows: Wahi Jo Mustawwi-e-Arsh Hai Khuda Ho Kar Utar Pada Hai Madine Mein Mustafa Ho Kar (Translation: The One who ascends the Throne/Arsh as Allah has ascended in Madina as Mustafa/Muhammad PBUH) The above esoteric Sufi couplet and its interpretation, of course, is a matter of contention with orthodox Muslims, but it is close to what Hindus would easily absorb. In fact, for Hindus who collectively believe in the divinity of all Avtars, this should not be contentious at all. Therefore, I find that it is incumbent upon Muslims in today’s India to revisit the spiritual historicity and sanctity of Ayodhya. They must look at Ayodhya as an abode of spiritual symbiosis and not allow the episode of Babri Masjid dominate their thoughts and colour their understanding. Ayodhya has been the land of both Rishi-Munis as well as Ambiya and Rusul (Prophets and Messengers of Allah) in the ancient ages. Needless to state that every nation was bestowed with a Prophet according to Qur’an: “And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger”. In fact, Ayodhya has been considered the land of Ambiya and Awiliya Allah as recorded in Abul Fazl’s Aaain-e-Akbari. It has been looked up to with great veneration in the undivided India by not just Hindus but also Muslims. According to Aaain-e-Akbari, Ayodhya has assumed great significance in Muslim history and religious consciousness. Apart from scores of mosques (around 100 big mosques and 54 small ones), the historic city houses 22 Sufi shrines, several dargahs and Mazars, 15 Imam Baadas as well as 100 Qabristans (Muslim cemeteries). In the Mughal period, the Muslim population in Ayodhya was around 67% thus making the city a Muslim-majority part of the country. It is quite interesting to note that even today, a great many Mohallas and Qasbas in Ayodhya are named after Prophets and Sufi Saints. For instance, “Nabi Nooh Mohalla”, “Nabi Sheesh Mohalla”, “Mohalla Shah Qalandar”, “Shamsuddin Mohalla”, “Syed Ibrahim Nagri”, “Syed Shah Mohalla” are some of the most noteworthy Mohallas in the densely populated city of Ayodhya. The history of Indian Sufi saints shows us that Ayodhya also has been the birthplace of several prominent pupils of the chief Chishti Saint of Delhi, Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (R.A). Famous among them was Hazrat Khwaja Naseeruddin Chiragh Dehlvi, popularly known as “Chiragh-e-Dilli”. All of these Chishti saints showed great reverence for the city of Ayodhya, not because it had the Babri Masjid in it, but rather because it has been an abode of Ambiya and Auliya, just as it was greatly venerated among the Rishi-Munis and Hindu mystics. Some of the prominent Sufi shrines located in Ayodhya are as under:  Dargah Hazrat Nooh A.S.  Dargah Hazrat Sheesh A.S.  Syed Shah Muqaddas Dargah  Teen Darveshon Ki Dargah  Makhdoom Shah Dargah  Shah Jamal Dargah  Shah Qalandar Dargah  Jamaluddin Qazi Dargah  Qazi Muhiyuddin Kashani Dargah  Zainuddin Ali Dargah  Kamaluddin Awadhi Dargah  Dargah Syed Muhammad Ibrahim  Shaheed Martaba Dargah  Shamsuddin Faryad Dargah  Fathullah Shah Dargah  Syed Alauddin Qarsani Dargah  Sultan Moosa Dargah  Alauddin Ali Dargah  Shaikh Fathullah Awadhi Dargah  Jamaluddin Ghazi Dargah  Aastana Hazrat Sheikh ul Aalam Makhdoom  Dargah Hazrat Sayyed Makhdoom Shah Bheeka Makki  Astana Shaikh Sayyah Baba  Hazrat Faizullah Shah Badi Dargah. ...  Mazar Hazrat Aashiq Shah Madni Warsi  Dargah Saheed E Millat Ayodhya has historically been famous for the festivals and occasions where Muslims and Hindus have jointly gathered in great joy and festivity. Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh, author of Tareekh-e-Farah Bakhsh notes that Hindus had a big mela (gathering) in which thousands of Muslims used to participate. In his Masnawi, Mir Hasan Dehlvi has also made a special mention of those Hindu occasions in Awadh and Ayodhya where Muslims took part in great numbers. On January 22, during the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Iqbal Ansari—the son of Hashim Ansari who spent a lifetime in courts as a litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit case—was invited as a special guest. Similarly, the chief of All India Imams Organisation (AIIO) which claims to represent half-a-million imams across three lakh mosques in India was also there. This deports our memory back to the Ayodhya where Hindus and Muslims were equally and jointly participating in religious rites and ceremonies. This indeed should be the face of New India! ------ A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu writer with a background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/babri-ayodhya-religious-spiritual-islamic-tradition/d/131603 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism