The Rumi of Kashmir: Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Qadiri (may his secret be sanctified!)

Re: # 1
I am a Kashmiri, I am from there, I know better than somebody who is on the other side of the border telling me it is Pakistan occupied Kashmir, our ancestors gave their lives to free it and it is free and thats the realty like it or deteste it if you like, but nobody controls our Azad Kashmir except for its own citizens.

Re: # 1
I am a Kashmiri, I am from there, I know better than somebody who is on the other side of the border telling me it is Pakistan occupied Kashmir, our ancestors gave their lives to free it and it is free and thats the realty like it or deteste it if you like, but nobody controls our Azad Kashmir except for its own citizens.

I would like to congratulate you on your excellent article on the Rumi of Kashmir, myself from Kashmir I am extremely pleased to see that there is information regarding Sufism in Kashmir on the internet. Having searched tirelessly on the net for years I recently stumbled across this article which gave me more information regarding the magnificent works of Mian Muhammad Baksh ( may Allah S.W.T be pleased with him).

Furthermore I would like to urge you to put any more valuable information regarding Mian Muhammad Baksh ( may Allah S.W.T be pleased with him), as I have a deep rooted interest regarding the history of Mian Muhammad Baksh ( may Allah S.W.T be pleased with him) and his Sheikh`s history.

Once again, congratulations on an excellent effort to write about a highly uplifting and spiritual topic, keep up the good work and may Allah S.W.T reward you for your efforts.

I would like to find out from Asif Naqshbandi where the Hadith Qudsi is to which he refers in the comments about `But for thee` - lawlaka lawlaka etc.
I am a student doing some research into Mirpuri Sufis, and was interested in his comments about Mian Muhammad Bakhsh.
Thanks,
richard

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Post 23 (Qibla Nazar Hayat Khan):

I am sorry that we are not on the same page as far as the interpretation of what`s being discussed is concerned. Asif is quite gifted with narrating stories in a very captivating manner. And, it`s evident that someone puts a lot of effort, heart and soul in narrating the scene and connecting the reader with the past. But lately, I am kind of alergic to Rumi and seeing Rumi right and left ain`t lessening the alergy. Even on my vacation in the mountains, as I stopped by at a cute little bookstore cum coffee shop, I ran into Rumi`s Verses right in front of me. For a minute, I was dazzled by the magnificence and then afterwards I told myself to get the hell out of that place. And, I did what I told myself to do. Also, I must point out that appreciating someone`s efforts and style does not necessarily mean that you agree with their views 100%.

ZaraJ # 20

I also thought that it was some strong doze of religion - and did not read it. Until in the posts, I noticed the talk of Punjabi poets.

Good observation and suggestion.

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re: #18

...why are people concerned about how terrorists` bodies are treated?...sending the wrong message..again...tsk tsk...

Asif,

It is a very well put together piece.

Laiken.... You did it again! Why could not you rely on a simpler heading that meant ``minus Rumi`` for this article? You have this bad habit of making your reader turn away from your writings mainly for you put so much emphasis on the laheem shaheem stuff in it. If the intent is to show your respect towards anyone then you need to realize that that respect lies within you. Writing a saheefa around a name ain`t giving it respect. It`s kind of confusing the hell out of a reader. There can be a counter argument to my above assertion as well and I am fine with that. By the way, I have seen that happening with some in my very own family. So much emphasis is put on the extensions that it can be extremely suffocating. You lose the essence of the picture. And you are mesmerized (kind of) in the awe created by the extensions.

Seeing the name of Rumi, I never cared to even glance through this article. By mistake, I hit a link that took me to the interacts` section and here I came across post # 16 where there was a mention of one of my favorite couplets. I happened to enjoy that in a live session by one of the Lohars at Kinnaird during my very early teen years. That prompted me to visit this well put together piece.

Two requests/suggestions:

- In future, please avoid your tendency that I have re-identified if you care to share your information/article with a larger audience. If you only want itsy bitsy teeny toony to be your select audience then certainly it`s your prerogative. I would not read anything by you again.

- Please stick to English when it comes to poetry.

Thank You.

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``“This refers to the Sunni belief that the Prophet was the first creation of Allah and the hadith of the Prophet, “O’ Jabir, the first thing Allah created was the noor of your Prophet” and the hadith, “I was a Prophet whilst Adam was still between water and clay” and many others support this; the verse also alludes to these hadith. The Prophet was thus the first to be created of the Prophets and the last to be sent.”

who told you -- this is Sunni Belief? – I have been a sunni half of my life -- neve heard of such a flowery fairy fable --

Lad, if there is anything ‘shirk’ -- this is it -- this is unbridled Mohammad Worship.

keep in mind Naqshi -- Mohammad was just a Man -- an extraordinary one for his times – still JUST a human being -– not God

Sufis are NOT supposed to be Man Worshippers -- worshipping a woman may be -- but not a man -- take it from this Quantum Sufi....

An evening with Mian Mohammad Bakhsh




By Ashfaque Naqvi


I have never seen Hall II of the Alhamra Cultural Complex as full as it was last Tuesday. It was not a special occasion, just an evening with Mian Mohammad Bakhsh which the Lahore Arts Forum (LEAF) had arranged but the response it received from the public was tremendous.

Looking back from the seat where I was, I could not see any vacant space in any of the rows. And as I left half way through the programme, people were still walking in.

Mian Mohammad Bakhsh did not live long years ago. In fact he died early in the last century. Despite that, there was no one who could give me the correct date of his birth. Shafqat Tanvir Mirza puts it at 1843 while others contend he was born in 1826 or 1830. But since his magnum opus, Saiful Maluk, appeared in 1870 when he was 33 years old, his date of birth, works out to be about 1837.

Scion of a zamindar family of present-day Azad Kashmir, Mian Mohammad spent his life as a faqir. Renouncing the world at the age of 19, he led a life of austerity and never got married. His total concentration was on meditation and literature. But like other faqirs, he did not believe in living in seclusion nor was he oblivious of the downtrodden around him. He was ever ready to help his fellow beings. He was a sufi first and then a poet.

Mian Mohammad was the author of many stories, including Laila-Majnu, Sohni-Mahinwal, Shirin-Farhad, etc., but the first edition of Saiful Maluk appeared in 1870. It had been completed in 1863. Written in the style of a masnawi, it received a warm welcome and became popular not only in Potohar and Azad Kashmir but all over the Punjab. It ran into dozens of editions some of which were published in the Gurmukhi script from Jammu and Patiala.

Going through Saiful Maluk one finds that love and beauty, the hallmarks of Sufi philosophy, are at their peak in the epic. The poet contends that beauty should not only be admired but also loved. He goes on to say that a person devoid of love is worse than a dog. Says he:

Jis dil andar ishq na rachda kuttey us tin changey

Mian Mohammad`s epic is replete with universal truths. The poet has referred to them repeatedly:

Sada na bagin bulbul boley sada na bagh baharan
Sada na husn jawani rehndi sada na sohbat yaranSada na lat charaganwali sada na soz patangan
Sada na hathin mehndi ratti sada na chankan wangan

Mian Mohammad has made full use of his pastoral background and picked up similies and imageries from rustic life. Some of these are not only appropriate but also thought provoking:

Neechan di ashnayi kolon kisey nahin phal paya
Kikar tey angur charaya har guccha zakhmaya

The path of meditation has never been a walkover for a devotee and Mian Mohammad also had to face many ordeals:

Pani bharan panhariyan vano van gharey
Bharya usda janiye jida tor charey

Apart from talking about the beauties of Mian Mohammad`s poetry, speakers that evening paid tribute to Sharif Sabir for his effort in discovering the original copy of Saiful Maluk published in 1870. He not only corrected its mistakes but also got it published. In addition, he gave the meaning of the difficult Gojri words at the end of each page. A demand was also made that cheaper editions of Saiful Maluk be published for wider circulation.


(From Feature section of today`s Dawn)