C H A P T E R 4TH

IMPACT OF SHRINES ON EDUCATION I

Islam a tta ch e s immense im portance to th e a c q u is it io n

and exten sio n fi»f ilm (knowledge)I He who aq u ire s knowledge

perform s an a ct o f p ie t y and who im parts i t to i t s f i t t i n g

o b je c ts perform s an a c t o f devotion to God* I t i s education

which e n lig h ten s o n e 's mind arid en ab les one t o make a proper

d is t in c t io n between r ig h t and wrong# t r u e and fa l s e * I t fs e e s

th e mind fiom ign oran ce and s u p e rs t it io n and f i l l s i t w ith

reason and truth * I t f r e e s th e sou l from s in and wrong, and

quickans i t s goodness and p u rity * I t f r e e s the s e l f from v a n ity

and greed , from envy and tension# from fe a r and in s e c u r ity * I t

f r e e s man from su b ju gatio n to f a l s e d u tie s and low d esires#

and u n fo ld s b e fo re him th e b e a u t ifu l h orizon s o f goodness and

e x c e lle n c e . Prophet Muhammad (p*b*u*h.) h im se lf said# "any

person who d ie s w h ile seeking knowledge w i l l be t re a te d e q u a lly2

w ith th e Prophets"* But i t i s v e ry im portant to remeniber*-

1* Islam i s a r e l ig io n without any mythology and priesth ood*I t s teach in g i s simple# i n t e l l i g i b l e and p r a c t ic a l* I t i s open t o everyone and one can approach the Book o f God d i r e c t ly . Islam awakens in man th e fa c u lt y o f reason and exh o rts him to use h is i n t e l l e c t . I t e n jo in s him to see th in g s in th e l ig h t o f r e a l i t y * The Quran ad vised man to pray* ‘ 0 my Lord ; Advance me in knowledge* ( 2 0 * 1 1 4 ) . I t a s s e r t s th a t th o se who have no knowledge are not equal to th o se who have i t ? th at th o se who do not observe and under­stand i t are worse than c a t t le (7 * 17 9 ) ; th a t th e meaning of re v e la t io n became m anifest to th ose who have knowledge (6*97) and knowledge indeed has been given an abundant good (2*26 9 ); ttomt b a s ic q u a l i f ic a t io n s fo r le a d e rsh ip are# among other things# knowledge and p h y s ic a l stren gth (2 *2 4 7 ) ; and th a t o f a l l th in g s i t i s by v ir t u e o f knowledge th a t man i s su p erio r to anqels and h as been made v ic e g e re n t o f

(That knowledge which i s achieved fo r mere show and w o rld ly

b e n e f it s p roves to be a snake and th a t knowledge acq u ired fo r1

th e sublim ation o f mind becomes o n e 's fr ie n d )* T h is kind o f

knowledge r e a l ly becomes our company in so litude# our companion

when b e r e ft o f fr ien d s# Education in f a c t en ab les one t o r e a l i s e

o n e 's own worth and t o reco gn ize God. I t en ab les th e servan t of

God to r i s e to a noble position # a ss o c ia te with so v e re ig n s in2

t h i s w orld and a tta in th e p e r fe c t io n of happiness in the n ext.

The whole o f A rab ian p en in su la was sunk in to b a rb a r ic

ign oran ce on th e eve o f the appearance of Muhammad M ustafa (p .b .u .

h*) The p erio d b e fo re Prophet Muhammad (p *b *u .h .) was known as

i ah a l l y a (period o f b a rb a r ic ignorance) only becau se o f the la c k

o f p roper edu cation . In Quran and Hadith a man h as been re p e a te d ly

en jo in ed to acq u ire knowledge so as to gain th e t i t l e o f A sh raf-

u l-M akhluaat (crown o f c re a t io n ) • Even S u r a - i- Iq r a , th e f i r s t

re v e a le d v e rs io n o f Holy Quran opens with the in ju n c tio n addressed

A 1 A lt l a ad, December* 19 85, p . 6 .

1 , I b id . ,

2 . Amir A l i , S p i r i t o f Islam* pp. 360— 61*

3* T h is i s known as Su ra -i-Q laq in Quran* Cfae day in themonth o f Ramzan, Prophet (p *b .u *h .) was busy in worship in G a r-i-H lr> ( cave o f H ire) and th e re appeared G od 's angel G abriel-i-A m een who sa id to th e Prophet ( p .b .u .h .) t o r e c i t e Iq ra (read )* A. 3 . Mohammad Abdul H ai^ Y a t ; Taw aba, pp. 3 1 — 32.

to Prophet Muhammad ( p .b .u .h .) who, then* through h is say in g s

s tre s s e d both read in g and te a ch in g . In t h i s connection he sa id

"The search fo r knowledge i s a duty fo r every Muslim (male or

fem ale)* "a cq u ire knowledge though i t w i l l be found in China?

"Seek knowledge from c ra d le to the g rave*? The Prophet fu rth e r

sa id “The b e s t among you i s th e one who le a rn s h im se lf as w e ll as2

im parts knowledge to o th e rs " .

The h o ly Prophet in h is la s t sermon addressed in th e p la in s

o f A ra fa t (A rab ia), s tre s se d the p resen t gath erin g o f Muslim Un̂ Bh

to convey h is message to th ose who were absent and to continue

th e p ro cess o f conveying the message to th e succeeding gen eration3

so t h a t th ey may fo llo w th e r ig h t path* I t becomes evid en t th a t

th e Holy Prophet ( p .b .u .h .) en joined th e Muslims to spread

education from gen eratio n t o generation*.

The o r ig in o f establishm ent o f th e Muslim e d u c a tio n a l

in s t i t u t io n s goes back to th e co n stru ctio n o f M a sjid -i-N ab v i5̂ ---------------•at Madina, A p ortion o f the mosque was reserved fo r th o se who

chose to devote them selves to learn in g under the d ir e c t

su p e rv is io n of the Holy Prophet ( p .b .u .h ,) This came to be known

1 . B. A. Lemu and Fatim a Heeren, Women in I s i a n p . 15«/rrJ O'. T V2. The Hadlth co n ta in s as O*

3. A. 3 , Muhammad Abdul Hai, op. c i t . , p . 182*

es S u ffah (p latform ) and th e inm ates as A sh a b -i-S u ffa h ̂

(companions o f the P rop h et), The members of t h i s group were

g r e a t ly b e n e fit te d by becoming permanent companions o f th e

Prophet (p .b .u .h .) The Su ffah became the tra in in g cen tre fo r

Muslim r e l ig io u s ed u cation . H isto ry record s th a t t h i s in s t i t u t io n

produced dextrous and s k i l le d le a d e rs in a l l th e f i e l d s o f l i f e «

Ever s in c e th e mosques, b es id e s being th e ce n tres o f worship,

became th e c e n tre s o f learn in g as w e ll . A fte r th e p ra y e rs p a r t i ­

c u la r ly o f morning and evening# the Shaikh ( Immam) tau gh t the

Quran t o the Muslims and d isc u ss io n s were held and q u estio n s were

asked on th eo lo gy . As th e ed u catio n a l a c t iv i t y r a p id ly g re w ^ fir s t

th e C alip h s and then th e K ings continued b u ild in g th e mosques2ad jo in in g schools • Consequently, education grew apace in the

Muslim w orld. Sch ools and academies sprang up in wvery p a r t and

th e p u b lic l i b r a r i e s were e s ta b lish e d in every c i t y where every

seek er o f knowledge found fr e e a c c e s s . I t re su lte d in th e growth

o f in t e l le c t u a l a c t iv i t y ^ .

In d ian s as a peop le have g re a t reveren ce and lo ve fo r

le a rn in g . S in ce t h e ir f i r s t appearance in au th en tic h is to ry *

th ey have enjoyed the rep u tatio n o f being a learn ed p eop le .

In our an cien t t r a d it io n education was regarded as the most

im portant to o l fo r s e l f - r e a l i z a t io n , th e t i t l e o f the an cien t

1 , M ajid A li Khan, Muhammad th e F in a l iMeasanqer, p . 1 1 4 ,9 ? .2 , S . L. Seru , H isto ry and Growth o f Education in Jammu fad ^ {

Kashmir,, p . 1 9 , ^

G. M. D. S u f i , Is la m ic C ulture in Kashmir, p . ^

w

In d ian s c r ip tu re s , th e Vedas, S ig n i f i e s knowledge having

been d erived from the word *Vld' meaning t o know. Thus knowledge

or le a rn in g was th e corn er-ston e 6f our an cien t system o f

education which was e a rn e s t ly sought as a means to th e h ig h est

end o f l i f e i . e . em ancipation*

Kashmir has been : , th e cen tre o f lea rn in g s in c e an cien t

tim es. The p r a is e s o f Kashmir have been sung by the w r it e r s , authors

p o ets and o th ers s in c e tim e immemorial. P. N. K. Bamzai o b serves,

" c e r t a in ly th ere are ru in s o f tem ples and b u ild in g s a l l over th e

V a lle y rem arkable fo r t h e ir Egyptian s o l id i t y , s im p lic ity and

d u r a b i l i t y , as w e ll as fo r what Cunningham d e sc r ib e s as 'th e re

g ra c e fu l e legan ce, th e m issive boldn ess o f t h e i r p a r t s , and the

haPPy p ro p r ie ty o f t h e i r o u t - l in e s . And Kashmir h as a unique

d is t in c t io n o f p o sse ss in g an unbroken h i s t o r ic a l reco rd from

an cien t tim es to th e p resen t day in the f i e l d o f l i t e r a t u r e and

p h ilo so p h y. I t stands second to none in th e r e s t o f In d ia , fo r

le a rn in g , lo f t y houses, s a f fr o n , g rap es , ic y -w a te r— th in g s th a t

in heaven are d i f f i c u l t to fin d are common h ere?*

Thus Kashmir h as not been famous fo r i t s splendour and

n a tu ra l grandeur a lon e . I t has been a famous s e a t o f lea rn in g in

an cien t tim es. In th e words o f G rie rso n , "For upwords o f 2000

y e a rs Kashmir has been th e home of S a n sk r it lea rn in g and from

1 . S te in , K a lh an a 's Ra 1 ataran q in i* Book-1, V o l. I .

t h i s sm all V a lle y have issu ed m aste r-p ieces of h is t o r y ,9

poetry# romance, fa b le and p h ilo so p h y". The knowledge o f

S a n s k r it appears to have been o f high o rd er. The sc h o la rs

developed th e ir own alp h ab et, th e Sharda c h a ra c te r fo r the

w rit in g of S a n sk r it books, P . N. K. Bamzai quoting Ksm endra's

remarks s t a t e s " I t was the ambition o f every student o f S a n sk r it

and Indian philosophy to go to Kashmir t o d rin k deep a t the

fo u n ta in o f knowledge and wisdom th a t gushed fo rth from the *land2

o f Sflrda th e goddess o f lea rn in g J

The V iharas and m onasteries p layed a g re at r o le in spreading

ed u catio n . The m onasteries were open to a l l who wanted t o fo llo w

th e path o f m o ra lity . The tem ple-based qura or a v ih a r a based3monk p layed the r o le o f a school te a ch e r in an cien t Kashm ir, On

look in g through Kashmir h is to r y (under the .Muslims) one has to

admit the f a c t th a t th e education and le a rn in g were encouraged

1 , F . N, K. Bamzai, op. c i t . , p . 5:

2, P . N. K. Bamzai, op. c i t . , p . 60*

3 , P acer. Buddhism and Education in A ncient Kashmir, J . N,Genhar, The Buddhist monks alw ays adopted the method o f

. non-form gl ed u catio n , where spoken word was more im portant. The p o p u la r ity o f S a n sk rit language becomes c le a r by the f a c t th a t in In d ia Buddhi3t l i t e r a t u r e was w r itte n in p a l i but i t was put in to S a n sk r it w r it in g — in Kashm ir,

and promoted* Kh ana aha1 * sh rin e s and Maktabs were e s ta b lis h e d

t o educate th e p eo p le . However# in t h i s endeavour the main r o le

was p layed by Mir Sayy id A li Hamadani* I t was he who founded the

Khanqahs. I t was a t t h i s (Sayyid A l i Hamadani's) in s ta n c e th a t

Maktabs were e s ta b lis h e d in a l l the im portant v i l l a g e s and towns2

fo r the teach in g o f Quran and H adith. That i s why th e c r e d it o f3

p e a c e fu l re v o lu tio n (spread of Islam ) in Kashmir goes to him •

M ir Sayyid A li Hamadani t r a v e l le d w idely in the V a lle y *

He l e f t h is d ep u ties at a number of p la c e s to teach in the Khanqahs,

Kakcabs and m adrassas which u lt im a te ly became im portant c e n tre s o f

preach in g and p r o s e ly t is a t io n f The Khanqah system e s ta b lis h e d by

Mir Sayyid A li Hamadani continued t o work from th e p erio d onwards

and p layed v e ry im portant r o le in fre e in g the Muslims o f Kashmir5

from Hindu in flu en ce* The Sultan.s, b e s id e s p a tro n is in g Khanqahs,

1 . A Khanqah i s a Muslim m onastery or r e l ig io u s in s t itu t io n #where darveshes and other se e k e rs a f t e r t ru th con gregate fo r r e l ig io u s in s tru c t io n and d e vo tio n a l e x e r c is e s . I t i s a Muslim in s t i t u t io n analogous in many r e s p e c ts t o a math, where r e l ig io u s in s tru c t io n i s g iven according to the Hindu

f a i t h . Fy zee, O utlines o f Muhanrtnadan Lam, p . 324.

2* G. M* D. S u f i , Is lam ic C ulture in Kashmir, p . 14 7 *

3* P r io r to Mir Sayy id A l i ' s a r r iv a l in Kashmir Muslims were inm in ority and were not aware o f the tru e s p i r i t o f Islam * S in ce i t was the m ission of Mir Sayy id A l i Hamadani to se t r ig h t th e Muslims o f the land, he deputed many o f h is comrades a t d i f fe r e n t p la c e s to educate the peop le . Sayyid A l i , T arikh - i-K ash m ir, f f . 4ab. 2a, 3a*

4* A. G. R a f iq i , op. c i t .# p . 38*

5* R . K* Par mu, A H isto ry o f Muslim Rule in Kashmir, p . 105*

e s ta b lis h e d c o l le g e s . U n iv e r s it ie s and oth er in s t i t u t io n s ,

where both lo c a l and the n o n -lo ca l Muslims used to come fo r

ach iev in g h igh er knowledge, Su ltan S ikandar i s s a id to have b u i l t

a c o l le g e near Jam ia M asjid which was known as c o l le g e o f

Jam ia Mas j id . He bestowed Wag am pargana as wacrf fo r the main­

ten an ce of the c o l le g e and the h o s t e l , Su ltan Z a in -u l-A b id in i s2

s a id to have founded a U n iv e rs ity a t h is c a p it a l Naushahr, S u ltan

Hasan Shah a lso founded a famous c o l le g e . He succeeded in

p r e v a i l in g upon the p io u s and the learn ed to teach th e inm ates

o f th e c o l le g e . He gave Zainpur as j a g i r to the c o l le g e which was

known as D ar-u -S h ifa and was con stru cted in the northern corn er

o f Koh-i-M aran near Khanqah-i-K ubravi. Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom,

w e ll known sa in t o f Kashmir, was a student o f t h i s c o lle g e *

I t seems n ecessary to mention about the R eshi system o f

ed u catio n . Reshism b u i l t 15) i t s own p h ilo so p h ic a l and ed u catio n al

t r a d i t io n , which e x is te d q u ite independent of o f f i c i a l co n tro l

and government encouragement. A ttached to the t r a d it io n o f sim ple

l iv in g and high th in k in g p ra c t ise d by the Reshi s a in t s , t h e ir

1. 3h-H&E, P.2, 143* ,_____ ___

3 . shm jr. p . 14 9 ,

I

system o f education became h igftly popu lar among Kashm iris*

As a r e s u l t o f c o n s is te n t e f f o r t put in by the R esh i s a in t s

in term s o f educating th e Ka3hmiri peop le , a fr e s h ed u catio n al

programme was launched in th e V a lle y which was c h a ra c te r ise d by

th e n o v e lty o f i t s approach* This programme o f education aimed

at educatin g i t s d i s c ip le s with d e f in i t purpose in v iew . I t a ls o

t ra in e d i t s fo llo w e rs in the s p i r i t u a l sense of the term* The

scheme was non-form al and n a tu ra l in i t s con ten t. They (R esh is)

b e lie v e d th a t the basiC - purpose of s e l f - m o r t i f ic a t io n and

s p i r i t u a l con cen tration was to b rin g man c lo se to the understanding

o f the u n iv e rsa l r e a l i t y . Being a p u re ly p erson al scheme of

le a rn in g and t r a in in g , Reshism had no s p e c i f ic c e n tre s fo r impar­

t in g t h e i r in s tr u c t io n s . Therefore# th e p la c e , where the R eshi

s a in t s re s id e d became th e cen tres o f t h e ir ed u cation . These could2 *

be d iv id ed in to th ree c a te g o r ie s v i z . , caves, khanqahs and sh rin es*

1 . T heir scheme o f education was dom estic in c h a ra c te r , inso f a r as the d i s c ip le s and th e guide l iv e d to g e th e r , rtiey a te whatever was a v a ila b le th e re .

2. The caves are th o se n a tu ra l p la c e s of dw ellin g in wilich R e sh is used to p r a c t is e m ed itation . During th e p ro cess o f r e a l iz a t io n of God, young R is h is were ordered by t h e i r p rec e p to rs to e n ter the lo n e ly caves and ach ieve the high le v e l o f s e l f - r e a l i z a t io n . I t was in th ese caves th a t th ey used to g iv e s p i r i t u a l guidance to t h e ir fo llo w e r s . Shaikh- ul-Alam spent tw e lve y e a rs in th e cave a t Koimoh v i l l a g e where he educated and guided th re e hundred d i s c ip le s . The peop le in g e n e ra l used to come in d iv id u a lly or in groups to th e se ca v e s . They brought g i f t s fo r t h e i r p recep to r* The g i f t s included food# sugar, bread and other th in g s which wer« used in the k itch en fo r those who put up in th e cave*

2#* T h e ir (R ish is ) sh r in e s , as c e n tre s o f education were sacredp la c e s o f the p ilg r im a g e . These caves sym bolished the a u s t e r i t ie s and v i r t u e s o f t h e i r foun ders. From thefe caves (c e n tre s o f lo c a l ord ers o f holymen) emanated: th e l ig h t

„ which n e c e s s a r ily in flu en ced and b e n e fite d th e people* The iPrnnitify&J R ish is . through tte ir word and deeds^the p r in c ip le s o f

1.1 ,s

T h ^ R esh i_ ju 2*eme made a d ir e c t and h e a lth y im pact.

I t became p o s s ib le through the use o f Kashm iri language

(n a t iv e language) as th e medium o f in s tr u c t io n . S u f i s from

C en tra l A s ia and P e r s ia im parted education in A rab ic or P ersian

which was th e language o f th e e l i t e and beyond th e comprehension

o f th e lo c a l p o p u la tio n . Contrary t o t h i s , the message o f R is h is

was understandable to th e i l l i t e r a t e and common p eop le of the

V a l le y , The Muslim r u le in Kashmir saw th e promotion o f th e

le a rn in g both in S a n sk r it and P e rs ia n , There were Muslim scholars

learn ed in S a n sk r it and Hindus with sound sc h o la rsh ip in P ersian

and A rabic** /fj ^ 'ze/k A * v y ,

1 2 The Khanqahs , sh rin e s and mosques p layed a g rd at p e rt

in th e d issem in ation and growth o f knowledge both r e l ig io u s and

g en era l* , ,V*' 1 x

The patronage o f Su ltan s* queens and nobles t o the cause

o f le a rn in g re su lte d in w ide-spread education in Kashmir* The

p ro c e ss s ta r te d by eminent Sayyid s was continued and it:. f lo u r is h e d

in cou rse o f tim e. The R ish i system o f education which was

n a t u r a l ly non-form al proved instrum ental/ in promoting the cause

o f education* The growth in th e number p f ed u catio n a l in s t i t u t io n s

and promotion o f lea rn in g in every nook and corn er o f the V a lle y

1 * A khanqah commenced i t s fu n ctio n in g f i r s t aft th e cen treo f an order and then th e o ra to ry of i t s founder. S . M* J a f f a r , Education in M uslim In d ia , p . 32*

2 . I t was used both fo r Ib&dat and in s tru c t io n

were generated by th re e main ag en c ies, v i z . , Maktsbs ( p r iv a te

houses which were g e n e ra lly attached t o mosques); Khanqahs*" ( a

r e l ig io u s estab lish m en t fo r holymenjand raadrassas (form al

in s t i t u t io n s o f Igigher lea rn in g . akin to p resen t day

■> [ c o l le g e s ) . During th e Muslim p e r io d ;g re a t s<j ? f c o l le g e s ) . During th e Muslim p erio d ^ g rea t sc h o la rs devoted m ainly

t o propagation o f r e l ig io n . They com piled th e b io g ra p h ie s o f th e

s a in t s which not only speak of th e m ira c le s perform ed by the

s a in t s but throw enought l ig h t on s o c ia l , p o l i t i c a l , economic

ed u catio n a l end c u lt u r a l a c t i v i t i e s o f the p e rio d . These works

ere con sidered r e l i a b le sources fo r the p erio d ,

The Muslim c h ild re n were u su a lly given education w ith a

form al ceremony known as Blsm lllah-Khw ani ̂ ( in i t ia t io n ) or Maatab4

ceremony. This ceremony was perform ed when a boy was fo u r y e a r ,5

fo u r month and fo u r days o ld . They were m ostly tau g h t A rab ic and

1. In the khanqahs o f S u f is , elem entary education was im parted m ostly to grown up peop le . I t was non-form al in ch aracter whereunder p reach ers d e liv e re d sermons on Islam id ju r is p r u ­dence, P ro p h e t 's ( p .b .u .h .) sa y in g s to th e educated peop le . Khanqahs were m aintained by n o b le 3, r u le r s ana through c re a tio n o f endowments.

2 , Jo u rn a l o f Annamalai U n iv e rs ity , V o l. I I , p . 934.P. N. Ojha, Glim pses o f S o c ia l L i fe in Mughal In d ia . p i J 4 1 .

3 , P. N. Ojha, G lim pses o f S o c ia l L i f e in Mughal In d ia , p . 4 1 ,K. M. A sh raf, L i f e and Conditions o f People o f Hindustan* p . 249; Binode Kumar Sahav, Education and Learn ing Under G reat Mughals» p . 7 .

4 . L. F . Smith Saw t h is ceremony (Maqtab ceremony) in North West P rovin ce. As Kashmir at th a t time was p a rt o f the Afghan Kingdom, so th e Afghan in flu e n c e must have been very much th e r e , N.N.Law, Promotion o f Learn ing in In d ia , p . 128«

§• Thoma# P a tr ic k H aighes, A D ictio n ary o f Islam , p . 4 1 .N. N. Law, op. c i t . , p . 12 8 ,

P e rs ia n by the te a c h e rs (M aulvis) who were o c c a s io n a lly p aid

by the p aren ts when th e student s ta r te d new books or got married#

The Muslims c a lle d t h e i r teach er as B a u lv i Sah ib# M uddarls.

Munshi Sah ib or Ustad and th e Hindus c a l le d them Gurus. Cta

e n te r in g the school# th e student was p rotid ed w ith a s la t e and

Sura Ia r a . a ch apter o f the h o ly Quran w ritte n on i t * The student

was asked to rep eat i t a number of tim es. A fte r com pleting th e

prim ary fo r m a lit ie s the student was c a l le d T a lib i1m . The s u b je c ts

to be tau gh t were karim a Nami Hae. G u lis ta n and Bostan . B esid es2t h i s Slkandar Nama was tau ght to th e stu d en ts •

A fte r the Muslim rule# th e patronage o f Muslim I n s t i t u t io n s3

by ru lin g c la s s ended au tom atica lly* The end o f Mughal r u le

w itn essed fu r th e r d e c lin e ever th e r e a fte r * The khanaahs and sh r in e s

which were th e main c e n tre s o f lea rn in g were reduced t o p la c e s

o f f e s t i v i t y . A p r a c t ic e which u lt im a te ly d e fle c te d th e se from

t h e ir main purpose. A fte r Mughals# Kashmir came under th e r u le o f4

A fghans. Kashmir which had been a p io n eer o f p ro g re ss and beacon o f

1* N. N. Law# pp. c i t .# p . 12 8 . In case o f r ic h people th e s la t e was g e n e r a lly made o f s i l v e r .

2 . D. c . Sharma# op. c i t .# p . 7 7 . <T)l\A ^

3 . G. H, Khan# op. c i t .# p . 7* Y l 1'"4

4 , A com plete s a t i r e on Afghan a r is to c ra c y and h igh handedness i s d ep icted by poet in the fo llo w in g co u p let*-

(T r . I enquired o f th e gardener th e cause o f th e d e stru c tio n o f the garden# drawing a deep sigh# he rep lied # " I t i s th e Afghan who did i t " )

enlightenm ent d ec lin ed under th e tyran ny and harshness o f

th e Afghan r u le r s , Sikh ru^e^*—wh ich was both sh o rt and c

d id not w itn ess any p ro g ress in the f i e l d of ed u catio n .

------ — — 2A fte r Sikhs Kashmir came under th e ru le o f Dogras. The

m a jo r ity o f fculers o f the Afghan, Sikh and Dogra d y n a stie s were

o p p ress iv e by th e ir n atu re . They depended upon lo o t and plunder,

Kashmir became a m ilking cow fo r them and they wanted to g e t

as much money from th e V a lle y as th ey could* They were not w il l in g

to g iv e to the people anything in re tu rn . The fo re ig n o f f i c e r s

were corrupt and unsym pathetic. The oppression of th e r u le r s

which th e ru led bore without a murmur earned them (people) th e3 4t i t l e o f Zulm p a ra s t (w orshippers o f ty ra n n y ). I t i s In te r e s t in g

to note th a t the Pathans, although Muslims were a ls o ag a in st any

enlightenm ent o f the Muslims of Kashmir* and were fa r ahead o f5

S ik h s and Dogras in p e rp e tra tin g oppression and d arkn ess.

1 , The n ature of th e S ik h s as r u le r s has been a p t ly d escrib edby Younghusband who says th a t th e Sikhs were “ rough and hard

2. Gulem Singh (Dogra) wrote C olonel Torrens as f a r back as 1863 A. D,, went fa r beyond h is p red ecesso rs in th e g e n tle a c ts o f undue ta x a t io n and e x to r t io n . They had taxed h e a v ily i t i s tru e but he sucked th e v ery li fe b lo o d of the people* They had la id v io le n t hands on a le rg e proportion o f the f r u i t s o f the e a rth . The p r o f i t s of th e loom and the worko f men’ s hands but he skinned th e v ery f l i n t s to f i l l h is c o f f e r s . C olonel Torrens T rave ls in Ladakh T a r ta r and Kashmir# p. 3 0 1.

3 . Lawrence# op. c i t , # p . 5,4* I b id . , For the r u le r s o f th e se d y n a stie s Kashmir became a

colony l ik e Bengal fo r E ast In d ia Company. I t had to su rviva p h y s ic a l and economic lu s t o f i t s sx z m asters.

In t h i s s t e t e o f oppression , no one could exp ect

development in th e f i e l d o f education which i t had d urin g the

regim e o f n a tiv e r u le r s . I t i s now fo r us h ere t o determ ine th e

e x te n t to which the sh r in e s were a b le to serve th e cause o f

education end brin g about an awakening among the p eo p le . As a

m atter of f a c t sh r in e s and khanaahs had p layed a v e ry im portant

r o le during the Muslim p e rio d , Islam in Kashmir had spread through

Khanqahs and sh r in e s . But s in ce th e tim e Kashmir lo s t freedom

and n o n -lo c a l r u le r s came to ru le t h i s land, education re ce iv e d

v e ry l i t t l e a tte n tio n of th e r u le r s . However, th e re are re fe re n c e s

to th e e f f e c t th a t th e P ir s and Gurus were engaged in teach in g th e

Quran and Hindu s c r ip t u r e s . The v e r s e s o f £.al Ded and H abb a- Kh a t un

come to us as evidence o f women to o having re c e iv e d th e b e n e f it

o f ed u catio n , L a i Ded a m ystic p o e te ss o f Kashmir says in one o f

h er shruikais-

(T r . The mentor taught me th e on ly lesso n o f th e w ith­drawing in to m y se lf. That was th e lesson and dictum which e s ta b lis h e d d ir e c t communion between my maker and m yself)

Kashmir became a p a r t of A fgh an istan and f e l l in to w ild d iso rd e r . "T h is ru le says Lawrence, was a b r u t a l tyran ny, u n re lie v e d by good works, c h iv a lo ry or honour!? Lawrence, op. c i t . , p . 19 7 .

1 , The n o n -lo ca l r u le r s would n ever th in k interm s o f th e betterm ent o f lo c a l people*

2 , S h ira z a. L a i Ded NO* 18 th Ju ld , November-December, 1979

Habba Khatun sa id w ith devotions

( < . -0 1 ■'j / C/^-5' ( y " ^ **

a The p aren ts sent me t o sch o o l where the teach er me b lack and blue* He gave me a copy o f the Quran :h I concealed and t h i s way was spent my childhood)

n,A. \ \Thus we know th a t Akhoon and Gour continued t o be th e main

source of education . With the o u ster o f lo c a l r u le r s , the o p p ress ive

a u th o r it ie s did not pay any a tte n tio n to the need fo r p re se rv a tio n

o f n a t iv e c u ltu re and in s t i t u t io n s . Education became a p erso n al

m atter monopolised by P jr and Gour who saw to i t th a t th e only

b e n e f ic ia r ie s o f t h e ir p ro fe ss io n s were t h e ir own fa m il ie s . T h is

p ro fe s s io n was alm ost h e re d ita ry one]'® Th credalou§ masses

co n sid ered th e ir P i r s and Gour3 as t h e i r rrAead^, p h ilo so p h ers

and g u id e s . They (p ir s ) e x p lo ited them a good d ea l and e x tra c te d2

money from them • Ghulam Hassan Khan has thus r ig h t ly remarked

th a t th e r e a l knowledge remained con fin ed , as a r u le , to a3

s e le c te d few fa m ilie s o f p i r s , q a z is . m u ftis and w alzeen.

1* 3 o f i Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din, Kashmir Maen Sam all Aur S a a a fa te P a b d llla n , p . 52 .

la * M a ra s ila Kashm iri Pandit an* p . 34.

2 , Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din o o f i , p , 42,

3* Ghulam Hasan Khan, op. c i t . , p . 7 ,

The Muslims during th e p e r io d under survey re c e iv e d

ed u catio n , but not o f th e t h ea lth y kind which would b rin g awaken­

ing to t h e ir minds. The Muslim boys were taught to read A rabic

so th a t they may be ab le t o r e c i t e th e v e rs e s o f th e Quran, but

not n e c e s s a r i ly to understand i t * As th e re was no system of

education in the V a lle y having fo r i t s o b je c t , e i t h e r mental

t r a in in g or s o c ia l refornw The people had t o con ten t them selves

what the M aulvis d ished out to them. There were Maktabs where' 0/ 2

Muslims were tau gh t. The boys were im ported p a r r o t - l ik e lesso n/ 3

o f th e Curan and no attempt was made to improve t h e ir morals* The4

Muslim boys used to read Quran in th e mosques which worked as5

maertabs and were the only p la c e o f edu cation . The M aulvis who

used to teach in the mosques had not th e proper and adequate

knowledge o f t h e ir r e lig io n ^ Consequently the p eop le could a t

b e s t le a rn and read ju s t th e a lph abet o f A rab ic and P ersian and

sometimes commit to memory some p o rtio n s and a b s t r a c ts from A rab ic

and P e rs ia n . The teach in g o f A rab ic and P ersian gram m ar,Arithm etic

1* Kashm iri Panditan. M arasil-e -K ash m ir. p . 35 .

2* Tyndale B isco e , Kashmir in S u n llch t and Shade, p. 253* L» S. S . O 'M alley, Modern In d ia and the West, p . 69.

j •4 .^ IW d ” K — ^.H ari Om, Muslims o f Jammu and Kashmir, p . 19 ,

5 . These people were a lso having ttae man sab ( assignm ent) o f lam am a t .

6 . Gnulam Hassan Khan, op. c i t . , p . 74*

end accounts were q u ite n eg lected . No doubt th e re were somej

knowledgeable people who were in s t i t u t io n s in them selves and

co n trib u ted a lo t . They alone were ab le to produce some s c h o la r ly

p e o p le . But the m a jo r ity o f the M aulvis never favou red th e id e a

o f sp read in g tru e r e l ig io n . They fo r th e ir own v e s te d in t e r e s t2

alw ays wanted to keep th e people in dark. I f any reform movement

appeared at any tim e in our period o f study i t was g r e a t ly opposed

by th e M ullahs. They never thought in term s of see in g th e s o c ie ty

reform ed along h ea lth y l in e s . Once an, An 1 u rm -l-T ah affu z- 1-Namaz

w a -S a tr l M asturat in 19 23 came in to bein g in order to f ig h t th e

e v i l p r a c t ic e s , the reform ers were g r e a t ly opposed and c r i t i c i s e d

by th e M ullahs? That i s why th e Muslims remained in a s ta t e o f

w oefu l ignoran ce in th e e a r ly stag e o f Dogra p e rio d . The M ullahs

and M aulvis to ld th e people th a t the C h ristian m iss io n a r ie s

im p artin g western education were th e enemies o f Is lam . S in ce th e

M ullahs enjoyed re sp e c t and con fiden ce o f the p eo p le , t h e ir a n t i­

m ission ary propaganda c a r r ie d c o n v ic tio n w ith the cred u lou s masses*

I.').'

1 . M a ra s ila Kashm iri Pandltan* p . 38.

2 . The M ullahs d id not favou r the new l ig h t becau se th ey thought th a t i t would reduce th e scope of t h e ir e x p lo ita t io n which would r e s u lt in the redu ction o f t h e ir income* Whatever t h e i r (M aulvis) mutual d if fe r e n c e s , th ey agreed on Heeping th e Muslims away from th e l ig h t o f modern ed u cation . I t was t h e i r main aim to see th at the Muslims remained s te a d fa s t in t h e i r old b e l i e f s . P. N. Bazaz, Daughters o f V lta s ta * p , 242,

3 . The An j uni an c o n siste d the fo llo w in g members v i z . , Azad Q u raish i, Hakim Muhammad Q u ra ish i, Ghulam Muhammad A li and o th e rs . G. H. Khan, op. c i t . , p . 74 ,

E n g lish language was suspected to induce id o la t o r a m o n g

them. That i s why th e Muslims d id not send t h e ir c h ild re n to

government, s t i l l l e s s t o m ission sc h o o ls , but continued to

educate them in t h e i r own indigeneous in s t itu t io n s # th e maktabs#

which oth erw ise had become le s s u s e fu l in th e changed circum s-2

ta n c e s . The Muslims were c o n se rv a tiv e in t h e ir a t t it u d e a id3

showed enthusiasm on ly fo r r e l ig io u s in s t r u c t io n s .

The Muslims a f t e r going through the rudim ents o f Cur anof) /At hi kv&JL

and P e rs ia n language and sen ten ce-w ise reading^ to o k up th e

Karima Nam Hag, an e x c e lle n t P ersian poem# which t r e a te d o f

m o ra lity . But as a r u le the stu den ts n e ith e r reco gn ized th e

l e t t e r s w e ll nor d id th ey understand# whet th ey le a r n t at th e

tim e. A ft e r Karima th ey at/once took up the Bostan and G u lls ta n .

A fte r going through about h a lf o f it# re v ise d i t w ith exp lan atio n

in t h e i r own tongue. Next to th ese two books H urkara and Sikan -

darn am a were read# and an ord in ary student ended h is study w ith

th e se books. Some in q u is i t iv e and in te r e s te d people went beyond

and read Saklnama* Sheer in Khusrau. In sh a i Tahir Wahid, and a

1 . H ari Om, op. c i t .# p . 6c ^

2. The Hindus gain ed in knowledge and s t e a d i ly acq u ired p o s it io n s in the government departm ents. While the Muslims remained behind and w e re .le s s v i s i b l e in the government departments*

3 . H ari Om# op. c i t .# p . 74*

few o th er books* Among th e means o f c o rre c t in g boys th e

s e v e r e s t punishment was * f a la k * I t was as fo llo w s* A s t r in g was

hung up in th e room end to i t the d e lin q u en ts f e e t were f a s t

t ie d and th ey were allow ed to hang th e re with t h e ir heads suspended

downward. They were kept in th a t p o s it io n fo r some m inutes and2

sometimes flogged in the b argain * P e rs ia n was p re fe r re d much by

th e K ash m iris, Their maertab s y lla b u s m ostly in cluded th e P ersian

t e x t s . The Muslims p re fe rre d th e mosque schools or th e system of

p r iv a t e t u it io n , where A rab ic and P e rs ia n were ta u g h t, Lawrence3

says th a t th e Muslims “can read and w r ite P e rs ia n " . Even now we

come acro ss some o f th e age-o ld peop le speak P ersian v e ry f lu e n t ly

though t h e ir knowledge o f grammer i s scan t,

rh e Macrtabs o f the c i t y o f S r in a g a r and <»f o th er p a r ts in

th e V a lle y where the Muslim Urrmah got education , were g e n e ra lly

a f f i l i a t e d to th e mosques where th ey were taught A ra b ic fo r read in g

Quran, But so fa r as sh rin e s o f S r in a g a r were concerned, th e re i s

no re fe re n c e to show th a t the Macrtabs and Madra3s a s were connected

to them. A fte r tak in g over Kashmir, th e S ikh s t r ie d t h e ir utmost

1* M a ra s ila - i-K a sh m lr i Pandltan. p . 40,

2. Ib id * ,H ari Qm, op, c i t , , p . 23#

3 . Lawrence, op, c i t . , p , 229*

J

to p e rse c u te the Muslims# To th a t end th e S ikh s made th e2

mosques and sh rin e s t h e ir t a r g e t s as th ey were th e c i t a d e ls o f

Muslim fa ith *

B esides* some mosques l ik e P ath er M asjid , M ulla Akhoon

Mosque and Khanqah-i-Madin Sahib remained c lo sed during th e p e rio d3o f Dogras too* In such a s ta t e o f a f fa ir s # any developm ental

a c t iv i t y in th e f i e l d of education was in c o n c e iv a b le . I t does

not* however* mean th a t th e sh rin e s had no r o le t o p la y . The

sh rin e s which were th e c i t a d e ls o f Muslim fa i t h in Kashmir were

v i s i t e d by numerous devotees who go t b e n e fite d by th e p reach in g*

o f the p rea c h ers . The nineteenth cen tu ry A.D, and th e beginning

o f th e tw en tieth cen tu ry A.D, was p erio d o f darkn ess because o f4

the c ru e l a tt itu d e o f the ru le rs* N evertheless* Kashmir p o ssessed

preach ers* Walzeen. Muballqeen and sc h o la rs as were embodiment o f

1 , Mir Sayyid Mushtaq Hamadani* Kashmir Islam Kay 3 ay l a Main* p . 105*

2, ['During th e tim e o f Sikhs* some new co u rts and departm entsI came in to b e in g . The Muslims o f Kashmir had to pay fe e fo r Nglkah and oth er th in g s , M aharaja Ran j i t Singh requested Mir

ffiazi Ghulanv-ud-Din H ussain i Jam i (an eminent Muslim sch o lar) /to accept th e headship of th e se co u rts and departments* but (Qazi Ghulam-ud-Din re fu se d . Thereupon* the Maharaja* vtio )did not look w ith favou r upon the Khanqahs and mosques# / issu ed ord ers fo r the c lo su re o f Khanqah-l-M ualla and Jam ia T la s jid and turned them in to s ta b le s* A ll ema M ufti Mohi-ud- Din Pandani* T ar1 kh-1 - 2 akhayer-ul-M uneer, p . 163*

3* S o fi* Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din* op, c i t . * p . 14 9 ; These 'mosques were U3ed as g ra n a r ie s ( S h a l l- s to r e s ) and s to re houses f o r gun-powder during the period o f S ikh s and Dogras*

4 , I t was a lso because o f the m altreatm ent and oppression of t h e ir r u le r s and o f f i c i a l s th a t th e people g e n e r a lly were gripped in ignoran ce and backwardness#

many good q u a l i t ie s and i t were they who led the Muslims

o f Kashmir as m ll la t along a l i v e l y path in th a t p erio d of

darkn ess* The p reach ers and walzeen proved most h e lp fu l in th e

sense t h a t th ey d e liv e re d t h e i r goods in th e n a tiv e language—

Kashm iri which was easy to understand and e a s i ly used by th e

stu d en ts in asking q u estio n s o f th e te a c h e rs and in re c e iv in g

answers in th e same language. T h is method made t h e i r study more

i n t e l l i g i b l e and r a t io n a l to o . The teach in g became more m o tiva tive

and im p ressive and n a tu r a l ly a t t ra c te d la rg e number o f people to

th e mosques and sh r in e s , we have g o t re fe re n c e s th a t the people

A agerly looked forw ard to th e time when a good p reach er had to

d e l iv e r waz at any sh r in e . T h eir doubts were p u b lic ly s e t at r e s t2

and t h e i r q u estio n s were answered s a t i s f a c t o r i l y by th e w alzeen.

No doubt th e maortabs gave p a r r o t - l ik e education t o the people

and t h e i r main co n tr ib u tio n was t o in fu s e lo ve and a f fe c t io n among

th e tau gh t and in c u lc a t io n o f h u m ility and re sp e c t fo r e ld e rs3

among th e tau gh t. T h is i s what d is t in g u is h e s th e then p re v a le n t

system from the modern system o f education where such v ir t u e s are 3een lack in g* _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. Mahanama W asrat-u l-Islam ^ p . 27.2. The p reach ers a ls o d iscu ssed other s o c ia l i s s u e s l ik e bad

customs and e v i l p r a c t ic e s .

3 . Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah, A a t lsh - l-C h in a r . p . 8 .

The sh rin e s p a r t ic u la r ly ShesKbuera p layed an im portant

r o le in im parting ed u cation . The system was non-form al as th ere

was no age bar to th e adm ission t o th e c la s s e s o f sermons. There

stood th e eloquent p reach ers who addressed the k n ee lin g m ultitude

th e message of Quran aid the say in g s o f the Prophet. They

(p reach ers) exp la in ed them th e a r t i c l e s o f t h e ir fa i t h * A la rg e

number o f sc h o la r ly p rec e p to rs attach ed t o the sh r in e s took

re g u la r c la s s e s and d e liv e re d sermons. Sometimes p rea c h ers from

o u tsid e th e V a lle y came to g iv e d isc o u rse s on v a r io u s a sp ects2o f r e l ig io n at the im portant sh r in e s o f Kashmir,

The p reach ers m ostly b e lie v e d and had complete f a i t h in

sh r in e s . They spoke a g a in st the people who were in d if fe r e n t

tow ards th e s a n c t ity o f the sh r in e s , Ib n -i-Sau d and h i s fo llo w e rs

were vehem ently c i r t i c i s e d and abused in the e x c it in g and

p a ss io n a te le c tu r e s by th e p reach ers a t mosques and sh r in e s fo r

th e a lle g e d d e stru c tio n o f the mausoleum o f H azrat Muhammad

( p .b .u .h .) by them* (Ib n -i-S au d and h is fo llo w e r s ) . They were3s ty le d as Wahabbi k u ta and Shaitan ke seena. The sh r in e s became

th e c e n tre s fo r m o b ilis in g th e people ag a in st the Wahabbis, The

p reach ers generated h atred ag a in st th e Wahabbis among the p eo p le .

1 . Sinha, Kashmir, th e Playground o f Asia* pp. 188— 189,

nmu

h :

2. F i l e NO* 584/P-7 o f 1922, G eneral Department Jammu . w A rch ives* k Z*- ^

3, Ib id , * e

The main r o le in im parting education in th e sh r in e s

and mosques was p layed by the M irwaiz d yn asty . They made th e

sh r in e s and mosques p a r t ic u la r ly Jam ia M aljid as c e n tre fo r

preach in g th e Quran and Haidth* I t appears th a t th e an cesto rs

o f Mi rw aiz dynasty were i n i t i a l l y re s id in g at T r a l . For c e r ta in

reaso n s Salam Baba a l i a s S a ls Baba l e f t T ra l fo r good and s e t t le d2

at Qalamdanpora in S r in a g a r . They then s h ifte d from Qalamdanpora

to R a z ia -k a d a l. Salam Baba had a s p i r i t u a l bent o f mind and as

such he spent h is whole l i f e in worship fnd a c ts o f p ie t y . He3d ied a t Qalamdanpora. He was su rv iv ed by f i v e so n s. One o f them

named L assa Baba re c e iv e d r e l ig io u s education alongw ith a co-

student named Sayyid Hasan Shah G ila n i under the su p e rv is io n o f4

Syeed Buzerg Shah, from Qazi Mir Muhammad R asool H u ssa in i Jami*

He a ls o re c e iv e d t r a in in g from Shaikh Ahmad T a ra b a li who se le c te d5him fo r the job o f p reach in g . L assa Baba became famous in the sphere

o f Ilm -i-D in (th e o lo g y ) . He was th e f i r s t among th e Mirwaiz

d yn asty t o s t a r t Waizkhwanl (p re a ch in g ). T h is jo b he d id with g re a t

a b i l i t y and d e d ic a tio n . Thus Lass a Beba came to be c a l le d M irw aiz.

1 . A n lu m an -l-N u srat-u l-Islam . K hasusl Shumara. 19 8 1 , pp. 27-28*o p .c i t . ,

2 . Muhammad Din Fauq;^V ol. I # pp. 3 9 1-3 9 2 .

3 . Muhammad Din Fauq, pp. c i t . , p . 392*

4. M ufti Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Fandani, op, c i t . , p . 156*

5 . I b id . ,

He, throughout h is l i f e , gave sermons and exp la in ed th e

r e a l s p i r i t o f Islam t o the Muslims, He exp la in ed t o and

d isc u sse d b efo re the Muslim Ummah th e Quran and H adith , and

to th a t end he d e liv e re d sermons, A part from t h i s he im parted

education to th e p eo p le . He became famous as an eminent p reach er2

in th e V a lle y and earned fo r h im se lf th e t i t l e o f Namdar Waiz,

The co n d itio n s o f Muslim Urrniah during the p erio d under

study was f a r from s a t i s f a c t o r y . No doubt, th e Muslims had

embraced Islam long b e fo re our p erio d o f study but the age-o ld

custom s and t r a d it io n s were in gra in ed in them. The custom s and

t r a d i t io n s o f Hindus and Muslims had interm in gled and the t ru e

s p i r i t o f Islam had been overhsadowed. The Muslims had come to

have ab so lu te f a i t h in s a in ts and were prepared to make s a c r i f i c e

in t h e i r name and th ey v o lu n ta r i ly paid N azr-u-N ivaz in Brahman

t r a d i t io n , -...

The Muslims perform ed such p r a c t ic e s as wex^ unj.slaraic^j

in ch a ra c te r* The M U slirirci^ldren l ik e non-Muslims c?r±idr£n, were

p erm itted t o grow Shlkha bn the crown o f th e ir heads and i t was

shaved o f f on a p a r t ic u la r day w ith g re a t c e le b ra tio n *

1 . T a r lk h - l-K a b jr , f , 281b ,

2* Muhanmad-ud-Din Fauq, op. c i t . , Vol* I , p . 4 8 1. T a r ik h - i-K e b lr« f , 28 1b .

3 . I b id . , p . 4 3 1 .

I

There was no such in s t i t u t io n as would e n lig h te n th e

peop le about the p r in c ip le s o f Islam . However* th e p reach ers and

waizeen used t o g iv e sermons on Is la m ic th eo logy on p a r t ic u la r

days v i z . , F rid ay s and oth er h o ly days at the sh r in e s* in order

t o make the people understand Islam . The sermons, d o u b tle s s ly ,

helped th e people to un de r s t and_J^h«~- r̂€rglXS^ — TYT f a c t i t was due

to th e sermons o f H a fiz L assa Baba th a t the custom o f having

Shikha on th e crown o f th e heads o f Muslim ch ild re n was put an

end to*

Subsequently, the M jrwalz dyn asty was s p l i t in to two3branches and t h e ir fo llo w e rs a ls o got d iv id ed in t o two groups.

I t was during the tim e o f Chaudhury Khushi Muhanmsd Nazr (Governor)

th a t due t o c e r ta in d if fe r e n c e s among th e members o f th e M lrwajz

dyn asty , th a t ord ers were issu ed wherein Jam ia M asjid was handed

over t o L assa Baba and h is fo llo w e rs who subsequently con cen trated

1 . I t i s a m atter o f common knowledge th a t most o f th ese sh r in e shave been con stru cted in memory o f one or th e oth er p io u s andh oly man. On the au sp ic io u s occasion of th e b ir th and death a n n iv e rsa r ie s o f th e se h o ly p eo p le , th e M uballoeen used to g iv e sermons on th e t e a d i in js , l i f e h is to ry and achievem ents o f the holy men in the l ig h t o f Islam*

2. Muhammad ud-Din Fauq, Vol* I , op. c i t . , p . 4 3 1*3 . I t m i s sa id th a t Sh ia Muslims wanted to c o n stru c t a mosque

o u tsid e the tomb of Madin Sah ib . But Salam Beba son o f Naba Baba o b jected t o i t and th e Sunnis under th e in s t r u c t io n s of Salem Baba d estro yed the w a lls o f th e mosque. T h is u lt im a te ly led to Shia-Sunni c o n fl ic t* The S h ia s who were few er innlimber than Sunnis were supported by Wazir Panu (during the tim e o f M aharaja Ranbir S in g h ). T h is u lt im a te ly led Sunnis t o counter a number o f d i f f i c u l t i e s . Saiam Beba was banished but soon a f t e r the re s to ra t io n of peace, he was perm itted to come back. He d ied in Jam ad i-u s-San i, 1300 a . h. and was b u ried in the compound o f Khanqah-i-M ualla. Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Pandani, pp. c i t . # p* 169*

i :n i

t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s o f Waizkhwani at Jam ia M asjid . T h is group

of M eulvis came to be known as M irwaiz K alan . The other group

led by S a la Baba was g iven Khanqah-i-M aull* which became th e

c e n tre o f t h e ir a c t i v i t i e s which cen tred m ainly around p reach in g .

T h is l in e came t o be c a l le d Hamadani M aulvis* However, i t should

be mentioned here th a t th e two groups o f Wajzeen, r e fe r re d to

above, were a t d aggers drawn. At f i r s t when they l iv e d jo in t ly ,

they used t o v i s i t the sh rin e s and mosques in any p a r t of the

V a lle y fo r g iv in g sermons. But once d iv id ed th e re a ro se between

th e two branches o f th e same dynasty te n s io n s and u n rest on th e

q u estio n o f Waizkhwani at d i f fe r e n t r e l ig io u s p la c e s . This c re a te d

law and order problem many a tim e during our p erio d o f study.

At l a s t M aharaja P ratap Singh made re g u la r arrangem ents fo r

Waizkhani in the mosques in order to put a stop to the growth

o f m alice , lead in g to te n sio n and c o n f l i c t between the two2p a r t ie s a t th a t tim e. There seems t o have been some d ivergen ce

in th e id eo lo gy o f two groups o f waizeen o f S r in a g a r , v i z . ,

Mir Waiz Jam ia M asjid and Mirwaiz Hgmadani, For example the

r e c i t in g o f Shaln a lla h and c e le b ra tio n o f q lyarbw ln were

favou red by Hamadani M au lvis, but M irwaiz Kalan o f Jam ia M asjid ,

1 . Muhammad-ud-Din Fauq, op. c i t , . V o l. I , p . 392.

2 . F i l e NOs 199 ye a r 1936 Jam ia A rch iv es; Muhammad-ud-Din Fauq, op, c i t , , V o l, I , p . 39 2 ,

opposed i t tooth and n a il* I t means th a t th ey d id not

h o ld unanimous v iew s on the issu e * In 13 17 A .H ., a c o n f l ic t

aro se between the two r e l ig io u s c h ie fs over th e q u estion of2

th e Sahabiyat o f Mamur— i-H absh i , in which A lk l-i-H ad ith ,

though sm all in number# took th e s id e o f M irwaiz Jam ia M asjid*

M irw aiz Hamad an i was o f the firm b e l i e f about th e S ah ably a t

o f Mamur-i-Habshi. While M irwaiz Jam ia M asjid denied the

c la im which in tu rn gave r i s e t o a good d e a l o f tro u b le in3

th e c i t y o f S rin ag ar* F in a l ly a meeting o f both th e r e l ig io u s

heads was h eld at the re sid en ce o f M irza Mohi-ud-Din where

i t was agreed by both not t o g iv e much im portance to th e is s u e4

o f th e Sah ab iyat o f M«mur-i-Habshi,

1* M irwaiz Yusuf Shah was much vehement in h i s c r i t ic is ma g a in st i t s r e c ita t io n and o ften used d ero gato ry language a g a in st mu1 a v lr s o f sh rin e s under whose guidance such p r a c t ic e s had become common among the ign o ran t m asses.

2 . I t i s sa id th a t Mamur-i-Habshi was one amongst th e companions o f Prophet Muhammad (p .b .u .h .) and some S u f is b e lie v e d th a t he d ied seven hundred y e a rs a f t e r th e demise o f Prophet Muhammad ( p .b .u .h .) .

Abdul Hasan Nur-ud-Din, H a d lv a t-u l-A sh a b -fi-R a d -u l- Kazab, pp. 3-4*

3 . T a r ik h -i-K a b ir» f . 149 .

4. I b id . , f . 150a*The A h l-i-H ad ith did not keep s i le n t on th e is su e

o f Mamur-i-Habshi. They ch a llen ged the v e ry e x is te n c e o f Mamur-i-Habshi and b e lie v e d th a t a f t e r th e demise o f Prophet (p .b .u .h * ) , th e on ly companion who had a v e ry long l i f e was Abu T u f a 'l Aamir, who was more than hundred y e a r s old at the tim e of h is death , Abdul Hasan Nur-ud-Din, op. c i t . , p . 3 ,

The Hamadani M su lv is, belonging to the B a re lv i school

o f thought b e lie v ed in sh rin es* Mubarak Baba, son o f Naba Baba#

got t r a in in g from Maul an a Mir Amir-ud-Din Jam i and s ta r te d

preach in g sermons at Khanqah-i-M ualla and other mosques and

sh rin e s a llo te d to them. He exp lain ed th e Quran and Hadith to th e

peop le which b e n e fit ed a la rg e number o f thenu The f i r s t group

o f M aulvis who occupied Jam ia M asjid fo r purpose of sermons g r e a t ly2

opposed th e M ullahs and the P lr s (th e w o rld ly ulama) as they

were a g re e t th re a t to Islam . As a m atter of fa c t the number of

w o rld ly ulama (th ose F i r s who pursued m ainly mundane in t e r e s t s )

was indeed very la r g e . This fa c t becomes c le a r from th e remarks

o f Shaikh Nur-ud-Din# p o p u larly known in Kashmir as Alamdar-l-»

Kashmir. T h is ce le b ra te d sa in t o f R ish i movement sa y s , "h ard ly3

one amongst the thousand w i l l be saved from the wrath o f God",

v»e g e t a d e ta ile d account about the w o rld ly ulama from th e say in g s

o f Shaikh Nur-ud-Din which r e f le c t th e s e l f i s h , h y p o c r it ic a l

co n ce ited and am bitious s e lv e s o f th e Ulama. rhe Shaikh has

vehem ently c r i t i c i s e d and exposed them t o th e p o s t e r i t y .

1 . Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Pandani, op. c i t . , p . 169*

2. When A h l-i-H ad ith f i l e d a Case a g a in st the P ir s and M ullshs,M lrwaiz o f Jam ia M asjid regain ed n e u tra l. Mirwaiz Ahmad

Shall U llah , A h l-i-H ad lth Kal N lsb a t. pp. 1 — 3.

3. Moti L a i S aq i, K u lljy a t- l-S h a ik h -u l-A la m . p . 1 18 *

The Ulanaa were p a r a s it e s and drones on the s o c ie ty . They

l iv e d a l i f e of lu xury without c o n tr ib u tin g anything to th e s o c ie ty .

They put on b ig tu rb an s and went from p la c e to p la c e b argain in g

t h e i r p ra y e rs and f a s t s in return fo r food* The n atu re and

a c t i v i t i e s of th ese M ullahs have undergone no change s in ce the

tim e o f Shaikh Nur-ud-Din* Instead o f being gu ard ian s and in t e r ­

p r e t e r s of Muslim law, th ey became i t s w orst d e s tr o y e r s . They

acquired the knowledge o f Islam on ly to obtain t h e i r l iv in g and

other o b je c ts o f the w orld . They e x p lo ite d th e ig n o ran t and sim ple

m asses in order to have com plete hold on them. Once an An 1 urn an

(o rg an iza tio n ) c r i t i c i s e d th e se people (Mullahs) fo r t h e ir

a c t i v i t i e s . The M ullahs in th e ir t y p ic a l manner succeeded in

arousing th e p assio n among the ign o ran t m asses a g a in s t th e a c t i v i ­

s t s o f the r e f :>rm movement who were c r i t i c i s e d and nicknamed as2 3y e s a lr P i r s and th u s th e An1 urnan f iz z le d out* The reform ers

wanted th e Muslims to fo llo w the p r in c ip le s of Islam in p r a c t ic a l

sense o f the term . I t i s v e ry im portant to note about th e p i r s

th a t a t le a s t some of them were an in s t i t u t io n in th em selves, and

th ey perform ed tru e s e r v ic e to the cau se o f Islam . J?hey led th e

1 . I b i d . , S im ila r ly many other knowledgeable people c r i t i c i s e d th e r o le o f M ullahs i . e . w o rld ly Ulama (Ulama Sue) as i s ev id en t from th e jo u rn a l A l—A lt jq a d . Co name few lllu m a n a r ie s are Shaikh Abdul Cadir J i l a n i , Maulana Rumi, Mir S ay y id A li Hamadani, Khwaja Hssan B a sr i, W ali-U llah D eh lav i, M u jad id -i- A l f i s a n i end o th e rs . A l-A itq ad . December, 19 85, p . 3.

2. Y ezar in Kashmiri means pylamas ( t r o u s e r s ) . S in ce th e in cep tio n of the movement, re fo rm ers s tre sse d the p ro p r ie ty o f wearing pyjam as, th ey came t o be c a lle d Y ezar r d r s .G . H. Khan, op. c i t . , p . 7 5 .

3 . I b id . ,

people along the path o f s p ir itu a lis m , m anliness and p ie t y .

Indeed th ey had a la rg e fo llow in g* So f a r as the r e a l p i r s were

concerned, the Muslim community o f Kashmir i s and 3 h a ll be indebted

to them fo r a l l t im es . Names o f Shaikh Ahmad T a r a b a li* ; Shaikh2

K h a lil Ahmad G re ta b a li , Qazi Mir Amir-ud-Din Jam i , Qazi Ghulam-3 4 5ud-Din Jam i , Qazi Nizam-ud-Din Jam i , Allam a Qazi R asool Jam i

end M aulvi Mohi-ud-Din Mattoo were the sh in ing s t a r s in th e re ce n t

p a s t .

But a f t e r the death of good and s c h o la r ly p i r s th e way o f

e le c t in g or s e le c t in g a s u ita b le su ccesso r was not fo llo w ed . As •

r e s u l t , th e In s t i t u t io n became h e re d ita ry . Son succeeded h is fa t h e r

whether or not he was q u a l i f ie d fo r the p o st . They degenerated

th e in s t i t u t io n and some of them not having any q u a l i f ic a t io n

employed frau d and d e c e it . They n ever wanted to g e t education and

1 . The f j r s t two p reach ers o f M jrwaia dyn asty namely L assa Baba and Yehayeh Sahib re ce iv e d t ra in in g from Shaikh Ahmad T a ra b a li, Mohi-ud-Din Pandeni, op. c i t . , pp. 16 3 — 17 2 ,

2 . A la r g e number of people namely Shaikh Muhammad S a iy id T arabA li Sa if-u d -D in M anteki, waiz Yehaya K h a li l fruraboo, GhularaNabi S h a fi and o th ers re ce iv e d education from wazi Mir Amir- ud-Din Jam i. I b id . , pp. 159 — 60.

3 . He taught many peop le l ik e Mohi-ud-Din Gundroo, H fifiz Yehaya Bayu, Waiz Salam 3ay& Maulvi Habib U llah Mattoo and o th e rs . They became g re a t sc h o la rs . Ib id , pp. 16 8 , 17 0 , 17 2, 17 3 ,

4 . He a lso taught a number of p eo p le . I b id . , pp. 15 4 — 15 7 , 16 7 ,

5 . I b id . ,

? f ) 1

enlightenm ent le s t th ey ( p ir s ) should be exposed. The M irwaiz

M aulvi s p a r t ic u la r ly M aulvi Muhammad Yehaya vehem ently c r i t i c i s e d

th e se p ir s * o f S rin a g a r who bargained r e l ig io n fo r th e ir in t e r e s ts *

M aulvi Muhammad Yehaya c r i t i c i s e d th e m uiavirs o f th e sh rin e s

through h is sermons, as t h e ir a c t i v i t i e s were d etrim en ta l to th e

Ummah and ran counter t o th e message o f p r i s t in e Islam and the

te a c h in g s o f the p io u s sa in ts* Maulvi Muhammad Yehaya gave sermons

at im portant sh rin es end mosques p a r t ic u la r ly Jam ie M a»jid fo r2

fo r t y e ig h t years* He v i s i t e d d i f fe r e n t p a r ts o f the c i t y to d e l iv e r

le sso n s on Quran and H adith. B esid es preaching at v a r io u s Sh rin es

and mosques he used to teach d i f fe r e n t typ e of stu d en ts w ith in3

th e prem ises of h is house. I t may not be out of p la c e t o mention

h ere th a t th e p reach ers were having t h e i r vested in t e r e s t s * The

r i v a l r y among the two major groups o f waizeen t e s t i f i e s to th e

fa c t th a t th ey esqploited the people and generated , sometimes

in t e n s i f ie d , unreward s itu a t io n s . T h is was e v id e n tly a cou rse q u ite

1 . There were c e r ta in cau ses fo r t h i s c r i t ic is m . The p i r s were g re a t o b sta c le s in th e way of spreading Islam . They d id not h e s it a t e to g iv e f a l s e futw as (d e c re e s ) . Secondly th e M jrwaiz kalan were having t h e ir own in t e r e s t s . As a m atter o f fa c t M jrw aiz dynasty d id not b a s ic a l ly belong to the c i t y o f S r in a g a r and i t s members d id not have t h e i r own murlds in th e b eg in n in g . That i s why they c r i t i c i s e d and expo ed th e p i r s in order to gain the support of sirnple-minded common m asses. T h ird ly the Hamadani M aulvis patrdjnised th e p i r s and had fa i t h in sh r in e s . N a tu ra lly th e p i r s became the g re a t opponents o f Mjrwaiz dyn asty . T h is became c le a r in a c o n f l ic t between Mpulvi Yusuf Shah end. Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah, th e p i r s and mu1 a v ir s opposed t h e ir long standing enemy aid supported th e Shaikh ,

2. Allam a M ufti Mohi-ud-Din Pandani, op. c i t , , p . 17 2 .Muhammad-Din” Fauq, op. c i t . , p . 432*

3 . Muhammad-Din-Fauq, op. c i t . , p . 432,

* \ on

in c o n f l ic t with Cur an and Hadith. Besides# the H au lv ls

t r i e d to be in th e good books of th e M aharajas end alw ays t r ie d

t o g a in th e ir g o o d -w ill. M aharaja Ranbir Singh used to g iv e

k h i la t s l ik e Jo r a* Shawl* Gown. Fard and other th in g s to the

Ulama on the au sp ic io u s occasion o f Idd# The M aulvis were paid

by th e people too in l ie u o f t h e ir se rv ices# The s e r v ic e s rendered

by them included g iv in g sermons at sh rin e s on some p a r t ic u la r

days l ik e 3h ab-i-M eh raj, 3hab-i-G adr, ld d -i-M ila d and on th e

o ccasio n s of b ir th and death a n n iv e rsa r ie s o f popular s a in ts in

Kashmir.

However, the Mirwaiz dynasty produced a dynamic p e rs o n a lity

namely Rasool Shah who made the Quran and the Hadith popular among

th e p eop le and exp la in ed t o th e p eop le o f Kashmir th e r e l ig io n o f

Islam at g ra s s root l e v e l . He made i t c le a r th a t s a lv a t io n from

s in 3 and wrath o f h e l l i s im p ossib le without in p e tu 3 implementa­

t io n and p r a c t i c a l i t y of Quran. M aulvi Rasool Shah not only gave

sermons in tha mosques and sh rin es o f S rin a g a r but a lso v i s i t e d

other p la c e s l ik e Islam abad, Sopore, Baram ulla, B ijb e h a ra ,

Shopian, and other towns and v i l l a g e s in order to make th e people

understand the teach in g s o f Islam . I t should s u f f i c e to say here

1 . Muhammadwud-Din Fauq, op. c i t . . V o l. I I , p . 43 2

th a t M ullahs, P ir s end other v e s te d in t e r e s t s had preached

Islam in a tw iste d manner. T h is had m isled the p eop le and fo s te re d

in them s u p e rs t it io n s and encouraged bad customs and e v i l

p r a c t ic e s . Maulvi R asool Shah sh a rp ly reacted to a l l t h i s and

he to o k p a in s to e ra d ic a te th e e v i l 3 . He la id g re a t s t r e s s on

tru th in Islam , w h ile teach in g Quran and Hadith. He never

co n cealed anything re le v a n t to Islam * He f e l t extrem ely h u rt a t

th e ignorance o f th e people and s tro n g ly f e l t th at u n le ss

i l l i t e r a c y was put an end to , the e v i l s would co n tin u e . He made

i t v e ry p la in th a t education was the panacea to a l l e v i l s . He

advocated the spread o f ilm (knowledge) as the su re means ofI

f ig h t in g i l l i t e r a c y and ignoran ce. The most im portant th ing

th a t seems to have m otivated Rasool Shah was s o c ia l , economic

and ed u catio n al backwardness of the people l iv in g in d i f fe r e n t

p a r t s o f the V a lle y which he had h im se lf v i s i t e d and seen .

I t i s very r e le v a n t to note here th a t i t was the tim e o f

h atred and anger. The Muslims had lo s t th e r u le . B r i t i s h e r s had

come to In d ia f i r s t as merchants and then grabbed th e p o l i t i c a l

power. They had t h e ir own way of doing th in g s . They had t h e ir own

ed u catio n a l system , a d m in istra tiv e s e t up and C iv i l iz a t io n which

were d ia m e tr ic a lly opposed t o th a t o f Indian Muslims and Hindus

a l ik e . The B r i t i s h e r s wanted to spread modern education in t h e ir

own in t e r e s t s . I t was opposed by the Hindus. But people l ik e R aja

Hf-n Mohan Roy s ta r te d a compaign among the Hindus t o take to the

1 . Ghulem Mohi-ud-Din Pandani, o p l c i t . , p . 17 2 .

2. Muhammad-Din-Faug, op. c i t . . V o l. I I , p . 43 2,

:j o ?

modern education which would u lt im a te ly be in t h e i r in te re s t*

He succeeded in t h i s m ission* The Muslims were more angry with

th e B r i t i s h because the la t t e r had d eprived them o f t h e i r power*

Consequently# the Muslims lagged behind in th e p ro ce ss o f

m odernisation which caused them g re a t lo ss* S ir S ay y id Ahmad

Khan r e a liz e d t h i s la p se on th e p a r t of Muslims* He s ta r te d a

cru sade fo r the apread o f modern education among the Muslims*

A fte r many d i f f i c u l t i e s end h ard sh ips he was s u c c e s s fu l in moul­

ding th e a tt itu d e of th e Muslims o f In d ia towards modern education*

The Muslim U n iv ersity :>f A lig arh i s s t i l l a rem inder o f h is g re a t

work.

Kashmir had e x a c t ly th e same problem* U n q u alified end

s e m i- l i t e r a t e M ullahs opposed modern education and c a t ig a te d2

a l l th o se who took to i t as k a f i r a and i n f i d e l s . I t goes to th e

c r e d it o f Mirwaiz R asool Shah who fo resaw what was coming*H4s

fa r s ig h te d n e ss led him to co n trib u te not only through non-form al

way o f education but he fo rm ally s ta r te d im parting education

with modern tre n d s. In s p ite of being a Mullah h im se lf, he

advocated the cause o f modern education"^ w ith a view to

1 . S i r S a iy id -i-K a sh m ir . p . 1 .,

2. Y . 3. Mathur, Growth of Muslim P o l i t i c s in In d ia ,, p. 36*

3* N usrat—u l—Islam , pp. 50— 51*

pulling the Ummah out of the deep slumber, At the end ofthe nineteenth century, the community was at its nadir, RasoolShah, endowed with a keen foresight and deep sence of patriotism,brought home to the people the advantages that vould accrue tothem by encouraging the youth of the community to receive moderneducation, Sincerity of motive coupled with gift of the gab enduntiring efforts on the part of this reformer evoked a favourableresponse emonc the people and a l l this enabled Maulvi Rssool Shahto found the Aniuman-i-Nasratul-Islam* in 1899 together with aschool under the d ir e c t su p erv isio n of th e Anjumn. The school

2was established with the followino aims in view,_

1 . Minute Book First-Preserved in the Library of Anjuman-i- Nusretul-Islam. However, it should be rerae nbcred that on 30th September# 1906 the formal nomination and selection for the different posts, executive comnittee members was mede. Mirwaiz Pasool Shah was unanimously selected as President of the AnjuTian»i-Nusretul Islam. The other officiating body consti­tuted the following personalities*-1, Khwaja Hass an Shah Naqshbandi2, Khawja Muhammad Shah Naqashbandi3, Maulvi Atiq-Ullah4, Munshi Kamal Mir5, Maulvi Ahmad-Ullah6, Munshi Serif Ali Khan7, Shaikh Muhammad Hussain8, Khawaja Aziz-ud-Din Kovosa 9 , Malik Sher Muhammad

— Naib Sadar Awel— Naib Sadar Second— General Secretary— Joint Secretary— Financial Secretary— Joint Financial

Secretary— Accountant— Examiner— Secretary ^azim-i- Taleem.The executive body was also formed which consisted of thirty four members. Minutes Book N0> 1,

2. Anjuman-l-Nusratul Islam, pp. 6--7

1 . To im part Is la m ic education and equip the new gen eratio nw ith the knowledge re le v a n t to the contemporary tim es;

2. To im part teach in g in Quran and Hadlth and propagate t h e irteach in gs?

3* To guide people in c u ltu ra l* economic* s o c ia l end morala f f a i r s ?

4* To p ro je c t the c h a ra c te r o f the Muslims r e f le c t in g th ev a lu e system of Islam ?

5* To s t r ik e balan ce between modern education and re lig io n ?

6 . To develop the concept o f u n ity and co-op eration among th eMuslims? and

7 . To stren gthen human bonds a lo n gsid e the promotion o fs p i r i t u a l and e t h ic a l sentim ents*

The in s t i t u t io n marked i t s beginning l ik e a l l p h ila n th ro p ic

o rg a n iz a tio n s . Che has not only to r e a l i s e the fo r e s ig h t o f t h i s

greatman who v is u a lis e d the ne^ds o f h i s community alm ost a

cen tu ry ago. Such people are r a r e . He not only brought th e change

in t r a d i t io n a l education imparted in M adrassas and Maqtabs by

p i r s but a ls o made i t c le a r th a t E n g lish education was a key,

w ith which th e doors to government p o sts would be opened. I t

would not be an exaggeratio n i f we say th a t M aulvi Rasool Shah

d id th e same job as was done by S i r S a iy id Ahmad Khan* R a ja

Ram Mohan Roy and o th e rs . I t i s because o f his^ co n tr ib u tio n th a t

he came to be c a l le d as S i r S a iy id o f Kashmir. P erseveran ce o f

1 . Mahanrmad-ud-Bin-Fauq, op. c i t . . V o l. I I # p . 4 33 . "he annuel meeting o f th e Anjumn was held every y e a r . I t was in 1908 th a t Gh. £hmed Mehjoor w hile read in g h is lengthy nazm twenty two v e r s e s h ig h lig h te d in e n t i r i t y th e achievem ents o f M aulvi Rasool Shah. He c a lle d him th e S i r S a iy id of Kashmir. S h ira z a , 1984* p . 6 1 . He i s a ls o known as Wayeer-l-Azam in Kashm ir.

th e founder end w i l l in g co -o p eratio n of masses re su lte d in

r a is in g the s ta tu s of th e in s t i t u t io n to th a t of High School by

1905 A.D.

Admission to the school from the v e ry beginning was kept

open w ithout levy in g any tu it io n fe e on th e poor stu den ts i r r e s ­

p e c t iv e of c a s te , creed or sex* The f i r s t batch of s i x stu den ts

appeared from the school in th e M a tric u la tio n exam ination of the

Punjab U n iv e rs ity in 1908 A.D. Of th ese f i v e came out s u c c e s s fu l.2

Khwaja Ghulam Ahmad Ashai (a Muslim) stood f i r s t and Pandit3er wan and (Kashm iri Pandit) secured second p o s it io n . The

in s t i t u t io n produced scholars# academicians# a d m in istra to rs and

i n t e l l e c t u a l s , M aulvi R asool Shah inaugurated a new e r a in th e

l i f e o f Kashmiri Muslims and In fu sed fre sh sp irit and blood in to

th e Muslims o f the V a lle y , Phe aim of h is m ission w as t o tak e

th e Muslims out o f darkness and gloom, in to l ig h t and g lo r y . He

spent h is whole l i f e in working fo r th e w e lfa re end betterm ent o f

th e Muslim community#

1# The non-muslims were not d iscrim in a te d a g a in s t in m atter o fadm ission o f stu d en ts or appointment o f te a c h e rs . Thus amongth e students adm ission was granted to Sarwanend Koul, a Kashm iri Fandit boy w h ile Pandit Kesho Nath i’ickoo Pandit o f Bagh Jo g i Lanker (Rainaw ari) was appointed Mathemati­c s teach er in the school#

2 . He became the f i r s t R e g is tra r of th e U n iv e rs ity of Kashmir#3. Minute Book F i r s t # An1uman-l-i u s ra tu l Islam#

M aulvi Rasool Shah con tribu ted a lo t through h is

sermons. In Kashmir the a r t of walzkhwani was in s t i t u t io n a l iz e d

by M aulvi Yehaya Sah ib . But Maulvi R asool Shah through h is

n a tu ra l a b i l i t y and fa rs ig h te d n e ss le n t a new hue t o the a r t

o f wazkhwanj. Many more people who were m ostly umi ( i l l i t e r a t e )

g o t acquainted w ith th e teach in g of Quran and Had 1 th by atten d in g

th e sermons of Maulvi Rasool Shah*

I t i s sa id th a t one among th e l i s t e n e r s of M aulvi Rasool

Shah, who was q u ite i l l i t e r a t e , f e l l in a d isc u ss io n w ith a w e ll

q u a l i f ie d student of Deoband* The la t t e r was so much im pressed

by th e v a s tn e s s of knowledge and o th er in form ation of the form er

th a t th e Deoband sc h o la r asked the i l l i t e r a t e person t o show him

h is kutb-khana ( L ib r a r y ) . But the i l l i t e r a t e y e t w e ll informed

gentleman had no l ib r a r y . He had acqu ired a l l th e knowledge

(preach in g se ssio n s) and in form ation by atten din g r e g u la r ly

waz Mai a l l s o f M aulvi R asool Shah. When the Deoband tra in e d

s c h o la r came to know about i t , he f e l t humbled and he acknowledged

th e worth o f the i l l i t e r a t e man fo r h is profound knowledge of

r e l ig io n aid in e v ita b ly he came t o have profound re sp e c t fo r

M aulvi Rasool Shah, the mentor of th e educated i l l i t e r a t e person

An1untti-1-Nusratul Islam , Khususi Shumara, p . 48*

2* <finiumn-l-Nusratul Islam , Khususi Shumara. p . 50,

• M

In fa c t M aulvi R asool Shah through h is preaching and

teach in g made the Q uran-i-Karim so popular among th e Muslims

th a t every Muslim b e lie v e d th at w ithout Quranic knowledge nobody

d eserved s a lv a t io n . F i f t y y e a rs e a r l i e r a p e d e str ia n on the s t r e e t

any morning would be d e ligh ted to l i s t e n to the loud r e c it a t io n

o f Quran (T ilava t-i-Q u ran ) by boys and g i r l s both. The waz

ceremony had g re a t im pact on th e Muslim community o f Kashmir,

.’tost o f the Uni Muslims committed to memory many im portant su ras

(ch ap ters) o f Cur an to g e th e r with t h e ir meaning, so much so2th a t most of than became p reach ers. One im portant fe a tu re in the

waizkhwani o f the M jrwaiz dynasty was th e co n secu tive in te rp re ­

t a t io n and exp lan atio n o f a Sura fo r y e a rs to g e th e r . This sequence

and order helped th e l i s t e n e r s to memoraize the te a c h in g s . They*

w h ile exp la in in g Luran made f u l l use of the say in g s o f Prophet

( p .b .u .h , ) and en ligh ten ed the Muslim community with the g lo r io u s

h is t o r y o f Islam and thereby in te rp re te d o r ig in and growth of3

Is lam , The main ch ap ters walzkhwanl were the l i f e h is to ry and

achievem ents of Prophet Muhammad ( p .b .u .h .) The C a lip h ate p erio d

was a ls o an im portant su b ject o f walzkhwani during our p erio d o f

stu d y . The p reach ers d iscu sse d in d e t a i l the happening o f K arbala

1 . I b id . , p . 48.

2. M aster Muhammad ^aqbool, W ayeer-i- Azam, p . 1 2.

30 M aster Muhammad Maqbool, Wazeer-i-Azam. p . 1 3 .

and th e cru sad es o f Muslims* The p reach ers made the l i f e

h i s t o r ie s of d i f f e r e n t s a in t s and R is h is and th e ir achievem ents

an im portant su b je c t o f t h e ir walzkhwanl. As we know Kashmir i s

th e abode of R is h is and sad ats and fo r t h i s reason i t gained th e

t i t l e o f P irw a r i. The b e l i e f and f a i t h o f Kashm iris in s a in t s and

t h e i r sh rin e s led the speakers and waizeen t o h ig h lig h t the

achievem ents and karam ats (m irac le s) o f d i f fe r e n t s a in t s . As the

K ashm iris were keen to know more and more about the s a in t s , 3o

th e p reach ers p a r t ic u la r ly on the o ccasio n s o f Urs d iscu sse d th e2te a c h in g s o f the s a in t s at length .

The Muslim s o c ie ty b lin d ly fo llo w ed some bad customs and

s u p e r s t it io n s and they con sidered t h e i r observance as p a r t o f3 4w orsh ip . The Muslims l ik e Hindus # d id not eat meat* No doubt#

th e Muslims had embraced Islam e a r lie r# but th ey w ere p r a c t is in g

some age-o ld p r a c t ic e s o f t h e ir p red ecesso rs* M aulvi R asool Shah

preached ag a in st th e se and s im ila r o th er u n -Islam ic p r a c t ic e s

1 . T h is becomes c le a r from the f a c t th a t age-o ld Umi ( i l l i t e r a t e ) peop le do know a lo t about the Islam though th e y have not attended any form al school# y e t the preach in gs o f p reach ers at sh r in e s and mosques on d i f fe r e n t o ccasio n s p a r t ic u la r ly on F r id a y s have# to a la rg e extent# educated th e Umi Muslims o f Kashmir. Sometimes t h e ir way of exp la in in g th e th in g s seems more in t e r e s t in g .

2 . Most of the K ashm iris know much about the karam ats o f d i fe r e n t lo c a l s a in t s . Though u n q u a lified and i l l i t e r a t e # th ey commit to memory many v e r s e s (shrueks) of Shaikh Nur-ud-Din R is h i . The p reach ers have p layed a prominent r o le in p o p u la r is in g the say in g s and teach in g s o f sa in ts*

3 . M aster Muhammad Maqbool# op. c i t .# p . 14 .

4 . The v a is h n a v ite s among Hindus in Kashmir re fra in e d from ta k in g meat. They were the fo llo w e rs o f th e p r in c ip le of n o n -in ju ry to l iv in g b e in g s.

observed by the Muslims of Kashmir* The in flu e n c e of th e

M aulvi was f e l t by audience when he in te rp re te d t o them, the

f i r s t avat o f Sura Tahrim*

"Prophet* why H oldest them to be forb idden th a t which God has made law to thee**

I t was under th e impact o f Maulvi R asool S h ah 's sermons

th a t Muslims ch ild re n act acquainted w ith the b a s ic p r in c ip le s

o f Islam . Anybody who was ignorant o f i t , was not shown proper2

re sp e c t by the Muslim So ciety* However, a fte r th e demise o f

R asool Shah Sah ib , M aulvi Ahmad U llah continued th e p r a c t ic e of

g iv in g the sermons. He too wanted to make the te a c h in g s of Cur an

and Hadith common among the Muslims of Kashmir,

M aulvi Rasool Shah was P re s id e n t o f the & njum n-i-N usratul

Islam from 1909 to 19 3 1 a . d. H is b ro th er, Maulvi A tiq -U lla h was

th e S e c re ta ry of t h i s o rg an iza tio n . M aulvi Ahmad-Ullah, l ik e h is

1 , The G lo rio u s Quran, Para ?-8tV|. a y g t - f i r s t *

2* ftnlum an-i-N usratul Islam , Khususi Shumarju p . 48.

a n ce sto rs con sidered education as th e enemy o f ign oran ce.

The Hamadani M aulvis a lso continued t h e i r work o f walzkhwani at

(Khanqah-Mualla) in order t o b rin g awareness among th e Muslim

Umroah of Kashmir, The prominent among them was M aulvi Ahmad

U llah Hamadani* who* b e s id e s g iv in g sermons founded a middle2school annexed to Khanqah-i-M ual1 a . In t h is school A rab ic

and P e rs ia n were tau gh t and th is t ip a rt , modern education was

im parted to o . Obviously* th e aim was t o equip th e Muslims with

th e knowledge as demanded by changing circum stances*

During th e p erio d th a t follow ed* th e M aulvis lo s t t h e ir

enthusiasm and in the p r a c t ic e o f preaching they d e v ia te d from

th e o r ig in a l course so th a t preaching became com p lete ly a b u sin e ss

The sh r in e s became an im portant b u sin ess ce n tres w ith people as

donors and the M aulvis as mobile s e l le r s * The m u lav lrs became

th e e x p e rt accoun tants. The Is la m ia School was founded t o c a te r

t o th e ed u catio n al requirem ents of the Muslims in the p erio d o f

d arkn ess, when i t was v e ry d i f f i c u l t to do so. But w ith th e

1 , Muhammad-ud-Din Fauq, op, c i t , , V o l, I I # p , 434*Though Maulvi Ahmad Ullah continued to keep the to rch o f

education burning, but h is su cce sso rs did nothing to ta k e i t ( Is la m ia High School) any fu r th e r . I t i s a p a in fu l tru th th a t the Anjumn and the school became the p erso n a l p rop erty

M irwaiz dynasty* and tody i t i s s one man show. Had th e su cce sso rs o f M aulvi Rasool Shah been as fa r s ig h te d as he was* the in s t i t u t io n by now would have become an U n iv e rs ity ,

2 , Muhammad-ud-Din Fauq, op, c i t . , V o l, II* p . 4 37 ,

p assag e o f tim e even in favo u rab le co n d itio n s , the school

management sim ply used i t as a source o f Income fo r them selves*

Had th ey advanced the aim of i t s founder (Rasool Shah) i t would

have become an im portant source o f Muslim learn in g*

From th e above d isc u ss io n we are led t o th e con clu sion

th a t the co n trib u tio n o f th ese sh r in e s and mosques i s t h a t they

kept the lamp o f knowledge burning and the in t e r e s t of people to

acq u ire some s o r t o f knowledge d id not a l l to g e th er f la g * That

c o n tr ib u tio n has a p la c e in the ed u cation al h is to r y o f Kashmir and

cannot be fo rg o tte n . L ikew ise , t o th e tem ples o f Hindus, were

attach ed pathshalas* which im parted r e l ig io u s education t o th e

Hindus* The need fo r such in s t i t u t io n s was always f e l t because in

modern Schools th e re was no arrangement fo r im partin g r e l ig io u s

edu cation to the students* rhus th e sh r in e s , mosques and tem ples

were th e hubs o f ed u catio n al system and th e people o f Kashmir

n e ith e r Hindus nor Muslims could ig n o re th e im portance o f these*