Martyrdom of Bibi Fatima's 'Son'- A Blot on the
Justice of Jahangir
Prof.Mazhar Naqvi
The barbaric execution
of Shaheed-e-Salis (Third Martyr) Qazi Nurullah Shustri will always put a
question mark on the justice of Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Among all the Mughal Emperors,
Jahangir is famous for his exemplary justice. He had installed an unusual gold
chain to link his private chamber to an outpost near the gateway to Agra Fort
from the side of river Yamuna. The chain was made of gold, eighty feet long,
and had sixty bells attached to it. The objective was to enable ordinary people
to get Emperor’s attention simply by rattling it. Any aggrieved or needy person
could pull the chain to claim a personal hearing from Emperor himself.
Yet under the influence
of anti Ahle-Bait Ulemas, he extinguished the flame of Qazi Nurullah’s pious life
without literally given him a chance of hearing. He fully ignored his favorite Queen
Nur Jahan’s
pleas for amnesty and
when she caught hold of Jahangir’s hand
to prevent him from signing death warrant, the infuriated Emperor pulled
out a burning ember from the fire-place and burnt her wrist put. He then left
the palace in a huff and ensured the quick execution of Qazi, leaving the queen
yelling in pain. His hasty decision deprived the followers of Ahle-Bait in
India from the services of scholar blessed with ‘Sina-Ba-Sina Ilm’ (Transfer of holy injunctions heart by heart).On
the instructions of Jahangir, Qazi was
arrested from his house, disrobed and the hangman’s noose was put around
his neck. Immediately on hanging, the executioners started flogging him also
and by15th flog, Qazi
breathed his last. But they continued to flog his dead body as the decree issued
against him was for 100 floggings.
They pulled his tongue out and put boiling material on his head. His skull was
exposed as a result and then his body was thrown at a garbage dump of the Agra.
His body remained at the garbage without shroud and awaited
burial for three days. Three versions find mentions in the historic accounts
and legends about his burial. One version reveals that since he was martyred on
the orders Jahangir, the entire population of Agra was scared of arranging his
burial. However, two Afghans who
were the followers of Ahle-Bait and were on the visit of Agra took the initiative and buried Qazi
where his mausoleum stands today. One of them was Syed Raju Bukhari who had reached Agra to meet the Qazi and
was fortunate enough to meet him twice before his tragic execution.
The second version tells that when Jahangir slept on the third night after ordering the brutal
killing of Qazi, he saw the Prophet Muhammad in his dream who very
angrily told the Emperor “You have been very cruel on my son and why are you not
allowing his last rites” The dream left Jahangir greatly perturbed and the next
morning he announced whoever wanted to bury the Qazi can do so. Then, the
people came out and arranged for the burial of the Qazi who fell prey to the
dirty politics of Ulema wanting his death for propagating Imami faith. The
third and most popular version says that an Iranian chieftain lived near Agra at a place technically falling under
the territorial jurisdiction of Gwalior State. He saw Bibi Fatima in his dream,
telling him ”The body of my son is lying
without the shroud and grave outside Agra.
If you are my follower, go and bury my son with your own hands.” The following
morning he assembled all the Iranian traders and Reached Agra along
with his own contingent of guards. He found the body lying on the
garbage dump and Syed Raju was
sitting near the head of the Qazi. The chieftain got immediately a grave dug
out and laid with great reverence the
Qazi who was martyred on 26 Rabi al Awwal in 1019 Hijri.
Qazi Nurullah was
born at Shustar in the Khuzistan Province of Iran in the year 956 H (1549 A.D). His early education
was in the tutelage of his father and uncle. At the age of 19 years, he moved to Mashhad –E-Muqaddas to join Hauza-E-Ilmiya for higher studies. At
the age of 35 years, he felt the
need of his services in India. He
arrived in India during the regime of Akbar and spent 26 years in different
centers of the country to spread the message of Ahle-Bait secretly before
joining the court of Akbar.
In 1995 Hijri,
Qazi Moin ud Deen, the chief
Qazi of Mughal Court, sought retirement due to his old age. Akbar appointed Shustri as Chief Qazi and he
came to be known as Qazi Nurullah
Shustri. He accepted the position on the condition to deliver justice not
on the basis of just one Fiqh but in
consultation with any of the Fiqhs,
namely Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafaee or Maliki. Akbar granted him permission, thinking what
difference it would make when all the Muslims
were unanimous in accepting all the four Fiqhs. Blessed with extra-ordinary brilliance and intelligence, Qazi‘s
verdicts established him as the most appropriate person for the coveted post. His
growing popularity caused much heart burning among the enemies of Ahle Bait
under the garb of Ulema. They could not succeed in their attempt to get him
replaced even after lodging repeated
complaints against him. Whenever questioned by Akbar ,he always insisted for
proof against him and left his opponents speechless.
Once he used the word Hazrat Ali Alaihis Salam.The Ulema of the other schools raised
their voices and asked for his execution for using the suffix Alaihis Salam which they said was reserved only for the prophets. The matter was taken up in Akbar’s
court and the objection raised by Ulemas was read out. But one of the Ulema was
not so bigoted. He laid the controversy at rest by reciting the couplet in the court:' Gar lahmak lahmi Hadit e
nabawi hai Bay Salle ala naam e Ali bay adabi hay ' (If ‘Ali’s flesh is
my flesh is Nabi’s hadith( tradition), then
taking Ali’s name without ‘Salle Ala’ is gross bad manners!.)
Qazi Shustri continued to
occupy his post even after the death of Akbar also. His successor Jahangir also
gave him respect. His opponents also carried on their politics against him. They
always looked for an opportunity to turn the emperor against Qazi Shustri. Frustrated
over the mounting complaints against the Qazi, Jahangir asked for a proof that the Qazi was an enemy of the Sahaba( Companions), the Ulema chanced
on a book, Majalis al Momineen,
authored by Qazi Nurullah. In
this book he had penned the profiles of all the Infallibles( Masumeens) and he
also included details about all the companions of the Prophet who were the
friends of the Ahle Bait. He
hadn’t discussed about other prominent companions. Thus the Ulema took the book as a proof of his
enmity against those companions. The other book that the Qazi was in the process of writing was
“Ahqaq al Haq” on the lines of “Nahj al Haq” of Allama Hilli. This book covered all
the five Pillars of Shia Islam (from Tauheed
to Qayamat). One very bigoted enemy of the Ahle bait, a Shafaee Scholar, Fazl authored a refutation of Allama Hilli’s book with the title of Abtaal al Baatil. Qazi Shustri had
penned a fitting rejoinder to the book. He was also keeping a copy of Ahqaq
al Haq very carefully. He wasn’t even showing the book to his closest
disciples. One person however managed to enter his inner circle of disciples, pretending
to be a great admirer of the Ahle Bait. One day, he stole the book
and handed over the Ulema working against Qazi. They read its contents and immediately
drafted a Fatwa against Qazi. It is recorded 42 Ulema put
their seals over the fatwa. Another
historic record puts the figure at 55
Ulema. They declared Qazi
a heretic in their Fatwa and demanded his execution on
the ground that he had ridiculed the
tenets of the Faith in his book. They forwarded the Fatwa to Jahangir. When
Jahangir saw the Fatwa, he asked the Ulema about the punishment for such a
heretic. They opined that he must be given four punishments: He was to be
flogged a hundred times, he was to be forced to drink molten lead, his tongue
to be pulled out of the mouth and his
head be severed from his body in the end. So meticulously the Ulema had
brainwashed Jahangir that he ordered the killing of Qazi Shustri in accordance with
the ruling given and sealed the fate of a great religious scholar without listening
to his version nor interpretation.
He refused
to act upon a suggestion given by one of his friends to meet the king and tell him that that he too had respect for those Companions
of the Prophet who are recorded in history as the worst enemies of Ahle-Bait..
But Qazi Shustri said that his
dissimulation at that juncture was not appropriate and spoil the hard work he
had done on Indian soil for the propagation of Ahle Bait through a network of
1500 disciples trained secretly by him and sent in different directions to keep
the memory of Karbala alive through their deeds. He preferred to die instead of
taking U-Turn, for he was confident that his martyrdom for the propagation of
the Faith of the Ahle Bait was very important in India. He thought that
the sacrifice that he was going to make would strengthen the cause of the Faith. History later proved how correct he
was in his assessment. His great sacrifice for spreading the message of
Ahle-Bait against all odds made him an obvious choice for the title of Third Martyr
(Shaheed-E-Salis). His shrine on Dayalbagh road near Bhagwan Cinema crossing is
visited by people with great reverence. Devotees from all faiths regularly offer
prayers at his grave. As Bibi Fatima had called him as his son in the dream of
Iranian chieftain, devotees make wish there and Allah fulfils them because of Khatoon-e-Jannat (Lady of Paradise).Moreover,
his martyrdom endowed his disciples with new strength and they worked with
greater zeal to propagate Imami faith. His veneration by people even today indicate
his innocence and puts a question mark on Jahangiri Insaf (Justice).
(
Reference available on Request)
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