Sarmad
Encyclopedia
Muhammad Sa'id, mostly known as Sarmad Kashani or simply as Sarmad was a Persian
mystic, poet and saint who travelled to and made the Indian subcontinent
his permanent home during the 17th century. He was of Jewish or Armenian
origin.
(consisting of modern-day India and Pakistan) from a Persian-speaking Armenian merchant family, only to renounce his religion and adopt Islam
, which he allegedly later renounced in favor of Hinduism
. Sarmad was known for espousing and ridiculing the major religions of his day, but also wrote beautiful religious poetry in the form of quatrains in Arabic and Persian
. He had an excellent command of both Persian and Arabic, essential for his work as a merchant. Hearing that precious items and works of art were being purchased in India at high prices, Sarmad gathered together his wares and traveled to India where he intended to sell them. Near the end of this journey, he fell in love with a Hindu boy. His ardent love created such a radical transformation in his awareness that he abandoned his considerable wealth and, losing all concern for social convention, began to wander through the streets and courts of the emperor completely naked, a naked faqir.
Sarmad was close to Dara Shikoh
, the heir presumptive to Shah Jahan
, the fifth Mughal emperor. However, the actual successor to Shah Jehan, the Emperor Aurangzeb
, beheaded Sarmad in 1661 for poetry deemed heretical and apostasy from Islam .
During his life, Sarmad produced a translation of the Torah
in Persian.
Sarmad described himself as “a follower of the Furqan (i.e., a Sufi), a (Hindu) priest, a (Buddhist) monk, a Jewish rabbi, an infidel, and a Muslim." Sarmad's ambiguous religious affiliation is disputed today by Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. His grave is located near the Jama Masjid
in Delhi
, India
.
, one of the leading political personalities involved actively in India's struggle for freedom
, had equated himself with Sarmad in an essay which he had written at the age of 23. He had identified himself with Sarmad for his freedom of thought and expression.
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
mystic, poet and saint who travelled to and made the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
his permanent home during the 17th century. He was of Jewish or Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
origin.
Arrival in India
Sarmad arrived in Mughal IndiaMughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
(consisting of modern-day India and Pakistan) from a Persian-speaking Armenian merchant family, only to renounce his religion and adopt Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, which he allegedly later renounced in favor of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. Sarmad was known for espousing and ridiculing the major religions of his day, but also wrote beautiful religious poetry in the form of quatrains in Arabic and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. He had an excellent command of both Persian and Arabic, essential for his work as a merchant. Hearing that precious items and works of art were being purchased in India at high prices, Sarmad gathered together his wares and traveled to India where he intended to sell them. Near the end of this journey, he fell in love with a Hindu boy. His ardent love created such a radical transformation in his awareness that he abandoned his considerable wealth and, losing all concern for social convention, began to wander through the streets and courts of the emperor completely naked, a naked faqir.
Sarmad was close to Dara Shikoh
Dara Shikoh
His Highness, The Imperial Prince Dara Shikoh was the eldest son and the heir apparent of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. His name دارا شكوه in Persian means "Darius the Magnificent"...
, the heir presumptive to Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
, the fifth Mughal emperor. However, the actual successor to Shah Jehan, the Emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
, beheaded Sarmad in 1661 for poetry deemed heretical and apostasy from Islam .
During his life, Sarmad produced a translation of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
in Persian.
Sarmad described himself as “a follower of the Furqan (i.e., a Sufi), a (Hindu) priest, a (Buddhist) monk, a Jewish rabbi, an infidel, and a Muslim." Sarmad's ambiguous religious affiliation is disputed today by Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. His grave is located near the Jama Masjid
Jama Masjid, Delhi
The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā , commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal,in the year 1644 CE and completed in the year 1658 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Maulana Azad and Sarmad
Maulana Abul Kalam AzadMaulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed was an Indian Muslim scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian independence movement, who lived from 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958. He was one of the most prominent Muslim leaders to support Hindu-Muslim unity, opposing the partition of India on...
, one of the leading political personalities involved actively in India's struggle for freedom
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, had equated himself with Sarmad in an essay which he had written at the age of 23. He had identified himself with Sarmad for his freedom of thought and expression.
Death
During the time, a number of Muslims had adopted an ascetic approach that was very similar to that of Hinduism. This attitude was offensive to Aurengzeb, who singled out Sarmad. There was a certain amount of political maneuvering in Aurengzeb's persecution of Sarmad; since he was under the protection of Aurengzeb's older brother Dara Shikoh and rival to the throne. Like Mansoor al-Hallaj, Sarmad was viewed within the context of Sufi antinomianism and is said to have debated a number of times with court jurisprudents. Aurengzeb has Sarmad arraigned and forced a death sentence against him which was carried out almost immediately by beheading him.Further reading
- Gupta, M.G. Sarmad the Saint: Life and Works, Revised Edition. MG Publishers, 2000. ISBN 81-85532-32-X.
- Ezekial, Isaac A. Sarmad: (Jewish Saint of India). 2nd ed. Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1974. ASIN B0006EXYM6.
External resources
- Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration Of the Prophet In Islamic Piety, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill And London.
- Sarmad, Mohammed Sa'id
- Sarmad and Aurangzeb
- the complete collection of Sarmad's Rubaiyat in Persian with English translation in single pdf file uploaded by Javed Hussen
- Hayat e Sarmad, a brief extremely lucid biography of Sarmad in Urdu written by Mawlana Abul Kalam Azad uploaded by Javed Hussen