Milad-Un-Nabi Processsion of Hyderabad
Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
The birth
anniversary of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Milad-un-Nabi) is celebrated amidst a riot of green, yellow
and red flags in the old city area of Hyderabad (India).People celebrate the
festival with gusto and cut across sect barriers to welcome the procession
taken out from Engine Bowli with participants carrying and waving flags as the procession
passes through Shahalibanda, Charminar, Madina building and Mir Chowk to culminate
at Mughalpura. However, majority of them is not aware as to who gave the
Milad-Un-Nabi celebrations splendor and magnificence in Hyderabad? It is so
because historians have liberally
acknowledged the great contribution of Qutb Shahi Sultans to promotion of
Muharram rituals but strangely adopted a retrained approach while penning down
their patronage to birth anniversary celebrations of the Prophet. Hence, the modern
generation remains ignorant about the patronage extended to Mild-uN-Nabi celebrations
by Qutub Shahi Sultans. It is a grave injustice to these Sultans, for they used
to earmark large sums for festivities and all the celebrations linked with the birth
anniversary of Prophet were conducted under state patronage.
A Well-Decorated Area of Hyderabad
The festivities reached its zenith during the
regime of Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah (1580-1612), the founder of Hyderabad city. He
used to dole out lakhs of rupees on illumination, incense and feeding the
masses to mark the occasion. Moreover, he also used to earmark an equal amount for
charity to the poor and needy in memory of the generosity and mercy shown by
the holy Prophet on down trodden. As a sequel to his liberal approach, the
annual festivities had taken on the form of a spectacle of revelry much to the
heart- burning of devout Muslims. His poems give an idea how the morals of
participants had deteriorated in such festivities and what was the scale of
celebrations. Muhammad Quli himself boasts of in his poetry “the bazaars,
palaces and houses look like bridegrooms; there is an atmosphere of universal
joy and pleasure with whole country glittering with light and pleasure at every
corner.”
All Green Old Hyderabad Street
His successor, Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah (1612-1626)
was not liberal like his father. He was against the conversion of a solemn
occasion into spectacle of revelry. The new ruler had studied under renowned
clerics and scholars of his time. So he checked the decadent practices and ensured
that the budgeted amount be given away in alms. His efforts returned sobriety to
the celebrations associated with the revered personage of the Prophet. The next
Sultan, Abdullah Qutub Shah (1626-1672), was also a liberal ruler. After ascending
the throne, he revived festivities albeit but did not tolerate any debauchery and
curtailed any anti-Islamic ritual with iron hand. The last ruler of the dynasty
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (1672-1689) also continued the examples set by his illustrious
predecessors.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah & Charminar in an Old Painting
Qutb Shahi sultans also encouraged
poets to compose eulogies in praise of the Prophet especially during the month
of his birth. Muhammad Quli himself was a great poet and wrote poems in ‘Dakhanni’
Urdu, Persian and Telugu languages. He has left behind a huge collection of
excellent poetry. During their regime, recitation of ‘Naat’ (reverential poetry
in praise of Holy Prophet) at public gatherings to commemorate his birth as God’s
mercy on mankind was considered a matter of great honor. The encouragement from
Sultans inspired poets from different faiths to compose Naats. A large number
of Naats were also composed by Hindus and they are now an integral part of Urdu
literature. Some of them are considered to be masterpiece in view of the literary
skills of their composers.
Reference:
1-History of Modern Andhra- P. Raghunadharao
2- A Cultural
History of India- A. L. Basham
3-The Hindu-December
25,2015
4-Photo
Courtesy-Google Images
No comments:
Post a Comment