Portrait of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan
Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
History has recorded Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of
Hyderabad, as a great admirer of martyrs of Karbala. His contribution to the
construction of Azakhana-e-Zohra and patronage to Muharram rituals throughout Hyderabad
state too is well known. But historians have not highlighted the unconditional
love of his father and 6th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan
for Imam Hussain the way it should have been. Why Mahboob Ali has been
overlooked as an exemplary “Muhib”(one who loves) of ‘King of the Martyrs’ is
quite surprising, considering the fact that a ‘Salam’ composed by him in praise
of imam Hussain is still recited in Hyderabad
and quite popular among devotees.
The blogger happened to find the translation of the Salam(Salutation)
in a well-researched book on Karbala*.His efforts to find out the original work
has failed to yield desired result so far but the search is continuing. Mahboob
Ali was a Sunni ruler of Asifjahi dynasty and his takhallus(pen name) was Asif. He has used his takhallus in the ‘Maqta’ of
his Salam.
Despite being ruler of a vast kingdom and known as one of the
wealthiest person of the world, Mahboob Ali has described slavery of Imam as
his only desire in his Salam that is being produced for viewers of Muharram
Mirror:
“Greetings to he whose name is Husain
May I be his ransom!
My helper, my
master, my Imam Husain
The zephyr carries my prayers to his shrine
Oh God! May Husain accept my greetings
Alas! Not a single stone-hearted fiend heard
The plea that was made a hundred thousand times
“I am the Prophet’s grandson, my name is Husain!”
I have but one desire, O Asif
That I may become the slave
of Husain”
It is worth mentioning here that 6th Nizam was
well known for his lavish lifestyle and luxuries, He had an enormous
fascination for clothes and cars. His collection of garments was one of the
most extensive in the world. Mahboob Ali devoted a whole wing of his palace to
his wardrobe and never wore the same dress twice. He also bought famous Jacob
diamond. Yet he longed for slavery of Hazrat Imam Hussain and wrote poetry in his
praise. Imam also stated to have blessed him power to cure snake bites. It was his order that if anyone from the
public had a snake bite, they could approach him. Nizam was awakened as a
result a number of times but he always offered his services with utmost sincerity
and never let the protocol act as barrier. He breathed his last on August 29,
in 1911 and succeeded by his son, Mir Osman Ali Khan.(References :1- Reliving
Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory-Book by Syed Akbar Hyder 2- ‘Gulzar-e-Asafia’ by Ghulam Husain 3-Photo
courtesy Google Images)
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