Saturday 5 November 2016

Mughal Emperor's Exemplary Love for Maula Ali

Bahadur Shah, ca. 1670, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.jpg

Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah 1st


Dr. Mazhar Naqvi
The seventh Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah 1st does not occupy the pages of Indian history the way he should as a great devotee of Maula-e-Kaynat Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib. After ascending the throne, he had inserted the declaration of Hazrat Ali as Wasi in the Khutba (public prayer) delivered  for the monarch  every Friday. His move however sparked off controversy and anti-Ahle-bait forces opposed the insertion of word wasi in the Khutba. The emperor refused to backtrack  but a section of people continued to oppose. The emperor then  visited Lahore  in September 1711  and had discussions with Haji Yar Muhammad, Muhammad Murad and other well-known men and scholars. He read "books of authority" to justify the insertion of  the word wasi.  But Yar Mohammad remained defiant. With the help of emperor’s brother Azim Ush Shan, Yar Mohammad started recruiting soldiers to overthrow Bahadur Shah.
The emperor preferred to stick to his decision and got the Khatib(Chief Reciter) of Badshahi Mosque arrested after holding him responsible for the trouble. It still remains a mystery as to why the word wasi was not included when khutba was read out at the Badshahi Mosque on October 2, Most of the historians are of the view that Bahadur Shah tried to avoid a fresh confrontation in view of certain other pressing problems confronting him. He thought of buying time to consolidate his kingdom and then reintroduce the altered Khutba. Destiny however did niot permit him to do so , for he died on February 27,1712.Born on October 14, 1743, he was the third son of emperor Aurangzeb and his Muslim Rajput wife Nawab Bai. He never appreciated religious policy of his father who had banned Muharram during his regime. Bahadur Shah made unsuccessful attempts to dethrone Aurangzeb but the latter always proved too smart to his son’s conspiracies. Aurangzeb imprisoned Bahadur Shah several times but appointed him governor of Agra, Kabul and Lahore between 1696 and 1707.
In January 1712,his health worsened and he breathed his last in Lahore. His body was brought to Delhi where he lies buried in the court yard of Moti Masjid in  Mahrauli. During his short-lived reign, Bahadur Shah tried to adopt a liberal policy but followers if his father’s fanaticism did not allow him to do so. They forced him not to follow the rules of governance framed by Hazrat Ali. The Mughal empire paid a heavy price for it and it disintegrated in a quick span of time.(References available on request.Photo Google images).  


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