Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
It may surprise majority
of Shias that Mulla Hussain Vaez Kashefi who wrote ‘Rowzat- al- Shohda’(Garden
of the Martyrs) was a Sunni with tremendous love for Ahlebait-E-Athar.His work
is considered to be instrumental in institutionalizing Muharram ceremonies not
only in Iran but also in Indian sub-continent. Another noteworthy feature is
that ‘Rowzat al Shohda’ predates the Safavid dynasty that had adopted and promoted
it for popularizing Azadari and allied rituals after declaring Shiism as state
religion.
In fact, Sunni ruler
Sultan Hussain Bayqara (1469-1506) had commissioned Kashefi to compose ‘Rowzat
al Shohda ‘.He too loved family of the holy Prophet immensely. It was not
surprising .Till the emergence of sectarian divide between Shias and Sunnis
from 19th century onwards ,both the communities held Ahlebait in
high esteem. The tradition continues in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and
even in Iran till today.
Kashefi was born in
Sabzvar in 1420 CE. Being influenced by the shrine of 8th Shia Imam
Raza in Mashhad, he spent sometime there. Then he settled at Nishapur and moved
to Herat permanently. In due course, he developed intimacy with Naqshbandi Sufi
Abdul Rahman Jami who initiated him to the order that attributes its origin to
the first Muslim Caliph after the Prophet. Remaining Sufi orders trace their
lineage to Maula Ali. Kashefi may be an enigma for scholars but it is an
undenying the fact that he wrote a Shia hagiography and lived happily in Herat,
Khorasan, Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, considering
himself simply as a lover of Ahlebait and a devout Muslim. Similarly, his
patron Sultan Bayqara never tried to conceal his love for Ahlebait and even got
renovated Mazar-E-Sharif –considered by Afghans as the last resting place of Hazrat
Ali.
The work continues to
enjoy a canonical status as Shia hagiography even as the scholars keep debating
whether Kashefi was a Sunni or Shia. Rowzat al-Shohda is an ‘Alid martyrlogy’,
containing ten chapters with a conclusion. It describes at length the tragic
events at Karbala, martyrdom of Imam Hussain and his companions in a language
that resulted in its extreme popularity in Persian speaking belts beyond Iran. Kashefi
spent his last days in Heart and lies buried close to the grave of Jami..
Reference : Based on the inputs taken
from Karen G.Ruffle’s Ph.D. dissertation titled -‘A Bride of One Night’.
Image Courtesy :Google
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