Rowzat al Shohda was Composed by Shia or Sunni?

 

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 19^th 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 8^th 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’.

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