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For Whom The Bells Tolls

HUSAIN was born in A.H. 945 (AD. 1539) in Lahore.1 His ancestors,

says the author of Tazkira were originally Kayastha Hindus who

embraced Islam in the time of Feroz Shah.2 But Baba Buddh Singh is

of opinion that his great-grandfather or grandfather, who became a

Mussulman, belonged to the dhata clan of the Rajputs.3 Under what

circumstances Husain’s family confessed the Muhammadan creed is

not known. All that we know is that at the birth of Husain, the family

was sunk deep in poverty. His father, who was called, nau shaikh

‘Usman,4 was a weaver. Husain never learned this trade, but on

account of his father being engaged in the industry, Fard Faqir in his

Kasab-Nama Bafind-gan 5 says:

Par is kasabe de vice bahute alam phazal hoai

Par shah husain kabir Jo aye dargah ja khaloai.

Though in this profession many learned ones had been, yet Shah

Husain and Kabir who came (in the profession) went and stood at the

door (of God).

Husain was put under the charge .of Abu-Bakr at a very tender age

and became a hafiz when he was ten years old.6 Then Shaikh Bahlol

of Ciniot (Chiniot, Jhang district), who learnt the doctrine of fana

from a Sufi of Koh-Panj-Shir, came to Lahore and made Husain his

own disciple.7 After a few years Shaikh Bahlol returned from Lahore

and left Husain to continue his study of the Sufi practices at the shrine

of Data Ganj Bakhsh8 in Lahore.9 For twelve years he served the ashes

of the pir and followed the strict Qura’nic discipline.10 He is said to

have spent many a night in a standing posture in the river Ravi,

repeating the Qur’an.11 At twenty-six he left that pir and became a

student of Sa’d-ullah, with whom he read many a book on Sufiism.

Some time after this, as he was coming out of the house of his teacher

with his fellow-students, he thought he had found the secret of God.

Happy at his success he threw in the well the Qur’an which he had in

his hand, but his companions were enraged at this act of heresy. He

thereupon ordered the hook to come out. It came, and to the surprise

of his companions it was as dry as before.12 Here after Husain,

discarding all rules and regulations, began to dance, sing, and drink.

He became a mystic. The excesses of Husain became scandalous and

reached the ear of Shah Bahlol at Ciniot. The Shaikh was so much

upset that he journeyed to Lahore to see things for himself. His talks

with his disciple convinced him of his saintliness and he went back

satisfied to his native town.13 Husain wore a red dress and came to be

known as Lal Husain or Husain the Red.14 Husain was very fond of

dancing and singing and mixed freely in the company of dancers and

musicians. The Qadiris, to whose sect Husain belonged, generally

loved music and dancing which, they, never went to the extreme

which Husain reached. Husain shaved clean his moustache and beard

and refused, according to the author of Hasanat-ul-arifin to accept

those persons as disciples who were unwilling to shave their faces.15

This idea of Husain and his neglect of the religious duties of a

Mussulman aroused suspicion, and some officials thought of

punishing him; but by pointing out to them their own neglect of

religious duties, Husain escaped punishment.16 LaI Husain was

fortunate to have been born, to live, and to die during the reign of

Emperor Akbar whose fondness for religious men and especially the

Sufi was proverbial. Akbar, it appears from the writings of Dara

Shikoh, knew Husain. Prince Dara writes: ‘Prince Salim and the ladies

of Emperor Akbar’s harem believed in his supernatural powers and

entertained respect for him.’17 The Tahqiqat-i-Cishti states18 that

Prince (later Emperor) Salim was greatly attached to the saint and

appointed Bahar Khan, an officer, to record his daily doings. These

records, which were regularly submitted for the perusal of the Prince,

were later on compiled together with the sayings of the saint and were

named Baharia.19 The Baharia is said to be replete with incidents

relating to the supernatural power of the saint.

His Attachment to Madho

Having become a Sufi, Husain began preaching in public. A Brahman

boy of Shahdara, a village across the Ravi, frequented these religious

séances and showed keen interest in his teachings.20 This attracted the

attention of the saint, who soon became attached to the handsome

youth. This attachment developed so much and so rapidly that if on

any day Madho failed to come, Husain would walk down to his house.

This sort of friendship was not liked by the parents, who tried to

dissuade their son from meeting Husain, but to no effect. Desirous of

separating their child from the Sufi, they proposed take him to the

Ganges on a certain festival day. When Madho informed saint of his

impending departure, he was much distressed and begged the boy not

to go with his parents. However, he promised Madho a bath in the

company of his parents on the appointed day. Madho thereupon

refused to accompany his parents, who proceeded alone to Hardvar.

After a few days the saint asked the boy to close his eyes, and when

he did so, Madho found himself on the banks of the Ganges along

with his parents who had reached there by that time. After the bath he

discovered that he was back in his house at Shahdara. On their return

the parents confirmed their son’s statement that he bathed with them

on the appointed day. This miracle, says tradition, so much impressed

Madho that he confessed the Muhammadan faith and became a

Mussulman.21 Another story about Madho’s conversion is that the

attachment of Husain for Madho was disagreeable to the parents and

created suspicion in the people’s mind.22 But Husain, unmindful of all,

would go to the boy’s house when he was prevented from visiting

him. Very often the parents would tell him that Madho was absent and

Husain would return disappointed. One day when he had been refused

permission to see the boy, he walked down to his house for the second

time. On reaching the place he saw people weeping and Wailing. On

inquiry, he was told that Madho was dead. The Faqir laughed aloud

and walking to the dead body exclaimed: ‘Get up, Madho, why do you

sleep at this hour? Get Up end see I am waiting for you.’ Upon this,

continues the story, Madho jumped on his feet and followed Husain

out of his parental house, never to return there again, and be a

Mussulman.

Both these versions of Madho’s conversion are legendary and most

probably untrue and of later origin, because how could a Sufi of

Husain’s type who disregard traditional precepts convert his beloved

friend to Islam? 23

Secondly, since Madho did not change his Hindu name, it is certain

that he was not converted to Islam. To our mind the truth appears to

have been as follows:

That Madho, convinced of Husain’s saintliness, was attached to him

in the same manner as the saint was to him, and consequently,

ignoring the rules of his own society, became his disciple and ate and

drank with his spiritual guide. Such behavior would surely have

offended the conservative Hindus who, on this account,

excommunicated him and turned him out of their social fold. Thus

secluded, the unfortunate Madho had no choice but to go and live with

his master as his friend and disciple. Thousands of such adherents

were unhesitatingly given by the Hindus to Islam and Madho no doubt

had been one of these forced converts.

Madho later on was known as Shaikh Madho and his name came to be

prefixed to that of the saint, 24 who to this day is known as Madho Lal

Husain.

The love of Husain for Madho was unique, and he did all that lay in

his power to please the boy. Once, seeing his co-religionists

celebrating holi 25 and being desirous of doing the same, he brought

some gulal (pinkish-red powder) and threw it on Husain. Husain at

once joined him in the fun.26 Basant or the spring festival, like holi,

was also celebrated each year by Lal Husain to please Madho.26

Madho Lal Husain was held in great respect by the people, and the

Hindus, though they seem to have turned Madho out of their fold,

could not master their credulous beliefs in the supernatural miracleperforming

power of the saint and esteemed him just as much as their

Muslim brethren. The author of Tazkira fixes the number of his

followers as 90,000; but other people, he says, believed the number of

his faithful to reach 1,000,000.27 The same authority is responsible for

the statement that Husain’s gaddis, sixteen in number, are scattered all

over India.28 Four of these sixteen seats are called Garibs, or the poor,

the other four are named Diwans or the ministers.29 Three are known

as Khakis or the ash-smearers, and another four as Baihlavals, i.e.

entertainers. Nothing is said about the sixteenth.30

Husain indulged in wine, and probably it is due to alcohol that ho died

at the age of 53, a comparatively early at for saint. His death occurred

in A.H 1008 (A.D. 1593) at Shahdara, where he was duly buried 31 A

few years later, as predicted by the saint,32 the grave was swept away

by an overflow of the Ravi. Thereupon Madho exhumed the corpse

and carried it to Baghbanpura, where it was buried with pompous

formalities. After his death Madho was buried by his side. Latif

describes the tomb as follow:

The tomb is situated north of the village Baghbanpura. There are signs

of two tombs on high platform, one of Madho and the other of Lal

Husain, the actual tombs being in an underground chamber. The

platform is surrounded by a wall with a gateway to the south. Between

the platform and the surrounding wall is a space left for the devotees

to go round,—the platform being lined on all sides with lattice-work

of red stone. North of the enclosure is a tower in which is reverentially

kept the impression of the prophet’s feet (Qadam-i-Rasul) and to the

west is a mosque. This mosque was constructed by Mora, a

Muhammadan wife of Ranjit Singh.34

La1 Husain appears to have had friendships among the holy men of

his time. He was an intimate friend of Chajju Bhagat who, the

tradition says, called him Shah Husain for the first time.35 He met

Guru Arjun whenever he came to Lahore. We, however, cannot find

any historical evidence to support the assertion of Baba Buddh Singh,

who states that when Arjun was compiling the Adi Granth, Husain

submitted his verses to him for inspections but the Guru, disapproving

them, refused to insert them in the Granth.36 Husain’s poetry, if we

may be permitted to say so, is in no way inferior to that of many

others found in the body of the Granth, nor would a free Sufi like

Husain care to have his verses inserted in the book of a sect then not

so popular as it was to be alter a few years.

His Mysticism

Husain’s Sufiism was of a peculiar type and presented a curious

medley of Persian and Indian Sufiism. In his mystic ideas and beliefs

he was more Indian than anything else, but in his daily life he

followed the style of the Persian Sufis.

His Works

Husain has left no poetic works. His only work is a number of kafis of

a highly mystic type.

His Language and Style

His verse is written in simple Panjabi, slightly overlaid with Persian

and Arabic words. It excels in expression of thought and has a clear

flow. In its simplicity and effectiveness it is superior to Ibrahim

Farid’s Panjabi. It lacks the brilliancy of Urdu poetry but is

remarkable for its just proportion of words and powerful sense of

rhyme. His versification is smoother, his similes more relevant, and

his words simpler but more effective than those of Ibrahim. His poetry

is of a less orthodox type but is not as saturated with Indian thought as

would be the poetry of Bullhe Shah. Like his character, his poetry is a

curious mixture of Sufi, Indian, and foreign thought. The essential

feature of his poetry which strikes the reader is that it is highly

pathetic and, piercing the heart, creates a mystic feeling.

Peculiarity of his Doctrines

Husain’s peculiarity of character is also reflected in his poetry. He

believes in fana but does not seem to accept the doctrine of ana’l-

Haqq’ without which fana is not comprehensible. As we shall see

presently, he spent his life in search of the Beloved whom he knew to

be present everywhere but whom he could not see. His excessive love

for Madho also proves that he did not reach those heights which

Bullha attained.

Husain believed in the theory of karma, but on a rational Panjabi

basis, as:

Dunia to mar javana vatt na avana

Jo kich kitta bura bhala to kitta apna pavana.

A good number of Panjabi Sufi poets made attempts to create friendly
feelings between the different communities by harmonizing the
opposing systems. For this reason their poetry became clear to all
sections of the Panjabi people. Besides, from the literary point of view
also it deserved and was allotted a very high place. It retains the favor
of both Hindus and Mussulmans and circulates among the masses in
the form of songs, proverbs, and hymns even to this day.1 In short,
without this strain, Panjabi literature would be poor and devoid of a
good deal of its beauty and literary charm.
Here we shall give explanations of those few words that are used in
their original forms in our discussion of the Sufi poets.
Gaddi-nishin :2 one who occupies the spiritual seat of a saint; a
spiritual successor.
Murid: a disciple.
Murshid: a preceptor or a teacher.
Pir: murshid.
Khalifa: chosen successor of a teacher; a successor.
‘Urs: nuptial festivals held at Sufi shrines. Urs. or nuptials signifies
the union of the Sufi with God.
Rahau: chorus; refrain or the first verse of a song indicating the
musical tune to which the remainder is to be sung.
Antara: a poem or song excepting the refrain.
It has been mentioned above that the Panjabi Sufis in their
compositions employed, except for a few technical terms and words
concerning tasawwuf borrowed from Arabic and Persian, the
vocabulary and terms of local trades and cottage industries, in the
Panjab as elsewhere the villages and towns were self-supporting
units.3 All the necessities of life in those times were produced by the
people themselves. The Sufi poetry which was nursed in the towns
and villages therefore bore strong impressions of its surroundings. The
most important industry of the Panjab, which flourished more or less
in every village and city, was the cotton industry.4 This cotton
comprised three processes:
1. Cleaning and carding of cotton and making small rolls ready for
spinning. This was done by both men and women.
2. Spinning, turning cotton into yarn, done entirely by women.
3. Weaving, done by men, though often feminine aid was procured.
The Sufis made ample use of the vocabulary of this industry and took
similes from it. We give below the vocabulary relative to cotton
manufacture, which may be of help to those who are interested in
Panjabi Sufi poetry.
The first process, cleaning of cotton:
Tumbna: to open the cocoons by hand. This operation was generally
performed by the women folk.
Velna: the instrument used for separating the seeds.
Velavi: one who works on the velna.
Jhambhna or Pinjna: to card cotton.
Penjah or pinjah: cotton carder.
Punni: a small roll of carded cotton prepared for spinning.
The second process, spinning: To the Panjabi Sufi the world was a
spinning-wheel and his own self or soul the young girl who was
supposed to spin and prepare her dowry. His good actions were like
spinning, and the yarn thus spun washis dowry which, like tile young
girl, he would take to the husband (God). As a husband loved and
lived happily with the wife who brought him a dowry and was
qualified in spinning,5 so did God love the Sufi who died with good
account (karma or actions) and possessed qualities that would befit a
soul striving for good. But like that obstinate and short-sighted girl
who, ignoring the future consequences, spent her time in games and
replied to her mother’s remonstrance by stating that one part or the
other of the spinning-wheel was out of order, the ignorant Sufi made
excuses for his indulgence in worldly pleasures. In the end, like the
idle young girl, he was ignored by the Beloved and union was denied
him. Thereupon he bewailed his sorrow and described the pangs of
Divine separation. Here is the vocabulary:
Charkha: a spinning-wheel.
Charkkhari: the wheel of the spinning-wheel on which the thread
turns.
Bair: the network of cord which bridges the two sides of the
charkkhari and on which the thread turns.
Mahl or Mehal: thread that connects the charkkhari with the spindle.
Hatthi or Hattha: the handle that turns the wheel.
Manka: circular beads used as pivots for the spindle.
Chamari: a small object made either of leather or of dry grass, which
fits in the two pillars of the spinning-wheel and through which the
spindle passes.
Munna: a pillar of the spinning-wheel which hold the spindle.
Takkla or trakla: spindle of the spinning-wheel.
Tand : thread spun on the spinning-wheel.
Challi or Mudda: a hank of spun yarn.
Trinan or Trinjhan: a party of young girls or women for spinning in
competition; a spinning-bee.
Kattna: to spin.
Bharota or Chikku: a small basket to hold the hanks.
The third process, weaving:
Nara: a Weaver’s shuttle.
Nali: the quill or bobbin of a weaver’s shuttle.
Khaddi: a loom.
Tana or Tani: warp.
Peta: woof.
Mand or Pan: paste of wheat flour used to stiffen the cotton thread for
weaving.
Kanghi: a heavy comb by which the threads of the woof are pressed
home.
Gandh or Ghundi: a knot to unite the two ends of a broken thread.
Atti: a skein of spun cotton.
Atterna: coiling of spun thread on a small frame to make skeins.
Atteran: the frame used for coiling cotton thread.
Julaha: a weaver.
Unna or Bunna: to weave.
Rangna: to dye.
Daj: dowry chiefly consisting of dresses, the major part of which was
prepared by the bride herself; a trousseau.
Besides the vocabulary of the cotton industry the Sufis also employed
the names of things in everyday use in the areas, as:
Goil:6 a small hut of mud and grass, built on pasture land for the
cowherd, or made in fields for the person who keeps watch.
Chajj: a tray of thin reeds, used for winnowing agricultural products.
Chajjli:7a tray larger than a chajj and used to winnow the threshing
floor.
Jharu 8or bauhkar: a broom used for sweeping the floor or to collect
together grain spread in the sun.
Angithi:9 a small object made of iron or earth to hold fire.
Bhambar:10 a flame or a big fire.
Ghund:11 that part of a woman’s veil which she throws over her face
to conceal it from men.