One of the more enduring myths…actually a dense blanket of wool, which over the last century, has invaded the minds of and partially blinded the cultural and civilisational vision of Sanatanis is a hoax called sufism and variants thereof. It has been one of the more lasting successes of the Original Hoax: the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb. As with such cases, it is the Hindus who have, and who continue to gorge on it like it’s some spiritual version of eating copious kilograms of Haleem. This class of Hindus have even adopted the annual ritual pilgrimage to the Ajmer Dargah with a piety that would surprise the arch bigot and cow-slaughterer Moinuddin Chishti. Few can equal the feverish enthusiasm of such Hindus for self-inflicted, gruesome halaldom.
Then there’s the other class of Hindus, naïve and genuine in their stainless faith in the Unqualified Paramatman who takes on infinite forms. This faith is towards inexpressible sanctity as both the means and an end in and by itself, most visible in their Tirtha-Yatras, Pushakaras, Kumbh Mela, etc. It is this that makes the Sanatana culture unparalleled. And it is precisely this that the snake-oil salesmen of a ghostly cult have exploited with great success most notably in Tamil Nadu . Sufism is merely a softcore version of the same ghostly cultish tactics only with a far longer history in Bharatavarsha.
Yet, not everybody were fooled from that period in history till the present day as well. The history of the Sufi cult simply doesn’t tally with their tall and phoney claims to being something akin to the Hindu Yogic Sampradayas, for example. The biggest evidence for this phoniness are the words of the Sufis themselves: copious amounts of oral and written accounts. The cloak of reclusiveness and piety of Sufis did prove an effective subterfuge that hid their bloodthirsty fanaticism from the public eye. However, history shows that almost without exception the more renowned Sufis acted in these capacities, both singly and a varying mix of the following:
1. As reconnoitring agents in powerful Hindu kingdoms. Most notably, the early Sufis with their garb of wandering mystics, implanted themselves in the Chalukya kingdom[i] of Gujarat and from its sprawling coastline, sent intelligence to sultans in foreign lands whose invasion they eagerly awaited.
2. As spiritual and theological advisors to various Muslim kings in the medieval era.
3. As a powerful, behind-the-scenes political power that had enormous influence over the nobility in the courts of these sultans.
4. As advocates of some of the most bigoted, cruel and oppressive measures against Kaffirs. Some of these Sufis whose Dargahs Hindus visit today were instrumental in passing some of the most appalling and savage “laws” so that these Kaffirs could be more effectively persecuted in peacetime.
The inimitable Sita Ram Goel—whose presence the Sanatana civilization misses so deeply in these troubled times—provides perhaps the most accurate backdrop to the topic, characteristically, mincing no words.
When the armies of Islam rode roughshod over the Hindu homeland, the swordsman of Islam was very likely to relax and retreat from callous carnage after some time. He was likely to get satiated after the first few rounds of slaughter and pillage, or feel some sympathy for fellow human beings, or balk at the destruction of beautiful temples and monasteries, or turn away from burning the sacred and secular literature of non-Muslims, or acquire respect for the spirituality and culture of a people who had behaved so differently from his own comrades-in-arms. It was the Mullah and the Sufi who would not let him relax. They threatened him with hell if he tried to turn away from the work assigned by Allah.
Without further ado, let’s look at some quick examples of their pious words. For those wishing to do deeper research on this topic, a list of reading material has been provided in the Reference section at the end of this essay.
Credit for compiling most of the Sufi literature available in India till the mid 18th century goes to the unvarnished bigot, Shah Waliullah Dehalwi who is shamelessly described in our textbooks as a “reformer.” After the Mughal empire sputtered to a quick extinction after Aurangzeb’s death, Waliullah began writing anxious, frenetic letters to Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade India and reestablish the might of The Only True Faith here. The Wikipedia entry on this Hanafi fanatic is a classic model of whitewashing. The late Sri H.V. Seshadri’s classic work, The Tragic Story of Partition has a valuable account of Waliullah’s appalling mindset and even more horrific writing.
Between the mid-14th century up to the 18th century, an inordinate number of madrasas and khanqahs spurted all over, including southern India and quickly became the centres from where Sufis wrote and disseminated copious tracts of piety. There was nothing spiritual about their piety. We turn to Sita Ram Goel again for a sample:
Many Hindus have been misled, mostly by their own soft-headed scholars, to cherish the fond belief that the Sufis were spiritual seekers, and that unlike the Mullahs, they loved Hindu religious lore and liked their Hindu neighbours. The Chishtiyya Sufis in particular have been chosen for such fulsome praise.
Chishtiyya, derived from its founder, Moinuddin Chisthi of the Ajmer dargah fame. This is what a Muslim scholar writes about Chisthi the pious Sufi:
In Indian Sufism anti- Hindu polemics began with Muin al-din Chishti. Early Sufis in the Punjab and early Chishtis devoted themselves to the task of conversion on a large scale. Missionary activity slowed down under Nizam al-din Auliya, not because of any new concept of eclecticism, but because he held that the Hindus were generally excluded from grace and could not be easily converted to Islam unless they had the opportunity to be in the company of the Muslim saints for considerable time.
Here are some samples of the piety exuded by Ahmad Sirhindi, the great Sufi. (Emphasis added)
It is said that the Shariat prospers under the shadow of the sword (al-Shara‟ tahat al-saif). And the glory of the holy Shariat depends on the kings of Islam.
Islam and infidelity (kufr) contradict one another. To establish the one means eradicating the other, the coming together of these contradictories being impossible…The glory…consists in the humiliation and degradation of infidels and infidelity. He who honours the infidels, insults Islam. Honouring (the infidels) does not mean that they are accorded dignity, and made to sit in high places. It means allowing them to be in our company, to sit with them, and talk to them. They should be kept away like dogs.
The abolition of jizyah in Hindustan is a result of friendship which (Hindus) have acquired with the rulers of this land. What right have the rulers to stop exacting jizyah?
If the infidels pray, they will surely seek the intercession of their idols, which is taking things too far. A wise man has said that unless you become a maniac (dîwãnah) you cannot attain Islam.
Ram and Krishna whom Hindus worship are insignificant creatures, and have been begotten by their parents. Ram could not protect his wife whom Ravan took away by force. How can he (Ram) help others?
Before that kãfir [the extraorindary sacrifice of the Sikh Guru Arjun Deva] was executed this recluse [meaning Ahmad Sirhindi] had seen in a dream that the reigning king had smashed the skull of idolatry. Indeed, he was a great idolater, and the leader of the idolaters, and the chief of unbelievers. May Allah blast him!
For fuller details of such gems, please consult the source work given in the References section. Next, we have some more gems from the selfsame Shah Waliullah from whom “Sir” Syed Ahmad Khan took great inspiration. The following are some excerpts from Waliullah’s letter to the Afghan savage, Ahmad Shah Abdali who he invites to invade Hindustan in order to reestablish the might of Islam.
The presence of the kings of Islam is a great blessing from Allah… Every (Muslim) king got mosques erected in his territory, and created madrasas. Muslims of Arabia and Ajam (non-Arab Muslim lands) migrated from their own lands and arrived in these territories. They became agents for the publicity and spread of Islam here. Up till now their descendants are firm in the ways of Islam… [Now] the country of Hindustan has passed under the power of non-Muslims. In this age, except your majesty, there is no other king who is powerful and great, who can defeat the enemies, and who is farsighted and experienced in war. It is your majesty’s bounden duty (farz-i-ain) to invade Hindustan, to destroy the power of the Marhatahs, and to free the down-and-out Muslims from the clutches of non-Muslims. Allah forbid, if the power of the infidels remains in its present position, Muslims will renounce Islam… May you acquire plunder beyond measure, and may the Muslims be freed from the stranglehold of the infidels.
This is just a fraction of a whole body of such Sufi literature, which drips with the choicest obscenities against the infidel Hindus and their religion of darkness. Shah Waliullah’s swearwords against Hindus are especially noteworthy for the level of violence they contain. He singles out the Marathas, the Jats and the Sikhs for this “special treatment.”
In our own time, even well-meaning Hindus need to read these horrific accounts before trying to equate Sufism with Yogic schools. And stop blindly praising the “mystic” Sufi “music” or whatever.
Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them: Volumes 1 & 2: Sita Ram Goel
Muslim Separatism: Causes and Consequences: Sita Ram Goel
The Tragic Story of Partition: H.V. Seshadri
Muslim Revivalist Movements in Northern India in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: S.A.A. Rizvi
Maktûbãt-i-Imãm Rabbãnî: Ahmad Sirhindi
Shãh Walîullah Dehlvî ke Siyãsî Maktûbãt: K.A. Nizami
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