The Rubaiyat of Sarmad

by Sarmad Shaheed, Syeda Saiyidain Hameed

Genres: Poetry

93 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Sarmad was born a Jew in Kashan (in modern-day Iran), around 1590. He became a trader and acquired knowledge of mystic traditions and of Arabic and Persian poetry. Before he arrived in the port city of Thatta (in modern-day Sindh) in 1632, he had converted to Islam. In Thatta he met a Hindu boy named Abhai Chand. The attraction was mutual and soon after meeting him, Sarmad abandoned his trade and became a naked fakir.

Sarmad arrived in Delhi in 1654. He stayed with Khwaja Syed Abul Qasim Hare Bhare, a Qadri Sufi, and became his disciple. Prince Dara Shikoh was amongst the devotees of Sarmad.

It is believed that Sarmad was executed on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir in the year 1660.

Reviews

[Zeeshan Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sufi Sarmad or Sarmad Kashani, the martyr. The enigmatic 'naked' ascetic who had this strange way of life. A 'mad' poet.

I have always had this admiration for Sarmad, and I still find him as someone who was a rebel in every sense of the word. This short book contained selected poetry of Sarmad, and included a profound biographical essay on Sarmad by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Aurangzeb and Sarmad stand on the opposite ends of the spectrum. One known for his rigidness in terms of religion, and using 'faith' as a vehicle for political manipulation; the other, known for his all-encompassing faith, tolerant faith. The latter was executed by the former: a harmless mystic killed by a ruthless emperor. This mystic also paid the price for his association with Aurangzeb arch-rival, his own brother, Dara Shukoh. Aurangzeb did get rid of Sarmad, as well as Dara. But what he could not get rid of were their respective legacies and the ideas that they stood for. The differences between both legacies quite clear.


This is a must read book particularly for those who want to know about Sarmad, and also get a glimpse of his brilliant poetry.

"I am the king of kings
O Sheikh! Not naked like you,
I love madness, dynamism, but I am not distraught
An infidel, an idolator,
I am not one of the pious.
I am going towards the mosque
But I am not a Muslim."

"Although hundreds of friends
Have become my foes,
The friendship of One
Has given security to my soul.
Rejecting many I have embraced the One-
At last
I am He and He is me."

[Danish Pastry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The moth should seek the flame, if it is desirous of the lamp which is lit only in the mosque, its desire for self-immolation is not complete"
^This was my favorite line

I wasn't really a fan of Sarmad's poetry (could be my lack of understanding, a poor translation, or I just dont like it. Maybe some more explicit exegesis may have helped?), and I am really only giving 2 stars because I liked the "Sarmad Shaheed" by Azad which prefaced the actual quatrains. otherwise i would give it 1 star. If I could rate the character Sarmad himself I would give him 5 stars.


i read this because I heard of Sarmad in the Qawwali "Mein Sharabi" by Aziz Mian when he says "Sarmad ne masjid mein sar ko kata ke pi". The story of Sarmad's life and death is fascinating. To have become enamored by a hindu boy, to have lived naked, and to have the guts to say what he truly felt in the face of death, he embodied the rebellious spirit. I liked the explanation of him only saying "la ilaha" and not "ilallah" because he felt he had not yet found God, though he was desperately seeking Him. He would not lie out of hypocrisy or to meet some arbitrary dogmatic standard of religiosity. I think we all can learn from this. I also was blown away by the observation that the urdu word for god "khuda" can be deconstructred into "khud-aa" (come yourself). I think this is a really poetic observation, that you have to find God yourself.

[Nazmi Yaakub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mengenal ahli sufi berlatarkan zaman getir peralihan kuasa dari Shah Jehan kepada Aurangzeb Alamgir yang rapat dengan seorang tokoh yang tidak kurang kontroversi, Dara Shikoh. Esei pengenalan Malauna Abul Kalam Azad yang rapat dengan Ghandi dan menjadi antara negarawan India, memperlihatkan bagaimana tokoh awal dunia Islam menggauli pelbagai sisi ilmu dalam membentuk keintelektualan yang sekarang ini menjadi ramuan yang nadir dapat ditemui pada ahli politik.

[Vinay Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book in itself is amazing with transliterated text and translation. Introductory essay by Shankar Dayal Sharma and Abul Kalam Azad were both beautifully rendered.