|
|
Kitaab al Maknoom
From AIA group, on Jan 4,
2012, by Sunil Nair (Y Malaiya)
It is
indeed strange to notice that a Muslim got attracted to Hindu Upanishad,
studied them and translated them for heir own people.
The prodigal
son: Scholarly pursuits of Aurangzeb's heretic brother Daaraa Shikoh was the eldest
son of Shaah Jahaan and Mumtaaz Mahal.
Karachi :
Although Daraa was the son of the best known Mugal couple known for their
love story, Shaah Jahaan and Mumtaaz Mahal, and the brother of one of the
most renowned emperors, Aurangzeb, very little is known about his scholarly
pursuits. However, recent research revealed that Shikoh studied theology and
Hindu scriptures in great detail. This emerged in a lecture by Dr Munis
Faruqui, the assistant professor at the department of South and South-east
Asian studies at the University of California Berkley, hosted by the Habib
University Foundation.
The lecture
was titled “New Perspectives on the Mugals: The Case of Dara Shikoh.” Faruqi shed
light on the political and theological implications of Daaraa Shikoh’s scholarly
work on the Upanishad – a sacred Hindu scripture which expounds the Ved in predominantly
mystical and monistic terms. He supervised the translation of Upanishad from Sanskrit
into Persian, for which he was later executed. He was assassinated in front of his
son by four henchmen of the emperor on the night of August 30 in 1659.
Dr Faruqui said
that the lives of Daaraa Shikoh and Aurangzeb, the eldest and the third sons of Shaah
Jahaan have been shrouded in mystery. Shikoh was supposed to be the heir of the Mugal
Empire but the crown was usurped by Aurangzeb. Faruqui explored the journey of Daaraa
Shikoh to proclaim the importance of the Upanishad to the Muslims and the rest of the
world. He asserted that he believed that the work referred to in the Quran as “Kitab
al-Maknun” (The hidden book) is none other than the Upanishad – humanity’s first
monotheistic text.
[Published in "The Express Tribune", January 5th, 2012.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/316755/the-prodigal-son-scholarly-pursuits-of-aurangzebs-heretic-brother/]
|