Karbala and how Lahore was involved
A Muharram procession in Lahore, Pakistan.—File Photo
IN our school and college days we all loved to assist friends set up ‘sabeels’ alongside Lahore`s traditional ‘Ashura’ procession, providing cold drinks to the thousands who mourned. Sects and beliefs never mattered then. But then neither did one`s religion.
For well over 1,332 years, the tragedy of Karbala moves everyone who hears about it, be they Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh or any other religion. This is one incident that brings out the need to support those with a moral position.
As children we attended the ‘sham-i-ghareeban’ with our Shia friends, and learnt the lesson of supporting those in the right. Everyone respected the beliefs of others. Yes, there were always a few silly chaps who wanted attention, but they were at best ignored.
The ancient city of Lahore is connected to the tragedy in no uncertain terms.
Historical accounts say seven brave warriors from Lahore died while fighting in the Battle of Karbala. It is said their father Rahab Dutt, an old man who traded with Arabia in those days, had promised the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) to stand by his grandson in his fight to uphold the truth.
That pledge the brave Rajput Mohiyals of the Dutt clan from Lahore upheld.
Today they are known as Hussaini Brahmins, who lived in Lahore till 1947.
Then there is the fact that besides the Hindu Rajputs of Lahore, in the battle also fought John bin Huwai, a freed Christian slave of Abu Dharr al-Ghafari, whose `alleged` descendents, one researcher claims, still live inside the Walled City of Lahore.
I have been on the track of these ancestors for quite some time and have been able to trace one Christian family living inside Mori Gate. They claim to have a connection with a `Sahabi` whose name they cannot recollect. M. A. Karanpikar`s `Islam in Transition`, written over 250 years ago, made this claim, but I do not think it is a claim worth pursuing.
But the most powerful claim of Lahore as the place where the descendents of Hussain ibn All came lies in the Bibi Pak Daman graveyard, where the grave of Ruquiya, sister of Hussain ibn Ali and wife of Muslim ibn Ageel, is said to exist.
Also graves here attributed to the sisters of Muslim ibn Ageel and other family members. Many dispute this claim.
But then no less a person than Ali Hasan of Hajweri, known popularly as Data Sahib, came here every Thursday to offer ‘fateha’ at the grave, informing his followers that this was the grave of Ruquiya. The place where he always stood to offer `fateha` has been marked out, and his book also verifies this claim. Mind you detractors exist, of this have no doubt, but the supporting evidence is quite strong.
Let me begin the story of the Dutts by going through the record of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital and the recorded fact that Indian film star Sunil Dutt, who belonged to Lahore, made a donation to the hospital and recorded the following words: ‘For Lahore, like my elders, I will shed every drop of blood and give any donation asked for, just as my ancestors did when they laid down their lives at Karbala for Hazrat Imam Husain.
Makes you think -but then there is this account which says that the seven sons of Rahab Dutt lost their lives defending the Imam at Karbala. The Martyr’s List at Qum verifies this. History records when the third thrust by Yazid’s forces came, the Dutt brothers refused to let them pass. The seven Punjabi swordsmen stood their ground till they were felled by hundreds of horsemen. In lieu of the loyalty of the Dutt family to that of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) was coined the famous saying: ‘Wah Dutt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Musalman ka iman, Adha Hindu adha Musalman.’ Since then, so the belief goes, Muslims were instructed never to try to convert the Dutts to Islam.
A grieving Rahab returned to the land of his ancestors, and after staying in Afghanistan, returned to Lahore. I have tried my very best to locate their ‘mohallah’ inside the Walled City, and my educated guess is that it is Mohallah Maulian inside Lohari Gate. Later they moved to Mochi Gate, and it was there that the famous Dutts lived before 1947 saw them flee from the hate of the people they gave everything for.
The most interesting thing about the Hussaini Brahmins is that they are highly respected among Hindus, and even more amazingly it is said that all direct ancestors of Rahab Dutt are born with a light slash mark on their throat, a sort of symbol of their sacrifice. I was reading a piece by Prof Doonica Dutt of Delhi University who verified this claim and said that all true Dutts belong to Lahore.
I must point out to an amazing version of these events that an Indian historian, Chawala, has come up with. It says that one of the wives of Hazrat Imam Husain, the Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king Chandragupta. We know that he ruled over Lahore. When it became clear that Yazid ibn Muawiya was determined to eliminate Hussain ibn Ali, the son of Hussain (named Ali) rushed off a letter to Chandragupta asking for assistance. The Mauriyan king, allegedly, dispatched a large army to Iraq to assist. By the time they arrived, the Tragedy of Karbala had taken place.
In Kufa in Iraq a disciple of Hazrat Imam Husain is said to have arranged for them to stay in a special part of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya or ‘the Indian quarter’ The Hussaini Brahmins believe that in the Kalanki Purana, the last of 18 Puranas, as well as the Atharva Veda, the 4th Veda, refers to Hazrat Imam Husain as the avatar of the Kali Yug, the present age. They believe that the family of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)is Om Murti, the most respected family before the Almighty.
All these facts bring me back to our days as school children working hard to provide relief to the mourners on Ashura. Reminds me of our neighbour Nawab Raza Ali Qizilbash, who invited us to his ‘haveli’ every year to see the preparations before the event. Raza Bhai is no more, and neither is the tolerance that we all enjoyed so much.
No words can describe the feelings after reading this believable piece of work and who cares if all of it can’t be verified.
I care. It is an attack on my most sacred held belief and on the truth of Hussain for which so many suffered and gave their life. I care, I care very much.
shias religion was founded by a jewish and his name was Abdullah Ibn Saba……..can any one deny that FACT…..
Abdullah Ibn Saba was not a jewish. He was know in history as Munafiq. He embraced Islam but clearly identified on the occassion of Battle of Ohud when he deceided to pulled his 300 men from the fight and Prophet marked him as a Munafiq. Kindly go through the history properly before making any comment based on the information provided you by your Mullas.
Your grand-father was a Hindu, can any one deny the FACT?
One day you will say that Islam was founded by a Christian please read history and religion carefully before making such claims
The most important lesson we can learn from this is the level of tolerance has gone down the gutter!
I agree. SO what we gonna do ’bout it, bro?
One doesn’t come up with an article of such massive import very often.
The research alone is quite daunting. Thanks to the Author.
Looking forward for more in future.
Thank you. Thank you for your research. maybe some might say ,”these are just folk lores”…. but they cannot deny the existence of husaini barhamins, may be they were never there in karbala, but they did wanted to be part of it n still do. cos even they knew, karbala was something bigger, and was not just a simple fight. Imam Hussain was fighting for plain and pure Haq.
Thank you for also reminding us that there was once a time in Pakistan when Hussain was not just mourned by Shias but by Muslims altogether.
They were not in Karbala, but somewhere in Arabia. There is a thought that they migrated out of India with Alexander (Sikander). A historian with Alexander wrote that “Brahmin asked Alexander to come to his tent in the night, and Alexander went to his tent barefoot in a hurry. He saw that Brahmin was in a meditative sitting with his family and Brahmin said that he is going to die that night. He died that night and after that his family stayed where this happened”. This was chronicled by main Greek Historian with Alexander.
They fought in Karbala, because supporters of Imam Hussain had gone with him to Karbala.
WOW! Loved the last line! Respect!
Thank you for this insightful anecdote.
Fantastic research
Chawla’s account of Chandrargupta and Imam Husain married to two sisters runs into a chronological problem. The two men were born 1000 years apart.
thats true.the mauryan chandra gupta was 1000 yrs before karbala but the gupta chandragupta(vikramaditya) ruled 380-413 AD.his descendants continued to rule parts of magadh after the empire shrunk from the economic drain of huna invasions.his descendant may have had the same name but is unlikely to have sent an expedition to karbala.the only believable portion is that a few mohyals brahmins fought in the battle and later their descendants called themselves husseini(mohyals are found in large parts of punjab and himachal pradesh).it’s interesting that there was an instruction to not try and convert the mohyals.however,all history has an element of uncertainty and it makes an interesting reading
Very true ,,Mauryans rules before the time of christ around 200 BC.However there are many kings in India who carried the name Chandragupta.
you are absolutely correct , it was Raja Dahir of sindh not chander gupt moraya. Raja dahir was killed by mohd. bin qasim in 711 as he was defending decedent of imam husain.
zabardast ! very informative , thanks brother
Very interesting piece of research. Please save all references and make them available to whoever needs them. Thank you.
Very informative artilce. I am 45 years old and have myself experienced the religious harmony which you have described above. I wonder if we will ever be able to experience it again; there does not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
I cannot believe Dawn print this fiction
This is an amazing article, utterly fascinating.
We Muslims need to ask ourselves, How is it that ancient holy Hindu manuscripts contained such amazing knowledge about Hazrat Imam Hussain and about the family of the Holy Prophet. Perhaps we need to open our minds and hearts to these beautiful truths which are found in other religions.
A very well written piece. There are a few inconsistencies but never the less the message of current intolerance is clear. Rahab was a Christian priest who came to the Prophet (P.B.U.H) and asked that he pray that God would grant him children to which the Prophet (P.B.U.H) replied that he didn’t have any children to his name. Disappointed he started to leave the mosque as Imam Hussain (A.S) was entering the mosque and seeing the priest, and the disturbed look on his face, asked him what worried him. Upon hearing his issue he took him back to this Grandfather, the Prophet (P.B.U.H). Imam Hussain (A.S) told him that He, Imam Hussain, granted the priest a son. The response from the Prophet was but there are no sons in his future to which Imam Hussain repeated his previous statement. This went on for Seven times. Imam Hussain (A.S) turned to Rahab and told him that he should go home and he shall have seven sons, which he did.
Going forward in the future, when the forces of Yazid were going back after the massacre of Karbala, Rahab was the one who bought the head of the Imam for one night so he could wash it. There are other stories that he didn’t want to give the head of the Imam back so he kept killing his own sons and giving their heads, posing as imam Hussain’s (A.S). Voice of the Imam told Rahab to attach the heads of his sons back to their body and Allah will make them alive again. This has been handed down to us from our ancestors and the only proof is the boulder on to which Imam’s head was placed. The stone still weeps blood on the day of ashura.
The ideology of Intolerance has had many names in the history. It has been called the Kharajite, Yazidiat and modern day Taliban and Wahhabiasim.
May Allah keep all of us on the righteous path
This is so true and overwhelming! I pray Allah grants us all the knowledge to understand the depth, purity and power of our religion. Ameen. Labaik Ya Hussain(A.S).
Salute to Dutt’s for standing up with Imam Hussain (A.S) against tyranny of Yazid bin Muaweeya
Salute to those followers of Imam Hussain, who provided safe escort to Dutt women, children and aged Shiv Dutt, back to shores of river Ravi in India. This is at a time when every hand was needed back to carry on the fight.
They were all wiped out at Karbala. Disproves your statement.
infants and women may have survived
Who survived and who did not is recorded in histor by name. All women and children either died or were captured. In any case they could not have escorted the Dutt’s across the mountains, deserts, or across the seas. This article has no basis in history.
women of imam hussein’s immediate family were captured and all men were killed.be kind to your imaginations
It is a very interesting article. It would have been nice to provide the references to give authenticity.
Regards,
interesting
What an amazing scholarly article. Hats of To Mr. Sheikh for his research and hard work.
where is the scholarship and the research?
Jazakallah for your beautiful and thought provoking article!
Don’t take the name of Allah in vain…for lies being propogated by the author. If all this was true it would destroy the Shiaa Imam’s stand for truth. also the author provides no scholarly reference.
You people please think rationally. Don’t believe foolishness and disinformation. Anyone can say anything but without facts these become fairy tales. Treat them as such.
This sounds like a made up story.
It is. Lot of it going on because of the Internet. No verifiable references are ever given.
Thanks so much for sharing Majid sahab. I knew that there was a group of hindus who reached karbala to fight along Imam Hussain .a.s. but they were too late and were very disappointed. on the the night of 9th, Imam Hussain a.s. turned off the candle lights and told his companions to leave as death is eminent the next day. He even told them that Jannat will be there even if they leave. When the lights were turned on, the companions of Imam had their swords to their neck and said they are ready to die for Imam rather then run and save their lives. When every companion and family member was martyred, Imam raised his voice and said Is there anyone to help me? Imam knew he would die for Allah but oh the tragedy, His Nana brought the religion of Islam and the Nephew was all alone against the corrupt and ruthless ruler. Now 20 million people visit his grave on Chehlum yet no one knows where yazeed is buried.
No one knows where Jesus is buried. No one knows where Moses is buried. No one knows where Abarahm is buried.
What is you point.
Heart touching.
A touching piece of history Sheikh Saheb. May Allah bless you with all the best.
Your article posses thYour article has the warmth to touch ones heart. Instead of elaborating on my regrets I would stand by your memories and spread Hussein’s love for humanity. Love for Hussain teaches you obedience to God and Love for all its creation.e warmth to touch one
Thank you so much for this insight into the history that I otherwise would have never known. Being a Lahori, for the first time today, I can say that I am proud to have hailed from this city. I have no idea who my ancestors are, but it doesn’t matter any more! I am from Lahore, and my fellow brethren in the history gave their lives for Imam Hussain. I will forever cherish this article, print it, and pass it on to my coming generations!
Excellent article. Quite an eye opener. The message of Imam Hussein (a.s.) was universal and not just confined for the Muslims, and that was the reason among the shuhada there were Hindus and Christians. May Allah give the Taufeeq to Muslims to give Karbala its due importance.