Nanak (b. April 15, 1469, Rai Bhoi di Talvandi [now Nankana Sahib, Pakistan], near Lahore, India —
d. 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab). Founder of the Sikh faith. Nanak was the second child and only son of Mehta Kalian Das Bedi, a minor official in the revenue department, and his wife Tripta.
Most of Nanak’s childhood was spent in the village of his birth, Talwandi Rai Bhoe, now named after him Nankana Sahib, about forty miles from Lahore, Pakistan. The family being Bedis (those who know the Vedas), a subject of the Ksatriya caste, Nanak was taught the rudiments of Hindu religion. He also had a Muslim teacher who taught him something of the Qur’an and the traditions -- the hadith. According to the Janam Sakhis -- the “birth stories,” Nanak was a precocious child who took little interest in his studies or his shepherding responsibilities and preferred talking to itinerant Hindu and Muslim holy men.
Nanak was betrothed at the age of twelve to Sulakhni, daughter of Mool Chand Chona of Batala. When he was nineteen Sulakhni came to live with him. She bore him two sons, Sri Chand (b. 1494) and Lakhni Das (b. 1497). Nanak took little interest in family affairs. For some years, Nanak worked as an accountant with the viceroy Daulat Khan Lodhi at Sultanpur and stayed with his elder sister, Nanaki, whose husband was also in the service of the viceroy. Under the influence of a Muslim family retainer who could play the rebeck (an ancient three stringed musical instrument with a pear shaped body and slender neck), Nanak began to compose hymns, and the two of them organized community hymn singing.
When he was in his thirtieth year, Nanak had his first mystical experience. While bathing in the stream Bein, he disappeared and was assumed to have drowned. According to later biographies, Nanak was summoned by God and charged with the mission to teach mankind to pray. He emerged from the stream three days later and announced: “There is no Hindu, the is no Muslim.” Nanak then proceeded to give away all that he had and to become a beggar.
The birth stories, whose authenticity has been questioned by scholars, maintain that Nanak undertook four long voyages. The first voyage took him eastward to Hindu holy cities, Mathura, Banaras, and Gaya, through Bengal to Assam. On his return journey, Nanak visited the Jagannatha Temple in Puri as well as the whole of Orissa. Nanak then toured the Punjab, visiting Muslim Sufi establishments, and proceeded to the South of India, returning via the Himalayan mountains as far as Ladakh. The fourth and last odyssey took him westward to Mecca, Medina, and Baghdad. On his return journey, while passing through Saidpur, Nanak is said to have been detained in prison by the Mogul invader Babar, who sacked the town. After these journeys, Nanak settled down with his family in Kartarpur, a town he had built on the banks of the river Ravi.
The birth stories recount many incidents from these journeys. While at Hardvar on the Ganges, he saw bathers throwing water toward the sun as offerings to their dead ancestors. Nanak began throwing water in the opposite direction. When questioned, Nanak replied: “I am throwing water to my fields in the Punjab. If you can throw water to your ancestors in heaven which is millions of miles away, surely I can send it to my fields which are only 250 kos from here.” The other incident is said to have taken place while Nanak was on his way to Mecca. He fell asleep with his feet toward the Ka’ba. When a Muslim woke him and angrily scolded Nanak for this disrespect to the house of God, Nanak is said to have replied, “Then turn my feet toward some direction where there is no God nor the Ka’ba.”
Nanak spent the last years of his life at Kartarpur, where he built a dharmala -- an abode of righteousness. At Kartarpur, Nanak also preached and sang hymns. Nanak appointed a disciple, Lehna, renamed Angad, as his successor in preference to his two sons. The birth stories, obviously borrowing the incident from the life Kabir, maintain that both Hindus and Muslims claimed Nanak’s body, the former to cremate him, the latter to bury him. The issue was settled by placing flowers on either side of Nanak’s body. The side whose flowers remained fresh was to dispose of the body according to its custom. The next morning the mourners found flowers on either side still fresh, but the body had disappeared.
The Janam Sakhis, on which the traditional account of Nanak’s life is based, have been scrutinized by Sikh and foreign scholars and found unreliable as historical evidence. The first was written more than fifty years after Nanak’s death, and they contradict each other on material detail.
Nanak has practically nothing to say of incidents in his life except his presence in Saidpur when it was sacked by Babar in 1521. Even this incident does not correspond with the sequence of events narrated in the Janam Sakhis. Later writings of Sikh theologians and historians are equally unenlightening. The only remaining evidence are tablets discovered in Dacca and Chittagong in present-day Bangladesh and one in Baghdad which make oblique references to Nanak’s visits there. But none of these tablets can be regarded as conclusive evidence.
What is known is that the remaining years of Nanak's life were spent in Kartarpur, another village of central Punjab. Tradition holds that the village was actually built by a wealthy admirer to honor Nanak. It was presumably during this final period that the foundations of the new Sikh community were laid. By this time it must be assumed that Nanak was recognized as a Guru, an inspired teacher of religious truth, and that, in accordance with the custom of India, disciples who accepted him as their Guru gathered around him in Kartarpur. Some probably remained as permanent residents of the village; many more made periodic visits to obtain his blessing. All of them listened to the teachings expressed there in numerous devotional hymns intended for communal singing, many of which survive to this day.
The actual year of Nanak’s death is disputed, tradition being divided between 1538 and 1539. Of these two possibilities, the latter appears to be the more likely. One of his disciples, Angad, was chosen by Nanak as his spiritual successor, and following Nanak’s death he assumed the leadership of the young Sikh community as Guru Angad.
In view of the size of the following that Nanak attracted, numerous anecdotes concerning the deeds of the Guru began to circulate within the community soon after his death. Many of these were borrowed from the current Hindu and Muslim traditions, and others were suggested by Nanak’s own works. These anecdotes were called sakhis, or “testimonies,” and the anthologies into which they were gathered in rough chronological order are known as Janam-sakhis. The interest of the narrators and compilers of the Janam-sakhis has largely concentrated on the childhood of Nanak and above all on his travels. Among the earlier traditions are tales of visits he is supposed to have made to Baghdad and Mecca. Ceylon is a later addition, and later still the Guru is said to have traveled as far east as China and as far west as Rome. Today the Janam-sakhis offer a substantial corpus of hagiographical material, and the more important of these collections continue to be the basis of “biographies” of Nanak.
Nanak’s message can be briefly summarized as a doctrine of salvation through disciplined meditation on the divine name. Salvation is understood in terms of escape from the transmigratory round of death and rebirth to a mystical union with God. The divine name signifies the total manifestation of God, a single Being, immanent both in the created world and within the human spirit. Meditation must be strictly inward, and all external aids such as idols, temples, mosques, scriptures, and set prayers are explicitly rejected. The Muslim influence is relatively slight; the influence of Hindu mystical and devotional beliefs is much more apparent. Always, though, the coherence and beauty of Nanak’s own expression dominates early Sikh theology.
Most of Nanak’s childhood was spent in the village of his birth, Talwandi Rai Bhoe, now named after him Nankana Sahib, about forty miles from Lahore, Pakistan. The family being Bedis (those who know the Vedas), a subject of the Ksatriya caste, Nanak was taught the rudiments of Hindu religion. He also had a Muslim teacher who taught him something of the Qur’an and the traditions -- the hadith. According to the Janam Sakhis -- the “birth stories,” Nanak was a precocious child who took little interest in his studies or his shepherding responsibilities and preferred talking to itinerant Hindu and Muslim holy men.
Nanak was betrothed at the age of twelve to Sulakhni, daughter of Mool Chand Chona of Batala. When he was nineteen Sulakhni came to live with him. She bore him two sons, Sri Chand (b. 1494) and Lakhni Das (b. 1497). Nanak took little interest in family affairs. For some years, Nanak worked as an accountant with the viceroy Daulat Khan Lodhi at Sultanpur and stayed with his elder sister, Nanaki, whose husband was also in the service of the viceroy. Under the influence of a Muslim family retainer who could play the rebeck (an ancient three stringed musical instrument with a pear shaped body and slender neck), Nanak began to compose hymns, and the two of them organized community hymn singing.
When he was in his thirtieth year, Nanak had his first mystical experience. While bathing in the stream Bein, he disappeared and was assumed to have drowned. According to later biographies, Nanak was summoned by God and charged with the mission to teach mankind to pray. He emerged from the stream three days later and announced: “There is no Hindu, the is no Muslim.” Nanak then proceeded to give away all that he had and to become a beggar.
The birth stories, whose authenticity has been questioned by scholars, maintain that Nanak undertook four long voyages. The first voyage took him eastward to Hindu holy cities, Mathura, Banaras, and Gaya, through Bengal to Assam. On his return journey, Nanak visited the Jagannatha Temple in Puri as well as the whole of Orissa. Nanak then toured the Punjab, visiting Muslim Sufi establishments, and proceeded to the South of India, returning via the Himalayan mountains as far as Ladakh. The fourth and last odyssey took him westward to Mecca, Medina, and Baghdad. On his return journey, while passing through Saidpur, Nanak is said to have been detained in prison by the Mogul invader Babar, who sacked the town. After these journeys, Nanak settled down with his family in Kartarpur, a town he had built on the banks of the river Ravi.
The birth stories recount many incidents from these journeys. While at Hardvar on the Ganges, he saw bathers throwing water toward the sun as offerings to their dead ancestors. Nanak began throwing water in the opposite direction. When questioned, Nanak replied: “I am throwing water to my fields in the Punjab. If you can throw water to your ancestors in heaven which is millions of miles away, surely I can send it to my fields which are only 250 kos from here.” The other incident is said to have taken place while Nanak was on his way to Mecca. He fell asleep with his feet toward the Ka’ba. When a Muslim woke him and angrily scolded Nanak for this disrespect to the house of God, Nanak is said to have replied, “Then turn my feet toward some direction where there is no God nor the Ka’ba.”
Nanak spent the last years of his life at Kartarpur, where he built a dharmala -- an abode of righteousness. At Kartarpur, Nanak also preached and sang hymns. Nanak appointed a disciple, Lehna, renamed Angad, as his successor in preference to his two sons. The birth stories, obviously borrowing the incident from the life Kabir, maintain that both Hindus and Muslims claimed Nanak’s body, the former to cremate him, the latter to bury him. The issue was settled by placing flowers on either side of Nanak’s body. The side whose flowers remained fresh was to dispose of the body according to its custom. The next morning the mourners found flowers on either side still fresh, but the body had disappeared.
The Janam Sakhis, on which the traditional account of Nanak’s life is based, have been scrutinized by Sikh and foreign scholars and found unreliable as historical evidence. The first was written more than fifty years after Nanak’s death, and they contradict each other on material detail.
Nanak has practically nothing to say of incidents in his life except his presence in Saidpur when it was sacked by Babar in 1521. Even this incident does not correspond with the sequence of events narrated in the Janam Sakhis. Later writings of Sikh theologians and historians are equally unenlightening. The only remaining evidence are tablets discovered in Dacca and Chittagong in present-day Bangladesh and one in Baghdad which make oblique references to Nanak’s visits there. But none of these tablets can be regarded as conclusive evidence.
What is known is that the remaining years of Nanak's life were spent in Kartarpur, another village of central Punjab. Tradition holds that the village was actually built by a wealthy admirer to honor Nanak. It was presumably during this final period that the foundations of the new Sikh community were laid. By this time it must be assumed that Nanak was recognized as a Guru, an inspired teacher of religious truth, and that, in accordance with the custom of India, disciples who accepted him as their Guru gathered around him in Kartarpur. Some probably remained as permanent residents of the village; many more made periodic visits to obtain his blessing. All of them listened to the teachings expressed there in numerous devotional hymns intended for communal singing, many of which survive to this day.
The actual year of Nanak’s death is disputed, tradition being divided between 1538 and 1539. Of these two possibilities, the latter appears to be the more likely. One of his disciples, Angad, was chosen by Nanak as his spiritual successor, and following Nanak’s death he assumed the leadership of the young Sikh community as Guru Angad.
In view of the size of the following that Nanak attracted, numerous anecdotes concerning the deeds of the Guru began to circulate within the community soon after his death. Many of these were borrowed from the current Hindu and Muslim traditions, and others were suggested by Nanak’s own works. These anecdotes were called sakhis, or “testimonies,” and the anthologies into which they were gathered in rough chronological order are known as Janam-sakhis. The interest of the narrators and compilers of the Janam-sakhis has largely concentrated on the childhood of Nanak and above all on his travels. Among the earlier traditions are tales of visits he is supposed to have made to Baghdad and Mecca. Ceylon is a later addition, and later still the Guru is said to have traveled as far east as China and as far west as Rome. Today the Janam-sakhis offer a substantial corpus of hagiographical material, and the more important of these collections continue to be the basis of “biographies” of Nanak.
Nanak’s message can be briefly summarized as a doctrine of salvation through disciplined meditation on the divine name. Salvation is understood in terms of escape from the transmigratory round of death and rebirth to a mystical union with God. The divine name signifies the total manifestation of God, a single Being, immanent both in the created world and within the human spirit. Meditation must be strictly inward, and all external aids such as idols, temples, mosques, scriptures, and set prayers are explicitly rejected. The Muslim influence is relatively slight; the influence of Hindu mystical and devotional beliefs is much more apparent. Always, though, the coherence and beauty of Nanak’s own expression dominates early Sikh theology.
Naqib
Naqib. Term which refers to a syndic (a municipal magistrate) or headman.
Naqib. Term which refers to a syndic (a municipal magistrate) or headman.
naqib al-ashraf
naqib al-ashraf. Term which refers to the syndic (the municipal magistrate) or the headman of the groups of descendants of the Prophet found in many Muslim countries.
naqib al-ashraf. Term which refers to the syndic (the municipal magistrate) or the headman of the groups of descendants of the Prophet found in many Muslim countries.
Naqqash, Marun ibn Ilyas al-
Naqqash, Marun ibn Ilyas al- (Marun ibn Ilyas al-Naqqash) (1817-1855). Pioneer of modern playwriting in Arabic. His five and three act plays were inspired by Moliere’s plays and by the Thousand and One Nights.
Marun ibn Ilyas al-Naqqash see Naqqash, Marun ibn Ilyas al-
Naqqash, Marun ibn Ilyas al- (Marun ibn Ilyas al-Naqqash) (1817-1855). Pioneer of modern playwriting in Arabic. His five and three act plays were inspired by Moliere’s plays and by the Thousand and One Nights.
Marun ibn Ilyas al-Naqqash see Naqqash, Marun ibn Ilyas al-
Naqshbandiyya
Naqshbandiyya (Naqshbandiyah)) (Naqshbandi). Important and still active Sufi order, named after Khwaja Baha’ al-Din Naqshband (1318-1389) from Bukhara. In the extent of its diffusion it has been second only to the Qadiriyya.
In Transoxiana, it rose to supremacy in the time of its founder, and spread southward to Herat. In northwestern Persia, however, it was relatively short-lived. With their strong loyalty to Sunnism, the Naqshbandis became a special target of persecution for the Shi‘a Safavids. In the nineteenth century, the Khalidi branch of the Naqshbandiyya, established by Mawlana Khalid Baghdadi (d. 1827), almost entirely supplanted all other branches and wrested supremacy from the Qadiriyya in Kurdistan. At present, the Naqshbandiyya remain strong among the Kurds of Persia, particularly in the region of Mahabad, and in Talish. By contrast, they are now moribund among the Turkmen.
In Turkey, the first implantation took place in the fifteenth century. It gained the loyalty of the Ottoman Turks with its emphatically Sunni identity and insistence on sober respect for Islamic law. The Mujaddidi branch of the order, established in India by Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi “the Renewer,” was transmitted to Turkey in the seventeenth century. Soon afterwards, a second transmission took place through Mecca, which remained until the late nineteenth century an important center for the diffusion of the Naqshbandiyya. In Turkey too, it was the Khalidi branch which made the Naqshbandiyya the paramount order, a position it has retained even after the official dissolution of the orders.
Naqshbandiyya was a Sufi order (tariqa) that began in Central Asia. Its legends identify Ahmad Ata Yaswi (d. 1116) as the order’s founder, but the name derives from Khwaja Baha’ al-Din Naqshband (Bahauddin an-Naqshband) (d. 1389). The order arrived in India at a fairly late date. Although the Mughal emperor Babar supposedly invited its adherents to India, Shaikh Baqi Bi’llah (Khwaja Baqi Bi’llah) (1564-1603), who arrived in Delhi during Akbar’s reign, was the first influential Naqshbandi to make his home there. During this period, the spiritual program of the Naqshbandis was not yet solidly established. Baqi Bi’llah’s own son was attracted to the pantheistic views of the Spanish mystic philosopher Ibn Arabi.
Baqi Bi’llah’s favorite disciple, Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624), however, took a much more scripturalist approach, attacking Arabi’s thought and bemoaning the influence of Shi‘ites and Hindus in the royal court, Sirhindi’s emphasis on the Qur’an, shari’a, and the personality of the Prophet as revealed in hadith literature helped to place Indian Naqshbandis at the center of the religious revival that took place in the Muslim world in the century after Sirhindi’s death. Indian Naqshbandis living in the holy cities intiated many Indonesians and Central Asians into the order. The hospice of Mirzah Mazhar Jan-i Janan (d. 1780) was another notable Naqshbandi center. In contrast to the Chishtis, Naqshbandis favored private meditation (particularly intense concentration on the images of one’s master) and rejected the use of music as a spiritual aid.
In India, the Naqshbandiyya remained for two centuries the principal order, especially through the Mujaddid branch. Its main characteristic has been its rejection of innovations and its involvement in political struggles.
Naqshbandiyah see Naqshbandiyya
Naqshbandi see Naqshbandiyya
Naqshbandiyya (Naqshbandiyah)) (Naqshbandi). Important and still active Sufi order, named after Khwaja Baha’ al-Din Naqshband (1318-1389) from Bukhara. In the extent of its diffusion it has been second only to the Qadiriyya.
In Transoxiana, it rose to supremacy in the time of its founder, and spread southward to Herat. In northwestern Persia, however, it was relatively short-lived. With their strong loyalty to Sunnism, the Naqshbandis became a special target of persecution for the Shi‘a Safavids. In the nineteenth century, the Khalidi branch of the Naqshbandiyya, established by Mawlana Khalid Baghdadi (d. 1827), almost entirely supplanted all other branches and wrested supremacy from the Qadiriyya in Kurdistan. At present, the Naqshbandiyya remain strong among the Kurds of Persia, particularly in the region of Mahabad, and in Talish. By contrast, they are now moribund among the Turkmen.
In Turkey, the first implantation took place in the fifteenth century. It gained the loyalty of the Ottoman Turks with its emphatically Sunni identity and insistence on sober respect for Islamic law. The Mujaddidi branch of the order, established in India by Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi “the Renewer,” was transmitted to Turkey in the seventeenth century. Soon afterwards, a second transmission took place through Mecca, which remained until the late nineteenth century an important center for the diffusion of the Naqshbandiyya. In Turkey too, it was the Khalidi branch which made the Naqshbandiyya the paramount order, a position it has retained even after the official dissolution of the orders.
Naqshbandiyya was a Sufi order (tariqa) that began in Central Asia. Its legends identify Ahmad Ata Yaswi (d. 1116) as the order’s founder, but the name derives from Khwaja Baha’ al-Din Naqshband (Bahauddin an-Naqshband) (d. 1389). The order arrived in India at a fairly late date. Although the Mughal emperor Babar supposedly invited its adherents to India, Shaikh Baqi Bi’llah (Khwaja Baqi Bi’llah) (1564-1603), who arrived in Delhi during Akbar’s reign, was the first influential Naqshbandi to make his home there. During this period, the spiritual program of the Naqshbandis was not yet solidly established. Baqi Bi’llah’s own son was attracted to the pantheistic views of the Spanish mystic philosopher Ibn Arabi.
Baqi Bi’llah’s favorite disciple, Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624), however, took a much more scripturalist approach, attacking Arabi’s thought and bemoaning the influence of Shi‘ites and Hindus in the royal court, Sirhindi’s emphasis on the Qur’an, shari’a, and the personality of the Prophet as revealed in hadith literature helped to place Indian Naqshbandis at the center of the religious revival that took place in the Muslim world in the century after Sirhindi’s death. Indian Naqshbandis living in the holy cities intiated many Indonesians and Central Asians into the order. The hospice of Mirzah Mazhar Jan-i Janan (d. 1780) was another notable Naqshbandi center. In contrast to the Chishtis, Naqshbandis favored private meditation (particularly intense concentration on the images of one’s master) and rejected the use of music as a spiritual aid.
In India, the Naqshbandiyya remained for two centuries the principal order, especially through the Mujaddid branch. Its main characteristic has been its rejection of innovations and its involvement in political struggles.
Naqshbandiyah see Naqshbandiyya
Naqshbandi see Naqshbandiyya
Naraqi, Hajji Mullah Ahmad
Naraqi, Hajji Mullah Ahmad (Hajji Mullah Ahmad Naraqi) (1771-1829). Shi‘a religious leader, man of letters, social critic and religious polemicist. Despite his friendly relations with the Qajar Fath ‘Ali Shah, he refused to recognize the legitimacy of his rule. It is only the qualified jurists who carry the authority of the Hidden Imam as his General Agents and are genuinely legitimate rulers of the Muslim community. This line of argument provided an important source of reasoning for Ayatollah Khomeini.
Hajji Mullah Ahmad Naraqi see Naraqi, Hajji Mullah Ahmad
Naraqi, Hajji Mullah Ahmad (Hajji Mullah Ahmad Naraqi) (1771-1829). Shi‘a religious leader, man of letters, social critic and religious polemicist. Despite his friendly relations with the Qajar Fath ‘Ali Shah, he refused to recognize the legitimacy of his rule. It is only the qualified jurists who carry the authority of the Hidden Imam as his General Agents and are genuinely legitimate rulers of the Muslim community. This line of argument provided an important source of reasoning for Ayatollah Khomeini.
Hajji Mullah Ahmad Naraqi see Naraqi, Hajji Mullah Ahmad
Nasafi, Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-
Nasafi, Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al- (Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-Nasafi) (d. 943). Philosopher-theologian of the Isma‘lis in Khurasan and Transoxiana. He is generally credited with the introductionof Neo-Platonic philosophy into Isma(ili circles.
Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-Nasafi see Nasafi, Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-
Nasafi, Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al- (Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-Nasafi) (d. 943). Philosopher-theologian of the Isma‘lis in Khurasan and Transoxiana. He is generally credited with the introductionof Neo-Platonic philosophy into Isma(ili circles.
Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-Nasafi see Nasafi, Abu’l-Hasan al-Bazdawi al-
Nasafi, Hafiz al-Din al-
Nasafi, Hafiz al-Din al- (Hafiz al-Din al-Nasafi) (d. 1310). Hanafi legist and theologian. He owes his fame to a number of works on Islamic law, among them a concise account of the foundations of law, and a synopsis of another work, used as late as the nineteenth century in Damascus and at the al-Azhar in Cairo.
Hafiz al-Din al-Nasafi see Nasafi, Hafiz al-Din al-
Nasafi, Hafiz al-Din al- (Hafiz al-Din al-Nasafi) (d. 1310). Hanafi legist and theologian. He owes his fame to a number of works on Islamic law, among them a concise account of the foundations of law, and a synopsis of another work, used as late as the nineteenth century in Damascus and at the al-Azhar in Cairo.
Hafiz al-Din al-Nasafi see Nasafi, Hafiz al-Din al-
Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al- (Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa‘i) (al-Nasa'i) (Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī) (829/830-915). Author of one of the six canonical collections of traditions.
Al-Nasā'ī, full name Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī, was a noted collector of hadith (sayings of Muhammad), and wrote one of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan al-Sughra, or "Al-Mujtaba", which he selected from his "As-Sunan al-Kubra". He also wrote fifteen (15) other books, six (6) dealing with the science of hadith.
Al-Nasa'i was born in Nasā (in Khorasan) about 829, and traveled extensively in order to hear traditions. He resided in Egypt for a while, and then in Damascus. He died in 915, murdered by supporters of the Umayyads after speaking out against them. His final burial place is unknown but it may be in Mecca or Ramalah (Palestine).
Al-Nasa'i died a brutal death for praising Ali and denouncing Mu'awiya in Damascus, which was then in the grip of anti-Ali fever stoked by the Umayyads.
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa‘i see Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī see Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Nasa'i, al- see Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al- (Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa‘i) (al-Nasa'i) (Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī) (829/830-915). Author of one of the six canonical collections of traditions.
Al-Nasā'ī, full name Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī, was a noted collector of hadith (sayings of Muhammad), and wrote one of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan al-Sughra, or "Al-Mujtaba", which he selected from his "As-Sunan al-Kubra". He also wrote fifteen (15) other books, six (6) dealing with the science of hadith.
Al-Nasa'i was born in Nasā (in Khorasan) about 829, and traveled extensively in order to hear traditions. He resided in Egypt for a while, and then in Damascus. He died in 915, murdered by supporters of the Umayyads after speaking out against them. His final burial place is unknown but it may be in Mecca or Ramalah (Palestine).
Al-Nasa'i died a brutal death for praising Ali and denouncing Mu'awiya in Damascus, which was then in the grip of anti-Ali fever stoked by the Umayyads.
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa‘i see Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī see Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Nasa'i, al- see Nasa‘i, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-
Nasawi, Shihab al-Din al-
Nasawi, Shihab al-Din al- (Shihab al-Din al-Nasawi) (d. 1249). Secretary and biographer of the Khwarazm-Shah Jalal al-Din Mingburnu (Mangubirti). He fled with his master before the Mongols from Tabriz into Mughan, in Azerbaijan, and was employed in unsuccessful missions for support against the Mongols. He escaped during the Khwarazm-Shah’s final battle with the Mongols in 1231, and died in Aleppo.
Shihab al-Din al-Nasawi see Nasawi, Shihab al-Din al-
Nasawi, Shihab al-Din al- (Shihab al-Din al-Nasawi) (d. 1249). Secretary and biographer of the Khwarazm-Shah Jalal al-Din Mingburnu (Mangubirti). He fled with his master before the Mongols from Tabriz into Mughan, in Azerbaijan, and was employed in unsuccessful missions for support against the Mongols. He escaped during the Khwarazm-Shah’s final battle with the Mongols in 1231, and died in Aleppo.
Shihab al-Din al-Nasawi see Nasawi, Shihab al-Din al-
Nasif, Malak Hifni
Nasif, Malak Hifni (Malak Hifni Nasif) (b. December 25, 1886 in Cairo - d. October 17, 1918). Feminist and writer known as Bahithat al-Badiyah (Searcher in the Desert). Daughter of a scholar and litterateur, Nasif entered the ‘Abbas Primary School when the state opened a girls’ section in 1895. Receiving her diploma in 1901, she began to teach while enrolled in in the Teachers’ Training Program at Saniyah School, where she received her certificate in 1905. She left her teaching post two years later upon marriage to ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Bassal, bedouin chief, and settled with him in Fayyum oasis. Although obliged by the Ministry of Education as well as personal circumstances to stop teaching after marriage, Nasif continued to write, publishing under the name Bahithat al-Badiyah. She spoke in the women’s lecture series begun in 1909 and held at the Egyptian University and in the offices of the liberal newspaper, Al-jaridah. Her essays, newspaper articles, and speeches were collectively published in Al-nisa’iyat (Women’s [Feminist] Pieces), a pioneering feminist book.
A reformer in the Islamic modernist tradition focusing on gender, Nasif inveighed against men’s abuses relating to divorce and polygamy. Appropriating a male Muslim nationalist forum, the Egyptian Congress meeting in Heliopolis in 1911, she sent a list of feminist demands insisting specifically that women be allowed to participate in congregational worship in mosques, to study in all fields, and to enter all occupations and professions, and, more generally, that women be permitted to develop themselves (as enjoined by Islam upon all believers) and to contribute to the welfare of the ummah (the community and nation). She also called for reform of the Muslim Personal Status Code. Unswerving in her goals but cautious in her methods, Nasif did not advocate uncovering of the face (although she knew this form of veiling was not ordained by Islamic religion) until society was better prepared to accept this change. Following the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911, Nasif initiated a program in Cairo to train women as nurses. In 1914, she participated in founding the Women’s Refinement (al-Ittihad al-Nisa’i al-Tahdhibi) and the Ladies Literary Improvement Society (Jam‘iyat al-Raqy al-Adabiyah lil-Sayyidat al-Misriyat). When Nasif died in 1918, at the age of thirty-two, women and men alike paid her homage. In commemorating the life and work of Malak Hifni Nasif, future feminist leader Huda Sha‘rawi publicly pledged to continue her struggle on behalf of women.
Malak Hifni Nasif see Nasif, Malak Hifni
Nasif, Malak Hifni (Malak Hifni Nasif) (b. December 25, 1886 in Cairo - d. October 17, 1918). Feminist and writer known as Bahithat al-Badiyah (Searcher in the Desert). Daughter of a scholar and litterateur, Nasif entered the ‘Abbas Primary School when the state opened a girls’ section in 1895. Receiving her diploma in 1901, she began to teach while enrolled in in the Teachers’ Training Program at Saniyah School, where she received her certificate in 1905. She left her teaching post two years later upon marriage to ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Bassal, bedouin chief, and settled with him in Fayyum oasis. Although obliged by the Ministry of Education as well as personal circumstances to stop teaching after marriage, Nasif continued to write, publishing under the name Bahithat al-Badiyah. She spoke in the women’s lecture series begun in 1909 and held at the Egyptian University and in the offices of the liberal newspaper, Al-jaridah. Her essays, newspaper articles, and speeches were collectively published in Al-nisa’iyat (Women’s [Feminist] Pieces), a pioneering feminist book.
A reformer in the Islamic modernist tradition focusing on gender, Nasif inveighed against men’s abuses relating to divorce and polygamy. Appropriating a male Muslim nationalist forum, the Egyptian Congress meeting in Heliopolis in 1911, she sent a list of feminist demands insisting specifically that women be allowed to participate in congregational worship in mosques, to study in all fields, and to enter all occupations and professions, and, more generally, that women be permitted to develop themselves (as enjoined by Islam upon all believers) and to contribute to the welfare of the ummah (the community and nation). She also called for reform of the Muslim Personal Status Code. Unswerving in her goals but cautious in her methods, Nasif did not advocate uncovering of the face (although she knew this form of veiling was not ordained by Islamic religion) until society was better prepared to accept this change. Following the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911, Nasif initiated a program in Cairo to train women as nurses. In 1914, she participated in founding the Women’s Refinement (al-Ittihad al-Nisa’i al-Tahdhibi) and the Ladies Literary Improvement Society (Jam‘iyat al-Raqy al-Adabiyah lil-Sayyidat al-Misriyat). When Nasif died in 1918, at the age of thirty-two, women and men alike paid her homage. In commemorating the life and work of Malak Hifni Nasif, future feminist leader Huda Sha‘rawi publicly pledged to continue her struggle on behalf of women.
Malak Hifni Nasif see Nasif, Malak Hifni
Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh
Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh (Shaykh Imam Bakhsh Nasikh) (Ustaad Imam Baksh Nasikh) (1771/1776-1838). Urdu poet and arbiter of the language. He aimed at replacing many idioms, current in Delhi, by others considered superior. His reform of the Urdu language included, among others, the elimination of Hindi words and preference for those of Arabic and Persian origin. His reputation as a poet declined during the twentieth century.
Ustaad Imam Baksh Nasikh was born in Faizabad, India, which was ruled by the Mughals at the time. His poor father died early in his childhood. Afterwards, a wealthy merchant from Lahore, Khuda Buksh Kheema Doz, adopted him and gave him a good educaton. Nasikh remained carefree during the early period of his life. When his adoptive father died, his brothers tried to challenge the inheritance. An attempt was made to poison Nasikh unsuccessfully. Ultimately, the inheritance issue went to court, and the court decided in favor of Nasikh.
Nasikh learned Persian with Hafiz Waris Ali and other learned scholars of Farangi Mahal, a quarter of Lucknow noted for its erudition and boasting of a noted academy of Persian and Arabic learning. He was not proficient in Arabic, but knew it well enough for the Urdu poetry.
Nasikh learned poetry on his own, and was not known to be a pupil of any notable figure in poetry.
After Lucknow became the capital city of Oudh, Nasikh moved to the city, and spent the rest of his life there in a neighorhood called Teksilla. It was reported that during Nasikh's learning years (when the well known Urdu poet of Lucknow, Mir Taqi Mir was alive), Nasikh once went to Mir to seek his guidance in poetry. For some reason, Mir did not help him, and Nasikh returned broken-hearted. He vowed to perfect his skills in poetry with a new vigor on his own.
Nasikh took the takhalus (or poetical name) of 'Nasikh', which implies that his splendor eclipsed and abrogated that of all other poets.
It is not very much evident from his poetry, but it seems that Nasikh was a Sufi Muslim. Much like Mir Taqi Mir, his predecessor, he was probably a follower of the “Malamati” or “Blameworthy” aspect of the Sufi tradition. Using this technique, a person ascribes to oneself an unconventional aspect of a person or society, and then plays out its results, either in action or in verse. As in Ghalib or Mir's poetry, Nasikh's ridicule of Abrahamic/Koranic concepts of paradise, hell, zahid, etc are very much found in his poetry.
Shaykh Imam Bakhsh Nasikh see Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh
Ustaad Imam Baksh Nasikh see Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh
Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh (Shaykh Imam Bakhsh Nasikh) (Ustaad Imam Baksh Nasikh) (1771/1776-1838). Urdu poet and arbiter of the language. He aimed at replacing many idioms, current in Delhi, by others considered superior. His reform of the Urdu language included, among others, the elimination of Hindi words and preference for those of Arabic and Persian origin. His reputation as a poet declined during the twentieth century.
Ustaad Imam Baksh Nasikh was born in Faizabad, India, which was ruled by the Mughals at the time. His poor father died early in his childhood. Afterwards, a wealthy merchant from Lahore, Khuda Buksh Kheema Doz, adopted him and gave him a good educaton. Nasikh remained carefree during the early period of his life. When his adoptive father died, his brothers tried to challenge the inheritance. An attempt was made to poison Nasikh unsuccessfully. Ultimately, the inheritance issue went to court, and the court decided in favor of Nasikh.
Nasikh learned Persian with Hafiz Waris Ali and other learned scholars of Farangi Mahal, a quarter of Lucknow noted for its erudition and boasting of a noted academy of Persian and Arabic learning. He was not proficient in Arabic, but knew it well enough for the Urdu poetry.
Nasikh learned poetry on his own, and was not known to be a pupil of any notable figure in poetry.
After Lucknow became the capital city of Oudh, Nasikh moved to the city, and spent the rest of his life there in a neighorhood called Teksilla. It was reported that during Nasikh's learning years (when the well known Urdu poet of Lucknow, Mir Taqi Mir was alive), Nasikh once went to Mir to seek his guidance in poetry. For some reason, Mir did not help him, and Nasikh returned broken-hearted. He vowed to perfect his skills in poetry with a new vigor on his own.
Nasikh took the takhalus (or poetical name) of 'Nasikh', which implies that his splendor eclipsed and abrogated that of all other poets.
It is not very much evident from his poetry, but it seems that Nasikh was a Sufi Muslim. Much like Mir Taqi Mir, his predecessor, he was probably a follower of the “Malamati” or “Blameworthy” aspect of the Sufi tradition. Using this technique, a person ascribes to oneself an unconventional aspect of a person or society, and then plays out its results, either in action or in verse. As in Ghalib or Mir's poetry, Nasikh's ridicule of Abrahamic/Koranic concepts of paradise, hell, zahid, etc are very much found in his poetry.
Shaykh Imam Bakhsh Nasikh see Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh
Ustaad Imam Baksh Nasikh see Nasikh, Shaykh Imam Bakhsh
No comments:
Post a Comment