The Khanda and The Dhulfiqar

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THE KHANDA AND THE DHULFIQAR:

Sikh–Shi'a parallelisms and crossings in
history and text, concept of the Divine
Guide and sacred chivalry
Francisco José Luis
Available online: 09 Jan 2007
To cite this article: Francisco José Luis (2006): THE KHANDA AND THE DHULFIQAR: Sikh–Shi'a
parallelisms and crossings in history and text, concept of the Divine Guide and sacred chivalry, Sikh
Formations, 2:2, 153-180
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Sikh Formations, Vol. 2, No. 2, December 2006, pp. 153–179
Francisco José Luis
THE KHANDA AND THE DHULFIQAR

Sikh – Shi’a parallelisms and crossings in
history and text, concept of the Divine
Guide and sacred chivalry
Downloaded by [117.199.84.125] at 21:52 10 December 2011
This article will look into the unexplored area of relations between Shi’ism and Sikhism.
The author first establishes the historical links between both traditions especially during
the formative first two centuries of the Sikh tradition. One realises very quickly that the
relations between these two traditions have been quite intense. The second part will deal
with parallelisms regarding different theological and mystical concepts whilst the third
part will deal with sacred chivalry in both traditions. Based on primary and secondary
sources this article will focus on pre-reformist Sikhism and mystical Shi’ism. It will help
highlight less known aspects of the Sikh tradition and challenge established perceptions
about the links between early Sikhism and Shi’a Islam.
In the Sikh shrine of Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of Guru
Gobind Singh’s Khalsa, a certain number of weapons which belonged to the Gurus
and some important Sikh saints are conserved in the very centre of the shrine.
One can see the nagni spear of Bhai Bachitra Singh as well as the khanda (straight
double-edged sword) of Guru Gobind Singh. Among them there is also a broad
and large straight blade with a crescent moon on it bearing the following inscription
known as the jibrailiyya:1 la fata illa’Ali la saif illa Dhulfiqar –‘there is no other knight
of God than’Ali and there is no other sword of God than the Dhulfiqar’. Traditions
have it that this is the sword of Imam’Ali (as), the famous Dhulfiqar or at least one of
his swords. What matters here for this article is not so much whether this is the
actual Dhulfiqar of Imam’Ali but rather its presence in one of the most important
Sikh shrines. This leads one to venture into the as yet unexplored field of Sikh-
Shi’a relations. The first section of this article will deal with the historical aspect
of Sikh –Shi’a relations, focusing on the crossing and meeting of both traditions.
This will be followed by an analysis of the parallelisms between both traditions in
their concept of the Divine Guide. The last section will mainly deal with the
concept of sacred chivalry existing in both traditions.2 For the first section of the
ISSN 1744-8727 (print)/ISSN 1744-8735 (online)/06/020153-27

# 2006 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/17448720601061374
154 SIKH FORMATIONS
article, reference to the Shi’a tradition will be geographically and historically

specific, whereas the two other parts will deal with meta-history.
The meeting of the Shi’a and Sikh traditions in text and

history
If one were to compare the main sources of Sikh scripture (Adi Granth or Guru
Granth Sahib, Dasam Granth and Sarabloh Granth), it would probably be in the
Dasam Granth that one would find most references to Shi’a Islam. However, such
references in the Dasam Granth need to be understood in the context of the work
entitled Bachitra Natak. Along with the Charitropakhyan,3 this work forms one of
the largest sections of the Dasam Granth. The term Natak indicates that this work
should be read as a play (natak). The sixth section of the Bachitra Natak deals with
Guru Gobind Singh’s own story. As a narrator he places the context of his birth
on earth in a much larger divine and cosmic context, here told in a kind of Vorspiel
im Himmel.4 Guru Gobind Singh narrates how he was meditating in a place called
Hemkunt and how the Divine ordered him to take birth in this world. The Timeless
Being (Akal Purakh) recounts how different beings were sent by Him and strayed
away from the right path by having their followers worship them. Although different
names are quoted, such as Gorakh, Dattatreya and Shiva, I want to focus here on two
names: Ramananda and Mahadin. Ramananda is said to have been sent by God but to
have gone astray:
Then Hari sent Ramanand who assumed the garb of the bairagi, around his neck
he wore a wooden rosary, he too did not know the love of the Lord [Prabhu].
(BN VI, 25)
The importance of this verse is that for Sikhs, Ramananda wasn’t just one of the
leaders of the Bhakti movement in Northern India. He is one of the bhagats (devotees)
of the Guru Granth Sahib. The term bhagat in the Sikh religious canon designates
those contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib apart from the Sikh Gurus. They are
viewed as external witnesses and announcers of the path of the Sikh Gurus. If the
Gurus can be compared to the sun, the bhagats would be the planets rotating
around it. Their status is similar to that of the hujjat in Shi’a Islam who is a
witness and proof of the Imam. The bhagat partakes of the sanctity of the Guru
without having an equal status. A literal reading of the verses quoted earlier about
Ramananda does in this context appear to be not only surprising but also contradic-
tory: how could Guru Gobind Singh criticise Ramananda when he himself gave the
final shape to the Adi Guru Granth Sahib and thus recognised Ramananda’s status as a
bhagat? To appreciate this verse it is helpful to read it as an allegorical text. It would
appear, then, that the Ramananda of the Bachitra Natak and the Guru Granth Sahib
may not be the same person. In the Guru Granth, Ramananda is one of the
bhagats whereas in the Bachitra Natak, he represents a religious movement that,
like all the other movements described in this section, was originally inspired by
the Divine but has gone astray because of an exaggerated emphasis on the exoteric
THE KHANDA AND THE DHULFIQAR 155
and a deformation of the original teachings.5 The same accusation is made about the
character Mahadin, about whom the text says:
Whatever great beings the Lord [Prabhu] created, they created their own paths,
then the Lord [Prabhu] created Mahadin and gave him the kingdom of the Arabia
[arab des], he too created a path and circumcised all the kings, he had all recite
his own name and had none meditate on the true name.
(BN VI, 27)
Many translators of this passage have translated Mahadin as Muhammad, thus interpret-
ing this verse as an accusation against the Prophet. It is unlikely, however, that
Mahadin is one of the many names of the Prophet6 or even a proper Arabic word.
The Vars of Bhai Gurdas, on the other hand, clearly mention the Prophet by his
name and the verse here is far from being negative:
He has created many beloved ones such as Vyasa of the Vedas and Muhammad of
the Kateba [Abrahamic scriptures].
(BGV I, 4)
Muhammad is here addressed as a beloved of God and one thus wonders how Guru
Gobind Singh could criticise the Prophet. The use of the word Mahadin serves here as
a hint to the reader: he/she is supposed to understand that this is a persona, a char-
acter, a representation, and not the Prophet himself. As in Ramananda’s and the
other characters’ case, what is here being criticised is the occultation of the esoteric,
the true core of religion by its external manifestations, the exoteric. When the exo-
teric/zahir completely covers the esoteric/batin we are left not only with an empty
shell but also with an idol.
In one of his key works on Iranian Islamic philosophy, Henry Corbin presents and
discusses the thought of the 18th Iranian philosopher, Molla ‘Abdorrahim Damavandi
(Corbin 1981, 358 –64). He highlights an important theme in Damavandi’s thought:
the idea of theophany and the concept of idol and icon. Prophets and Imams as well as
the universe are in varying degrees manifestations of the Face of God as affirmed in
the Qur’an:7 theophany serves a purpose as an icon, an image that serves as a window
to access the Divine, and a channel through which divine light is transmitted. The
distinction between the two-dimensional icon and the three-dimensional idol is
fundamental here. The icon as a window lets divine light flow whilst the idol
traps that same light in its confines. This is, in many ways, what is being represented
in this section of the Bachitra Natak. Theophanies, icons of the Divine through which
the world could perceive the Divine, once burdened by the weight of excessive
exotericism, become idols masking the Divine. In the case of Mahadin it is a refer-
ence to the shari’a bound religiosity of Sunnism and exoteric ithna’shari Shi’ism as
the verse refers to circumcision and temporal power.
It is interesting to notice that the last persona in this play of Guru Gobind Singh
is Mir Mahdi. As in the case of Mahadin it would be tempting to identify this char-
acter as Imam Mahdi. It is indeed true that Mir Mahdi, just like Imam Mahdi, appears
at the end of times to bring about a new golden age, but it is equally true that due to
his arrogance he will be killed by an ant. The reader will notice that the name of this
156 SIKH FORMATIONS
character is Mir Mahdi, Mir being a reference to temporal authority (miri), whereas
Imam Mahdi’s reign in the Shi’a tradition is a kingdom of the spirit. As in the case of
Mahadin, the Mir Mahdi character is a warning against an excessive veiling of the
batin by the mantle of the zahir at the expense of the batin itself.
When looking into the Janamsakhi literature related to Guru Nanak, one finds
some interesting references to Shi’a Islam. The B40 Janamsakhi (see Mcleod 1980),
for example, contains an apocryphal hymn that is not contained in the Adi
Granth. In this hymn Guru Nanak advises a Muslim disciple to meditate on the
divine name with each breath with the awareness that Lady Fatimah Zahra,
Hussain and Hassan dwell in one’s heart. This reference to Lady Fatimah Zahra,
Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain can be seen as a synecdoche referring to the Panj
Tan of the Shi’a tradition (Muhammad, Fatima, ‘Ali, Hassan and Hussain). This
could be viewed as a reference to meditation techniques in the Shi’a mystical tra-
dition. Such meditation techniques involve the visualisation of either the Infallibles
or their names, often in a mandala-like structure. A beautiful example of such

meditation techniques can be found in the works of Mir Damad (see Corbin 1972,
IV, 1-53). In his case, Imam’Ali in person appears to him in a vision and instructs
him to visualise the fourteen Infallibles surrounding him in a mandala structure
with Lady Fatima Zahra, the Sophia of Shi’a tradition, overarching the whole struc-
ture. It is equally interesting to notice that Guru Nanak refers here to the heart as
being the focal point of the meditation, which happens to be unusual for Indic med-
itation techniques. In the Shi’a and Sufi traditions the heart is the main mystical
centre, whereas Indic traditions would insist more (but not always) on the ajna
and sahasrara chakras.8 The Imams themselves do mention the vision of the heart
as being one of the characteristics of the truly initiated Shi’a. The famous hadith
about the secret of the Infallibles mentions the true disciples whose hearts have
been tested (see Amir-Moezzi 1992, 138). The importance of the heart as the
mystical centre in early Shi’a tradition and in the Sufi traditions attached to the
Imams is such that one cannot dismiss this reference in the B40 Janamsakhi to the
presence of the Infallibles in the mystical heart.
Equally interesting is the description of Guru Nanak’s clothes in Bhai Gurdas’
Varan as well as in the Janamsakhi literature. His attire is a combination of both
Indic and Islamic elements. The Indic tilak and mala (rosary of 108 beads) is combined
to the blue tunic, topi (hat) and seli (black cord) of Islamic origin. Sufi orders have each
a distinctive dress code. The Mevleviyya, for example, can be distinguished by their
high hats, white shirt and skirt-like tunic and a black mantle which is uncovered
during the sama’. Some Shi’a Sufi orders adopt blue as the colour of their dress
besides the hat and the khirqa or mantle. Some of these orders add a black cord9
around the hat similar to the seli worn by the Sikh Gurus and some important fol-
lowers. Some of these orders also carry weapons such as spears, axes and daggers. In
Suraj Prakash,10 Guru Nanak is also described as carrying a kara (steel bracelet), a
dagger and a spear. To say that Guru Nanak was affiliated to any Sufi tariqa on the
basis of his attire would be too quick a conclusion to make. It is lineage that determines
the affiliation to a tariqa, not external attire. In the absence of any such known lineage
in the case of Guru Nanak it is highly improbable that he was ever part of any tariqa.
The Indic elements in his attire would also invalidate such a statement. One should not
downplay the importance of it either, as it may be indicative of Shi’a-Sufi sympathies.
This is further shown by the explicit references to Guru Nanak in Nizari Ismaili
hymns of South Asia, the Ginans (Shackle and Moir 2000). One of them, the Brahm
Prakash, contains a very clear mention of Guru Nanak as being a great saint who
achieved the highest degree of spiritual enlightenment through the ‘true name’. In
many ways the Janamsakhis and the Ginans, as well as the hagiographies of other
Shi’a-Sufi saints, have in common many topoi. One hence needs to be aware of
the close ties these groups had together as well as the fact that the ithna’shari-
Ismaili divide in South Asia is quite recent. In any case, Ismailis view Guru Nanak
as part of their own tradition. Some view him as a pir, others as a nocturnal
hujjat.11 Even if Sikh sources don’t acknowledge this link, one needs to take into
account Ismaili sources and consider the possibility of a direct link between Guru
Nanak and Ismailism even though the reference to Shaikh Bahlol, a disciple of
Imam Musa, would make it a very remote possibility.
The most interesting reference to the Shi’a tradition occurs in the Bhai Mani
Singh Janamsakhi. Guru Nanak is said to have met a group of pilgrims from
Mashad.12 They ask Guru Nanak the following question: ‘The Sunnis believe in
Muhammad, we believe in’Ali. Who is right?’ Guru Nanak gives the following
answer: ‘Know that Muhammad and’Ali are one. Muhammad exceeded in knowl-
edge.’Ali exceeded in chivalry. The light of God is both in Muhammad and’Ali. It
is also in the four friends and in your heart but you have forgotten about it’
(B. M. Singh 1999, 236 – 37). This answer contains various layers of meanings.
The first part, for example, is a word-for-word translation of a famous hadith relating
the fact that the Prophet and’Ali were one light before creation itself (see Amir-
Moezzi 1992, 76– 7).
Quoting such a hadith in a Sikh hagiography is in itself far from being insigni-
ficant. This hadith carries the Shi’a (both Itna’shari and Ismaili) position on the
relation between the Prophet and Imam’Ali as well as the issue of the Prophet’s suc-
cession. To state that Muhammad and’Ali are one is, on the zahiri level, to reject the
authority of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, the first three caliphs of the Sunnis. On
the batini level it refers to the fact that Muhammad and’Ali are manifestations of the
same divine light, different aspects of the Face of God, the manifest aspect of Divi-
nity. The hadith also relates to the question of superiority between Muhammad
and’Ali, between the exoteric and esoteric aspects of Islam. There are in this
regard different opinions. The exotericists will consider the Prophet as being
superior to Imam’Ali, whereas some of the esotericists consider Imam’Ali to be
superior. Others claim that they are equal. The hadith does nevertheless state a
different approach: they are both one in nature but Muhammad is superior in the
realm of the zahir whilst’Ali is superior in the realm of the batin. This position recog-
nises the value of both the exoteric and the esoteric, the necessary existence of both.
The exoteric without the esoteric is a lifeless idol, the esoteric without the exoteric
is nothing but dangerous libertinism. This position echoes a theme dear to Haydar
Amoli (see Corbin 1972, III, 149 –213).
The quote from the Bhai Mani Singh Janamsakhi is also significant in its mention-
ing the char yar (four friends), the four great Sufi saints of Panjab and Sindh: Baba
Farid Shakar Ganj of Pakpattan (1174 –1266); Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch-Bahawalpur
(1196 –1294); Bahauddin Zakariah of Multan (1170 – 1267) and Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
of Sehwan (1177 –1274). All four of these saints come from Sufi lineages going back
158 SIKH FORMATIONS
to Imam’Ali. The mention of the char yar makes it obvious that the true Shi’a tra-
dition according to this passage does not coincide with the religion of foqaha, the
jurists, guardians of the law, the realm of the purely exoteric. Rather, the true tra-
dition of the Imams lies in the path of mystical love for the Face of God, the Divine
Guide, present in certain Sufi orders, the Ismaeli tradition and mystical schools
within ithna’shari Shi’ism. The mention of Sufi saints in a Shi’a hadith also
reminds the reader of the complex relationship between Sufism and Shi’ism.
Among the four saints mentioned here at least one of them, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar,
was openly Shi’a. Bahauddin Zaqariah and Jalaluddin Bukhari were members of the
Sohrawardiyya, an order that recognises the fourteen Infallibles and does not consider
itself to be Sunni, without explicitly declaring itself to be Shi’a either.13 In the case
of Baba Farid, a member of the Chishtiyya, the case is more complicated as he was
considered a descendant of Umar ibn al Khattab (third caliph of the Sunnis), but this
does not necessarily imply that he was an orthodox Sunni.14
This leads to the complex issue of the relation of Sufism and Shi’ism. Henry
Corbin in his En Islam Iranien mentions the idea that in many ways Sufism is a spiritual
Shi’ism hiding in the Sunni world.15 Many Sufi-Shi’a orders had to do taqiah until the
circumstances allowed them to openly declare their allegiance to the Ahl ul Bayt.
Many of these orders have their lineages going back to Imam Ridha, which invalidates
the possible argument of political opportunism when declaring Shi’a allegiance. That
the Shi’a tradition referred to here is not that of the foqaha seems quite obvious. The
juxtaposition of the names of the Prophet, Imam’Ali, and those of the four friends
refers most probably to the idea expressed by Haidar Amoli that ‘the true Shi’a is
a Sufi and the true Sufi is a Shi’a.’ What this statement also expresses is a proximity
in terms of sensibility: the emphasis on the batin over the zahir.
Another meeting between the Sikh and Shi’a traditions occurs in the hagiographies
when Guru Nanak goes to Baghdad. The Bhai Mani Singh Janamsakhi is for that passage
extremely interesting in many ways. Guru Nanak sings out the adhan or call to prayer
and gets the inhabitants of Baghdad to come out of their houses. To their surprise it
isn’t the regular salat that is performed but a sama’ session with Bhai Mardana
playing the rabab and Guru Nanak singing in Persian.16 The Persian text of this
recital is also contained in the Janamsakhi. After this, Guru Nanak debates the multi-
plicity of universes with Shaikh Bahlol, who finally bows down to him. Shaikh Bahlol is
none other than the famous companion of Imam Musa al Kazim, the seventh Imam of
the ithna’shari Shi’as. This of course situates the meeting between Guru Nanak and
Shaikh Bahlol in the realm of meta-history. Interestingly enough, the shrine dedicated
to Guru Nanak is visited by local Shi’as, and pictures of the Gurus can be seen next to
those of the Shi’a Imams. It is also Shi’as who take care of the shrine. The reference to
Shaikh Bahlol and thus indirectly to Imam Musa lowers the possibility of direct links
with Ismailism even though a certain proximity is not excluded or denied.
In the case of Guru Gobind Singh, the references to Shi’ism belong less to the
realm of hagiography and can actually be historically verified. The political
context of these references is important as the Mughal court was, since its begin-
nings, divided into two main parties: the Turani or Turks and the Irani or Iranians.17
The Turkish party was that of Hanefi Sunni orthodoxy and advocated a pro-Ottoman
policy. It was supported not only by the Hanefi ‘ulema but also by the Naqshbandiyya,
a Sufi order that emphasised shariati legalism. One of its main leaders, Ahmad
Sirhindi, is famous for having attempted to purge South Asian Islam from so-called
innovations. He was a staunch follower of wahdat al shuhud (unity of consciousness)
and was involved in the execution of Guru Arjan under Jahangir’s reign. The influ-
ence of the Turkish party was extremely strong after Akbar, his adventures in reli-
gious pluralism and his self-created cult, the Din Ilahi. In many ways Aurangzeb’s
reign represented the accomplishment of the Turkish party’s dreams. The persecu-
tion of Shi’as, certain Sufis orders and Sikhs, as well as other religious groups went
along with a strong emphasis on legalism and wahdat al shuhud. On the political level
this policy alienated Safavid Iran and had serious consequences for the relations
between Mughal India and Iran.
The Iranian party, on the other hand, supported closer relations with the Safavid
court. In religious matters it was composed of Shi’as as well as Sufis whose lineages
went back to Imam’Ali. Its attitude towards indigenous religious traditions was far
more open than that of the Turkish party. The best representative of that party was
probably Prince Dara Shukoh,18 son of Shah Jahan and heir to the throne. Apart
from the fact that he was a renowned lover of arts,19 he was also a member of the
Qadariyya and entertained friendly relations with Guru Hari Rai, the seventh Guru
of the Sikhs. His friendly attitude towards Indic religious traditions that were compa-
tible with mystical Islam led him to start a great project of translations of Indic religious
classics (mainly from the Smarta canon) into Persian. The most famous part of this
project was his translation of the classical Upanishads known as Sirr al Akbar which tra-
velled to Europe, where its Latin translation had an important impact on several thin-
kers, such as Schopenhauer. The Majma’ al Bahrayn constitutes the theoretical
framework of his project of creating bridges between the Islamic and the Indic
world. Dara Shukoh attempts to prove that the Indic and Islamic traditions share
the same batin but differ in their zahir. As problematic as this approach may be, his
attempt to create bridges between traditions reveals openness to other traditions
based on the philosophy of the unity of existence, wahdat al wujud.
The war between Dara Shukoh and his younger brother Aurangzeb was thus
much more than a mere war of succession. It was a war not only between two
parties but also between two visions of the world. While wahdat al shuhud was
defended by the Turkish party, wahdat al wujud was defended by the Iranian party.
The views of the Sikh Gurus, it would seem, were probably closer to the philosophy
based on the unity of existence espoused by the Iranian party. Dara Shukoh’s master,
Mian Mir, is known to have been a close friend of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of the
Sikhs, and to have laid the first stone of the Harimandir Sahib.
Far more explicit alliances were about to take place under Guru Gobind Singh. A
good example is the case of Pir Budhu Shah of Sadhaura,20 a friend and ally of Guru
Gobind Singh. His real name was Sayyid Badr ud-Din and he was born on 13 June
1647 in Sadhaura (Ambala district). His ancestors, all Shi’a Sayyids, were previously
settled in Samana (Patiala district). Samana was renowned for its sizeable population
of Shi’a Sayyids and for its water.21 As a young child, Bard ud-Din seems to have been
very introverted and dedicated to spiritual matters. This led his entourage to call him
‘Budhu’, or simpleton. He grew up to become a famous local saint and the name
‘Shah’ was added to express respect for both his Sayyid lineage and his wisdom.
At 18, he was married to the sister of the famous Mughal general, Said Khan. He
is reported to have been a friend of Pir Bhikan Shah, then residing near Karnal.22
160 SIKH FORMATIONS
As Pir Bhikan Shah was a Sayyid himself and a friend of Pir Budhu Shah, it is highly
probable that he was also Shi’a. It was on the advice of Pir Bhikan Shah that Pir Budhu
Shah visited Guru Gobind Singh. It seems that both became intimate friends to the
point that Guru Gobind Singh followed Pir Budhu Shah’s advice of engaging 500
Pathan warriors. In 1688 though, when Guru Gobind Singh was being attacked by
a coalition of hill rajas under Raja Fateh Shah, these same Pathan warriors joined
the enemy ranks and fought against the Guru.
On hearing this news, Pir Budhu Shah, disgusted by the Pathan warriors’
disgraceful behaviour and feeling that he was partly responsible for the situation,
rushed to the battlefield of Bhangani with 700 of his followers, including his four
sons and his brother. Two of his sons died during that battle. His timely arrival
proved to be a decisive factor in defeating the hill rajas. Thanks to his brother-in-
law, Said Khan, Pir Budhu Shah was able to avoid retaliation from the Mughal auth-
orities because of his ties with Guru Gobind Singh. He nevertheless couldn’t avoid
persecution in the end, and on 21 March 1704 he was executed under the orders of
Mughal official Usman Khan.
Said Khan himself is said to have undergone an extraordinary conversion on the
battlefield of Anandpur Sahib. According to Sikh tradition, it was his wish to meet
Guru Gobind Singh face to face on the battlefield. The Guru rode towards him and
challenged him to a duel in which he would be given the right to strike first. Said
Khan is reported to have gone into a state of ecstasy and abandoned his arms after
declaring Guru Gobind Singh to be a manifestation of the Divine. He is reported
to have gone into exile in the region of Kangra (see Nara 1985, 93).
Guru Gobind Singh’s alliances with members of the Irani-Shi’a party do also need
to be placed in a much larger context – namely, that of the tense relations between
Safavid Iran and Mughal India during the reign of Aurangzeb. The persecution of
Shi’as in India by Aurangzeb provoked the anger of Shah Abbas II of Persia. The
latter sent two provocative letters to Aurangzeb praising Shi’ism (see Haig 1987,
229). The Mughal ambassadors at the Persian court were humiliated and Mughal
India was threatened with an invasion. Guru Gobind Singh’s two letters to Aurangzeb
(Zafarnama and Fatehnama), as well as his Shi’a alliances, thus were not isolated
events. After Aurangzeb’s death the Mughal court was yet again divided due to a
war of succession in which the Sunni-Shi’a question again played a great role. The
struggle this time was between Bahadur Shah and Tara Azam.
Guru Gobind Singh’s alliance with Bahadur Shah best exemplifies the role played
by the Gurus in the struggle between the Irani and Turani parties. Muhammad
Mu’azzam, the future Bahadur Shah, approached Guru Gobind Singh for help
through Bhai Nand Lal Goya,23 as his right to succession was being usurped by his
younger brother, Azam Shah. An official at the Mughal court in the service of
Bahadur Shah and an important disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, Bhai Nand Lal Goya
played a vital role as an intermediary between Guru Gobind Singh and Bahadur
Shah. Fate, it seems, had a sense of irony when one takes into account the fact that
the son of Aurangzeb (the champion of Sunni legalist orthodoxy and enemy of Guru
Gobind Singh) was the Shi’a who approached the Guru for help in his struggle for
the throne. The Guru and his Sikhs participated in the decisive battle opposing
Bahadur Shah to Azam Shah at Jajau (near Agra) in 1707. According to Sikh tradition
it was Guru Gobind Singh who killed Azam Shah with two of his arrows.24
After he ascended the throne, Bahadur Shah issued an order to have the Shi’a
adhan recited in all the mosques of his empire. This meant that the official religion
of the Mughal empire was now Shi’ism. This was a clear attempt to emulate the
example of the Safavids who had turned Iran into a Shi’a state, if not the Shi’a
state par excellence. One will notice that both Bahadur Shah and Shah Ismail Safavi
ascended their respective thrones with the military support of a group considered
heterodox by legalist Islam and batini in their essential doctrines and practices.
Guru Gobind Singh visited Bahadur Shah, who greeted the Guru with several
presents. Bahadur Shah offered a khillat (robe of honour) and a kalghi (aigrette) to
Guru Gobind Singh who, contrary to custom, did not receive them at the court.
Guru Gobind Singh had camped outside the court and these presents were
brought there by a court official. This very act illustrates the complex relations
between the Sikh Gurus and the temporal power. Bahadur Shah is also reported to
have offered Guru Gobind Singh a saif (straight sword) supposed to have belonged
to Imam’Ali. This is the sword that is conserved at the Keshgarh Sahib shrine in Ana-
ndpur Sahib. It is often called the Dhulfiqar of Imam’Ali itself. Whether or not this is
the famous Dhulfiqar of Imam’Ali will not be discussed here. The Dhulfiqar rep-
resents the principles of chivalry ( javanmardi/futtuwah) and its presence at the birth-
place of the Khalsa is highly significant in itself.
Bahadur Shah’s relationship with the Sikhs seems to have been a complex one and
few historians have looked into this issue in a dispassionate way. Twentieth-century
Sikh historians such as Giani Ishar Singh Nara (see Nara 1985) have represented
Bahadur Shah as a weak and deceitful individual. This type of opinion is based on
the fact that Bahadur Shah waged a campaign against Banda Bahadur. One needs to
keep in mind, though, that Banda Bahadur, who waged war on the Mughals and con-
quered several territories in the Panjab region, has only recently been reclaimed as a
heroic figure by reformist Sikhs. In general the relations between the Khalsa and the
Shi’as seem to have been very friendly even during the Misl and Lahore Darbar
period. Oral traditions among many Panjabi Shi’a families show that during that
period some families married their daughters to Singhs.25 There is nevertheless
the famous episode between Akali Phula Singh’s Nihangs and the Shi’a Sepoys of
Metcalf on Muharram, 1809. The Sepoys had organised a procession that came near
the Golden Temple. Akali Phula Singh asked them to change the itinerary and when
the Sepoys refused, he attacked the procession. The fact that the Sepoys disrespected
sacred space and served the British, whom Akali Phula Singh hated, might serve as an
explanation for the attack. This attack remains nevertheless an isolated incident when
taking into account the cordial relations between both communities. Shi’as, for
example, used to visit Anandpur Sahib in order to have the didar (vision) of the sword
of Imam’Ali. Even today many Shi’as both in India and Pakistan hold the Sikh Gurus in
high esteem, not hesitating to visit shrines such as Panja Sahib. Before 1947 many Sikhs
used to participate in’Ashura processions, wrote poems in honour of the Ahl ul Bayt,
and even practised ma’tam.26 Even today in places such as Lucknow and Delhi many
Sikhs participate in Shi’a festivals such as’Ashura or the birth of Imam’Ali.
The violence of the partition of Punjab in 1947, fuelled by communal passions in
both Sikh and Muslim communities, and an ignorance of one another’s tradition, led
to a further deterioration in relations between both communities. Islamophobia in
certain strands of modern Sikhism leads them to conveniently forget or ignore the
162 SIKH FORMATIONS
difference between Shi’as and Sunnis. On the other hand, the growing influence of
Iranian Shi’ism on South Asian Shi’as especially after 1979 leads them to forget
about those links for the sake of an illusory pan-Islamic Sunni-Shi’a consciousness.
One has to add, nevertheless, that people from both communities who were born
at the beginning of the twentieth century still remember those links. One only
needs to look at the work of Mohinder Singh Bedi Sahar, who has written several
Urdu poems in honour of the Ahl ul Bayt.
On a lighter note it needs to be said that the Iranian town of Zahedan in Iran was
given its name due to a misunderstanding. According to popular tradition this town,
inhabited by many Sikhs, was once visited by the Shah of Iran. The Shah thought that
this town was inhabited by an unusual number of saintly zaheds (Sufi ascetics) as the
Sikhs with their beards and turbans resembled zaheds. This led many local Iranians to
marry their daughters to the Sikh men of that area. It was only later that they noticed
that these Zahedan were in fact Sikhs. Misunderstandings do sometimes have their
advantages!
The Divine Guide in the Shi’a and Sikh traditions
The Divine Guide plays a central role in both Shi’a and Sikh traditions. More than
just a human spiritual teacher, he is the Face of God. In the Shi’a tradition this is
very explicit in many of the hadiths of the Ahl ul Bayt. In his Khutbat al Bayan,
Imam’Ali says about himself:
I am the sign of the Almighty. I am the First and the Last one. I am the zahir and
the batin. I am the face of God. I am the hand of God. I am the side of God. I am
the one who is referred to as Eli in the Gospel. I am the one who has the secret of
God’s messenger.
(Translated from Corbin 1972, 96)
Another tradition going back to Imam Ja’far relates a dialogue between the Imam and
one of his disciples about the possibility of seeing God:
I said to Abu’Abdillah (as-Sadiq): ‘Tell me about the vision of God the Exalted
and Glorified. Will the believers see Him on the Day of Judgment?’ The Imam
said: ‘Yes, and they have already seen Him before the Day of Judgment.’ I so
asked: ‘When?’ To which he said: ‘When Allah said to them: “Am I not your
Lord, and they said ‘Yes, Indeed!”’ He then paused for a while and said:
‘Indeed, the believers see him in the world before the Day of Judgment. Do
you not see Him right now?’ [i.e. right now while he is sitting with the Imam]. I
said: ‘May I be your sacrifice! May I tell others about what you have said?’
The Imam said: ‘No. If you tell this to people, the ignorant deniers will not
understand it the way you would tell them.’
As-Saduq 118 (translated by Dr’Abd al-Hakeem Carney)
In original Shi’a tradition the Divine Guide is the theophanic manifestation of the
Divine. The essence of Divinity remains inaccessible, unknowable and non-manifested,
whereas the Imam is the manifested aspect of Divinity, the Face of Light through which
the Divine interacts with the world and through which the world perceives the Divine.
The Guru in the Sikh tradition enjoys the same status. In his Japuji (pauri 37),
Sahib Guru Nanak, when mentioning the five khand or spiritual realms, mentions
the last two ones in the following words:
In Karam Khand [the realm of Grace] bani [divine utterance] is might. There no
one else remains. There dwell [only] the warriors of great strength in whom the
Divine [Ram] dwells in plenitude. There they remain immersed in the praise of
the Divine and their beauty is beyond telling. Neither do they die nor are they
deceived in whose hearts the Divine [Ram] resides. There also dwell the scores
of bhagats in bliss with the True One in their hearts. In Sach Khand [the realm of
Truth] resides Nirankar who, after creating them, looks upon his creatures in
grace and bliss. There are the continents, worlds and universes [i.e. they are con-
ceived here]. There is no end to counting them. There are countless worlds over
worlds that act according to the command given to them. He looks and contem-
plates upon them and rejoices. O Nanak to describe this is like iron [i.e. to
describe it is as hard as iron].
(J 37)
The Divine in its nirguna or non-manifested aspect remains inaccessible and even the
saints and mahabali remain in the realm of grace, karam khand, and don’t go beyond.
The Guru is, just like the Imam, the saguna or manifested aspect of Divinity. This fact
is underlined by many passages from gurbani:
The Guru is Govind, and Govind is the Guru, O Nanak; there is no difference
between the two, o brother.
jj4jjj1jj8jjAGGS 442
There is no difference between the Supreme Lord and the Guru.

jj4jj11jjAGGS 1142
So Mathura speaks: there is no difference between God and Guru; Guru Arjun is
Hari himself manifested.
jj7jj19jjAGGS 1409
The fact that the Guru is the theophanic manifestation of the divine attributes is even
clearer in the Mulmantar, the starting section of the Guru Granth Sahib and root
(mul) of the Sikh tradition. The Mulmantar can be divided into two sections, the
first one stating essential attributes of the Divine and the role of the Divine
Guide and the second one stating the first section’s relationship to creation.
The mention of the Guru is, interestingly enough, placed between the first and
the second part:
First part: One-Omkar [ikomkar], the True Name [satinamu], the Creating
[Active] Being [Person] [karta purakhu], without fear [nirbhau], without
164 SIKH FORMATIONS
hatred [nirvair], unborn [lit. without a womb] [ajuni], self-existing [saibham], in

the grace of the Guru [gurprasadi].
Second part: Repeat [japu]. This was true in the primordial time [adi sachu], at the
beginning of the ages [jugadi sachu], it is true now and [hai bhi sachu], o Nanak
[nanak], it shall be true in the future [hosi bhi sachu].
From a grammatical point of view the word gurprasadi is in the locative case expres-
sing the sense of location (in the grace of the Guru). As Shapiro has shown in his
article on the instrumental use of the locative in gurbani (see Shapiro 1994), gurpra-
sadi also has the instrumental meaning of ‘through the grace of the Guru’. In its loca-
tive dimension, gurprasadi signifies that the essential attributes of the Divine are
manifested in the Guru himself, whereas the instrumental dimension refers to the
notion that it is through the Guru that the Divine manifests its attributes. The
Divine Guide is, so to speak, the signifier aspect of the Divine, whereas the Unknow-
able Essence remains the signified aspect or the name of God.
It is thus clear that without the Divine Guide, the Divine cannot be known. As
such he plays the role of the mystical pole (qutb) of the universe. This is true in the
Shi’a tradition (see Corbin 1972, 181) and in the Sikh tradition as well, where it is
demonstrated by the Janamsakhi narratives. The famous episode of Guru Nanak’s
visit to Mekka illustrates best the Guru’s role as the mystical pole. Tradition has
it that when Guru Nanak arrived in Mekka and visited the Ka’aba he slept in the
sacred enclosure with his feet pointed towards the Ka’aba. A guardian woke him
up telling him that pointing one’s feet towards the Ka’aba was an insult. Guru
Nanak told the guardian to direct his feet where God did not exist and in whatever
direction the guardian pointed Guru Nanak’s feet, the Ka’aba would be standing in
their direction. The Ka’aba, the symbol of the exoteric religion of submission, thus
gravitates around Guru Nanak, thus declaring that the Divine Guide himself is the
real centre of the universe whose religion is that of loving friendship. In Shi’a
tradition the Ka’bah also has a relationship with the Divine Guide. At Imam’Ali’s
birth in the Ka’bah, the holy shrine trembled and a crack developed on one of its
walls so that Imam’Ali’s mother could give birth to him inside the shrine and on
the day of ’Ashura. When Imam Hussain was killed by the army of Yazid, it trembled
again.
In the Sikh tradition, the perfect Sikh or disciple is called gurmukh (lit. ‘who has
his face [mukh] turned towards the Guru’). The expression translates a sense of direc-
tion by which the Guru clearly is implied as the centre, the pole or qutb. An episode
in the life of Guru Gobind Singh illustrates this dimension of the word gurmukh. At
the birth of Guru Gobind Singh in Patna, Pir Bhikan Shah saw a brilliant light spread-
ing in the east during his prayers and changed his qibla towards east instead of the
direction of the Ka’bah. His disciples were surprised at his behaviour and asked
why he did such an unusual and unthinkable thing. To this he responded that a
great soul had been born in the east and he decided to travel to Patna to see the
child. He had literally turned his face towards the Guru and made him his qibla.
In traditional, pre-reformist Sikh architecture the Guru Granth Sahib used to be
placed in the middle of the Sikh shrine. The circumambulation27 of the Guru
Granth Sahib further reinforces the idea that the Guru is indeed the qutb, just as the
Imam is in the Shi’a tradition.
Another doctrine that only the Sikh and Shi’a traditions share is the notion of
metemphotosis, or transmission of light. The Divine Guide as the luminous mani-
fested aspect of the Divine manifests himself in different persons that are the same
light in different bodies and personalities. The statement of Guru Nanak in the
Janamsakhi already refers to the Prophet and Imam’Ali as being of the same light.
In the ithna’shari Shi’a tradition the fourteen Infallibles are the same divine light
manifested in fourteen different personalities (see Corbin 1972, I, 255; IV, 143).
This doctrine applies to the Nizari Ismaili line of Imams from ‘Ali to Maulana
Shah Agha Khan IV. In the Sikh tradition, metemphotosis also applies to the ten
Gurus who remain one divine light in ten personalities. The entire fifth section of
Bachitra Natak describes how the divine light manifested itself in the ten Gurus.
When Guru Gobind Singh describes his own birth, one clearly understands that
the Gurus are beings of light:
There we manifested our light, and we came into existence in the city of Patna.
We were brought to Madra Des (Panjab) and many different nurses took affec-
tionately care of us.
(BN VII, 2)
The Divine Guide in both traditions doesn’t limit his manifestations to the 14 Infall-
ibles or the 10 Gurus. He manifests his light in the prophets and avataras of the past as
well. The Shi’a tradition says the following about the hujjat of God, the Divine
Guide:
The Imam-Proof has existed before the creatures, he exists with them and he
shall exist after them.
(Translated from Amir-Moezzi 1992, 303)
The second section of the Mulmantar affirms a similar idea when referring to the first
section of the Mul Mantar, where it is stated that the divine attributes are manifested
in and through the Guru:
True in the primordial age, true at the beginning of the ages, true now, o Nanak,
it shall be true in the future too.
In a famous tradition, Imam Muhammad al Baqir says about himself that he was Jesus
(see Corbin 1972, IV, 442). In other hadiths the Imams affirm that they were pro-
phets of the past as well. The Ismaili Ginan literature goes even further and considers
the avataras of the Indic traditions as manifestations of the eternal Imam too. In the
Sikh tradition this is very explicit in the Guru Granth Sahib’s compositions of the
bhatts or bards who state that the Guru came as Krishna, Rama and other avataras.
A literal reading of the Bachitra Natak has led many to think that the avataras of
the Indic traditions were being ridiculed, but as shown earlier we are dealing here
with representational and allegorical figures rather than with the actual avataras.
166 SIKH FORMATIONS
The concept of the Imam/Guru being the manifested aspect of the Divine leads
us to address the question of this esoteric secret and the cursing of those who break
it. The Shi’a tradition is full of examples of followers of the Imam who were cursed
by him for having publicly declared that he was God. In the hadith of Imam Ja’far we
mentioned earlier that there is an explicit warning of the Imam to his disciple not to
divulge the fact that the Imam is the manifested aspect of God. In cases where dis-
ciples were cursed for divulging this secret publicly one finds that these still
remained close to their Imam and were still part of his inner circle.28 The curse
must hence be understood not so much as a condemnation of the disciple or of
what he has said but rather as a condemnation against breaking the esoteric secret
and giving pearls to the swine (i.e. revealing the divinity of the Imam to the
non-initiated and enemies of the Divine Guide). Clearly these statements might be
misunderstood as there is a difference between stating that the Imam is God and
saying that the Imam is the Face of God. ‘Abd al-Hakeem Carney in his article
‘Imamate and Love’ discusses Ibn’Arabi’s passage on Jesus in his Fusus al Hikam:
The statement that Jesus is God is not blasphemy. It is, in fact correct. al-Qaysarı-
writes explicitly that the statement that Jesus is God is correct and true insofar as
Jesus is a specific epiphanic manifestation of the Divine Being [al-haqq]. And the
statement that he is the son of Mary is true without any doubt. The act of
disbelief, according to Ibn ‘Arabı-, is the union of the two statements, i.e. that
Jesus the son of Mary [meaning his nasut] is God. It is the confusion of the
human nature of Jesus [symbolized by referring to him as the son of Mary] and
the Divine that is the source of the problem, not the idea that Jesus as a
theophanic being is identical to God.
(Carney 2005, 717)
We go back here to Molla Damavandi’s discussion of the concepts of icon and idol.
The Divine Guide as theophany, as an icon, is indeed God, but limiting God to one of
his earthly manifestations is to transform it into an idol. It is precisely for this reason
that Guru Arjan gives this clear warning combined to a curse:
Let that mouth burn that says that the Lord [Thakur] takes birth. He is not born,
nor does he die. He does not come and go [through the cycle of rebirths].
(AGGS 1136)
Guru Gobind Singh himself in his Bachitra Natak warns those who would wish to
imprison the Divine in his limited shape:
Those who call us the Supreme Lord (Paramesar) shall all fall in the realm of hell.
Know me as his servant and do not think of any difference between me and Him.
(BN VI, 32)
It is in this context that one has to understand this warning. It is not in the least a
negation of the divinity of the Divine Guide; rather, it is a warning to those who
limit the Divine to its historical manifestation of the Divine Guide. The secret of
the Divine Guide – namely, the fact that he is the Face of God – lies at the very
centre of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom in Delhi under the orders of Aurangzeb.
According to Sikh tradition, Guru Tegh Bahadur went to Delhi to defend religious
liberties in India. Imprisoned and tortured, he was asked by the governor of Delhi to
perform a miracle, which he refused to do. Guru Gobind Singh’s memorable words
about his father give the reason for his refusal: he gave his head (sir) instead of giving
his secret (sirr).29 Revealing the esoteric to an oppressor such as Aurangzeb who
incarnated exotericism in its most extreme form would have been the equivalent
of giving away pearls to the swine.
The Divine Guide in both traditions is not just the one who brings the revelation,
he is the revelation. It is through him that the divine attributes are manifested.
Famous Shi’a hadiths state that ‘the Qur’an is with’Ali and that’Ali is with the
Qur’an’. This tradition seems to be echoed word for word by the following
passage from the Guru Granth Sahib:
The Guru is bani and bani is the Guru [and] within bani is all amrit [nectar of
immortality].
(AGGS, 982)
The sacred text in the Shi’a tradition is considered to be the silent (samit) Imam,
whereas the human Imam is called the speaking (natiq) Imam. The importance of
this doctrine becomes extremely relevant in the question of the real Qur’an. The
majority of hadiths about the real Qur’an of Imam’Ali make it quite clear that
Uthman’s version (which has become what the world knows as the Qur’an) is a muti-
lated text. What differentiates Uthman’s mutilated Qur’an from’Ali’s real Qur’an is
not just the text30 but the fact that Imam’Ali, the Divine Guide, is the very source of
the revelation. A similar issue has arisen in Sikh history when Guru Gobind Singh
recompiled the Adi Granth. During his stay at Sabo ki Talvandi, Guru Gobind
Singh made it known that he wished to recompile the Adi Granth. For that
purpose a group of Sikhs went to the Dhirmalia branch of the Sodhi family which
was in possession of the Kartarpuri version of the Adi Guru Granth compiled by
Guru Arjan. The Dhirmalias refused. According to Sikh tradition, Guru Gobind
Singh managed to reveal the sacred text without the support of the manuscript by
reciting it from beginning to end by heart. This episode has a tremendous theological
importance in the Sikh tradition as it shows the importance of the Divine Guide over
the sacred text: divine authority does not derive from the possession of a particular
manuscript, divine authority derives from the fact that the Divine Guide is the rev-
elation itself.31
It is interesting to note that before Guru Gobind Singh died in1708 he passed on
his authority to both the sacred text or Granth and the Panth, represented by the
Khalsa under the commandment of Akali Baba Binod Singh. The Guru Granth
might be viewed as the equivalent of the silent Imam of the Shi’a tradition,
whereas the Guru Panth is that of the speaking Imam. One cannot exist without
the other: the sacred text needs a protector, the order of chivalry needs the
words of the Divine Guide, without which it has no purpose. The concept of the
book as a master to be treated as such did already exist before 1708 in the Ismaili
Nizari tradition. Ismaili tradition holds that the Indian Ismailis asked their Imam Mus-
tansir Billah to send them a pir or master subordinated to the Imam. The Imam
168 SIKH FORMATIONS
decided to compile some of his sayings into a book entitled Pandiyyat-e-Javanmardi

(see Mustansir 1953) (trad. ‘advice on chivalry’). The Nizari Imam Mustansir
Billah declared that his book would be their pir, and up to today it is treated as such.
So far we have looked at the parallels between the two traditions regarding the
concept of the Divine Guide. The question may arise as to whether it is justified to
say that the concepts are the same. An answer might be provided by the Ismaili Ginan
literature. The vocabulary used to qualify the Divine Guide is quite remarkable: not
only is the traditional Arabic term ‘Imam’ used, the Indic ‘Satguru’ is used too. The
term Satguru (True Guru) is also used profusely in the Sikh tradition to the point that
it has become part of its distinctive religious terminology. On the other hand, titles
normally given to the Imams are used in Bhai Nand Lal Goya’s Ganjnamah 32 in honour
of Guru Gobind Singh. The poet addresses Guru Gobind Singh with titles such as bar
do alam shah (king of the two worlds) that would in a Shi’a context apply to Imams.
One also needs to take into account the fact that Sikhs, Alevis and Ahl e Haqq share
the use of the title ‘True King’ or ‘King of Truth’ for the Divine Guide: Sikhs use
sache patishah whilst Alevis and Ahl e Haqq use padishah haqqiqi (see Minorsky 1921).
It would hence not be presumptuous to say the concept of the Divine Guide in the
traditions just mentioned is not just strikingly similar but almost identical.
The similarities and parallels in the concept of the Divine Guide are not enough
to explain the alliances between Sikhs and Shi’as. In fact, such parallels could have
acted as a factor for enmity if on both sides those concepts were exclusivist in
nature. The Sikh tradition has never really had a problem with the Islamic tradition
in terms of inclusion. As shown earlier, some passages in Sikh sacred literature show
a deep respect for the Ahl ul Bayt. The Gurus themselves never used the prophetic
titles of rasul or nabi for themselves, thus avoiding the issue of being called prophets
after Prophet Muhammad. The status of the Guru resembles more that of the Imam
than that of a prophet. On the other hand, the Shi’a tradition does in some hadiths of
Imam Ja’far acknowledge an Indian equivalent of the Ahl ul Bayt.33
It is not impossible to assume that the Shi’a allies of the Sikhs saw in the figures of
the ten Gurus the Ahl ul Bayt of India mentioned in that hadith. Like their Imams,
the ten Gurus were believed to be one divine light manifested in different personal-
ities. This hadith does at least indicate that the Sikh Gurus and the Shi’a Imams do in
theory not necessarily exclude each other. The relationship between the Sikh and the
Guru and between the Shi’a and the Imam is not so much one of submission, charac-
teristic of exoteric religiosity, but rather one of loving friendship (walayat or dosti).
This bond of love is at the very heart of the tradition of chivalry that characterises
both religions.
Sacred chivalry in the Shi’a and Sikh traditions

As we have seen in the previous section, the Divine Guide in both the Sikh and the
Shi’a traditions has manifested himself in human history at different times and places
in order to remind humanity of the bond of love between the soul and the Divine.
The Divine Guide as originator of various religions is also the one in whom they
become one and who reveals their secret. In the ithna’shari Shi’a tradition this rev-
elation of the secret behind those religions revealed by the Divine Guide is brought
about by the 12th and last Imam who will appear at the end of times. Shi’a exegetes
identify the 12th Imam with the Paraclet of the New Testament and affirm that he
will bring a new dawa or dispensation, esoteric in nature, that constitutes the per-
ennial truth behind the previously revealed traditions. The juridical religion of sub-
mission will give way to that of the esoteric religion of love that was until then
accessible only to an elite. This elite surrounding the Divine Guide is made up of
knights who have raised themselves above the goatish religion of submission and
who have consecrated themselves entirely to the path of loving friendship. In the
Sikh tradition this paracletic role is not only reserved for the last Guru. Due to
the notion of love between the Sikh and his/her Guru that is at the heart of Sikh tra-
dition, all the Gurus have assumed this role. A famous line from Guru Nanak’s Japuji
clearly mentions that the Guru is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti.34 The Divine
Guide as the manifestation of God’s attributes is not only the creator, preserver,
destroyer and energy of creation but he is also the Brahman of the Smartas, the
Vishnu of Vaishnavas, the Shiva of Shaivas and the Shakti of Shaktas. Throughout
Sikh hagiographic literature, people of different faiths recognise the Guru as being
their ideal of the Divine Guide. The Sikh tradition, born at the crossroads
between various cultures and faiths, at the confluence of the two oceans (majma’
al bahrain) of the Abrahamic and Indic worlds, assumes this role of revelation
of the ultimate truth behind previously revealed traditions. And just as in the case
of the Shi’a tradition, chivalry plays an essential role in the teachings of the Sikh
Gurus.
The spirit of chivalry permeates the Shi’a tradition from the start with Imam’Ali,
the knight of God and great heroes such as Hazrat Abbas his son and half-brother of
Imam Hussain who died fighting in the tragedy of Karbala whilst bringing back water
for the thirsting women and children. This tradition of chivalry is equally present in
the cycle of the 12th Imam of the ithna’shari line. Before going further into the
theme of chivalry in both traditions one needs to look into the occultation of
Imam Mahdi and Guru Gobind Singh, who both happen to be the last masters in
their respective lineages.
According to ithna’shari tradition, the last Imam, Imam Mahdi, did not die but is
still living in a state of occultation which he entered in 941. The tradition states that
no mortal can see him unless he reveals himself to someone and even in those cases
that person will only be aware that it is Imam Mahdi after the meeting. He will come
at the end of times in order to avenge the oppressed and reveal the esoteric truths
mentioned earlier. Many traditions state that he will appear with his knights, the
khullas (see Amir-Moezzi 1992, 294). To become one of these knights is the wish
of any pious ithna’shari Shi’a, as is shown in the beautiful prayer that Henry
Corbin quotes at the end of his En Islam Iranien (see Corbin 1972, IV, 458 –59).
The same ethos of chivalry permeates the traditions around Guru Gobind
Singh. Although mainstream Sikh tradition holds that Guru Gobind Singh died in
1708 in Nander (Maharsashtra), this belief is not shared by members of such
orders as the Nihangs, or by those Sikhs who attach a great importance to Takht
Sachkhand Hazur Sahib in Nanded whose liturgy and tradition have not been
affected by reformist Sikhism in Panjab. According to the hagiographies, Guru
Gobind Singh, wounded by a Pathan assassin sent by Wazir Khan of Sirhind,35
ordered his Sikhs to build a funeral pyre and to have it screened off so that no
170 SIKH FORMATIONS
one would be able to see anything. Guru Gobind Singh, after giving his last instruc-
tions, climbed on the funeral pyre with his horse and ordered his Sikhs to look in
the direction opposite that of the pyre. Traditions relate that a great explosion of
light could be seen. Two days later Guru Gobind Singh appeared to an Udasi ascetic
and asked him to tell his Sikhs that he would always remain with them. On the
fourth day the Sikhs went inside the enclosure to look for the Guru’s ashes. No
mortal remains of the Guru or his horse were left except for a small kirpan or
dagger. Since then the belief that Guru Gobind Singh is not dead but remains
close to his Sikhs has been prevalent among those who still follow the ancient
Khalsa traditions. This occultation is often referred to in oral tradition as Guru
Gobind Singh’s khel or game.
It is indeed not rare to find pious people who have a story about their meeting
with Guru Gobind Singh. These stories follow a similar pattern to those found among
those Shi’a who have met the 12th Imam. In both cases the meeting is unexpected and
is in most cases devoid of spectacular elements. One only recognises the Divine
Guide after the meeting.36 Some of the narrations of meetings with the 12th
Imam, such as the stories of the Green Island and the five islands of the sons of
the Imam, mention the existence of five sons of the Imam (see Corbin 1972, IV,
338-89). The mortals cannot see the Imam as the Imam.37 But the presence of his
five sons does indicate that he is indeed present – invisible yes, but still present.
These five sons and the cities they reside in represent mystical virtues, as their
names suggest.
A closer look at the Khalsa traditions initiated by Guru Gobind Singh suggests
some similarities with Shi’a chivalry. There is first of all the very term of Khalsa
that derives from the Arabic root (Kh-l-s.) meaning purity. The word Kha-ls.a-
hence means the ‘the pure’, but during the Mughal period the term acquired
another meaning, as it designated any land that was under direct administration of
the king without intermediaries. In the context of Guru Gobind Singh’s reshaping
of the Sikh community’s structure by eliminating the masands38 as intermediaries,
the Khalsa was the community that pledged full allegiance to the Guru only.
There is nevertheless another dimension to the term Khalsa that has been neglected
– namely, its association with the Shi’a khullas. The word khullas (pure) derives
from the same Arabic root as Khalsa and in both traditions these terms are linked
to an order of chivalry dedicated to the service of the Divine Guide. The main differ-
ence between the Khalsa and the khullas lies in the fact that in the ithna’shari Shi’a
tradition the khullas will only appear at the end of times, whereas the Khalsa is
already an existing order. In the Akali Nihang Singh tradition, the uniform of the
Nihangs is often termed khullasi bana or khullasi dress. It refers to the blue turban
and tunic as well as to the chand (crescent moon with a straight sword in the
middle). According to the Akali Nihang Singh tradition this is said to be the
uniform that the knights of Imam Mahdi will wear. The crescent moon was given
to Guru Nanak on his visit to Mekka but he promised only to wear it in his tenth
form as Guru Gobind Singh.39 This brings one to look into the historical roots of
chivalry tradition in the Khalsa. Its important Islamic and Persian elements have
so far been conveniently ignored by scholars of Sikhism. Yet explicit references to
Firdausi’s Shahnamah in Guru Gobind Singh’s Zafarnamah should have triggered
the interest to look into this important issue.40
The initiation ceremony into the Khalsa bears a lot of similarities to initiation
ceremonies of Shi’a Sufi and chivalry orders in Persia and parts of South Asia. One
needs to bear in mind that unlike their situation in the twentieth century, many
Sufi orders were militarised. In orders such as the Khaksar, sweetened water is
used for the initiation and in some other Sufi and chivalry orders, that same swee-
tened water is steered with a dagger.41 Corbin in fact indicates that such rituals of
initiation into javanmardi already existed during the times of the Prophet and
Imam Ali and that the roots of these rituals are to be found in the Zoroastrian tra-
dition. The ritual always involves the drinking of a sacred liquid (salted or sweetened
water or even wine) from a cup as well as a sword or dagger (see Corbin 1998, 173-
204). The panj pyare, or five beloved, present at the initiation ceremony fulfil a func-
tion similar to that of the five sons of the Hidden Imam as they represent Guru
Gobind Singh. As in the case of the sons of the Hidden Imam, the names of the
panj pyare represent mystical virtues.42 According to this interpretation, the panj
pyare are thus not just human beings who lived at a certain time, but incarnations
of mystical values that are the very essence of Sikh chivalry, and as seen earlier,
sacred chivalry is itself based on the relationship of loving friendship. The fact
that Guru Gobind Singh’s first initiates are called pyare, or beloved, and that he
asks them to give him the initiation in turn translates the very notion of dosti that
distinguishes the hero (vir) from the animal ( pashu). The bond of love between
the initiate and the Guru is such that both are brought onto equal footing through
mutual love. The religion of submission is that of the majority of people who are
in Indian tradition referred to as pashu, or animals. The opposite of this religion
of the pashu is that of the vir, or hero. In 1699, when Guru Gobind Singh initiated
the panj pyare by asking for their heads, five goats were sacrificed. The goat rep-
resents the pashu state and the exoteric religion of submission that goes with it.
This sacrifice represents the abolition of the religion of submission and the state of
pashu for the initiate who enters the realm of the esoteric religion of love and of
the hero (vir) and knight ( javanmard). The offering of one’s head is another Leitmotiv
of Shi’a Sufi initiation rituals. Making the pledge of giving one’s head for the Divine
Guide is the first step into the path of sacred chivalry, as one has shed the selfish fears
of the goatish man.43
The concept of sacred chivalry as an expression of love for the Divine Guide often
goes hand in hand with antinomianism. One can in many ways compare the creation of
the Khalsa with the Great Resurrection of Alamut,44 or al-qiyamat al-kubra. In 1164
Imam Hasan had assembled his disciples at Alamut and declared the abolition of the
shari’a. One may look at the Baisakhi of 1699 as a similar event. First of all there is
the geographical location of Alamut and Anandpur Sahib in a mountainous region far
away from the main centre of secular power. Then there is the convocation of the dis-
ciples to come and see their Guide for a solemn declaration that will change the history
of the movement. The Khalsa’s taboos – namely, the kurahit – seem to reflect a certain
type of antinomianism. The prohibition of both halal and haram (in Sikh terms this
refers to the consumption of halal meat and adultery) translates the idea of the abolition
of the religion of submission the shari’a, guided by the notions of halal and haram. The
prohibition on cutting hair (hajamat) would go against both shari’a and brahmanical
habits.45 Ismailis, Druze and Khalsa Sikhs share the prohibition on smoking, probably
a reminder that spiritual antinomianism does not sit with licentiousness.46
172 SIKH FORMATIONS
The knight in the Shi’a and Sikh traditions is not a worldly martial elite or caste47
determined by birth. As Corbin argues, it is exile for the sake of the love for the
Divine Guide that determines the right to become his knight. In the Shi’a tradition
it is Salman Farsi (Salman the Persian) who best represents the idea of exile. The panj
pyare of the Sikh tradition have all left their land (they came from different parts of
India) and their caste in order to be reborn as knights of Guru Gobind Singh. The
archetype of the knight remains of course the Divine Guide himself and the life of
his knights consists in emulating him. The jibrailiyya clearly states, ‘la fata
illa’Ali’ which can be rendered either as ‘there is no other knight of God but’Ali’
or ‘there is no other young man of God but’Ali’.
The word fatah and its Persian equivalent javanmard refer both to the idea of
young man and knight. In the Islamic tradition the first fatah or javanmard was
Prophet Abraham, who is referred to as such by his enemies who, despite hating
his rejection of idolatry, admired his chivalry. What characterises Abraham’s chi-
valry is his exile, the fact that he had to uproot himself from the world he once
was part of, his land, home and clan, in order to accomplish a higher destiny. The
same applies to the other archetype of chivalry, Prophet Yusuf, who may be com-
pared with Guru Gobind Singh. Yusuf is the young, handsome, yet chaste young
man who upholds the values of chivalry even in the face of temptation. The story
of Yusuf and Zuleikha is contained in the Charitropakhyan and narrates how Zuleikha
tried to seduce Yusuf, who refused to give in to her attempts. A similar story is nar-
rated in the same Charitropakhyan – namely, the story of Guru Gobind Singh and
Anup Kaur. In this supposedly autobiographical account, Guru Gobind Singh narrates
how a married woman, Anup Kaur by name, tried to seduce him. Like Yusuf, he
refuses to give in to her game of seduction and Anup Kaur, like Zuleikha, repents
and mends her ways. Both Prophet Yusuf and Guru Gobind Singh represent the
ideal of the javanmard and the parallels between the two stories and the intertextual
use of Prophet Yusuf’s story seem to indicate a spiritual continuity: Guru Gobind
Singh as the Yusuf of his age.
In addition to these internal aspects of javanmardi, one should not forget to
mention both the ethical and martial ones. Constant contact with death, combined
with the endeavour to be the manifestation of virtues mentioned earlier, as well as
mystical love for the Beloved, bring about a type of spirituality that contrasts with
the exotericism of the masses. This may in part explain the deep respect that
many Nihangs of the old generation still have for Imam’Ali. In fact, some aspects
of the traditional Sikh martial art are said to derive from Imam’Ali himself.
Finally, an important common characteristic of both traditions of sacred chivalry
is the concept of the Feminine Divine. This concept of the Feminine Divine is man-
ifested both in the idea that the Divine has a feminine aspect and in the idea of mys-
tical romantic love for a woman through whom the Divine manifests itself. This
aspect of both the Shi’a and the Sikh traditions has remained both downplayed
within the traditions themselves due to the weight of patriarchy and legalist exoteri-
cism as well as unexplored by scholars precisely due to the fact that it has been
hidden. It is also true at the same time that this concept has always been a character-
istic feature of an elite dedicated to the ideal of chivalry within both traditions.
In the Shi’a tradition, Lady Fatimah Zahra holds an important position as being
part of the group of the fourteen Infallibles and as the confluent of the lights of
Imamate and prophecy. As Henry Corbin describes in his Homme de LumiO`re, if the
Prophet and the Imams are of the divine light, Fatimah Zahra is the orb that
enables these rays to exist. Many famous hadiths of Imams affirm the exalted status
of Fatimah Zahra over the Imams and the Prophet. But the Umm al Kitab is probably
the work that goes furthest by also giving her a demiurgic status. In one passage she
appears as the Queen of Heavens to Adam and Eve in the Coronation of Fatir, a crown
on her head, a sword in her hand and wearing two earrings. The crown stands for her
father, the Prophet Muhammad, the sword for her husband Imam’Ali, and the earr-
ings for Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain. In another vision, Lady Fatimah Zahra
appears dressed in white clothes with golden embroidery, light emanating from
her face, and declares that she is Fatimah the Fatir (Creator), who creates both
heaven and earth and that there is no divinity except her (see Corbin 1983, 146).
She is thus the creative aspect of the Divine as well as the representation of its
unknowable essence.
A similar position is given to Bhagauti in the Sikh tradition and in particular in

the writings of Guru Gobind Singh. The word Bhagauti is the feminine form of the
masculine noun bhagavant, translated as lord. Bhagauti thus represents the feminine
aspect of the Divine and she is honoured by several hymns in both the Dasam
Granth and the Sarabloh Granth. These hymns are recited with great fervour by
the members of the Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa. After all, aren’t the Nihangs men-
tioned as being Durga’s warriors in Chandi di Var (CV 47)?
The Divine Feminine in both traditions exists in the concept of romantic mys-
tical love for a woman. In the Shi’a tradition this concept was introduced historically
by the fact that Shi’a Sufi orders continued to transmit the teaching of Ibn ‘Arabi and
Ruzbihan Baqli (see Corbin 1991). Ibn ‘Arabi’s Tarjuman al Ashwaq and Ruzbihan
Baqli’s Abhar e Ashiqin are truly great classics of Sufism that continue to be important
references in Shi’a Sufi circles. As the divine essence cannot be perceived, the Divine
manifests itself through its theophanies. Apart from the Divine Guide himself, the
best theophany is considered to be woman, in whom the divine attributes are per-
ceived. This was Ibn ‘Arabi’s and Ruzbihan Baqli’s personal experience. During
his stay in Mekka, Ibn ‘Arabi met Nidham (harmony), the beautiful daughter of an
Iranian Sufi shaikh. He fell in love with Nidham, in whom he perceived the
Divine, and wrote a collection of poems known as the ‘Interpreter of Desires’ or
Tarjuman al Ashwaq (see Ibn‘Arabi 1996). The idea that love for a woman can be
not only a mere metaphor for love for God but that God is perceived through the
beloved permeates the works of poets such as Hafiz, who has become a reference
in most Shi’a Sufi orders. Again, this type of love is a characteristic trait of the javan-
mard, for only he can attain the purity of heart to love in such a way and risk himself
on the path of love.
It is in this context that one needs to look at the work of Bhai Nand Lal Goya, one
of Guru Gobind Singh’s most famous disciples and court poets. His works (mostly in
Persian) are of great importance in Sikh tradition as they form, with the writings of
Bhai Gurdas, part of the Sikh canon after the Guru Granth itself and its threefold
manifestation. His Ghazzaliyyat (see Goya 1996, 1999) provide an example of the tre-
mendous impact Persian culture had on Northern India. These love poems use lit-
erary devices that leave to the reader a rare richness of interpretation depending
on both the culture and the spiritual evolution of the reader. The fact that the
174 SIKH FORMATIONS
Persian language does not have a grammatical gender and that the name of the
beloved is never mentioned leaves us with multiple angles of interpretation. In
most Sikh circles these poems are said to be addressed to Guru Gobind Singh only
at the expense of other readings. There is no doubt that these poems can be under-
stood as addressing Guru Gobind Singh as the Beloved. But these poems can also be
understood as being addressed to woman, as in the case of Ibn ‘Arabi or Ruzbihan
Baqli. The dark locks, the tiny ruby lips, the eyelashes and rosy cheeks of the
beloved described in the poems confirm the possibility of such an interpretation.
To those who would like to deny this possibility, Bhai Nand Lal Goya answers
back with a poem:
1. Every time the eye turns round to look for the beloved
A stream of tears flows shedding pearls of love.
2. Whichever way we have seen, only the face of the beloved shows itself,
With what eye can we look towards the stranger.

3. O man of piety, do not forbid our looking at the beautiful,
Our eye too is looking towards the eye of the same beloved. For both are one.
4. We need no stimulant to get excited, we only heard of you.
And that was enough, to make us struggle on the path of love.
5. When, we got so drunk, O Goya, only with your name,
What need had we for a sip from the wine flask of your secrets.
(Bedi 1999, 119)
The third verse is pretty explicit: as the Divine manifests itself everywhere one
turns, one’s face, the object of adoration of the man of piety and the beautiful
beloved of the javanmard are only different in appearance. The fact that these
poems are in Persian implies that those who were able to read and understand
them were well educated but the gradual disappearance of Persian and Arabic in
the curricula of Sikh educational institutions has led the majority of Sikhs to
neglect these writings and the concepts enshrined in them. The fact remains that
in both traditions this type of mystical love is destined to a rare few who live the
ideal of sacred chivalry.
Conclusion
This article has attempted to explore the complex relations between the Sikh and
Shi’a traditions. Clearly, links between the traditions do exist and these links are
not just the product of superficial alliances but are based on common religious con-
cepts. This opens up new areas of research that may shed light on both the Sikh tra-
dition and Shi’ism in its various forms. A comparative study of the Sikh scriptures and
the Ginan literature would be extremely beneficial in shedding some light on the
Sikh –Ismaili link. Apart from the fact that these traditions – Sikh, Ismaili, Alevi
and the Ahl e Haqq – all share similar concepts regarding the Divine Guide and
sacred chivalry, they also have in common the concept of reincarnation (tanasokh)
and similar structures in terms of practice. This reinforces the idea that the world
of Sikh studies needs to expand and include Arabic and Persian studies as well as a
comprehensive knowledge of Islam’s different dimensions. Born at the confluence of

the oceans of Islam and the Indic traditions, the Sikh tradition deserves to be studied
appropriately, taking into account this reality.
Notes
1 The jibrailiyya is the declaration that the archangel Gabriel made about Imam ‘Ali
during the battle of Khaybar.
2 Before moving towards the three main themes of this article it is necessary to
stress that one cannot take the terms ‘Sikh’ and ‘Shi’a’ for granted. When refer-
ring to the Sikh and Shi’a traditions one needs to be careful not to confuse them
with their modernist versions whose common characteristic lies in the fact that
they are re-invented pseudo-traditions (on this issue see Shayegan 1996, Nasr
1987 and Amir-Moezzi 1992, 334, note 724; On this political evolution of
Shi’ism see Amir-Moezzi and jambet 2004, 181– 283) which resulted from the
encounter between tradition and modernity with the obvious contradictions
and inconsistencies inherent to revisionism. This article thus refers to traditional
Sikhism as represented by the four traditional Sikh orders (Udasi, Sevapanthi,
Nirmala and Nihang; see entries in Singh 1997). Regarding the Shi’a tradition
it will refer to the ithna’shari tradition before the emergence of the concept of
wilayat-e-faqih (a late concept in ithna’shari Shi’ism stating that the jurist
( faqih) should be the ruler; Khomeini creaked this highly controversial
concept which the majority of Shi’a clerics still reject) as well as to the Nizari
Ismaili tradition (for a general introduction to Ithna’shari Shi’ism see Amir-
Moezzi 2004; for a study of Shi’ism in South Asia see Hollister 1979; as an introd-
uction to the Ismaeli tradition see Daftary 1990) with a special focus on South
Asia. It will also include references to the Alevi and Ahl e Haqq communities.
For ithna’shari exotericists Ismailis, Alevis and Ahl e Haqq are considered
ghulat (exaggerators). (On the ghulat see Matti 1987 and Halm 1982. Ghulat are
termed such by Shi’a exotericists because of their ‘excessive’ love for Iman
’Ali, their rejection of Shari’a and their belief in reincarnation (tanasokh). This
article will show how the Sikh tradition has a lot in common with those traditions.
In the case of the ithna’shari tradition it is necessary to emphasise the fact that
this article refers not to the tradition of the exotericists, the foqaha but rather to
that of the’orafa, the mystics. I shall follow one of the essential characteristics of
the Shi’a traditions: the notion of the zahir (exterior, exoteric) and the batin
(interior, esoteric) as expounded by the work of Henry Corbin. According to
Corbin, it is a mistake to restrict the reality of Sikh– Shi’a relations to the
plane of human history, restricting it thus to its outer aspect, its zahir. The
Shi’a and Sikh traditions both emphasise going beyond the zahir in order to
reach the heart of reality, its hidden, interior aspect. To look at a religious tra-
dition without taking into account its batin aspect is indeed to reduce it to a mere
empty shell when in fact it is a living and dynamic entity with both a zahir and a
batin. This has been particularly true in the field of Sikh studies where all too often
the zahir of the tradition has been over-emphasised at the expense of the very
breath of the tradition.
Abbreviations: AG – Adi Granth or Guru Granth Sahib; BN – Bachitra Natak;
BGV – Bhai Gurdas’ Vars; CV – Chandi ki Var; J – Japuji.
176 SIKH FORMATIONS
3 A collection of tales of diverse origins mostly from the Indian and Persian tra-
dition with some autobiographical stories of Guru Gobind Singh included. Its
authorship by Guru Gobind Singh is questioned by neo-Sikhs as its erotic
content clashes with neo-Sikh Victorian attitudes towards sexuality.
4 Let us not forget that Goethe’s Vorspiel im Himmel in Faust was itself inspired by
Kalidasa’s plays.
5 This concept plays a crucial role in the works of Shihaboddin Sohravardi. See
Corbin (1976).
6 Other names of the Prophet are Abu Qasim, Ahmad and Mustafa.
7 Qur’an II, 115.
8 The ajna chakra is situated in the space between the eyes whereas the sahasrara
chakra is situated slightly above the top of the head.
9 This cord is called rishta darwishi (see Gramlich 1981, III, 6).
10 The Suraj Prakash Granth is a hagiographical work written by Bhai Santokh Singh, a
renowned Nirmala scholar of the nineteenth century. It is based on older material

and is considered one of the most authoritative sources on the life of the Sikh Gurus.
11 In the Ismaili tradition the pir is a spiritual leader nominated by the Imam, whereas
the hujjat or proof is part of the spiritual hierarchy. The hujjat is the proof of the
Imam in this world and there are 24 hujjats at all time in the world. The world is
divided into 12 regions and each region has two hujjats, a diurnal one and a noctur-
nal one. The diurnal hujjat is a Muslim, whereas the nocturnal hujjat is a non-
Muslim. The hujjat is designated by the Imam at the esoteric level and like him
is an expression of the Face of God. On this issue see Corbin (1994), 212–16,
263, 401.
12 Mashad in Iran is one of the greatest pilgrimage places for Shi’as as the shrine
where Imam Ridha (as) is buried is situated there. It is also interesting to note
that many Shi’a-Sufi tariqas trace their lineage back to Imam Ridha.
13 The architecture of their tombs shows very clear signs of Shi’a symbolism. See the
article by Hasan Ali Khan, who is currently completing his PhD at SOAS on Shi’a
symbolism in architecture: http://www.momineen.com/Jaffer/Hasan/J_Symb
032805.htm. On the Sohrawardiyya order, see also Qamar-ul Huda (2002).
14 Being a descendant of one of the three first caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman)
does not necessarily imply allegiance to them. In fact, the very son of Abu Bakr,
Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, deserted his father and joined the small group of faith-
ful companions of Imam’Ali.
15 This is surely only true for those orders that derive their lineage from Imam’Ali.
On the relations between Shi’ism and Sufism, see Nasr’s article Le Shi’isme et le
Soufisme: leurs relations principielles et historiques, in Collectif (1970).
16 A similar story is narrated by Peter Lamborn Wilson in an Internet article: ‘One
night in Shiraz, Dr Safvat told me an interesting story. I already knew most of it,
because Nasrollah and I had written about it in Kings of Love, our study of the
history and poetry of the Ni’matollahi Sufi order, the spiritual progeny of Shah
Ni’matollah Wali. In 1792, one of these dervishes was martyred in Kerman;
his sufi name was Mushtaq Ali Shah and he was a madzub, a sufi ‘madman’,
totally absorbed in divine ecstasy. He was also a legendary musician and played
the sehtar, the little three-stringed lute of Central Asia (ancestor of the Indian
sitar). One day, in his craziness, Mushtaq played an accompaniment to the Call
to Prayer (azan) from a nearby mosque, and this blasphemy aroused the wrath
of a bigoted mullah. The mullah called on a mosque-full of people to stone

Mushtaq Ali Shah, and he was crushed to death along with one of his disciples.’
See http://www.iranian.com/Travelers/2004/December/Wilson/index.html
17 See Dressler in Karakete and Reinkowsky 2005, 151– 73.
18 On Dara Shukoh, see Shayegan (1997).
19 He was renowned for his calligraphy and his poems.
20 On Pir Budhu Shah, see Singh (1997) and Suri (1971)
21 I owe this information to Dr Tahir Wasti from the ICAS (London), whose ances-
tors are from Samana itself.
22 Pir Bhikan Shah is the famous saint who, according to Sikh tradition, performed
sajdah in the direction of Patna, Guru Gobind Singh’s birthplace.
23 Bhai Nand Lal was a scholar of Arabic and Persian who worked for Bahadur Shah.
The fact that Bhai Nand Lal Goya’s father was himself in the service of Dara
Shukoh seems to indicate a certain continuity between Dara Shukoh and his
nephew Bahadur Shah.

24 According to Sikh tradition, Guru Gobind Singh used to attach some gold to his
arrows in order to pay for his enemies’ funerals.
25 I have more than once come across such stories from different Panjabi Shi’a
families in my interaction with the Shi’a community.
26 In the ithna’shari tradition this refers to expressing mourning through chest
beating. It sometimes takes the form of self-flagellation with chains and blades.
27 Circumambulation is done clockwise by reformist Sikhs, whereas Nihangs,
Namdharis and some Nirmalas practise it anti-clockwise.
28 This issue is addressed in Amir-Moezzi (1992), 139 – 40.
29 See BN V, 14.
30 On the issue of the real Qur’an, see Amir-Moezzi (1992), 200– 27.
31 This episode is discussed by Nara (1985), 170 –76.
32 See www.zafarnama.com
33 See Amir-Moezzi (1992), 240. The hadiths refer to the knowledge of the supreme
name of God and to the knowledge of the stars. The expression used is ahl baytin
min al-hind (Ahl ul Bayt of India).
34 ‘The Guru is Ishvara [Shiva], the Guru is Gorakh [Vishnu] and Brahma, the Guru is
Mother Parvati’ (J, 5).
35 Wazir Khan, Mughal official governing the region of Sirhind, was a staunch enemy
of Guru Gobind Singh. He had his two youngest sons executed.
36 I am very fortunate in having come across both Shi’a and Sikh friends (mostly aca-
demics educated in the West) who have experienced such meetings. Their
accounts of their meeting or those of their relatives have helped me understand
the patterns underlying these episodes. It is not my intention to give these narra-
tions any kind of personal judgement. For this article they serve the purpose of
narrations.
37 That is why he remains incognito during the encounters mentioned earlier.
38 The masands were representatives of the Gurus in different regions whose mission
was to act as local community leaders. During Guru Gobind Singh’s time they
were misusing their position to extort money and other advantages from the
Sikhs. Guru Gobind Sing had them judged and executed in Anandpur Sahib.
39 This information stems from Sant Kamalroop Singh, member of the Nihang order
and doctoral student (Birmingham).
178 SIKH FORMATIONS
40 Though not a Shi’a work at all, the Shahnamah as a great classic of Persian litera-
ture has had a tremendous impact on Iranian Islam. Some of the themes of the
Shahnamah can be found in the Dasam Guru Granth Sahib, such as the theme of
the sacred king living on the sacred mountain in a city of seven towers or
seven doors, which seems to be echoed in the Sikh theme of Dusht Daman
(Guru Gobind Singh before his earthly descent) living in a state of contemplation
at a place called Hemkunt (the abode of snow) surrounded by seven peaks. The
theme of the Grail can be found in the very initiation ceremony of the Khalsa
in the steel bowl containing the nectar of immortality (amrit).
41 See introductory chapter in Sulami (1983).
42 Sant Gurbachan Singh Bhindranwale in his Gurmat Rahit Maryada (Bhindrawale
1989) renders the meanings of the names as follows: Bhai Daya Singh represents
compassion (daya); Bhai Dharam Singh represents Dharma, with its numerous
meanings ranging from justice, piety, and order to discipline; Bhai Himmat
Singh represents courage (himmat); Bhai Mohkam Singh represents steadiness,

equipoise, calm, peace, and contentment with the realm of divine order
(hukam); and Bhai Sahib represents dignity and nobility.
43 The act of giving one’s head is found in the initiation ceremonies of the Shi’a Sufi
orders as well as movements such as the Alevis and the Ahl e Haqq. Among the
Ahl e Haqq this act is called sar sepordan (giving one’s head). One hence under-
stands the weight of Guru Gobind Singh’s demand for the heads of the panj
pyare as a proof of their love. The Alevi and Ahl e Haqq traditions show great simi-
larities with the Sikh tradition: the most important act of worship is the perform-
ance of sacred music; ritual prayer of shari’ati religiosity is replaced by three
moments of personal prayer a day (early in the morning, in the evening and
before sleep); and women participate in ceremonies without there being any
gender separation. On the Ahl e Haqq, see Ivanov (1950).
44 See Jambet (1990) and of course Tusi (1996).
45 Orthodox male Muslims are supposed to keep their hair either short or at
shoulder length but always trimmed. Their beard should be trimmed as well
and their moustaches should be cut. In the brahmanical tradition the head is
shaved at the initiation and during the funeral rites. The Khalsa injunction of
leaving kesh uncut goes against both forms of exotericism.
46 It is also necessary to remember that both Sikhism and Ismailism share the notion
and name of dasvand, the tithe Sikhs and Ismailis have to pay.
47 The gorcharas of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army were a ‘secular’ elite of Sikh horse-
men driven by a more worldly ethos of chivalry.
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Francisco José Luis. Address: 27, rue Edison, L-4105 Esch-sur-Alzette, Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg. [email: bahadursingh@gmail.com]

The Khanda and The Dhulfiqar

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Francisco José Luis

THE KHANDA AND THE DHULFIQAR

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article, reference to the Shi’a tradition will be geographically and historically

The meeting of the Shi’a and Sikh traditions in text and

or their names, often in a mandala-like structure. A beautiful example of such

The Divine Guide in the Shi’a and Sikh traditions

There is no difference between the Supreme Lord and the Guru.

hatred [nirvair], unborn [lit. without a womb] [ajuni], self-existing [saibham], in

the Gurus are beings of light:

decided to compile some of his sayings into a book entitled Pandiyyat-e-Javanmardi

Sacred chivalry in the Shi’a and Sikh traditions

A similar position is given to Bhagauti in the Sikh tradition and in particular in

With what eye can we look towards the stranger.

comprehensive knowledge of Islam’s different dimensions. Born at the conﬂuence of

renowned Nirmala scholar of the nineteenth century. It is based on older material

of a bigoted mullah. The mullah called on a mosque-full of people to stone

nephew Bahadur Shah.

Singh represents courage (himmat); Bhai Mohkam Singh represents steadiness,

Collectif. 1970. Le Shi’isme Imamite. Paris: PUF.

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