For Her Peer Mullah

By Abdul Mohamin, *Akhoon Shah Mosque - Resurrecting history * - Kashmir Dispatch - India; Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Close to the Zaina Kadal bridge, which might soon be history, the restoration work of Mullah Akhoon Shah mosque by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is revealing hidden facets of historical importance. One of the findings of the restoration work is a 380-year-old uncut Quranic text believed to be inscribed on one of the walls of this 17th century Mughal monument.

The monument is located on the fringes of Hari Parbat hills. ASI officials say although Quranic verses are not found inscribed on the walls of this 17th century Mughal monument, but there is a distinct sketchy layout wherefrom the Imam (priest) would lead the prayers.
A closer inspection reveals that Quranic verses from Aayatal Kursi running across the whole arch and Kalmia Sahada written in great calligraphic style could be an area of research,” says an ASI official.

Built by Mughal princess Jahan Ara, the restoration work of the mosque and the Sufi seminary is in progress for more than a year now. The department first restored the collapsed southern wall that contains inscribed Persian couplets. Researchers say that it is after looking at these couplets that one discovers the key about the purpose of establishing this mosque and complex.
“Initially it was assumed that these couplets had been lost forever, but somehow we managed to locate them in the debris and piece them back at their original place,” says Fayaz Ahmad Shah, a top ASI official.

Afshan Bokhari, an Assistant Professor of Art History at the Suffolk University, Boston USA, has worked extensively on Mughal court documents from the 16th to 18th century. She says Mughal princess Jahan Ara Begum, daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan built the mosque and its adjoining Khankhah for her peer Mullah Akhoon Shah Badakashi (1585-1661), a Sufi saint.

Ara and Dara Shikoh had spiritual affinities within the Sufi Qadiriyah Order. Mian Mir Arif and Mullah Akhoon Shah Badakashi are believed to be the patrons of this Sufi order.

“The mosque is definitely Ara's commission, though Shikoh also considered Mullah Akhoon as her peer,” says Afshan. “The Shah Jahan Nama and the British gazetteer indicate that she was the patron of the Mosque.”

According to historians Ara had already commissioned a Mosque in Agra and had made seven visits to Kashmir. In 1638, she visited Kashmir with Shikoh where she met Mian Mir Arif and Mullah Akhoon. And a decade later she commissioned the mosque for her peer Mullah Shah and his disciples.

“People think it was Shikoh who constructed the mosque, but Shikoh’s retreat for Mullah Akhoon was constructed on the Zabarvan hills (commonly called Pari Mahal),” says Afshan.

The Shahada and other Quranic inscriptions are commonly on Mughal Period Mosques, however, Bokhari claims that the Darah Shikoh mosque was “never a proper mosque.” She claims that it was actually a Sufi retreat with architecture of a mosque.

Bokhari backs her claims by saying, “By 1634, Mullah’s followings were at peak and due to the rise in his popularity a section of the Ulema in Kashmir denounced Mullahs’ for heresy and deviation from Islam.”

Mullah’s poetic compositions on the theme of Tawhid (Divine Unity) also reached Emperor Shah Jahan’s court. Contested verses were presented to Shah Jahan as evidence of his apostasy: "I am in hand with God, Why should I care for Mustafa?”

“The ulema signed an official decree seeking a death penalty for Mullah. Shikoh and Ara intervened requesting the emperor to meet with Mullah to inquire about the intended meaning of the contested verse,” she says.

After a long and thoughtful discourse, Shah Jahan made the decree null and void and did not execute Mullah. From the meeting began a twenty-year long mentoring friendship between emperor and the saint.

Bokhari believes that this structure is quite unique among Mughal structures and its preservation will help a lot to know about history. “The Persian couplets are still under research and it seems that they have been written by Ara and are dedicated to Mullah,” she says.

“The couplets on the walls of the mosque are very similar to her (Ara) own poetry in her Sufi treatise: Risala-i-Sahibiyah which is currently being researched and a similar panegyric Persian praise have been used at Agra Mosque that Ara built,” she explains.

The inscription on the threshold is engaging in a more secular invitation: “Oh the opener of the gates has come. Whoever enters it will be safe.”

In most books that have recorded Mughal history, the complex is officially recorded as a Mosque. But an unconventional Mosque Plan and design for the structure is more typical of Timurid Madrassas, shrines and Khanaqahas than Shahjahani Mosques.

The Mosque and the adjoining structure were constructed at a cost of Rs 60,000. Bokari says the tolerant pluralistic religious ethos of Kashmir accommodated various spiritual affinities and both Shikhoo and Ara built structures for them here.

The restoration of Persian couplets, the ASI officials say, is a significant achievement. “Since the discovery we have not looked back and have uncovered a large portion of the structure that was lying buried under the debris,” says Fayaz.

The department has not only revealed this inscription, but the restoration work has thrown light on new chambers, passages, waterways beneath that had remained uncovered so far.

Fayaz says they are trying to restore the buildings as Mughal architecture can be a valuable historical source to learn about that period, besides becoming a tourist attraction in the old city.

“We are also proposing to layout a garden first around this mosque and after full restoration we will extend the garden downwards,” says Fayaz, adding they hope to restore the other portions of the mosque including a lotus top, which is peculiar only to this mosque.

Picture by Yawar Kabli. [Click on the title of this article to the original with many more pictures (ed.)]