The Nagore Dargah of Meeran Sahib Abdul Qadir Shahul Hamid
Badshah is a spiritual shrine in South India. The Dargah is located in a small
town, Nagore, in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu, on the coast of the Bay
of Bengal.
The Nagore Dargah shrines are situated at three locations,
Nagore, Vanjur and Silladi. The main campus is at Nagore, spread over an area
of about five acres, which is enclosed by compound wall, with four impressive
entrances, one each on the north, south, east and west. In front of the western
gate, just outside the compound, is a large tower, 131 feet tall, called
‘Periya Minara’. Nagore Dargah literature discloses that Tanjur King Pratap
Singh built ‘Periya Minara’ around 1760 AD, about 200 years after the death of
Meeran Sahib. He is said to have built it in appreciation of having received
the grace of Meeran Sahib.
Inside the compound of the main campus, the golden dome
building houses three tombs in three separate chambers. The doors of these
chambers are made of silver. In the tombs lay buried the mortal remains of
Meeran Sahib, his son Syed Mohammed Yusuf and his daughter-in-law Saeeda
Sultana Biwi. Aside the tomb of Meeran Sahib is placed a golden box. The
contents of the golden box unexpectedly are a pair of wooden slippers, believed
to have been used by Meeran Sahib. On enquiry an astounding story was revealed.
Once a carpenter suffering from disease approached Meeran Sahib requesting him
to cure him which Meeran Sahib reportedly did by the grace of Allah. The
gratified carpenter made from the finest wood a pair of soles for slippers.
Adjacent to the golden dome building is the ‘Peer Mandap’
where the ‘Peer of the Dargah’ stays fasting for three days during festive
season of the Dargah. Further away is a mosque where prayers are held
regularly. Friday congregations in this Mosque are massive. About two
kilometres away due north from the main campus is the Vanjur Shrine where
Meeran Sahib reportedly stayed in meditation for 40 days inside an underground
cave. About a kilometre east of the main campus is located the Silladi Shrine, overlooking
the Bay of Bengal.
Every year, during the lunar month of Jumada al-Thani, the
Nagore Dargah Shrines celebrate a festive season known as ‘Kandhuri Urs’.
Pilgrims, including non-Muslims, from far and wide come for ‘ziyarat’. It is
obnoxiously painful to note that the votaries worship him, instead of
respecting and revering him. Kandhuri Urs marks the death anniversary of Meeran
Sahib. The urs commences on the first of Jumada-al-Akhira’ when pilgrims
assemble at Meera Pally (17th century mosque) in Nagapattinam. They proceed
towards Nagore in procession with a Rath that carries flags of the Dargah. On
reaching Nagore Dargah Complex, the flags are hoisted marking the inauguration
of Kandhuri Urs. Votaries of Meeran Sahib start performing their troth (pledged
word). On the tenth day a grand procession again starts at Nagapattinam; this
time from ‘Koottadi’, an open ground solely retained for this festivity. The
procession carries Koodu, a pot containing Sandalwood paste. The procession
ends at the tomb of Meeran Sahib and the sandal paste is spread over his tomb.
On the fourteenth day the flags are quietly pulled down marking the end of the
festive season.
In the history of Nagore Dargah shrines, one name that shines
forth is that of SV Syed Mohammed Hussein Alim Sahib Washathari (1909 -1982).
He claimed that he was the fifteenth generation descendent of Meeran Sahib.
Pilgrims visiting the shrines regarded him as a great Peer. He organized the
activities of administration and maintenance of the shrines under a registered
‘Dargah Trust’. Presently his son, V.M.Shahul Hamid Sahib Washathari, is the
Khalifa -al-Qadari and his two son-in-laws are trustees. Alim Sahib Washathari
has played a significant role in propagating the tales of Karamat (miraculous
deeds) of Nagore Meeran Sahib. He published a Tamil book The Ocean of Mercy in
1963. The book was written by AR Syed Haja Mohideen alias Ravinder, who works
as a dialogue-writer for the Madras film industry. The Ocean of Mercy has gone
for seventeen reprints since.
The Dargah Trust calls its spokesman and official orator as
Dargah Vidvan. Presently the Dargah Vidvan is VKM Ariff Navalar. He has written
a preface, a masterpiece in eloquent Tamil, to the The Ocean of Mercy.
Narrating the authenticity of the book, he claims that the biographical account
of Meeran Sahib was originally found in the Tamil epic Kanjul - Karamat, which
was written in 1898 by Gulam Qadir Navalar and published in 1902 by Syed
Mohideen Sahib Maraikar - 340 years after the death of Meeran Sahib.
The Ocean of Mercy describes in good length the unwieldy
Karamat that were supposed to have been performed by Meeran Sahib. Scattered
over this lengthy revolting description could be found glimpses of biographical
accounts of Meeran Sahib.
The book reiterates that Meeran Sahib was born at Manikapur
near Ayodhyapuri in the decade 1490-1500 AD. His parents Syed Hassan Quddus and
Saeeda Ali Fatima were descendants of Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him). He
became Hafiz-al-Qur'an at the age of five. He learnt Arabic and Persian. When
he turned 18 years of age, he went into the Gwalior kingdom in order to become
a student of Syed Mohammed Houdu Shathari, who was a Teacher and Social
Reformer, known in the Gwalior Kingdom to have worked for reforming the
prisoners. He stayed for ten years with this teacher and worked to civilize the
criminals. On the demise of his teacher he continued his work. As part of this
social reformation, he took his students to Ajmer in order to visit the tomb of
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Later he undertook a journey with his students to
Mecca and Medina. He performed Hajj.
On his way back to India, he, with his students boarded a
ship, travelled across the Arabian Sea and reached the shores of Kerala. He
landed at Ponnali Harbour of Malabar area. He started Islamic Tabligh and kept
moving east across the peninsula until he reached Kayalpattinam of Thanjavur
Kingdom (presently in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu). The King of
Thanjavur, Achuthappa Nayakar, heard about the works of Meeran Sahib and was
much impressed. He was suffering from an incurable disease. From Meeran Sahib
he sought the cure. Meeran Sahib cured him from his illness. The gratified king
donated, among other endowments, five acres of land at Nagore (where the
present Dargah Shrines are located) to Meeran Sahib and requested him to stay
in his kingdom. The book The Ocean of Mercy informs us that Meeran Sahib did
not marry. It is surprising particularly because the tombs of his son and
daughter-in-law are found at the Dargah Shrines. The book claims that it is by
an act of ‘Karamat’ that Meeran Sahib begot a son
It appears that Meeran Sahib is one among the many holy men
who have been maligned by their descendants and followers. His followers have
concocted denigrating stories about him in order to keep themselves in the
Dargah business. There is no doubt that it is by the hard work of people like
Meeran Sahib and Syed Sultan Ibrahim of Erwadi that Islam spread in the remote corners
of the Indian Peninsula. Meeran Sahib undoubtedly came into this country for
Tabligh. He learnt the unfamiliar ‘Tamil’ language in order to propagate the
Word of God. And his works have today borne fruit. An estimated ten million
Tamils today profess the faith of Islam. This by all standards is the
irrefutable ‘Karamat’ that Meeran Sahib has performed. The Tamil Muslims should
appreciate this Karamat; instead of vainly and wickedly implicating this holy
man in the ‘Ocean of Mercy’.
Tamil Nadu is a fair playfield for Tabligh work. It has
remained so throughout the past century, mainly because Tamil Hindus do not
suffer from ‘Islamophobia’, a term recently coined to denote ‘hatred for
Islam’. The reason for the prevalent favourable conditions for Tabligh in Tamil
Nadu is that the Tamil Muslims, during the early part of the last century, did
not involve themselves in the pre-Partition politics of the Muslim League, and
thus refrained from creating ‘Islamophobia’ in Tamil Nadu. One other reason is
that the Tamil Muslims, unlike the North Indian Muslims, were not rulers of
their country in the past. They do not suffer from resentment for having lost
their ‘ruler’ status.
Even the half-heartedly Tabligh work carried out recently by
Tamil Muslims in Madurai District has helped hundreds of people to accept Islam
at South Kilappatti village. It must be admitted that Tamil Nadu is not free
from anti-Muslim activities. A closer look at these activities would reveal
that the anti-Muslim activities are aimed to provoke militancy among Tamil
Muslims. It is at such testing times that the Tamil Muslims should stand up
tall, should be willing to make sacrifices and practice the acumen (Hikma)
preached by the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). There is however hope for the better as
the recently formed Tamil Muslim Munnetra Kazhakam (TMMK) is determined to
strive for the upliftment of Tamil Muslims. The TMMK must not restrict itself
merely for securing material benefit to Tamil Muslims, but it must contemplate
to secure the favourable conditions for Tabligh in Tamil Nadu through its
publication Unarvu. Tamil Muslims must work for peace for which stands Islam.
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