The father of Pashtu poetry Rahman Baba full bio

At the dawn of seventeenth century, at the age of invasion from the West by Persians and the East by Mughals, at the time when Afghans were in the mist of war in every corner of the nation, at the time when education was the last thing on people’s mind, a child was born named Abdur Rahman in a village near Peshawar called Bahader Kalay. He belonged to a prominent Mohamand tribe of the Pathans.The exact date of his birth and death are not known, yet it can be said that Rahman Baba was an almost exact contemporary of the Mughal King Aurangzeb (AD. 1659-1707). In spite of that several efforts have been made to determine the exact date of his birth & death. For instance, Pata Khazana (the Hidden Treasury) a well-known book in Pashto, shows the birth date of Rahman Baba as AD 1632 and his death as AD 1708.

According to Al-Hajj Habibullah Rafi, the birth and death of Rahman Baba are (AD 1632– AD 1718).

According to Prof. Qalandar Mohmand the birth and death dates of Rahman Baba are AD 1671 – 1753).

Most of the analysts agree with the date of birth mentioned in Pata Khazana i.e. AD 1632. But his date of death is still controversial. Some people linked it with the brutal killings of Gul Khan and Jamal Khan, who were burnt alive with an entire wedding Party.

According to major Raverty this event took place around AD 1711 and Rahman Baba was still alive at that time. He could well have lived for several more years. So we conclude Rahman Baba lived from AD 1632 to 1715.

Family Background

Muhammad Hotak Baba the writer of Pata Khazana writes that Rahman Baba’soriginal name was Abdur Rahman. He belonged to Mohmond tribe. He was born in Bahadur Kallay, a village near Peshawar. Rahman Baba tells us about his own Pushtunpedigree. He claims to be of the Sarban tribe, originally in Kandahar and was later to migrate into Peshawar valley from thirteenth to sixteenth century. Rahman Baba lived peaceful life and never involved in the fierce inter tribal conflicts of his days. There is also no evidence that he took part in the ongoing revolt against Mughal rule. Yet it can be said that he wrote against the Mughals in his poems.

“By the grace of cruel rulers; grave, fire and Peshawar are one and the same”.

Opinion is divided about Rahman Baba’s family background. According to some people he was the son of the chief (Malik) of the village. His father’s name was Abdul Sattar. Rahman Baba had only one brother whose name was Aziz Khan. According to others Rahman Baba was a poor Mullah of the village. Whether Malik or not, Rahman Baba describes himself as a poor faqir:

May no one be without life and livelihood;

As I am lifeless and penniless
.

After the death of his father his brother Aziz Khan became the Chieftain (Malik) of the village and he captured Rahman Baba in Jail. But when he was set free he said, The Khans cannot live together with the malangs ;How can Aziz Khan be compared with the malang Abdur Rahman? He left his village and went to Hazar Khawani a village in the South of Peshawar City in search of truth and peace

.

I couldn’t find peace in my search for Him;

Peace became unlawful in my religion

Education of Rahman Baba

Rahman Baba got his early education from his own village, that is, Bahadur Kallay, Peshawar. He got the education of “Fiqah and Tassawwuf” in his village from Mullah Muhammad Yousaf Yousafzai. After completion of his early education it is said that he went to Kohat to get more education from Haji Bahadur, a well known Mystic and religious scholar of the Sub-Continent.

Rahman Baba’s Diwan displays a subtle use of several languages including Pushto, Arabic and Persian as well as a wide knowledge of history, philosophy and theology. Rahman Baba was probably taught both Fiqah (Jurisprudence) and Tassauf (Sufism) a twin training that might have been the norm during his era. According to Pervaish Shaheen (an educationist, and researcher, the resident of Manglawer, Swat), Peshawar was a great seat of learning and especially very advanced in religious education and was considered to be the rival of Bokhara. So it was not difficult for a person like Rahman Baba to develop his inner self. There is no certainty that what flavour of religious education Rahman Baba obtained, but Pata Khazana claims that Rahman Baba’s teacher was known to have been a great religious man. After studying the poetry of Rahman Baba, one can easily find that all the senses of Rahman Baba were working properly. Here are some verses, taken from various ghazels of his Diwan.

Rahman is not such stupid merchant;

As to exchange religious wealth for money.

Don’t say it is only me in the world;

God has created a chief over every chieftain.

Don’t dig a well in another’s path;

In case you come to the well’s edge yourself 

According to Rahman Baba, there are two categories of man, the Aaleman (the learned) and the Jaahelan (the ignorant) and they are not equal:

Ignorant are like dead bodies;

But scholars are like the Massiha.

In company of scholars he will turn to gold;

The one who is stone or nuggets in the desert.

If someone want to know the way to God and Prophet;

Scholars are the guides to that path.

Life and Poetry of Rahman Baba

Doost Muhammad Kamil comments, “The history of Rehman Baba’s life lies very much in dark yet it can be said that Rahman Baba belonged to Mohmond, the sub - section of Sarban tribe. We have only two sources of knowing about Rahman Baba’s life i.e. Oral Traditions and Diwan of Abdur Rahman Baba. Some of the oral traditions have become enshrined as accepted fact among Pukhtuns, and many are repeated in books

without consideration of their authenticity. More reliable evidence about the life of Rahman Baba can be gleaned from the Diwan of Abdur Rahman Baba itself”. Abdur Rahman Baba, the greatest poet of Pashto literature, was a man of character and great charisma. As a child, he loved to study and always occupied himself in getting good education, no matter what it took. He spent considerable time and effort trying to

teach himself. At a young age, he started studying and reading poetry, especially the Persian poetry. He has taken effect from the poetry of Hafiz Shirazi. He was poet by nature but he did not realize it. As he grew older, he started having doubts upon what he 20  was doing. Because of this, he entirely abandoned material needs of this world and gave himself to the mercy of God
.

There is no damage if someone were to abolish interest;

There is no tax or liability from a Malang.

The legend portrays Rahman Baba as a reclusive poet, scratching his poems in the dust on the bank of River Bara while strumming a Rabab (a musical instrument likeguitar). At times he is overcome by a single note, and falls unconscious as tears wound his cheeks. Rahman Baba is found in the company of a young boy named Majnoon. It is said that Majnoon was the only person who was aware of the greatness of Rahman Baba. This is why he used to give him company. As Majnoon was poor and Aziz Khan ( the brother of Rahman Baba and chief of the village ) disliked Rahman Baba’s company with Majnoon. Yet another persistent myth recounts Rahman Baba’s meeting with the prophet of Islam. These are oral traditions and are accepted as facts in Pukhtuns’ society.

Due to your grief, tears flow like stream on my cheek;

Ask me why it is so?

If I were to hide from his grief;

I have no place to hide.

The spiritual aspect of God presents itself upon him, made him understand that thetrue way of life was through his religion, Islam. He had a unique and creative way of praying to God i.e. poetry. He had a deep passion for God, which resulted in saying numerous poems in his honour, which made him famous in a short period of time. People admired his work, from Afghanistan to Central Asia to the Indian Subcontinent.

Religious scholars found the real meaning of life in his poems. National and political leaders used his poetry for independent movement. Musicians used his poetry in their songs. Due to his popularity, Afghans gave him an honourable name “Baba” (Father of the Nation). His work became a model for new poets, and as a result many people started learning this way and this direction. A school of poetry was built in his honour and many people came to study in this school. The founding father of Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Baba was also one of the students of his school of poetry. According to Shakespeare, “Philosophers, poets and insane people are of one nature. A person can not become one of these just by trying, but they are born that way 21 and they have no choice other than to live by the nature of their life”. It is said, “Readers will not understand the poetry of Rahman Baba unless they feel that what they are reading is indeed their own thoughts. When one opens Rahman Baba’s book, he immediately realizes that his heart is speaking to him”. Rahman Baba fought throughout his life against human greediness, which is clear from most of his poems

“Better to meet a demon or devil; than to come across an evil man”

“The company of dragon would be better; than companionship with a fool”.

“Regard others as you do your self; For every one is like you”

“Judges should deal justly; and not to be Swayed by greed and lust”.

Rahman Baba says about the uncertainty of life
;

“Look to see how long a bubble lasts; If any one wants to count life, this is its

measure”

The poetry of Rahman Baba is full of messages. He wanted to teach Pushtuns and

through Pushtuns, the whole world the real meaning of life through the love and

magnificence of God
.

Rahman Baba according to some renowned personalities

According to Missionary T.P.Hughes, “The poetry of Rahman Baba is famous and liked by all sects of Pukhtuns. People working in the fields or inside homes, say the verses of Rahman Baba and they kept the Diwan of Rahman Baba as a sacred religious book, because every thing i.e. Pain, Love and Humanity are there in his book. There arevery few poets who are liked as Rahman Baba”. According to C.E.Badef, “Rahman Baba is the loving poet of Pathans and his verses are taken by heart by every child, old aged, female and male. No one of Pushtun nation is such who is not aware of the verses of Rahman Baba”

Louis Dupree in his book, Afghanistan pointed out to Rahman Baba’s teachings. “Rahman Baba was a mystic than warrior. But his mysticism, born of Sufism, also touches the Pushtuns cultural essence. Not so proud and fiercely militant as Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba continually warned the ambitions and proud of their base early origin”

Rahman Baba himself explains here:

Like not with thy head showing in clouds;

Thou art by birth the offspring of this earth

The stream that passed the slice can not gain flow back;

Nor can again return the misspent time that sped

According to Prof.Afzal Raza, “There is no difference between the tongue and heart of Rahman Baba. He is like a mirror. His exact date of birth and death is not known to any one but we do not feel need of it because he is not dead. He was, he is and he will be alive”. Maazullah Mohmand says, “If there is only one poet in Pakhutunkhawa, he will be Abdur Rahman Baba”.Pir Muhammad Kakar, “Rahman Baba is natural poet and his verses cannot be human creations”.Qazi Mir Ahmad Shah Rizwani says, “It seems like Hafiz Shirazi has been born in Pukhtun Khawa in the Shape of Rahman Baba. By hearing his verses, Sufi, judges and Qazi, all began to dance”. According to Prof.Faham Dil Rahi, “Rahman Baba is Mujtahid. His poetry is cure

for all evils”.

According to Aslam Mohmand Advocate, “The poetry of Rahman Baba is an interpretation of Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He is social worker”. Prof. Taqveem ul Haq Kaka Khel says, “The poetry of Rahman Baba is full of ethical education. It seems that the verses of Rahman Baba is not written by anyone but revealed in perfect form”. One of the great religious scholar “Saidu Baba’ of Swat said, “If any other book than the book of God (Quran), was permissible for prayer, I would have definitely chosen Rahman Baba’s book”.

Diwan of Rahman Baba

It is said that Rahman Baba like Socrates never put pen to paper, but used to write with his finger in the silt washed up by the River Bara. His friends, it is said, later collected his poems from what they remembered of his scribbling. Though no original Diwan has ever come to light, it seems likely that a Diwan existed in Rahman Baba’s life time, as he himself hints

The whole of Rahman Baba’s Diwan can be sacrificed for this Ghazal;

That tells the conduct of the dervishes.

I (Rahman) am thankful to my verses;

To have discovered such a Diwan

The copies of Diwan were in circulation as early as in 1728. Over 25 original manuscripts are scattered in various libraries and private collections worldwide. Though the majority of these manuscripts are undated, they include several that may have been written within 50 years of Rahman Baba’s death24. The first printed Diwan was produced in Lahore in 1877, by Maulvi Ahmad under the supervision of Missionary T.P. Hughes. Several other attempts have been made to piece together the definitive Diwan from different manuscripts. The Diwan, compiled by Said Rasool Rasa though not hundred percent accurate, is still the best known and most influential25 Majority of the poems of Rahman Baba are in the form of Ghazals. There is considerable variation in style between the different poems, with the most common style following the conventions perfected by Hafiz Shirazi and other Persian poets. The Diwan of Abdur Rahman Baba is beautiful combination of flowers in which one can find the colour of his own choice. There is consistency of style, coupled with a lively variation of theme. Included are Ghazals centered on mystical rapture, praise of

God, proverbial wisdom and social commentary. Throughout the Diwan the interior rhymes is that of ‘Rumi’ and the last line of each Ghazal contains the poet’s name,

following the style first used by ‘Sanai’

What he is saying is totally according to the nature, social and cultural conditions of the Pukhtuns. There is not even a single word in his Diwan, which is against the Pukhtun, Islam or human nature. His sayings seem not to be his own words but the words of God through the language of Rahman Baba i.e., Lisanul Ghaib. He is truly one of the greatest mystics of his time and is respected by all who are aware of him. Now question arises as to what is Mysticism (Sufism)?

Mysticism

This is the belief in or the pursuit in the unification with the one or some other principle; the immediate consciousness of God; or the direct experience of religious truth. Mysticism is nearly universal and unites most religions in the quest for divinity. The term “mysticism” comes from the classical Greco-Roman mystery cults. Perhaps it came from Myein meaning, “to close the lips and eyes, and prefer to the sacred oath of the initiates, the mystics, to keep secret about the inner workings of the religion”. Mysticism is immediate, direct intuitive knowledge of God or ultimate reality attained through personal religious experience. The mystical life is characterized by enhanced vitality; productivity, serenity, and joy as the inner and out world aspects

harmonize in union with God. Islamic Mysticism (Sufism) began to develop in the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the greatest of all the mystics, “God is nearer to man than his jugular vein”. He is the light of heavens and the earth, wherever we turn, He is present there. Muhammad (S.A.W) laid the greatest stress on the need of personal surrender and submission to God and the practice of prayer. It is necessary according to his teachings, not only to offer prescribed act of prayers at stated time; but to remember God continually. This idea was followed by the Muslims that formed the basis for the development of mystical piety. The department of the Shariah relating to a’male batini (esoteric acts or states of the heart) is called Tasawwuf (Mysticism). In pre-Islamic days, Sufi was used for man of excellence and virtue. The term Sufi was coined in early 9th century as a name for a mystic. According to Abu Hashmi of Kufh, a person engaged in asceticism (Zuhd) piety, science of practical religion, trust in God and love is called as Sufi. It was the Abu Hashmi who first of all came to be called by the name of Sufi. According to Ibrahim B. Adham, “A True saint is one who covets nothing of thisworld, nothing of the next and devotes himself exclusively to God”
.

According to Rabia of Basrah, “The desire of union with God is Sufism”.

According to Junaid Bughdadi, “Putting your heart in tune with God’s promise is

called Sufism” Junaid of Nehawand (d. 910 A.D.), a theologian and philosopher was one among the early Sufis, who began lecturing and discussing Sufism. He says, “Sinking ecstasy in wisdom is better than sinking wisdom in ecstasy.” The highest bliss is to meditate on His unity. A Sufi must be like the trodden ground or like a raining cloud. Sufism means detachment from non – God. A Sufi’s internal side is God and external humanity.Abu Bakr Shibli, a class-mate of the celebrated Mansur Hallaj, says that true freedom is the freedom of the heart from everything but God. Sufis are children of the truth. Sufism is to guard against seeing corporeal world as real. A Sufi must live in this world as not born. Sufism means control of the faculties and the observance of the breath. A Sufi looks on all creatures as his own family.

Sahl bin Abdullah says, “You may not appreciate Sufism in the beginning but onceyou know it, you will appreciate it to the end of your life.” The Sufi movement is a mystical strain in Islam, which reflects the need of individuals to transcend formal religious practices in order to attain higher levels of spiritual fulfillment. The Sufis are represented in all schools of thought in Islam and found in all Muslim communities. Because of its mystical, spiritual character, Sufism appeals more to individuals and small groups. It does not constitute either a sect or a school of thought, but is rather a spiritual or transcendental practice, which persists despite criticism from orthodox theologians. Sufis believe they follow the Prophet's mysticism, particularly during the Meccan period of the revelations. Thus, in their practices there is much meditation and solitary or group recitation of prayers and incantations of their own religious formulas. They seek a life of ascetic pietism, shunning worldly pleasures and seeking the inward purity of a relationship with God through love, patience, forgiveness, and other higher spiritual qualities. Their influence on the development of Islam is more significant than is usually recognized. Their ascetic piety and rigidly ethical conception of Islamic society have influenced generations of Muslims. They have also had from time to time strong political influence. What characterizes Sufis the most is their "inwardism" or belief that the Sharia only regulates external conduct, whereas inward feelings are matters strictly between each person and his Creator. Because of their emphasis on the love of God, they have developed the doctrine of Tawakul (reliance on God), which is central to the relationship between Man and God. Sufism also has had a significant impact on the practical aspects of administering astate.

Islamic Mysticism and Tauhid

Sufism, Islam’s inner dimension, is the best way to achieve tawhid. The Islamic creedal statement shows that all Muslims believe in absolute Divine Unity: La illaha illa Allah (there is no deity but God). Sufism seeks to free people from the prison of multiplicity, to remove any mental processes or physical actions that divert their ego-centers toward temporal and sensual desires, and to eradicate hypocrisy. In short, it seeks to make people whole, for only such people can become holy. People profess faith in God but live and act as if there were many deities, and so are guilty of polytheism and hypocrisy. As Sufism seeks to bring such a condition into the open and cure the afflicted person, its goal is to integrate each person at every level of his or her existence. Such an integration is brought about by harmonizing all bodily, mental, and spiritual faculties, not by negating the intelligence, which so often occurs with modern religious movements. Sufism bases its methods upon observing the Shari‘a and, in particular, the daily prayers, which are a most powerful means of integrating people’s psychic faculties and harmonizing them with their corporeal being. Sufism’s main method is continuous prayer. This is done in both quantitative and qualitative terms through invocation (dhikr), in which all otherness and separation from the Divine is removed and tawhid is achieved. Invocation, when combined with the appropriate forms of meditation (fikr), causes the emergence of an integrated pure and

whole gold-like soul. After this, people use invocation to offer their souls to God so that they may return to Him in ecstasy. Those who achieve this integration possess certain characteristics that anyone can see, for it leaves its imprint even upon their outer appearance, which necessarily reflects their inner state. Such people are cured of all spiritual illnesses by having their tensions and complexes removed, as their need for the transcendent has been met and satisfied, and not through modern psychoanalysis. Moreover, they do not compartmentalize their lives, for their thoughts and actions issue from a single center and are based on a series of immutable principles.  They realize the Islamic ideal of unifying contemplation with the practical and so do not act or think “normally,” for their contemplation and meditation are combined in the purest and most intense activity. As a result, they reflect Divine Unity and become the total theophany of the Divine Names and Qualities. They act and live in such a manner that all of their actions and words exude a spiritual fragrance and beauty. They are somehow in touch with that Divine Grace running through the universe’s arteries. Such people have reached the goal of their lives and have no fear, which is so destructive to modern people. They see death not as total annihilation, but as a shift from a state of lesser sensitivity to a higher one. All of us belong to God, and the Qur’an states that each person and society moves toward God. Therefore death is only a shift and a change from one stage of existence to a higher one, and ultimately terminates with God. Death does not destroy our internal or external sensory faculties, but rather refines and sharpens them. It only severs the conscious ego’s direct relationship with the outer material world, to which it is connected through the external senses. As material life veils human senses and consciousness, death sharpens all human faculties by removing this veil. A Prophetic tradition confirms this: “People are now in a state of sleep. They will awake when they die.” So death is actually ascension, a gate opening upon higher realities and pleasures of existence, not something to be feared by sincere Muslims. Why should I be afraid of death? I know it is the Sunnah of the Prophet (S.A.W). I am anxiously waiting for following this Sunnah of the Prophet (S.A.W) – Saying of a Sufi. It is a transference from the dungeons of worldly life to the gardens of Paradise, from the world of labor andtrouble to the abode of rewards. In another Prophetic tradition, God says: 

 My servants draw near to me through supererogatory works, so that I love them.

When I love them, I am their ears with which they hear, their eyes with which they see,

their tongues with which they speak, and their hands with which they take.

Allah Almighty has said:

“There are servants of God who walks humbly on the earth and when an ignorant

one converses with them, they pray for his welfare.”(25:63) This shows that it is not

desirable for a true believer to unnecessarily quarrel with the ignorant folk who walk

arrogantly on God’s earth.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Those who hear the prayers of a Sufi and do not say ‘Ameen’ come in the list of negligent one in the eyes of Allah.” This Hadis of the Prophet proves that Sufism was practiced in the blessed time of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) Some says that Sufis are called Sufis because they belong to the first saff (row) meaning the highest category. Some say they are called Sufis because there condition correspond to those of the Ashab-e-Safa (people of the verandah). Some are of the opinion that this word is derived from safa (purity). In fact each person has interpreted its meaning according to his own understanding, but according to the dictionary, all this is debatable. The most correct meaning of this word is probably safa (purity), which means purity of the qalb (heart). The opposite of which is impurity. Some says that Sufism is a meaningless custom, and denies its existence by mocking it, denying the belief of the people of Verandah and the respected companion of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W). The truth is, “Verily purity of heart is an attribute the Siddiq-I-Akbar, Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq. If you want to be a Sufi look at him.” Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq had reached the state of erasing all thoughts of the treacherous world from his heart. He distributed all his wealth and possessions in the way of Allah, and presented himself before the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) in the garb of a dervish. The Holy Prophet asked him what he had left for his family. He replied that he had left countless wealth for them – firstly the name of Allah and secondly, following the footsteps of the Messenger (S.A.W). Allama Iqbal described this incident in poetic form thus:

The lamp suffices for the moth, and the flower for the nightingale,

For Siddiq- e - Akbar, Allah and His Prophet are enough.

Mysticism and its Educational Elements

The predominant idea of Mysticism is unworldliness, virtuous habits, fear of and submission to and love of God, attachment to the Prophet and yearning for peace and a quiet life. Mystics are friends and well-wishers of the humanity and try to educate all the individuals in such a manner that spiritual and moral excellence come inside them. Education is concerned primarily with the individual’s inner excellence. In the language of Sufis education is called ‘Tarbiyah’. Mysticism (Sufism) educates the students to transcend formal religious practices in order to attain higher levels of spiritual fulfillment. It gives the lesson of unity and educates the students to live together in order to consult each other for spiritual and moral excellence. The Mystics (Sufis) are not running after the worldly pleasures & are seeking the inward purity of a relationship with God through love, patience, forgiveness, and other higher spiritual qualities. What characterizes Sufis the most is their "inwardism" or belief that the Shariah only regulates external conduct, whereas inward feelings are matters strictly between each person and the Creator. Because of their emphasis on the love of God, they have developed the doctrine of tawakul (reliance on God), which is central to the relationship between Man

and God. God says, “Do not justify and hold yourselves sinless” (53:32). Sufism gives the idea of self-cognition and self-purification to the students and tells them that they should perform their duties for what they have been created by God. Mysticism (Sufism) tries to guide them and tell them about their real position in the world. Mysticism trains the students not to lose sight of the law of causality and its intricate connections; it refers it, after studying it thoroughly, to its originator, to Allah (Praise be to Him). The more we learn about the creativity of Allah, the closer our hearts will be brought to Him. Thus the word of God: those truly fear God, among His Servants, who have knowledge’. (Sura Fatir, verse 28) When a student becomes accustomed to looking into the nature of the individual physical phenomenon with a purely Islamic

insight, his thinking power will be harnessed to Islamic controls, and his ideology will cast in the Islamic mould. This will make human heart live in he presence of God. “ They hope for His Mercy and fear His Wrath”. (Sura Al-Isra’a, verse 57).39 The teachings of Sufis can guide and bring the students closer to God and they started to think about the pleasure of God. Muslim educators are of the belief that the education system should play role in the character building of the young generations based on the ideal of Islamic

ethics. Muslim society naturally must aim at instilling the principles of Islam in the hearts and minds of its youth to achieve through them the ideal of the faith, the continuity of the Ummah, which the Holy Qur’an describes as ‘the best nation ever brought forth tomen’.  There is close relationship between the teacher and the student, which ensurestheir moral and spiritual guidance; they are not isolated from the rest of community as well. The level of achievement of the student is measured by the totality of the student as a person. His piety and moral conduct is regarded as of equal, or indeed superior, importance to his attainment in other spheres. The teacher acts not simply as the guide to better knowledge but also as the example to better conduct. Teaching is not simply a profession to be sold but a role to be fully and completely performed.

Mysticism of Rahman Baba 

Pukhtun commentators consider Rahman Baba to be-highly orthodox. Daud claims that “The foundation and basis of Rahman Baba’s poetry is religious shariah, and his every word and talk is according to the Holy Quran and Hadith. Analysis of the Diwan reveals that a thin coating of the imperatives of Shariah overlies a solid core of tassawwuf. Following the practices of formal religion leaves Rahman Baba spiritually thirsty. This is why it is said, “if we remove from Rahman Baba Diwan the parts that are related to tassawwuf then we would even have a fortieth part of it left”. Now question arises as to what type of tassawwuf Rahman Baba presents? Is his mysticism more in harmony with the Quran like that of Al-Ghazzali, or does it have the

pantheistic leaning of extreme tassawwuf? Al-Ghazzali de-emphasized the pantheistic aspects of Sufism, maintaining on the one hand, that the individual should strive to attain the Devine presence, but on the other

hand, the good Sufi must live in peace with the rest of the community. His interpretation of Islam, which stressed the personal, emotional relationship of the individual to God, was accepted by the Islamic community with in a century after his death. After studying Rahman Baba’s Diwan one can find some verses in favour of ‘extreme Tassawwuf’. Baba says:

What ever there is beside God;

Consider it naught
.

Both Dost Muhammad Kamil & Rajawali Shah Khattak pointed out another verse:

This is the appearance of my beloved;

Which is seen like the radiance in church and temple.

A beautiful exposition of God’s unity and infinite majesty is found in two hamds (The poems said in praise of God) of Rahman Baba. God’s mighty power is evident as the “King of all kings” and “Emperor of emperors”. He is the one who is, “such a great doer of things that He commands full authority”.

These two hamds are among the best known of Rahman Baba’s poems in the western world, and Schimmel counts them “among the most impressive expressions of deep piety in world literature”44. The idea of God’s uniqueness is beautifully expressed as:

He does not have any associate in His kingdom;

My Lord is a King with out a partner”

He is not dependent upon others for His needs

My Lord owes nothing to any one

He is not transformed or changed O Rahman;

My Lord is always constant.45

Rahman Baba affirms that God’s omniscience is complete:

The overt, the covert and the part known;

My Lord knows them all

All the above verses of Rahman Baba show that God is separate from the universe.

God says, “Nothing is like Him”.

Said Rasool Rasa says, that Rahman Baba was neither pir nor murid (follower) of any one order; he was deeply involved in the practices of Sufism, but not with the patched cloth. If he had been a member of one of the established Sufi order, modern followers of that group would have claimed him as one of their own. It is more likely that Rahman Baba was independent, with an individual practice of Sufism similar to that of

Shah Abdul Latif in Sind.

In order to discuss the educational implications of the Mysticism of Rahman Baba;

we will focus on the following chapters:

Rahman Baba and Al-Ghazzali on Mysticism

Rahman Baba’s Concept of Khudi

Rahman Baba’s Approach to God

Rahman Baba’s Concept of Love and Beauty

Rahman Baba’s Theory of Morals

Rahman Baba’s Philosophy of Religion

Rahman Baba’s Message to Humanity

Rahman Baba and His Two Worlds

Rahman Baba as a Proponent of Unity and a Preacher of Peace All the above chapters will be studied carefully according to the needs of the study and the researcher will try to collect relevant information from all possible sources but he will mostly depend on the Diwan (collection of the poetry of Rahman Baba) of RahmanBaba in order to get the correct information.