A Short Biography of Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai - Introduction
Introduction
Tags: `Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai
By the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful
Hazrat-i Ustad-i buzurgwar (our great teacher), `Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai (qaddasa'llah sirrahu), had instructed me to write an introduction to [his] book, "The Luminous Pool" (Nurani Talab), during his exemplary pure life. This humble attempt is in compliance with his instructions. The writings and speeches of the dignitaries of religion are based upon the realities of the eye of certainty (`aynu'l- yaqin) and the truth of certainty (haqqu'l-yaqin); they are therefore meant to be acted upon and are not subject to any kind of critique or review. In view of this, an attempt will be made in this Introduction to give only a brief account of some salient aspects of his exemplary life, without examining the contents of the book, so that it may enable the reader to estimate to a certain extent his sublime position in the esoteric knowledge of the holy Qur'an.
`Allamah Hunzai was a very great miracle of knowledge of the Imam of the time (May peace be through him) in the cycle of resurrection. Among those great dignitaries of religion who have earned lasting glory and fame in the history of the Divine mission (da`wat-i haqq) by rendering devoted services of disseminating given (ta'yidi) knowledge to others after receiving it from the true Imam of their respective times, `Allamah Hunzai has a special distinction from both external and internal aspects. The external (zahiri) aspect of this distinction is in the sense that for the dignitaries of religion of the past, all the means of secular knowledge and literature were available, and they were all well-equipped with them in order to present in appropriate words the given (ta'yidi) knowledge which they used to receive from the Imam of their time (May peace be through him). However, the context and the conditions of `Allamah Hunzai were absolutely devoid of such opportunities. To fathom the lack of the means of secular knowledge and literature, it suffices to know that the very first primary school was established by the government in the capital of Hunza, i.e., Baltit, in 1913 AD,1 only four years prior to his birth. It was this primary school which he attended at the age of sixteen years, for a mere 10 months.2 This context forced him to spend his childhood years, which are optimal for learning, looking after his family's herd of goats. However, today, in addition to spiritual realities and recognitions (ma`arif), his writings are also adorned with the most appropriate terminology of the most abstruse and difficult subjects of philosophy and science. Moreover, he uses figures of speech, the art of an elegant style and other literary beauties in his poetry and prose with such excellent skill, power and ease that it becomes extremely difficult to believe that these writings and poems belong to a person who had the opportunity to attend primary school only for a brief 10 months in his entire life.
The internal (batini) aspect [can best be understood from the analogy] that due to the earth's rotation around the sun, the latter's light and heat, despite being in the same state at their source, have a decreasing impact in the northern hemisphere of the earth, after the summer solstice and reach their lowest point on the occasion of the winter solstice. They begin to increase and reach the highest point at the summer solstice. Similarly, in the true religion, which is Allah's nature (30:30), the radiation of the Divine light continues to decrease and increase through the human attires of the pure Imams according to the cyclic regress and progress or with respect to the cycle of concealment (dawr-i satr) and the cycle of resurrection (dawr-i qiyamat), despite the fact that the Divine light itself is free from and above any decrease or increase. The radiation of the Divine light is minimal in the beginning of the cycle of concealment and climaxes at the advent of the cycle of resurrection. It is in the form of ta'wil and the luminous guidance of the Imam of the time (May peace be through him), both personally as well as through those followers whom he chooses for this sacred duty. The meaning of the climaxing of ta'wil in the cycle of resurrection is that it not only sheds the veil of tanzil, but also the veils within the ta'wil itself, which are lifted according to the exigency of time (7:52-53). When they are removed entirely, it is called the 'absolutely pure ta'wil' (ta'wil-i mahz-i mujarrad or mujarrad-i mahz), in which "the original spiritual and intellectual manifestations and miracles are mentioned without any allegorical attire and parabolic veil".3
The cycle of resurrection in the true religion begins with the human attire of Hazrat Mawlana Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah al-Husayni (May peace be through him). The portents of resurrection mentioned in the noble Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions have all taken place during his blessed time in a ta'wili sense, and even in a physical sense his noble life of 80 years has been full of miracles from the very first day. On Friday, 2nd November, 1877, when the auspicious news of his luminous birth was conveyed to his august grandfather, Hazrat Mawlana Imam Shah Hasan `Ali al-Husayni (May peace be through him), in accordance with the Divine programme prophesying about his unique majesty and sublime status, the Imam (May peace be through him) said:
"Call him by the name Muhammad Sultan. He will be the Sultan of the world and outstanding events will take place during his time. He will be renowned throughout the world".4
He ascended the throne of Imamat on 17th August, 1885, at the age of seven years and nine and a half months,5 and after two weeks, on 1st September, 1885, made the following farman, proclaiming the resurrection:
"This is the last age (akhir zamanah). Those who are faithful will see the power and miracles of the Imam of their time. But those who are half-hearted will see even the physical (zahiri) miracles and yet belie them. Those who do not believe in the power of the Prophet and the Imam are like blind ones to whom a mirror and a potsherd are equal".6
The exalted Imam publicly declared in general all those secrets and realities which had been kept hidden for the cycle of resurrection, and for their details he prepared an ardent lover, his follower (murid). He granted him the Supreme Name (ism-i a`zam), vouchsafed him success in its course [of remembrance], let him undergo the most arduous experience of the personal resurrection and opened to him the doors of the treasures of knowledge and recognition (ma`rifat). Simultaneously, in this task given to him by the exalted Imam of the time (May peace be through him), the jama`at was also subjected to a great test, because this murid was chosen from a place and a jama`at which were very underdeveloped in knowledge and recognition. Regarding this special grace, Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah (May peace be through him) had prophesied in a sacred farman made on 10th March, 1940, via Radio Bombay for the jama`ats of Chitral, Hunza, Gilgit and Badakhshan at the request of the Mir of Hunza, Mir Muhammad Gazan Khan II, that:
"I remember all the jama`ats of the Northern Frontiers of India, such as Chitral, Hunza, Gilgit and Badakhshan, [and] all loving and sincere [murids] with [my] blessings. Be certain that the light of my love and grace will reach the entire jama`at of Hunza like the sun. Men and women, small and big, young and old, all of you are my spiritual children. I have never forgotten and will never forget you, both in this world and in the hereafter".7
Further, the exalted Imam has indirectly alluded to this special favour in his Memoirs, published in 1954, whilst mentioning the jama`at of China. This is because when the exalted Imam was writing this book, a revolution had taken place in the jama`at of China by the efforts of `Allamah Hunzai. It was due to his efforts that jama`at-khanahs and religious schools were established there for the very first time, and the identity of the Ismaili religion was recognised at the government level, while he himself was undergoing the great personal resurrection representing the cycle of resurrection with exemplary steadfastness. The noble Imam writes:
"… they [the jama`at of China] are firm and devoted Ismailis with a great deal of self-confidence and the feeling that they constitute by far the most important Ismaili community in the whole world".8
Further, in 1960 when Mawlana Hazir Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni (May peace be through him) bestowed the jama`ats of the Northern Areas of Pakistan with his holy didar for the very first time in history, on the occasion of granting didar to the fortunate jama`at of Haydarabad, Hunza, he alluded to this special favour:
"I have visited 37 countries but here I have seen an amazing thing which is nowhere else".9 It is worth mentioning that on this luminous occasion `Allamah Hunzai was also performing the duties of the Mukhi sahib of that jama`at.
Together with these allusive guidance(s) (irshadat), there was also an occasion during the ceremony of the Vincent Scully Award presented to Mawlana Hazir Imam (May peace be through him) in Washington D.C. on 26th January, 2005, where he clearly specified `Allamah Hunzai's status. At the end of the function, when some jama`ati leaders were seeking guidance from the Imam, the past President of the Ismaili Council for South-Western United States of America, Sada Qanmbar, mentioned `Allamah Hunzai's name in connection with a very delicate matter, to which the Imam graciously replied:
"No institution is an intermediary between him and me".10 From these sacred indications it becomes abundantly clear that `Allamah Hunzai's knowledge is given (ta'yidi) knowledge, which he received directly from the Imam of the time (May peace be through him), and that it is pure and free from any doubt and ambiguity.
Thus, when this murid of the Imam, endowed with given knowledge (mu'ayyad) and enriched with its treasures, started to expound the knowledge of resurrection in his poetry and prose, on the one hand an intellectual revolution started in the jama`at due to the absolutely pure ta'wil (ta'wil-i mujarrad-i mahz), and on the other hand a tempest of spiritual quakes ensued because of his giryah-u zari (shedding tears with utter humility) and supplications to purify the soul. The jama`at's attention was drawn towards him with great fervour and zeal. This perplexed many people. Those who had either worldly or religious authority considered him a danger to them and started to create hindrances in his work. Those who had a little bit of religious knowledge started to compete with him. However, when they realized that competition was not possible, they started to fabricate and spread rumours to besmirch his knowledge and position. They defiled his books, harmed him and his students physically and financially, and even plotted to take his life. However, where the ta'wil of "ihda'l-husnayayn (i.e., one of two good things, 9:52)" is imparted, there even the evil (sharr) transforms into good (khayr). Therefore, despite hindrances, his work continued to thrive and flourish during his exemplary life, as well as after his blessed return (ruju`), due to the Imam of the time (May peace be through him)'s invisible and indubitable spiritual help (ta'yid). Praise belongs to Allah, for His bounty and munificence.
This blessed and envied murid is Hazrat-i `Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai(qaddasa'llah sirrahu), whom the Imam of the time (May peace be through him) enabled to perform such an outstanding miracle of the knowledge of resurrection. Throughout his life, he continued to expound in detail in his books the secrets and realities which Hazrat-i Mawlana Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah (May peace be through him) had declared as a whole. Since these books are not based on acquired knowledge, but rather on the given (ta'yidi) knowledge or the absolutely pure ta'wil according to the universal programme of the Imam of the time (May peace be through him), they have answers not only to the questions arising in the present, but also those of the future.11 It is this given knowledge or the absolutely pure ta'wil which is the spiritual aspect of his distinction, and through which the Imam of the time (May peace be through him) enabled him to divulge in detail the secrets and realities of resurrection which were awaited with extreme yearning in the cycles of concealment. In fact, this spiritual aspect was also the cause of the external distinction. That is to say, when a pure mu'min receives the luminous ta'yid (of the Imam of the time (May peace be through him)) or the absolutely pure ta'wil, the doors of worldly sciences open automatically without any physical effort, as he himself says:
`Ilm-u hikmat az alif ta ya' wara'-yi iktisab12
Here, by the "beginning dot of the Qur'an" is meant Mawlana `Ali (May peace be through him), as he himself has said: "Ana nuqtatu ba'i bismillah (I am the dot of the ba' of bismillah)",13 and also every true Imam of the time (May peace be through him) as the bearer of the same light of Mawlana `Ali (May peace be through him).
It is imperative for wise mu'mins to have absolute certainty in their Imam (May peace be through him)'s omnipotence, in that by his single glance of mercy, impossible things become possible. Putting aside any prejudice and presumption, one should sincerely yearn to benefit from these books of this chosen murid of the Imam in order to find answers to the most difficult questions with logical reasoning and evidences from the external world (afaq) and the internal world (anfus). Otherwise, as a result of ingratitude for this knowledge, which the Imam of the time (May peace be through him) has sent through one of his humble and sincere murids,14 there is the danger of being the victim of doubts and uncertainties about our sacred religion. This sacred knowledge does not belong to this murid, but to the Imam of the time (May peace be through him), as `Allamah Hunzai has himself repeatedly stated. He says: "This knowledge is entrusted to me by Mawla and it does not belong to my family. Had it been so my brothers would also have had a share of it."15
With this concise introduction, an attempt is made in the following to present his brief biography.
1Rajah Riyaz Ahmad Khan, Wadi-yi Hunzah Shimali `Alaqajat Jannat-Nazir (Gilgit, 2003), p. 67.
2`Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Jang Khususi Interview (Karachi, 1994), p.25; Idem, Diwan-i Nasiri awr Bihishte Asquring (Karachi, 2001), p. 28; hereafter cited as Diwan-i Nasiri.
3 Idem, La`l-u Gawhar (Karachi, 1992), p. 111; trans. into English by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noormohamed-Hunzai as Rubies and Pearls (Karachi, 1994), p. 83.
4Farman Bulletin Patrika No. 21, The Ismailia Association for Kenya, Mombasa Committee, Mission Department.
5`Ali Muhammad Jan Muhammad Chunara, Nur-i Mubin Hablu'llah al-Matin (Bombay, n.d.), p. 631.
6Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Kalam-i Imam-i Mubin (Bombay, 1950), Part I, p. 1.
7`Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Hikmat-i tasmiyah awr asma'-yi ahl-i bayt (Karachi, 1989), p. 1.
8Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, The Memoirs of Aga Khan (London, 1954), p. 183.
9`Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Qa'im-shinasi (manuscript), Part I, p. 242, hereafter cited as Qa'im-shinasi I. The farman referred to here was also mentioned to me by late Al-wa`iz Wazir Qasim `Ali Muhammad Ja`far at the Ismailia Association for Pakistan, Karachi.
10These sacred words of Mawlana Hazir Imam (may peace be through him) were shared by the past President of the Ismaili Council for South-Western United States of America Sada Qanmbar himself in Austin.
11`Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Mizanu'l-Haqa'iq (Karachi, 2000), pp. 10-11; trans. into English by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noormohamed-Hunzai as Balance of Realities (Karachi, 2001), p. 2; Idem, Mufid Interview (Karachi, 1993), pp. 127-128.
12Idem, Jawahir-i Ma`arif (Karachi, n.d.), p. 6; trans. into English by Faquir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noormohamed-Hunzai as Gems of Ma`rifat (Karachi, n.d.), p. 7.
13Qazi Kamalu'd-Din Mir Husayn Maybudi Yazdi, Sharh-i Diwan mansub ba-Amiru'l-Mu'minin `Ali bin Abi Talib (may peace be through him), ed. Hasan Rahmani and Sayyid Ibrahim Ashk-Shirin (Tehran, 2000), p. 457.
14Azeem Ali Lakhani, Ustad-i kamil-u mukammil Hazrat-i `Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai ke `azim `ilmi karname (Karachi, 2013), pp. 4, 8.
15Mufid Interview (Karachi, 1993), pp. 127-128.
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