Part 2: Hyderabad (Deccan). The Qutub Shahi regime. Aza under the Asif Jahi Nizams and the legend of Bibi ka Alam

Anwar Rizvi

I first heard the term “Bi ka Alam” in one of my very first Majalis in London at my then local Imambargah, the Idara e Jaaferiya. Although I had Hyderabadi acquaintances in my native Karachi, this was the first time I was to experience an authentic Hyderabadi style majlis. And a replica of “Bi ka Alam” was a very central part of it, along with the lamentation of “Ibn az Zahra Wawaila”. The name aroused curiosity and although it would be several years before I would embark on a proper research on the origins of the Alam and by default the entire history of Aza in Hyderabad, I came to have some understanding of the deep historical connection between the Alam and the entire ritual of Aza in that part of the world during that Shab e Ashoor in South London.

It was sometime in the 15th century that a man by the name of Quli Qutb ul Mulk arrived in Delhi along with his family from Hamadan in Iran. From there he is believed to have made his way south to the kingdom of Deccan which was then ruled by the Bahmani dynasty, also of Persian origins. Quli Qutb ul Mulk went into service of the Bahmani Sultanate, most likely due to the Persian connection and quickly became one of its most senior administrators, being appointed as the governor of Telangana. As the kingdom of Deccan disintegrated and the Bahmani dynasty collapsed, Quli Qutb ul Mulk took over the region of Golconda (present day Tilangana) and declared himself Sultan, following the death of his patron, the last Bahmani king Mahmud Shah in 1518. And thus began a 175 years period of Qutb Shahi reign over what became the kingdom of Golconda. Sultan Quli Qutb Shah as he then became known would rule over what was to become one of the wealthiest kingdoms in India and quite possibly the world, thanks largely to the diamond mines of Golconda and also a thriving cotton industry. Today,, long after the Golconda mines have been exhausted, the diamonds of Golconda are still considered to be the most valuable in the world. The fabled. and much stolen, Koh i Noor is a Golcanda diamond. Given what the Qutb Shahis sat on during their reign, it is probably impossible to measure their net worth. This incredible wealth also had its downsides as the Qutb Shahis were in constant conflict with neighbouring states as well as the Mughals in Delhi with whom they would eventually sign a treaty of suzerainty. But that was to come much later. Quli Qutb Shah was to reign over Golconda for over 50 years. And he would use the vast wealth at his disposal to turn Golconda into one of the most powwerful kingdoms in the sub continent. He invested heavily in making his military one of the strongest and set about expanding his empire further south, capturing several ports on the Indian Ocean, thereby further increasing the kingdom’s wealth as well as gaining access to another valuable commodity: Pearls from the Indian Ocean. And while Qutb Shah consolidated, strengthened, stabilised and expanded his empire, he also laid the foundations of the rituals of Azadari in the state under official patronage. Qutb Shah’s reign ended in a bloody and brutal manner when he was murdered by his own son, but his name would become inextricably linked with Azadari in Hyderabad Deccan and the state would begin to attract devotees of the Ahlulbayt (AS) from all over the sub continent as well as Iran and Afghanistan. The Qutb Shahi rulers were native Persian speakers and during the early years of their reign and certainly during the reign of Quli Qutb Shah, Farsi become the lingua franca of the state, with the native Telugu as a second language. It was during Quli Qutb Shah’s reign that many poets and writers migrated from Iran to Deccan and for many decades Persian was also the main language of lamentation during Muharram. Urdu was introduced into the state mainly by migrants from other parts of the sub continent and would ultimately replace Persian as the main language of Azadari and that remains the case to this day.

But the crowning glory of the Qutb Shahi reign was the founding of the city of Hyderabad by the 5th Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. The city, named after Maula Ali (AS) was built around the historic Charminar. This magnificent monument was to be the centrepiece of the new city. Sultan Muhammad Shah was a lover of arts and literature and Hyderabad was to become the cultural capital of India.. Alongside that the city also became the world’s premier centre for diamond and pearl trading and by default became one of the wealthiest cities in the world. The Qutb Shahis went on to build many magnificent buildings in the city, but their great passion was to build some of the most elaborate Imambargahs and Mosques anywhere in the sub continent. Among the most prominent being the Makkah Masjid which was built on bricks made from soil brought from Makkah and the Badshahi Ashurkhana which would over the years become the focal point of Ashura processions in the city. And it was during the era of Sultan Muhammad Shah that Hyderabad started to gain prominence as the epicentre of Aza in the sub continent.

The Qutb Shahi kings had, throughout the different eras of their reign, embarked upon collecting as many relics of the Ahlulbayt (AS) as they could from various parts of the Middle East. And it was the Princess Hayat Bakshi Begum, Queen consort to the 6th Qutb Shahi king and Queen mother to the 7th. , who acquired the mystical and hugely revered Bibi ka Alam from Madinah. This Alam is considered particularly sacred as it contains a piece of wood which is believed to be from the wooden plank upon which Syeda Fatima al Zahra (SA) was given her final ablutions. The Alam, which is also known as Bibi ka Alawa, was brought to Hyderabad during the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah and for many years was kept in the Qutb Shahi ashurkhana near Golconda fort. Many decades later, six black pouches were added to Bibi ka Alam by the Nizams, further adding to the mystique of the much revered standard. More on that later. Hayat Bakshi Begum also initiated the now defunct Langar jaloos that was brought out on the 5th of Muharram. Hayat Begum ensured that no expense was spared for the juloos and at its peak elaborately decorated elephants, camels and horses were brought especially for the procession. At the end of the jaloos khichdi khatta would be served to everyone at the expense of the state. This became a signature dish for Hyderabadi muharrams and it is still served for faqa shikni on Ashura at most Hyderabadi gatherings.

The Qutb Shahi regime ended in 1687 after being attacked, put under siege and finally defeated by the armies of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The Mughals had never quite seen eye to eye with the Qutb Shahis. The fabled wealth of Golconda was something they could not match despite presiding over a vastly bigger empire and the sophistication of Hyderabadi arts and culture was never quite matched by the capital of Delhi. Aurangzeb had many scores to settle and he went about it in a particularly brutal way. The Badshahi Imambargah was turned into a horse stable and much of the building was damaged. Most of the ashoorkhanas in the city and state were ordered to shut down and the rituals of Aza came under very strict scrutiny. Many of the prominent Ulema, poets and reciters under the patronage of the Qutb Shahis left or were forced to leave Hyderabad.

Things gradually started to improve following the death of Aurangzeb and the more tolerant nature of subsequent Mughal kings but Hyderabad remained under Mughal rule until 1724 when Asif Jah the 1st defeated the Mughal governor Mubariz Khan and established the Asif Jahi dynasty. The state was renamed Hyderabad Deccan with the city of Hyderabad as capital and this dynasty was to rule uninterrupted until annexation by India in 1948. The Asif Jahis called themselves Nizams. They were Ahlul Sunnah and are believed to be descendants of the 1st Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA). They were devoted lovers of the Ahlulbayt (AS) . It was during the Asif Jahi reign that Azadari returned to Hyderabad Deccan in its full pomp and glory.

The Nizams patronised Muharram as well, if not better than the Qutb Shahi kings. Imambargahs were restored and renovated. More were added. The most famous one being the Azakhana e Zahra, built by the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan in memory of his late mother. It is also known locally as Ashoor khana Madar e Dakhan. The Nizams also relocated Bibi ka Alam to a newly constructed building close to the Badshahi Imambargah, and this became known as Alawe Bibi . This was to become the focal point of Aza in Hyderabad. The Nizams remained at the forefront of this and it became a tradition for the ruling Nizam, members of his family and the royal court to be present when the Alam was raised on the day of Ashura and placed on a specially dedicated elephant to lead the markazi jaloos (central procession). A special trust (jageer) was set up by the Nizams for the upkeep of Bibi ka Alawa and the elephant that carried the Alam and this continues to date. During the reign of the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Langar juloos on the the 5th of Muharram was finally abolished and all efforts were now focused on making the Ashura procession the largest and most well attended in the sub continent. As for the mysterious 6 black pouches attached to Bibi ka Alam, legend has it that they contain priceless pearls, rubies , emeralds, and diamonds given as “nazr” by the Nizams including some precious diamonds owned by the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan who donated them in the last days of his reign. As none of the precious stones have ever been seen in public, they are simply referred to as “jawaherat” or precious jewellery.

The Asif Jahi reign came to a rather tragic end when Hyderabad was invaded by the Indian army in 1948 and annexed into India itself, and with that ended the centuries old royal patronage of Aza in Hyderabad. But it did not, in any shape of form, mean the end of Azadari itself. On the contrary, Azadari has survived and continues to thrive, despite the heavy migration of Hyderabadis, both Shia and Sunni to Pakistan and subsequently to many different parts of the globe. Hyderabad still boasts one of the largest Muharram commemorations anywhere in the world. And state patronage firstly by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government and its recent successor the government of the newly formed state of Tilangana continues. The upkeep of Bibi ka Alawa is still paid through the HE Nizam trust.

The day of Ashura begins with simultaneous processions from Ashoorkhana Naal e Mubarak (believed to hold a piece of the helmet worn by Imam Hussain (AS) in Kerbala) , and Ashoorkhan Hazrat Abbas (AS). The processions converge at Bibi ka Alawa from where the markazi juloos is brought out after Zohr prayers and Majlis. Members of the former royal family of Hyderabad still attend the procession at Bibi ka Alawa and make their offerings. The almost 10 kms long procession winds its way through the old city of Hyderabad before finally ending at Masjid e Elahi in Chaderghat. The procession as always is led by Bibi ka Alam on the back of a specially trained elephant. Devotees chant Ibn az Zahra wa waila as they have done for hundreds of years and beat their chests. The streets are lined by people of all sects and all faiths. In a heavily polarised India of today, Ashura in Hyderabad is probably the only instance where Shia and Sunni, Hindus and Muslims, and people of every other faith come together to pay their respects to the abiding legacy of Kerbala and Imam Hussain (AS). And if there is any truth to the old adage of love conquering everything, then the proof is to be found on the historic alleyways of Hyderabad on the day of Ashura.

And so my thoughts stray back to my first Shab e Ashur at Idara e Jaaferiya in South London 40 odd years ago. And many Shab e Ashurs since. When Quli Qutb Shah sat on the throne of his newly formed kingdom of Golconda, and made it one of his missions in life to propagate the message of the Ahlulbabyt (AS) under his patronage, he could not have envisaged in his wildest dreams how far and wide his legacy would spread. The Shia of Hyderabad have moved in every direction of the globe, and they have taken Bi ka Alam and the chants of Ibn az Zahra wa waila with them wherever they have gone. It is my intention to write a completely separate blog on the history of Aza in the UK but this blog will not be complete without mentioning the massive role played by the Hyderabadi community in the establishment and promulgation of Azadari in London. Whether it was majalis being held in the basement of the house of the late Uncle Siraj (a nephew of the great Allama Rashid Turabi marhum) or the subsequent purchase of the building of Idara e Jaaferiya in South London itself, they have been at the forefront of Aza in the UK at all times. Quli Qutb Shah would’ve been very a very proud man indeed.

Labbayk Ya Hussain!