The Life of Rahman Baba

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The Life of Rahman Baba

Despite the persistence of enchanting oral traditions, Kamils comment that the

circumstances of Rahman Babas life lie very much in the dark is still the most

apt summary of what we know about the life of Abdul Rahman Baba. The

uncertainty about his life is increased by the lack of any eyewitness accounts, and

is compounded by the enthusiastic cultivation of hagiographic legend

The legend portrays Rahman as a reclusive poet, scratching his poems in the mud

of the Bara river, while strumming a rebab. At times he is overcome by a single

note, and falls unconscious as tears wound his cheeks. Rahman is found in the

company of a young boy named Mujnoon, with whom he elopes. Some of these

oral traditions have become enshrined as accepted fact among Pushtuns, and

many are repeated in books without consideration of their authenticity. Below is

some information about Rahman Baba that is based on evidence from the Diwan.

Rahmans Background

Lineage is of great importance in tribal societies, and Rahman leaves us in no

doubt about his own Pushtun pedigree. Rahman claims to be of the Sarban tribe,

who are recognized as the true Afghans because they can trace their ancestry

back to the eldest son of the putative Pushtun ancestor Qais. The Sarban tribe

originated in Kandahar, and migrated into the Peshawar valley from the thirteenth

to the sixteenth century. This period of history was characterized by a fierce

rivalry between the different branches of the tribes.

Rahman was a Mohmund, of the Ghoriah khel (tribe), who lived in a small pocket

of Mohmand settlers on the outskirts of Peshawar. From 1550 A.D. the Yusufzai

tribe had come to dominate the area, following the defeat of the Ghoriah Khel in

the battle of Sheikh Tapur. Rahman apparently lived peacefully in the area, and

never mentions his involvement in these inter-tribal conflicts.

Opinion is divided about Rahmans family background. Several commentators are

convinced that his family were village maliks (chieftains), while Aqab finds no

evidence for this view. Whether malik or not, Rahman describes himself as a poor

man:

May no one be without life and livelihood, As I am lifeless and penniless. Though

the wealthy drink water from a golden cup, I like this clay bowl of mine.


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There is no specific mention of family members in the diwan, but there has been

speculation about the identity of Aziz Khan, who has been variously identified as

Rahmans brother, or the Malik of Bahadur village. Other unsupported stories

claim Rahmans father was named Abdul Sattar, and that offspring of his own

daughters family are still living in the village today.

"Monarchy owes itself to the prayers of beggars, I Rahman am a king because I

am a beggar."

-- Rahman Baba

Rahmans Village

There is agreement that Rahman lived and died in the area to the southwest of

Peshawar, along what is now the outer ring-road of the city. His birth-place was

Bahadar village, but he also lived in Hazarkhani. Oral tradition maintains that he

moved to Kohat, and that he wandered as far as India.


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As several have noticed, internal evidence from the diwan refutes the view that

Rahman traveled. It seems likely that Rahman spent his whole life in his own

village, as he himself claims:

I can swear to the fact that I do not move from my place, nor am I thankful to any

creature whatsoever for anything. Neither have I seen countries down or up. My

home is in the village, I dont consider it a home, but a desert grave.

Rahmans Dates

Since Rahman lived in relative obscurity, the exact dates of his birth and death are

not known. Approximate dates can be deduced from two historical events

mentioned in the Diwan. Rahmans date of birth can be calculated from his

mention of the end of the reign of the Mughal king Aurangzeb (1659-1707 A.D.). In

D46/24 he mentions his age as being past 55, and later in the same poem he

refers to the accession of Shah Alum to the throne:

This was the name of Aurangzeb, a chapter eaten by a cow. Now is the turn of

Shah Alum, a different time and style.

Since Shah Alum took the throne in 1707 A.D., and as Rahman is as he states at

least 55, that would put Rahmans birth at no later than 1652 A.D. It would be

speculative to guess just how old past 55 implies, but it would seem to rule out

the date of 1632 A.D. given in Puta Khazana. If Rahman had been born then, hewould have been more likely to have said past 75. In a similar vein, the birth-date

of 1653 A.D. given by Enevoldsen is wrong by at least a year (by simple

subtraction). It is unlikely that Rahman was over 60 when he claimed to be past

55, and if this assumption is correct, then his birth date lies somewhere between

1647 and 1652 A.D.

The date of Rahmans death is linked with poem D 102. In it he tells of the brutal

revenge killings of Gul Khan and Jamal Khan, who were burnt alive with an entire

wedding party. According to Raverty this event took place around 1711 A.D. Many

commentators assume that Rahmans death was also around this time, though

there is no evidence that he died then. All that can be said is that he was still alive

in 1711. He could well have lived for several more years. A reasonable conclusion

from these two events in Rahmans life, is that his dates are approximately 1650

1715 A.D.


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Rahman the Sheikh?

Rahmans diwan itself provides the best evidence to disprove Andreyevs view

that the highly illiterate Pashtun tribal society ..lay far away from the centres of

Muslim scholarship and was not directly influenced by sophisticated intellectual

traditions.

Rahmans diwan displays a subtle use of several languages including Pushtu,

Arabic and Persian, as well as a wide knowledge of history, philosophy and

theology. Particularly relevant to this study is the certainty that Rahman must

have been trained in both fiqa (jurisprudence ) and tasawwuf (sufism) to have

been capable of writing as he did. Though apparently at odds with each other, the

teaching of both disciplines may have been the norm during his era, and it is

recorded that other poets like Sadi (d.1292 A.D.) had received both. Rahman

would not have had to have gone far to get this training, as Peshawar was startingto gain a reputation as a centre for religious learning that was later to make it a

rival to Bokhara. Pata Khazana claims that Rahmans teacher was known to have

been Mullah Mohammed Yusafzai.

Rahman was anything but the uneducated Mullah that Aqab claims him to have

been. Rather than suffering from too little education, Rahman complains that

learning drove me mad. His thorough education is in keeping with Lewis view

that Sufism is essentially the work of sophisticated and highly literate urban men

of learning.

There can be no doubt that Rahman was a practicing Sufi, but was he attached to

a particular order, either as a murid (follower) or a sheikh? Practitioners of Sufism

were known by their patched cloak, which Hujwiri describes as the bondage of

aspirants to Sufism. Likely from personal experience Rahman complains of the

service of the Fakirs cloak, and of the need to wash the bluish cloak..

Although Rahman calls himself a Sheikh, it seems unlikely that he ever performed

in this role, or that he was associated with any particular order.

A tradition states that a guide is needed for training in tasawwuf. Perhaps inresponse to this need, various unfounded theories have been made about who

Rahmans guide may have been, and to which order he was attached. Sabir

suggests that Rahman had a Naqshabandi initiation in Kohat, as well as training

from the sons of Pir Baba. Schimmel casually assigns Rahman to the Chishti

order perhaps basing this on Ravertys incorrect assumption that Sufis practicing


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musical sam? were Chishti by default. Aqab, himself of the Qadiri order, claims

Rahman was a Qadiri.

There is no overwhelming evidence to prove any of these claims. If Rahman had

been a member of one of the Sufi orders, modern followers of that group would no

doubt claim him as one of their own. Such is not the case. It is more likely that

Rahman was independent, with an individualistic practice of Sufism similar to that

of Shah Abdul Latif in the Sind. It is even possible that he was a uwaysi after the

pattern of Pir Roshan, as is hinted at in several lines: Those who have perfect

intention of heart are guided without the guidance of a Pir and On the path

which I travel to see my love, make holy Khizer and Ilyas my guides.

"Sow flowers, so that your surroundings become a garden; Dont sow thorns,

for they will prick your feet."

-- Rahman Baba

Rahman in Crisis

The reverence with which Rahman is honoured by Pushtuns today is no reflection

of how he may have been regarded during his lifetime. The issue was Rahmans

neglect of the outward practices of Islam. There is a popular tradition that is still

held by some Pushtuns, that Rahmans pursuit of God outside the mosque led to

confrontation with the established religious hierarchy. His quest for God made


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him a solitary mystic with little interest in formal religion. Hughes records that in

1883 one old man still knew the tree under which the villagers said Rahman used

to sit and compose his poems. Rahman relates his dereliction of duty this way:

Ever since I took up the work of love in my hands, I have withdrawn from any

other work.

If this is not the passion of love, then what is it? Otherwise who would bandon

their customs?

Other lines from the diwan suggest that Rahmans activities might have further

inflamed the village Mullahs:

I got nothing from being a sheikh or from my righteousness.

From now on it is my turn, to do whatever I can at the tavern.

I washed my hands of piety when the musician picked up the rebab.

Though no date is given for confrontation with the religious establishment, D 242

points to Rahmans clear choice to no longer sit under the Tooba tree and instead

to pursue tasawwuf with reckless abandon:

Rather than the unacceptable worship of the hypocrite, I prefer to be drunk on

Saqis wine.

Whether knowledge, rosary or recitation, I am happier asleep than awake with

these.

I dont like the Tooba trees shade, but prefer to be burnt like a kebab in the

flames of your face.

Kamil suggests that Rahman Baba reached such a profound abandonment to

God, that he also abandoned all religious and worldly duties. Afghani states thatRahman not only left the mosque, but that a kufr fatwa (death sentence for

apostasy) was passed on him by the local mullahs. Raverty reports that he was

later reconciled back into the community. Again, there are no written records to

corroborate these events, but there is some evidence from the diwan that

suggests that the tension may have been peacefully resolved:


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I couldnt find peace in my search for him. It became unlawful for me to be

careless in my religion.

The Life of Rahman Baba

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