Forgotten Islam

What painting is worthy of the One who seized the world - Jahangir?

Whose lips could lose a word - and a man’s head would fall,

Whose voice alone could make the firmest hearts tremble.

O Sultan, Padshah, Ruler of the World,
From Delhi you cast your gaze upon all Hind;

You donned your armour and your cloak-
A kaftan fit for both throne and grave.

The globe rests within your hand,
As Emperor-
Yet also as a servant,
Humbled before God.

He gallops forth, his head high and golden lance at the ready. The Mughal Emperor, the Sole Owner of Hindustan, Aurangzeb Alamgir (1618-1707; r. 1658-1707) valiantly thunders forward to victory.

This was painted between 1660 and 1670. It depicts the valorous Emperor Aurangzeb rearing his horse, and strutting to war. There is no specific painter named.

P.S. I published this painting not to simply show my admiration for the great Padshah, but also because I have seen many 'history' influencers ignoring South Asian Islamic history, especially at a time when the BJP government seek to erase Mughal and Islamic History altogether.

Before the rising of the golden sun, the Muslims eat their fill, intending to execute the command of their Lord, the Almighty. They fast till sundown and then lavish on the provisions entitled to them by the Lord they praised and beseeched aid from.

But not all enjoy the luxury of tasteful foods, sweets and drinks, as shown in the painting above.

This was painted by the Azerbaijani artist, Azim Azimzade (1880-1943) and its purpose was to show that even the poor, in their superior righteousness, complete their duties to God.

In this Ramadan, let us not forget our brethren, who suffer from war, famine, genocide and so forth.

Their fast is worth an eternity more than ours.

Two guards stand at the door - dressed in the armour of the Steppe warriors; donning quivers of sharpened arrows, a steel sword and spears.

They guard attentively the Mausoleum of one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever witnessed.

The great Gur Khan (son-in-law), Sahib Qiran (Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction) and Emir, Timur-i-Lang (r. 1370-1405; c1320-1405).

A Mughal Prince leads the Friday Prayer in congregation. He is clothed in white traditional attire, as are his fellow worshippers. Indeed, in the gathering for God, all are equal.

Perched on soft cushions, dressed in a silk saree, she watches into the lens of the camera. With a withered face and a fragile body, her era has come to a close.

This is Begum Sahiba Zeenat Mahal (1823-1886), the last Empress Consort of the Mughal Empire and the wife of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

From 1840 to 1857, she ruled the fractured and partitioned Mughal Empire as the de facto Regent or Padshah Begum, making political moves to ensure the throne for her son, Mirza Jawan Bakht (1841-1884) - even supposedly poisoning the British civil servant and agent in Delhi, Thomas Metcalfe (1795-1853) for his meddling in Palace affairs.

She was eventually exiled to Rangoon, Burma after the failed 1857 Indian Rebellion along with her Emperor husband.

She passed away in 1886.

With a grim, withered face and a sumptuous suit, his picture is taken.

For over forty years, he had ruled nominally in his domains - subject to colonial British rule. He had long disputed with the British, seeking to fill his coffers in the midst of a crumbling civilisation. Perhaps, hoping to save himself and his family.

This is the Muntizam-ul-Mulk (Ruler of the Country), Mohsen-ul-Dawla (Benefactor of the State), Feradun Jah (Of High Rank) and Nasrut Jang (Helper in War).

The Last Nawab Nizam of Bengal,
Sayyid Mansur Ali Khan
(1830-1884; r. 1838-1880)

Indeed, it was the zamaan (era) in which convivencia (coexistence) bloomed between the Christian and Muslim. For they sat and enjoyed each other's company in the orchard gardens of al-Andalus.

As Ibn al-Khatib (1313-74 CE) said:

جادك الغيث إذا الغيث همى
May the rain bless you when the rain pours.

يا زمان الوصل بالأندلس
O time of union in Al Andalus.

Date and author of painting unknown.

The Sufi sways in the fire of tasawwuf (spiritual mysticism), bewildered not by the Dunya (mortal world), nor by the flames which engulf him. For he has reached the station of Fanaa (annihilation of the ego).

Painted titled 'The Dhikr' by Eugène Baugnies. Created between 1841/42 and 1891.

Salah al-Din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub (r. 1174-93), Sultan of Egypt and Syria, arrives victorious, his sword piercing the sky in an expression of valour. He has conquered Jeruslaem.

Painted by Gustave Doré. Published prior 1930.