Dear Mr. Anis Zuberi: 

On December 16, 2009, you posted that Moulana Abul Kalam Azad praised the mystical stance of  Shaheed Sarmad who was martyred on the edict of the fundamentalist Muslim clerics.  Some people believe that Azad eulogized the universal spirit of Islam. Sarmad did not believe in the religious discrimination between the Muslims and Hindus of India. Per my knowledge, it was not only Sarmad who made such a claim, but also many mystics acclaimed the same. Hafiz Sherazi, Amir Khusroo, Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib also said what Sarmad pronounced. 

Two types of people appear in Islamic history. One type believe that, according to the Quranic verse of Chapter Five, Islam has been consummated and anyone outside the fold of Islam is a heretic, hence liable to go to Hell.  These people are followers of Shariah (Islamic Law), and many are radicals. The other type of people are Sufis (Islamic mystics). They believe in the universal and fraternal spirit of Islam. They believe in Tareeqat, which means the Path. Sufis believe that all paths lead to God.  They cite verse 62 of Sura Ale Imran in which Allah gives glad tidings to the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabeans for believing in God and the Day of Judgement and for performing noble deeds. From this verse, they conclude that faith in God and performance of noble deeds are the mission of all religions. You may adopt any religion with these two conditions, and you will be redeemed. The fundamentalists say that in Sura Fatiha (The Opening), the Muslims daily recite the verse, "Show us the Right Path," and this right path is only Islam. Sufis, like Sarmad, believe that the Right Path is the Path of God, which can only be discovered and traversed by universal values of love, justice, peace, and humanity.

In modern mysticism, people from different religions have rejected the philosophy of radicals who praise their religion and condemn the faiths of others.  These hard-liners have brought a bad name to religion. The modern mystics believe that a man can love all humans and show respect to the faiths of others while sticking to any religion. The spirit of religion is more important than the formalism. 

In my opinion, when Sarmad, being a born Muslim, raised the voice of unity between the Hindus and the Muslims, it was the need of the society of India at that time. He did not condemn Islam. He only stood for interfaith harmony, which was the need of that time and is still the need of our time. A true mystic may belong to any religion; he preaches love and unity instead of preaching hatred and dissension. Moulana Azad, while praising Sarmad, kept in view the universal spirit of Islam. It is the approval of Islam. It is neither disapproval nor denial of Islam. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Maqsood Jafri

New York