The Ignorant Scholars of the Current Era

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When all sources of information start propagating lies and nations start believing them, the mark of destruction is stamped upon them. Some of the media of information in my country are well dominated by those who pride themselves in proving that our ancestors and forefathers were ignorant, illiterate, uncivilized and cruel brutes. And though the majority of the residents of this country believed in Hinduism, Sikhism, Budhism or Jainism a few generations ago; the wrath of the intelligentsia falls exclusively upon the Muslims, and especially the Muslim rulers. And the favourite target for all this condemnation is Aurangzeb Aalamgeer. Among all Mughal emperors, he was particularly pious, God-fearing and just. These ‘magnanimous’ scholars are like the rich son who has settled in the city. When his father pays him a visit, clad in a simple villagers’ attire, a discolored turban and ragged slippers, his first attempt is to hide him so he remains unseen. If not possible, he announces that it is just a servant come from his village to pay him a few days’ visit.

One of the most popular TV channels of this country has been broadcasting an advertisement for a few weeks, based on a historical lie on the name of education. It attempts to show that while the West was establishing universities, the Mughal emperors were busy constructing the Taj Mahal and Shalamar Bagh. I will come to the historical evidence later on. Allow me to give a simple lesson in common sense first. If the said TV channel had been fortunate enough to have someone enjoying the most humble and basic IQ level, such a person would not find it difficult to understand that the innovative skill required in creating the architectural masterpieces of the Mughal Empire, was not possible without two factors.

Firstly, a complete expertise in the art of architecture, which includes sciences dealing with the refining of the minutest details of the basic structures; like geometry, physics and chemistry as well as others. Secondly, a strong economic and financial status of the country; so strong that its rulers could afford the high cost of setting up these great buildings. The detailed art of architecture exhibited in Taj Mahal, Sheesh Mahal, Shalamar Bagh, Tomb of Humayun, Deewan-e-Khaas, etc. indicates that their architects had fully mastered the science of geometry. The four minarets of Taj Mahal were slanted to the outside by just half an inch each, so that in case an earthquake causes them to fall, the domes might stay unharmed. All this is not possible through the mere arrangement of bricks by a bricklayer; it requires a detailed study of mathematics. The Taj Mahal stands upon a base that is ninety feet deep. Its bottom was lined by a thirty feet height of sand so that in case of an earthquake, the whole building might just take a little rotation and remain safe. 

Only a detailed study of mathematics and geometry can lead to such a decision. Tile mosaic is an art in which the walls are decorated with pictures using small colourful tiles. This art exhibits itself in the kilometer-long decorated wall of the Shahi Qila of Lahore as well as Masjid Wazeer Khan. In order to be able to prepare the colours used in them, you should be well versed in the chemistry taught today. The same can be said about the fresco paintings, the colours of which have not yet faded, not even after the passage of four hundred years. In all the Mughal buildings, underground pipes made of terra cotta (hard, baked clay) are found. They were used for sewerage and the channeling of water. Today, they still remain in their original form even after the passage of centuries. If we try to acquire the complete knowledge of Mughal architecture and prepare a course of study for this purpose, based on the scientific principles of today, PHDs will be required for the individual study of each of these arts. Was all this possible in the India where illiteracy prevailed and the rulers of which despised knowledge?

I will only present the testimonies of the Western historians, because our greatly learned scholars are allergic to the testimony of any local or Muslim scholar. Will Durant is the most popular historian and philosopher of the Western world. He writes in his book ‘Story of Civilization’ about Mughal India: “There used to be a school master in each village, whose salary was paid by the government. Before the advent of the English, Bengal alone had 80 thousand schools. There used to be a school per every four hundred people. Five subjects were taught in these schools, namely: grammar, arts and crafts, medicine, philosophy and logic.” He wrote in another of his books, ‘A Case for India’, that in the Mughal era, there were one lakh twenty five thousand institutions in Madras alone, where medical sciences were being taught and medical services were provided. 

Major M. D. Basu has written many books on the British rule and the India before it. Referring Max Muller he writes: “There were 80 thousand schools in Bengal before the English came there.” A tourist named Alexander Hamilton came to India during the rule of Aurangzeb Aalamgeer. He wrote that there were four hundred colleges specializing in the study of arts and sciences in the city of Thatha alone. Major Basu even went on to write that the knowledge of the common Indian in fields of philosophy, logic and science was superior to even that of the elite/Lords of England, including the King and the Queen themselves. James Grant’s report is worth being remembered. He wrote: “Muslims were the first in the world to endow properties for the sake of educational institutions. 

When the English occupied the whole of India in 1857, five thousand teachers had been receiving their salaries from the government funds in the small district of Rohel Khand alone.” All the above mentioned areas were located in the outskirts, far from the central cities of Delhi, Lahore or Agra. English and Hindu historians agree that the progress in the field of education reached its peak during the rule of Aurangzeb Aalamgeer. For the first time in the history of the subcontinent, he made the salaries of Muslim and Hindu teachers equal, while even a ’secular’ like Akbar had been giving a smaller amount to Hindu teachers. It was Aurangzeb who endowed properties for the first time to religious institutions belonging to all the different beliefs present in India. He arranged for salaries to be paid by the government to the people working in them. 

Three Hindu historians of that era are very popular, namely Sajan Rai Khatri, Bheem Sen and Eeshwar Das. Sajan Rai Khatri wrote ‘Khulaasat-ut-Tawareekh”, Bheem Sen wrote ‘Nuskha-e-Dilkusha’ while Eeshwar Das wrote ‘Futoohat-e-Aalamgeeri’. These three Hindu scholars agree that for the first time in India, Aalamgeer got a complete study course prepared for the study of medicine, and got books like Tibb-e-Akbar, Mufarrih-ul-Quloob, Tareef-ul-Amraaz, Mujarrabaat-e-Akbari and Tibb-e-Nabawi prepared to be made a part of the curriculum in colleges so that medicine could be taught at a higher level. All these books are of the level of the MBBS curriculum of today. Firoz Shah had established a hospital in Delhi, known as Dar-ush-Shifa, many centuries before Aurangzeb. It was Aurangzeb who got the course book known as Tibb-e-Firoz Shahi prepared to be taught in colleges. During his rule, there were more than a hundred hospitals in Delhi alone.

I can present thousands of such testimonies from history. Have a look at the census of each district in 1911, found in Anarkali Maqbara of Lahore, if possible. You will notice that the literacy rate in each of these districts was more than 80%, which happens to be the highest in the world during that age. But when the English left this country, this percentage had fallen to 10%. Bengal was occupied in 1757. During the next 34 years, all the schools and colleges of the Muslims were ruined. Then, in order to complete the destruction of this country, Lord Cornwallis set up the first religious school in 1871. Before this, there was no distinction between religious and secular schools. Quran as well as science and philosophy were all taught in the same schools. These are the testimonies of history. But if the advertisers still want to trade in falsehood, who can spoil their business?

The name of Abu Jahl was Amr ibn Hisham. He was so intelligent and well educated that the people of Makkah called him Abu-al-Hikam meaning the Father of Wisdom. But my Guide, Peace Be Upon Him, said: He is the father, not of wisdom, but of ignorance. He is Abu Jahl. Today’s world too is not empty of Fathers of Ignorance.

Written by: Orya Maqbool Jan
Translated by: Noorah Noor
Courtesy: Daily Express (Urdu)

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