True Insights into the Concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat — Page 104
[ 104 ] were served. The people were then garlanded with wreaths of flowers. At about 4:00 p. m. , everyone stood up and kissed the banners (about fifty of them) in the central part of the mosque. These were then taken out and three horses were decorated with them. The spirit of Q a dir Auliy a ’ (the Saint of the Madras Region, whose anniversary they were celebrating) was, so to say, mounted on one of them. (Such is the picture of the Muslim culture painted as a conse- quence of, God forbid, the belief in Khatm-e-Nubuw- wat ). Spirits of his disciples were mounted on the other two. The Im a m accompanied by the congrega- tion made a round of the city, begging for alms. Some chubby people, wearing thick, long beards, all naked except around the loins, body covered with cow-dung ashes, led the tumultuous crowd singing ‘ Y a Mur a d i , Y a Mur a d i , ‘Abdul-Q a dir. ’ The scene was so ludicrous that it was not possible for me to suppress my laugh- ter. The wanton crowd, beating their drums, returned to the mosque before evening prayer. Alas, the Mus- lims, once wedded to the doctrine of the Oneness of God, have now sunk so deep into the filth of polythe- ism and heresy, that they are not ashamed to indulge in such practices, even in a mosque. Examples of ‘Muslim culture,’ with some variations, are found in different Muslim countries. In Pakistan, one would see a queer culture being displayed at the anniversa- ries of different saints. The Wahh a b i s and Shi‘as show their own distinct culture. In short, new aspects of culture are