Rahman Baba

Rahman Baba is the most popular and best known Pushtun poet. Although he has been dead for over 300 years, the insights and statements of this remarkable man are still quoted and enjoyed up and down the long frontier region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In fact, it's probably true to say there is hardly a Pashtun who does not know some of Rahman Baba's work by heart.

The subjects of Baba poetry are universal love, sympathy, humility,peace, humanity and true friendship. 'Rahman Baba was the king of love, the guide to contemplation and virtue, the walking stick of the blind, the leader of poets, the saint of Pathans, and the master of simple word, observes a critic.

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 Rahman’s family background. Several commentators are convinced that his family were village maliks (chieftains), while Aqab finds no evidence for this view. 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 Rahman’s brother, or the Malik of Bahadur village. Other unsupported stories claim Rahman’s father was named Abdul Sattar, and that offspring of his own daughter’s family are still living in the village today.

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. Rahman’s 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 Diwaan 46/24 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 Rahman’s 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, he would 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 Rahman’s death is linked with poem Diwaan 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 Rahman’s 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 Rahman’s life, is that his dates are approximately 1650 – 1715 A.D.

Written by: Razi   From: Balograam   Veiwed: 578 Times since Date:2005-09-10