star_munir wrote:In past I had posted views of Kamaluddin missionary on changings in Ginan in seprate topic ........
Now I am posting Views of Alwaez Zarina Kamaludin on topic of Ginan.
She said in her waez that .......Our Pir inorder to convince hindus said that there are avtars and Hari has come in His tenth avtar. In 1961 Imam made Farman in Pakistan to change the word of Hari into Ali. In 1891 Farman of Zanjbar Imam said not to recite about hinduism in Ginans, it was for that time when you were hindus Now leave 9 Avtars and talk about Ali...[/b]
If ' Starmunir' has correctly worded the above underlined message of Alwaeza Zarina Kamaluddin regarding Ginans, then in my honest opinion, Zarina has improperly interpreted the Farman of ISMS OF Zanjibar of 20th August 1899. does she want to convey that the concept of ' Das Avatar' has no reality and it was used as a artifice to lure the innocent Hindus to convert to Ismailis?
Please read the Farman again which I reproduce below:
" It is not proper to read Hinduism stories for Ilm knowledge ; at the time when you were Hindu, Pir Sadardin shown you the way. That time passed.
Now read praises of Maula and his descendent's, read praises of Hazar Imam, give up nine Avatars. In tenth Avatar, read praises of our forefather's,read Ginans, read description of tenth Avatar given in them."
All what ISMS wanted to covey to the Jamat that they should read about Ismaili Imams (10th Avatar) , read and study those Ginans where 'Ali's' description as tenth Avatar is given and read about the praises of the ' Imam of the Time.' And that is what is Ismailism is all about. He did not say that the concept of 10 Avatars was wrong or incorrect and that it was just used by Pirs for conversion purpose. There are no wordings in the Farman which even insinuates such a message.
If the same Farman is read further, ISMS even instructs the Jamat not to read stories related to 'Karbala' as they were of no use to Jamat. Let us see how that Farman proceeds:
" Read the essence out of events and stories, do not read wrong description, it is of no use now to describe the stories of 1200 years." ( Note: ISMS then refers to Muharam and Karbala, which part I have not given here)
Does that mean the event of karbala did not take place? All he wanted from the jamat they should concentrate on history of Ismaili Imams and the essence in general -- and about activities of 'the Imam of the Time' in particular.
Let me further explain, to the best of my understanding, as to why that Farman was made: Even in city like Bombay, where there were many waezeens in the period of early 1960's, I have not heard any waezin giving information to Jamat about Imamat during Fatimid or Almut period. Even though the book of 'Noorum Mubin' was in circulation at that time for last several years, to my best of knowledge, only one family out of 20 may have possessed it let alone was it read thoroughly.
If such was the condition in 1960 in city like Bombay, one can easily imagine what would have been the religious knowledge of Ismailism by the general jamat during 1899 at Zanzibar. So before interpreting this Farman of ISMS of 1899, one should take all such things into consideration and not to make any such meaning which was not intended there.
Well we all know that in his memoirs, ISMS has already mentioned divinity to Ram, Krishna and others.
Next take bold letters' part of Zarina's waez, provided they are actual representative words of the Waeza. To my best of knowledge and informations I gathered form others is that Hazar Imam visited Pakistan in later part of September 1960 and then in November 1964. He did not visit Pakistan in 1961. I request starmunir to check his notes of Zarina's waez.