Did Guru Nanak Visit Mecca and Baghdad ? * 64

 The Gurudwara at Baghdad

Guru Nanak the founder of the Sikh faith is reported to have visited Mecca and Baghdad.  However a lot many young boys have asked me whether all this is just a myth or Nanak really travelled to Mecca.  One wise youngster asked me ' sir, how could nanak visit Mecca as he was Non muslim'.
 All these questions are relevant and need to be answered.

Firstly, I must mention that the Janam Sakhi’s ( life Stories) of Guru Nanak do mention that he visited Mecca. These are eye-witness accounts and though some stories have been interpolated later, they are a treasure-house of historical records. There are many versions of these Janam Sakhis, but all of them concur that Nanak visited Mecca. The fact that he was a non-Muslim is true, but Nanak wore the dress of a Sufi with a long cloak and could have easily passed of as a Pir or holy man and thus gained entry to Mecca. But the most important evidence of his visit is the gurdwara at Baghdad. This gurdwara was damaged during the invasion of Iraq by the USA and only now has been restored to a degree.
The gurdwara was discovered by Sikh soldiers who visited Iraq during the First World war. Guru Nanak is reported to have visited Iraq in about 1519.He came from Mecca and Medina along with a caravan. The gurdwara is proof that Nanak visited Baghdad. But sadly the shrine is almost destroyed by religious fanatics, who felt it went against the tenets of Islam. It is a pity that the Indian Government and the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee( SGPC) is doing nothing for the restoration of this historical gurdwara.
The account of Nanak’s visit is also accepted by Cunningham in his History of the Sikhs, which he wrote when he was in India during the late forties of the nineteenth century.  He had first hand knowledge of the Sikhs and Punjab at a time when the Sikh empire was disintegrating.
There is no evidence left behind about Nanak’s visit to Mecca. But the iconoclast attitude of the Saudi government has prevented any worthwhile study in Mecca.
The fact that a gurdwara has been discovered at Baghdad is proof that he definitely went to Baghdad and by inference one can surmise that he also must have visited Mecca. The travels of Nanak have been far and wide.Perhaps an independent study is called for to document the travels of Guru Nanak. But then the authorities particularly in the Muslim countries have to be open about it, which unfortunately they are not. I am sure an open research even in Mecca will reveal that Guru Nanak visited Mecca. This is popular folk-lore and certainly has some basis.