The Pir's are much revered in India and Pakistan. I have been following a Pir for almost 25 years from my youth and he is a man of god. Many Pirs are also hereditary and the son becomes the Pir after the demise of the father. The father is supposed to pass all his wisdom to his son who is then ordained as the Pir.
The hold of the Pir over Muslims is almost hypnotic and I will add that many Hindus also follow Pirs. However one of the facets of life in India and Pakistan in the countryside is the almost blind faith in the Pir. He is supposed to have direct communion with Allah and people believe that all their ills will be solved by the Pir.
The Pir in the 21st century may look like an anachronism, but even in this century and age, he wields tremendous hold over his village flock. Some Pirs become famous and people from great distances travel to get the blessing of the Pir.
A strange story about the powers of a Pir has emerged from Pakistan. What was the news? A Muslim Pir has been arrested by the police after it came to light that the man had impregnated over 300 married women.
In Pakistan to be childless is a sin and a greater sin is not having a son and only daughters. This is a hangover of a feudal setup and it's very much prevalent in both India and Pakistan. This Pir propagated that any woman who could not conceive or wanted a son could come to him and he would intercede with Allah and grant the wish of the woman.
Women who craved a son went to the Pir for his blessings. At home, they were harassed and sometimes beaten for not begetting a son. Such women were emotional wrecks and when they met the Pir he charmed them with his magnetism. After a few meetings, he would invariably take the woman to a back chamber where he had a luxurious bed to which he referred as the 'Noor bed.' There he would have repeated sex with the women.
It so transpired that a few women had sons and they divulged, that this was due to the power of the Pir. They did not mention the fact of sleeping with the man on the Noor bed. Eager to have a son many other women also started to go to the Pir to seek his blessings. The man was young and virile and in the name of Allah he copulated with over 300 women and impregnated them. The women some of who were childless were obviously delighted to have a child and they spread the word about the power of the Pir. The fact that they had been sleeping with the man was not announced and remained a secret. The Pir continued and more women some of who came from great distances gave themselves to the man.
This continued for some months till someone expressed his apprehensions to the Police. Hearing that the police were coming, the Pir ran away but was arrested.
The question now was as to what charge to frame against the Pir. No woman was willing to come forward and accuse the Pir of rape and the Police were wondering how to prosecute the Pir. In addition in case, they tried him under the Hooded ordinance, then as per the Sharia, there is a requirement of 4 eyewitnesses. This is impossible in this case and man was given bail. The charges anyway did not proceed further.
I have been wondering if a statistic could be worked out as to how many of the 300+ women had male children. However, one fact that stands out is the Pirs and holy men have a hypnotic effect on the people of the sub-continent. My Muslim friend from Lahore has given me a revolutionary opinion. She has said that the Pir must be complimented as he gave a child to a childless woman and thus saved her life from cruelty and beatings in rural Pakistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment