Tributes paid to Rahman Baba

PESHAWAR: Speakers paid rich tributes to great Pashto mystic poet Rahman Baba and called for promoting teachings of Sufi saints to reform the society.

They were addressing a special function arranged by the Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga at the shrine of the 17th-century poet in Hazarkhwani village, in the suburbs of the provincial metropolis.

The ceremony was hosted in the Rahman Baba Complex next to the mausoleum of the noted Sufi poet to mark his death anniversary.

A number of devotees attended the ceremony of the mystic who was born in 1632 and passed away in 1706.

Director-General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Peshawar, Dr Hossein Chaghomi, was the chief guest while a scholar of the Persian language, Prof Syed Gayyur Hussain, presided over the ceremony. Head of the Rehman Baba Adabi Jirga, Malik Wazir Khan, moderated the proceedings of the programme.

Dr Hossein Chaghomi underlined the need to seek inspiration from sufism to build a healthy and civilized society. Citing the examples of Saadi Shirazi (1210 AD -1292 AD) and Hafez Shirazi (1325 AD -1390 AD), the two known Persian poets, he said the sufi poets teachings remained relevant for all the times because of the great message of love and peace. “This also applies to the verses composed by Rahman Baba,” he explained.

The Iranian diplomat read out some verses from Rahman Baba’s works and pointed out that words were used in the Persian language as well. “This shows the Persian-Pashto linguistic affinity,” he said.

Dr Hossein Chaghomi said the Cultural Centre of the Islamic Republic of Iran was working not only to promote the Persian language and culture but also other languages and cultures spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Khana-e-Farhang has been organsining ceremonies to remember Rahman Baba for almost 30 years,” he said and added that the centre had served as a platform for promoting languages and cultures native to KP. Dr Hossein Chaghomi was all praise for Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga and its head Malik Wazir Khan for efforts to keep the name, memories and teachings of the great mystic alive.

“Great are the people who keep their elders, their teachings and the original cultures alive,” said the Iranian cultural diplomat who is a hafiz and qari and has specialization in education management and cultural diplomacy.

Earlier, Malik Wazir Khan in his speech said the jirga was launched by the late Sultan Mohammad Dardmand in 1962. He dwelt on the activities of the organization. He thanked Dr Hossein Chaghomi and Prof Syed Gahyyur Hussain for attending the ceremony.