Non-Muslim Naat Poems in Urdu Poetry

In the Indian Peninsula as Muslim poets wrote naat to the prophet many non-Muslim poets were not indifferent to this type of poetry. Although the poems written by these poets are controversial regarding faith, when considered from a literary perspective, it is seen that there was a considerable amount of naat written by non-Muslim poets, which were accepted by literary circles. While some jurisdictions give a firm and strict judgment that the poems of non-Muslim poets cannot be accepted as naat, some others think that naat should be regarded as a work of art besides being a part of Islamic literature and these works must be sharply rejected. Instead, they stated that every poem reminding the good qualities of the Prophet and bringing people closer to Him should be accepted as naat. The discussion between these two groups has continued for a long time. In this study, this discussion is avoided, and the second view is accepted to focus only on the literary and artistic aspect of naats. The case is found interesting because there were not so many non-Muslim poets writing naats in other continents while it is very common in the Indian Peninsula. Despite the frequent religious conflicts enacting between Muslims and non-Muslims in India, it is on no account possible for these neighbors not to be affected by each other during peaceful periods. Many a good deal of cases in which non-Muslims who are invited to Islam at times either by their neighbors or Sufis most honorably convert to Islam could be witnessed. It is, indeed, quiet natural to observe those who convert to Islam inscribing praiseful poems for prophet Muhammad; yet, what is considerably interesting is that they inscribe such poetry notwithstanding that they disregard Islam as a religion. The principal reason for non-Muslims to inscribe such poetry in India is the supreme morality of the prophet Muhammad and his distinguished personality traits. Besides, it would not be so surprising a fact to expect people who have a sprit for literature to be tolerant for other beliefs or religions. Praiseful Non-Muslim Urdu poems for Muhammad, similar to the Muslim poets’ works, embarked on their journey of India from the south, increasing their pace towards the north. The reason why praiseful poetry for the prophet Muhammad is prevalent among the non-Muslim Indian poets rests on political, cultural and societal grounds. The most substantial reason, however, is the occasion that Sufis attached great importance to making the supreme morality of Muhammad more prominent while realizing their sacred mission in the peninsula.