Zikrism (also Zikriyya)[1][2] is a Mahdist minority Muslim group or sect found primarily in the Balochistan region of western Pakistan. The name Zikri comes from the Arabic word Dhikr meaning 'pronouncement' or 'remembrance'. [3][4]
Like Shia and Sunni Muslims, Zikri revere the Quran. However, they follow different prayer practices and believe the Mahdi (the messiah figure and final leader in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice) has already come. Koh-e-Murad is the most sacred site for Zikris.[5]
They suffered sectarian attacks before the founding of Pakistan and more recent attacks and insecurity episodes have led some of them to migrate from Balochistan to other cities of Pakistan.[6][7] The Zikris in Balochistan have a deep connection to Balochistan and often hold nationalist views.[4]
Origins
The Zikri faith developed in Makran in the late 16th-century.[2]
Zikris believe in a Mahdi figure known as Nur Pak, or "Pure Light." Zikris believe Nur Pak walked the earth before Adam and will return at the end of days to restore true Islam which has been perverted by the Sunnis.[8] Some Zikris believe the founder of their sect to be a certain Mullah Attocki, who came from Attock in Punjab and propagated the faith in Makran, although others dispute it.[9] According to Stephen Blake, an Afghan named Mulla Muhammad declared himself Mahdi and formed the Zikri movement which faced persecution from the Mughal authorities.[10] Some scholars believe that Zikris are an offshoot of a Sufi tradition that branched off from the Nimatullahi Sufi order of Iran.[11] By the 18th-century, Zikrism virtually achieved the status of state religion in Southern Balochistan.[12]
A number of sources talk about how Sayyid Muhammad Jaunpuri is believed to be or thought to be by some, the founder of Zikrism.[note 1] According to at least two scholars (Robert Benkin and Sabir Badalkhan), this cannot be true. Benkin writes that outside observers have claimed the Mahdi figure of the Balochi Zikris was Muhammad Jaunpuri, but Balochi Zikris deny that Muhammad Jaunpuri visited Balochistan and insist their Mahdi is a different figure from a later period. Zikris believe Nur Pak was born in 977 AH, or between 1569 and 1570 AD.[18][19] According to a research by Marmara University and Necmettin Erbakan University of Turkey, many historians, often without rigorous verification, have repeatedly claimed that Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri as founder of the Zikri tradition and it lacks credible evidence and is unsupported by historical or factual data. According to that research, the theological and ritual framework of the Zikri faith cannot be traced to Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri. Instead, historical and textual sources identify '''Muhammad Atki (or Utki)''' as the true founder of the Zikri religion, whose teachings reflect an independent intellectual and spiritual development, distinct from Mahdavi principles.[20]
According to Sabir Badalkhan, the vast majority of Zikris, including their most influential leaders, reject the notion their Mahdi was Muhammad Jaunpuri, pointing to the different birth dates and deaths of Jaunpuri and their Mahdi, and that all Zikri sources record the Zikri Mahdi having died in Kech.[21] They state their ancestors have never heard of Jaunpuri, and that there are no relations between Zikri and Mahdavi communities, and that their beliefs and practices are distinct.[2]
Beliefs
Unlike mainstream Muslims, they do not pray five times a day but perform zikr five times daily instead. Their prayer house is known as a Zikrkhana.[11]
Some scholars argue that Zikris regard Nur Pak as both their prophet and the promised Mahdi. Nur Pak is considered a primordial figure who existed before Adam and is believed to return before akhir zaman(end times) to reform Islam. They further maintain that he reappeared in the 15th century, during which time he revealed new teachings. While Zikris hold the Holy Prophet Muhammad in reverence, they believe that his teachings were superseded by those of Khododad, the “gift of God,” an enigmatic figure said to have lived seven generations earlier.[22]
Zikris recite the Kalima differently from mainstream Muslims. According to one view, their Kalima is rendered as, “There is no god but God, and Muhammad Mahdi is His messenger.” Other sources suggest an alternative formulation, expressed as, “God is God, and the mother of Muhammad is His prophet.” A further view maintains that the Zikris recite the Kalima as, “La ilaha illallah, Muhammad Mahdi Rasul-ullah.”[22]
Zikr occupies a central place in Zikri religious practice and refers specifically to the recitation of the names of Allah. While salat is performed by mainstream muslims five times daily, zikr among the Zikris is observed six times a day. The community is known as Zikris because of the centrality of zikr in their religious life, and they reportedly refer to other Muslims as Namazi due to their performance of namaz (prayers).[22]
Instead of observing the fast during the month of Ramadan, Zikris observe a seven-day fast each month throughout the year. Zikris observe a week-long fast prior to Eid al-Adha, a practice not observed by Muslims generally.[22]
Zikris give more money to the charity and needy people as they practice ushr at a rate of one-tenth rather than zakat, which is levied at one-fortieth.[22]
In contrast to orthodox Muslim communities, Zikri women play an active role in both religious and socio-political spheres.[22]
Zikris do not undertake the pilgrimage of Hajj, which is a religious obligation in Islam for those who are able to perform it. Instead, they travel to Koh-e-Murad, where they perform specific rituals. The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Baluchistan further records that Zikris regard Koh-e-Murad as their Ka'ba.[22]
Zikris follow Muslim burial traditions, except that they do not offer funeral prayers for the dead
The Zikri Muslims also hold reverence to the Hinglaj Mata Temple. They call the temple Nani Mandir, which means maternal grandmother’s temple. They have also provided security for the Hinglaj temple.[23][24]
Practices
Zikris make a pilgrimage (Ziyarat) to Koh-e-Murad, "Mountain of Desire" in Balochi, on the 27th of Ramadan in commemoration of their Mahdi. They observe this day as a sacred holiday.[3][18] The descendants of the original believers of the Mahdi continue to lead the Zikri community and are known as Murshids. Zikris refer to them as Waja as a form of respect.[3] Early that morning, Zikris observe Shab-e-Qadr, the commemoration of Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the Angel Gabriel.[3]
Zikris observe daily prayers called Zikr in place of Salah, the daily prayers of other Muslims. There are five daily Zikrs. Three prayers are obligatory and performed in group orally. Two are silent and generally performed only by older and more devout Zikris. Women perform only the spoken Zikrs.[2] The five prayers are known as Gwarbamay, Nemrochay, Rochzarday, Sarshapay, and Nemhangamay.[2]Rochzarday and Nemhangamay may be performed individually, with all others being said in a group.[2]
Zikri places of worship are called Zikr Khanas or Zigrāna (lit.'House of Zikr'). Zikris gather at three times a day at Zikr Khanas and perform a special prayer in a square formation with the leader in the middle. This prayer consists of formulae in Persian and Balochi, Quranic verses, and the repetition of God's name while standing, sitting, and prostrating. Zikri worshippers wear white or light-colored clothing, wash before participating, and cover their head with a scarf or handkerchief called a rumal. Non-Zikris are forbidden to attend Zikri worship services at the Zikr Khana. Zikr Khanas were often built on Astanas, places deemed holy by the Zikri community. This could be a place a Murshid meditated or the former home of a community leader.[3] Unlike Mosques, Zikr Khanas have no Mihrab (there is no need to mark the direction of prayer because God is everywhere), nor Minarets.[25]
Contrary to some popular beliefs, Zikri do not have a different holy book than the Quran or in addition to the Quran. According to Sabir Badalkhan, they keep copies of the Quran ("printed by Sunni Muslim printing presses in major Pakistan cities") in Zikr Khanas on shelves or in niches, "usually wrapped in clean costly cloth" and are treated with customary reverence, being kissed by Zikris after recitation of a verse.[2]
On special occasions, Zikris observe Chaugan, songs of praise for Muhammad, the Mahdi, Turbat and Koh-i-Murad, accompanied by ritual dance-like movements. Members stay up all night performing devotions. A female reciter known as the Shehr stands in the middle of the formation reciting devotions to which the male group calls back.[3][2]
Chaugans are sung in celebration of religious events such as the 27th of Ramadan, Shab-i-Barat (the 15th day of Sha'ban), and Eid al-Adha. Zikris believe the fourteenth day of the lunar month, if it falls on a Friday, to be auspicious, and may perform the Chaugan then.[2] The Chaugan festival of Ramadan is a 7 day festival with a collective prayer on 27th of Ramadan. In 2024, about 215,000 people attended the festivities.[26]
Persecution
Zikris have faced persecution from other Muslims for their beliefs.
Zikris faced persecution in the eighteenth century under the rule of Mir Nasir Khan the Great, the Sunni Muslim ruler of the Khanate of Kalat.[27] Their religious and historical records were destroyed and surviving information was carried on by oral tradition and non-Zikri writings.[6] Nasir Khan waged a war to convert Zikris to Sunni Islam, killing 35,000 Zikris, in a period known as the Zikri-Namazi war.[16] Sunni Islam became the dominant religion in Balochistan with modern Zikris living in more remote areas.[12]
In the 1930s, in Iranian Makran, an extremist called Qazi Abdullah Sarbazi declared jihad against Zikris, "which resulted in a major massacre" and the driving out of Zikri from that area.[28] Also in that era, "hundreds of other Zikris were killed" in periodic pogroms by "fanatic Sunnis at the instigation" of their religious leaders in the areas of Farod, Baftan and Kishkaur (in Balochistan), according to Abdul Ghani Baloch.[29]
After the establishment of Pakistan, Sunni Muslims attacked Zikris and subjected them to forced conversions. With the general rise of Islamic extremism and jihadism in the region since the 1980s, Zikris have been discriminated against, targeted, and killed by Sunni militants in Pakistan.[30][31][32] Under the military government of Zia-ul-Haqq, Sunnis sought to have Zikris declared as non-Muslims.[27] In the 1990s, Zikris were harassed, and protestors called for the destruction of their shrines.[33]
The persecution of Zikris by Sunni militants as of 2014 has been part of the larger backlash against religious minorities in Pakistani Balochistan, targeting Hindus, Hazaras, Shias, and Zikris, resulting in the migration of over 300,000 Shias, Zikris, and Hindus from Pakistani Balochistan.[27] The militant groups Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the Pakistani Taliban were responsible for persecutions.[31][32]
During the 1990s, there was a movement among Sunnis to declare Zikris non-Muslim, and a campaign was mounted against their annual congregation at Koh-i-Murad in Turbat. This was accompanied by demonstrations calling for the destruction of the Zikri Baitullah (House of God), and members of the sect were subjected to violence and harassment.[34][35][36][37]
An attack occurred August 29, 2014, on a shrine in the Awaran district of Pakistan. Gunmen killed at least six Zikris and wounded seven others.[38] On October 7, 2016, a gunman shot a Zikri religious leader dead in the Kech district of Balochistan.[39] In August 2017, two Zikri pilgrims were killed and two were wounded when a bomb detonated in the Kamp Tal area of Pangjur, Balochistan.[40]
Population
The Makran Division of Pakistani Balochistan.
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 2004 stated that there were approximately 200,000 Zikris.[41] Victoria Williams estimates the number of Zikris at 800,000[37] and Sabir Badalkhan at around 600,000 to 700,000.[42] A Dawn news article mentioned the Zikri population to be around 600,000 to 700,000 with more than 100,000 living in Karachi.[4] The actual size of the population is difficult to determine, as Zikris in Pakistan often identify as Barelvi-Sunni Muslims to avoid threats from militant groups. In cities such as Attock, Bahawalpur, Karachi, Lasbela, and Quetta, they present themselves as Barelvi-Sunni and refrain from publicly expressing their distinct religious practices. In contrast, in the Makran division in Balochistan, Zikris openly observe their rituals.[43]
Zikris live primarily in Pakistani Balochistan, concentrated in the southern coast of Makran region, with significant population in the Awaran District , Mashkay and Gresha areas of Khuzdar district and in parts of Lasbela district[4] and Quetta.[2] They are a majority in the Gwadar District of Makran in Balochistan.[18][41] There are sizable communities of Zikris in Pakistan's Sindh province and Karachi,[2] especially in the Lyari Town.[44] While Zikris also historically lived in the province of Iranian Balochistan, almost all of them left for Pakistani Balochistan in the last decades of the 20th century.[1] Some Zikris have migrated from Pakistan to the peninsula of the Arabian Gulf where most live in the Sultanate of Oman.[42]
Persecution has driven hundreds of Zikri and other minorities from Balochistan to safer cities in Pakistan like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.[7]
Pakistani Balochistan has a population of people of African descent from slavery.[45] In the Makran region, many of these Afro-Balochi's follow the Zikri sect.[46]
"The founder of the Zikrism is believed to be Seyyed Mohammad Jawanpuri, who in the 15th century declared himself the last Mahdi. He started to preach his doctrine in Makran, around the Koh-i Morad, after several pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina and wanderings in Turkey and Syria...";[13]
"Various theses have been put forward concerning the identity of the Mahdi of the Zikris. URRAZAI describes four major opinions" [one of which is] ... the hypothesis that he [Sayyid Muhammad Jaunpuri who founded the ... Mahdavia sect] is the Mahdi is the one that has been advocated by many non-local writers (and a few Zikri writers)."[14]
"Some people believe that they are the followers of Syed Mohammad Jaunpuri, but others disagree and say that they believe in Prophet Mohammad as the last prophet and Holy Quran as the last divine book."[15]
"According to historian and writer Dr. Shah Mohammad Marri based in Quetta, Zikris can be called ‘pure’ as they are not a mix of any other race. Belonging to the Mehdvi sect, founded in the 15th century by Syed Mohammad Jaunpuri, the Zikris were initially Zartosht (Zoroastrian), then converted and became Sunnis and later started Zikr, journalist Ayaz Sangur explained."[16]
"As a bounded community, the Zikris' origin seems to be linked to a historical moment in 1496 when one Syed Muhammad Jaupuri (d. 1505) declared himself as the Mahdi, or messianic redeemer of Islam."[17]
↑See Badalkhan, "Zikri Dilemmas" (2008), page 299, note 299: Cf. the manuscripts Sayl-iˇ iah¯ an¯ı and Angab¯ın 1725; UMRANI BALOCH 1986:103; HOSHANG 1991:26; DURRAZAI 2003:18; 2005:6. The author of Itti˙h¯ ad-i nawˇi aw¯ an¯ an-i Zikr¯ı II:4 quotes several sources, some of them poems composed by the companions of the Mahdi and some poems composed by thesecond generation of his followers. All give 977/1569 as the birth date of the Mahdi. Among them is a poem composed by a companion of the Mahdi, Mir Abdullah Jangi, which records his travels, and the manuscripts Durr-i wuˇ i¯ ud (completed in 1107/1696) by Shaikh Mohammad Durfishan, grandson of Mir Abdullah Jangi; also Durr-i ˙sadaf (completed in 1182/1769) by Qazi Brahem Kashani, and several others. I have consulted http://www.islamsa.org.za/calendar/converter.htmArchived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine to convert Hijri dates to Gregorian.
↑Buzdar, Muhammad Aslam; Latif, Raja Asif; Ahmed, Imtiaz (2023). Appraisal of Wastewater Generation at Nani Mandir of Hingol National Park and Community Based Holistic Conservation. Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences. pp. 9. Retrieved from ResearchGate.
↑Zand Moqaddam 1991: Hekayat-e Baluc I. Tehran: Karun 1370 h.s. quoted in Badalkhan, "Zikri Dilemmas" (2008), pp. 294-5.
↑Quote is from Badalkhan, "Zikri Dilemmas" 2008, pp. 294-5. Source of his description is Abdul Ghani Baloch (Abdul Gani Baloc) Zikri Firqa ki Tarikh, Karachi 1996.
↑UNHCR. May 1998. Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Pakistan. 22
↑Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), United Nations. 2 January 1996. Implementation Of The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief: Report submitted by Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, Special Rapporteur, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/23. Addendum. Visit by the Special Rapporteur to Pakistan. [Accessed 6 Dec. 1999], #46.
Azhar Munīr, I. A. Rehman. Zikris in the Light of History and Their Religious Beliefs, Izharsons, 1998.
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