Deconstructing The Myths Surrounding The Lives Of (Religious) Icons

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 23July 2022 It's Time To Deconstruct The Myths And Fables Surrounding Muhammad Or Any Other Prophet's Life; Remove The Cobweb Of Lies And Over-Embellished ' Facts' ----- " Maharana Pratap was 7 ft. 5 inches tall. His weight was nearly 200 kg and his sword weighed 55 kg." (Though a remarkable warrior, this is plain exaggeration about the legendary Rajput/Commented by Colonel James Todd in his tome, 'Annals and antiquities of Rajasthan', from the original copy at Bikaner State Library) " Birbal is very witty but I dare say, after a few centuries, there'll be endless fabricated stories about his great wit."..... (So prophetic!) (Faizi to his brother Abul Fazal, translated from Persian by Colin Swinton, Source: India House, London). Naushad claimed that his composition Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya from the film Shahjahan (1946) was played at the funeral procession of the legendary singer Kundan Lal Saigal ‘as per his wish’. This claim took a life of its own and became folklore because no one could challenge a composer of Naushad’s stature. But the eminent film music historian late Nalin Shah, in spite of having a close relationship with the music director, wasn’t convinced. He talked to Chaman Puri, the eldest of the famous Puri brothers Madan and Amrish. Puri was related to Saigal and was present at the funeral. He didn’t remember any song played during or after the procession (Urvish Kothari, The Print). The great Rafi didn't bleed from the mouth while singing ' O’, Duniya Ke Rakhvale...' Call it a coincidence, the composer was again Naushad Ali, who had this habit of fibbing and fabricating. Today, this fib is a popular fact! The above-mentioned instances refer to Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi's piece, doubting the veracity of a story involving Muhammad and a cultured objection to it by one Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi. I fully agree with Mr Siddiqi that concocted and fabricated stories in the scriptures must be revisited and re-analysed in the light of modernity, logic, reasoning and new findings. The above examples of Maharana Pratap, Birbal, Naushad and Rafi can be cited as Formation of Legend Calcification in the parlance of Archaeology and History. Layers of concoctions pile up and become calcified/ossified with the passage of time and get fossilized in the collective memory of the generations to come. "Over glorification o a famous character, esp. a religious icon, is a natural human tendency in which the romanticism of the past contributes greatly. Fallacy of time or duration further adds an element of exaggeration to the whole phenomenon," observed Congdon and Regan in a long essay, " Historical and Religious Lies and Legends." In short, with the passage of time, a herring becomes a whale. Whether it's Maharana Pratap's gigantic height and Leonidas-type valour, seven-hundred-odd stories of Akbar and Birbal, emphasising Birbal's Oedipus like brain ( yes, Oedipus is not just known for the Oedipus Complex made famous by Sigmund Freud, but he was also the wittiest man ever born as he had all the answers to Sphinx's posers), there're distinct elements of hyperbole. Heresy, myths or Kimvadanti/ Dantkatha ( in Sanskrit) constitute legends and to the posterity, these legends become axioms like Gospel truths. No one questions and when it comes to the legends related to a religious figure, one dares not, lest Nupur Sharma's fate should befall him/her! Remember, no one, not even your so-called prophet/s, is irreproachable. Jacques Derrida, the great French linguist, stated in his famous 'Theory of Deconstruction' that an object, revered figure or a person must be shorn of the false additions of myths and stories (called, 'lingual disrobing') for an honest narrative. It's worthwhile to mention that he was the first modern intellectual in the public domain to give the word ' narrative ' ( Le narrateur in French) a contemporary connotation every Tom, Dick and Harry is resorting to nowadays. So, it's time to deconstruct the myths and fables surrounding Muhammad or any other prophet's life. Remove the cobweb of lies and over-embellished ' facts.' We're all unnecessarily in awe of our revered figures. Bring them down to the level of the commoners for the sake of Truth. No one is greater than the Truth. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/deconstructing-myths-religious-icons/d/127547 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism