Sahir's Atheism Was Bereft Of Pretension

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 28October 2024 "Sahir Ka iIlhaad Riyakaari Se Aari Tha..." Prakash Pandit (Sahir's atheism was devoid of insincerity) Did Sahir really need to renounce religion to be progressive? This very question is irrelevant. Sahir didn't relinquish religion (read Islam) to project himself as a progressive individual. Sahir's atheism wasn't 'fashionable or schoolboy atheism.' It wasn't like people conversing in English to prove that they're elite and educated. Sahir never had any interest in any damn man-made religion. There's an erroneous notion that having witnessed the unprecedented mayhem during the Partition, Sahir left Islam and turned an atheist. Sahir was always an iconoclast and a non-believer. Way back in 1938, when Sahir was just 17-yr-old, a Sikh friend took him to a gurudwara. You may be aware that one has to cover his/her head while visiting a gurudwara. Sahir refused to cover his head. Needless to say, he was denied entry. He sat outside the gurudwara and didn't create a ruckus. That was perhaps the first and last time he visited a gurudwara but didn't enter. The point is: Sahir's mental make-up right from the beginning was that of a staunch non-believer who didn't wear his atheistic mindset on his sleeve. The bloodshed during the Partition only consolidated his atheism. Theism and atheism have nothing to do with one being progressive or regressive. Who repudiates the fact that a believer cannot be progressive? Many believers are progressive and broad-minded and many non-believers are non-progressive. Amrita Pritam was a believer (though later she became sceptical about god and religion). She was Sahir's muse. But Sahir never tried to influence her religious views. The problem with all believers, including the gentleman who has raised this silly question in the beginning, is their muddy and turbid understanding of theism and atheism. One doesn't become an atheist to flaunt his/her progressive approach and attitude. People like Sahir and Albert Camus never felt any need to believe in any superior power and a whole caboodle of tenets and rituals, called religion. Nor was their morality governed by any faith or an imaginary god sitting (or hiding?) somewhere in the vastness of firmament. Sahir and Camus were great philanthropists. The needle of the moral compass of ordinary humans oscillates between theism and atheism and they have fixed opinions about those who believe in god and religion and those who don't. Grow up and think universally. ----- 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 the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. ------------ URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/sahir-atheism-bereft-pretension/d/133565 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