Tipu Sultan (1750-99)
None made the hearts of the Britishers quake with fear as much as Tipu Sultan (may Allah have mercy on him).
For thirty years, first Haidar Ali, Tipu’s father, then Tipu himself, had been at the forefront of the British public’s consciousness. Terrifying tales of attacks on British forces and threats to their trading settlements. Tipu Sultan was possibly the most famous Indian, if not villain, in the United Kingdom. So much so that when the news of Tipu’s demise reached Britain, the celebrations were all around.
There is no doubt that both Tipu Sultan and his father, Haider Ali, brought the [British] East Indian Company nearer to ruin than any other Indian foes had brought it. For nearly 40 years, they halted the triumphant march of the British through southern India, refusing to make their peace with these foreign invaders, as most other powers did. This refusal to submit or compromise saw Tipu Sultan die on the battlefield in 1799, as he fought the British.
Tipu, whom the British referred to as ‘The Tiger of Mysore’ [Sher-e-Mysore in Urdu] and his father, Haider Ali were truly as their epithet states ‘Victorious Lion of God [Asad Allah ul-Ghalib]’, which infact refers to Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet (ﷺ). Imam Ali as we know was a man of great endeavour, matchless courage and a highly skilled warrior.
Tipu and his father didn’t just adopt his (Imam Ali’s) epithet, they lived by it, they were men of great endeavour, matchless courage and highly skilled warriors. Tipu was also a man of broad knowledge and wisdom, as a child Tipu was educated with the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, Languages, Philosophy, Science and History. Tipu is considered a pioneer in the use of rocket artillery, he has also commissioned many works among which is the military manual ‘Fathul Mujahidin’ written by Zainul Abedin Shustari at Tipu’s instructions.
Tipu’s Vicinity: It would have been impossible to be in Tipu’s vicinity or in the vicinity of his troops and not be surrounded by tiger imagery [babri, stylised tiger stripe]. It was, if you like, unavoidable, everything resembling tiger, his canons, uniform of his troops, his throne, wall decorations and so forth. Tipu’s reign was a reign of Justice and peace, such that his court poets writes : “the deer of the forest make their pillow of the lion and tiger, and their mattress of the leopard and panther.”
However, the British victors painted a picture of Tipu as a religious bigot and a tyrant, similar to that of Aurangzeb (may Allah have mercy on both of them), and today the likes of RSS and BJP who have adopted the colonial scholarship are attempting to rewrite the history and brainwash the masses to suit the purposes of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’.
Tipu Sultan referred to the British as ‘infidels’ and ‘faithless Christians’ and in Islamic Eschatology we recognize the British as Gog and Magog (this post doesn’t explain how and why we consider the British to be Gog and Magog. Interested people can read the book ‘An Islamic View of Gog and Magog in the Modern World by Sheikh Imran Hosein’)
In Sheikh Imran Hosein’s (may Allah preserve him) words: “One people with indestructible power will suddenly appear on the stage of history and with that power they will spread out all over the world and they will crush everything that stands in their way including Tipu Sultan. And they will take control of the power in the world, in the world order of ‘Gog and Magog'” Refering to the Prophecies in the Qur’an and Hadith. i.e., Qur’an 21:96 : Until when Gog and Magog have been released and they, from every elevation, descend. Hadith, Sahih Muslim 7015 : Allah saying, “I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight, i.e. Gog and Magog.”
We could say, though Tipu Sultan could not stop the forces of Gog and Magog but, at least we have a man in the history who frightened Gog and Magog.
There is a legend that Tipu Sultan had come face-to-face with a tiger and killed it when he was on a hunting trip with a friend, the tiger pounced on his friend and killed him. When Tipu Sultan tried to kill the animal, his gun did not work and his dagger fell on the ground. The tiger jumped on him and was about to maul him when Tipu picked up his dagger, killed the tiger with it and earned the name of “Tiger of Mysore”.
Mohammad Iqbal, the noted Urdu poet, who meditated at Tipu Sultan’s tomb in 1929, later wrote: I have lighted a different fire in the heart.
I have brought a tale from the Deccan…
There I heard from his holy grave;
If one cannot live a manly life in this world Then to sacrifice life, like a man, is life!
Tipu Sultan’s Sword
Its tiger embellished hilt is fashioned in a beautiful black metal with ‘Allah’ (God) etched in gold along the tiger’s forehead. Across the handle in similar gold etched calligraphic script is inscribed the final verse of Surah Baqara, the second and longest chapter of the Qur’an. The verse is a famous one often memorized by Muslims. It takes the form of a prayer:
Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford. All good will be for its own benefit, and all evil will be to its own loss. The believers pray, “Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not place a burden on us like the one you placed on those before us. Our Lord! Do not burden us with what we cannot bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our only Guardian. So grant us success over the disbelieving people.”
For the Sultan risking his life to resist occupation, these words must have been etched into his memory just as they were onto his hilt, where they pressed against his palm in battle. The success he sought against British forces was not achieved on the battlefield, but generations of South Asians have drawn inspiration from his anticolonial stance since – perhaps another kind of success over his foes. The battlefield is a space in which life is singularly fragile. The owners of these swords were conscious of that and turned to their faith and God for courage and guidance amidst the dangers they faced. Whatever their success or defeats in action, the swords remain as testament to the hopes of an Indian generation that witnessed the spread of Britain’s empire. These items may be weapons of resistance first and foremost, but in their sacred embellishments lies a far deeper story preserved through the centuries: the story of hope and faith in the most uncertain of times.
Writes Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami
“It is far better to live like a lion for a day then to live like a jackal for hundred years.”
— Tipu Sultan
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