عورت ، حرم اور کئی چاند تھے سرِ آسماں: تاریخی تناظر
The Historical Perspective of Women in Harem and Kai Chand Thy Sare Aasmaan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56276/7t69xx32Keywords:
Monarchy, Harem, History, Wives, Courtesan, Concubine, Mistress, Nobles and Urdu NovelAbstract
The concept of a harem is associated with a monarchy. The practice of harem has existed in the ancient kingdoms of the world. In the Mughal harem, there was a ranking system for women; the rank of the Sultan's mother came first, followed by the first wife. Other wives were generally called Begums. After them came the status of Khwases or courtesans, and lastly the concubines who were in the service of Begums and mistresses. Among the Mughals, free women were also admitted to the harem due to their skill in music, dance, arts or etiquette. Later, nobles and Nawabs also started decorating their Harems. Seeing these Nawabs and nobles, the Britishers also started keeping native women as harem in their palaces, but the purpose of the harem women was only to fulfil their sexual desires.
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References
1. Dr Mubarak Ali, 'Gulbadan Begum as a Historian', The Place of Women in Inclusive History, ed. Dr Mubarak Ali (Lahore: Tarikh Publishers, 2017), 34.
2. Malik Ram wrote in his introduction to Hammurabi: "About 2,000 years before the Messiah of Nazareth, a king of Babylon (Iraq) was named Hammurabi. He was a contemporary of Abraham (a.s.). It is mentioned in the Old Testament that he enacted a law. And he had it carved on a stone pole and made him stand in the temple premises of Sabara. Malik Ram, Babylonian Civilisation and Civilisation (Delhi: Maktaba Jamia Limited, 1992), 39-40.
3. Malik Ram, Babylonian Civilisation and Civilisation, 39-40.
4. In the Book of Genesis, it is written: "And Abraham's wife Sarah had no children." He had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar, and Sarah said to Abraham, Behold, the LORD hath given me offspring, so go unto my maidservant, that thy house may be inhabited by her. And she went to Hagar, and when she conceived, and when she knew that she was conceived, she despised her wife. Book of Genesis chapter 16, verses 1-6.
5. Exodus chapter 19, verse 29
6. Malachi says, "For the LORD is a witness between you and the wife of your youth." You have been unfaithful to him. Even though she is your companion and betrothed wife. And has He not created the One ( even though He ) had other souls ? Why, then, did He create the only one, that the God-fearing race might be born? Take heed therefore of yourselves, and let no man be unfaithful to the wife of his youth: for saith the LORD God of Israel, I am aware of divorce, and of him that oppresseth his wife. Malachi, verses 11-16.
7. Acharya Chanakya, Arthashastra, translated by Shaan-ul-Haq Haqqi (New Delhi: National Council for the Promotion of Urdu, 2010), 227.
8. Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, Khilafat wa Malukiyat (New Delhi: Markazi Maktaba Islamic Publishers, 1974), 18.
9. Dr Mubarak Ali, Mughal Darbar (Lahore: Nigarshat, 1984), 20.
10. Insurgency Kashmiri, In This Bazaar (Lahore: Maktaba Chattan, S.N.), 54.
11. ‘ Young, talented slave girls were selected and given an appropriate education to enable them to pursue this art. Thus, they belonged to the same branch of feminine slavery as the slave singers, the qiyan, who were also slave courtesans, and, occasionally, concubines, typically for the elite and growing urban classes. The institution of the slave courtesan opened up possibilities of social mobility for women. If they performed well and their fame spread, they gained access to high society and its wealth.
Pernilla Myrne, 'A Jariya’s Prospects in Abbasid Baghdad', in Matthew S. Gordon, and Kathryn A. Hain (eds), Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History (New York, Oxford University Press, 2017), 52
12. Maulana Muhammad Inshallah has written: "The women of the harem, whether they buy money or come voluntarily, are mostly from the districts which are outside the Ottoman Empire and especially from Sir Keshiya. Among these women, the Sultans usually choose seven who are called Qavins, i.e., the wives of the harem, and the rest are called Adalek, who are considered to be the servants of the Qavins. The administrator of the harem is an elderly judge. Her title is Fazandar Qavin, and she belongs to the outside world through the chief of the eunuchs; that is, she makes all the buying and selling for the palace through her. ‘
Maulana Muhammad Inshallah, The Present Condition of the Ottoman Empire and Its Vassal States (Amritsar: Urdu Bazaar Press, 1397 A.H.), 2.
13. Laila Ahmed, Aurat, Gender Discrimination and Islam, translated by Khalil Ahmad (Lahore: Mashal, 1994).
14. Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Urdu Hind, Editor, Tarikh-e-Constantine, Vol. 2 (Hyderabad: Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Hind, S.N.), 248.
15. Acharya Chanakya, Arthashastra, 9-58.
16. Kings chapter 11, verses 1-3.
17. Kashmiri insurgency, in this market, 58.
18. Ziauddin Burney, Tarikh-e-Firoz Shahi (Rampur: Raza Library, 2013), 29.
19. Abul Qasim Farishta, Tarikh-e-Firishta, translated by Abdul Hai Khawaja, Vol. 1, (Deoband: Maktaba Limited, Deoband, S.N.), 838.
20. Tabassum Ka Shamiri, History of Urdu Literature: From the Beginning to 1857 (Lahore: Milestone Publications 2002), 159.
21. “This arrangement of the Mughal harem with the three distinct Classes of women legal wives, free inferior wives and the concubines, was an institution of the Mughal family that had prevailed at least from the time of Timur.” Bano, Shadab. “MARRIAGE AND CONCUBINAGE IN THE MUGHAL IMPERIAL FAMILY.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 60 (1999): 356. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44144101.
22. Dr Mubarak Ali wrote: "Each wife had a separate room and separate employees, numbering from 10 to 100. The husband used to give each of them the monthly expenses of jewellery and clothes. His food came from the kitchen, and he spent every night with one wife. Most of the nobles drank alcohol. If he liked a beautiful lady or maidservant, he would spend the night with her. Ismail Quli Khan was an emir of Akbar's time, and there were 1,200 women in his harem. When he went into the court, his waistbands were sealed. Raja Man Singh had 1,500 women, each with two or three children. Dr Mubarak Ali, Mughal Court, 32-131.
23. During the time of the later Mughals, it became a fashion to patronise a prostitute. The literary writings of the time make frequent references to prostitution, thus showing the popularity this institution had gained in society.
Sudha Sharma, The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India (Los Angeles: SAGE, 2016), 73.
24. Dr Tabassum Kashmiri writes:
"Their palaces became sex palaces, and thus the erotic culture of Lucknow began to be traced to the whole environment of a sexual culture. Shuja-ud-Daula and his successors used to inhabit their palaces with beautiful women. The sexual culture of Awadh was greatly boosted by the personal interest and taste of the rulers of Awadh. Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula's sex life was extremely extraordinary. Shuja-ud-Daula was suffering from obsessive erotomania. Tabassum Kashmiri, History of Urdu Literature, 389.
25. 'Wajid Ali Shah has selected 150 beautiful women and made them dressed and ornamented like fairies of stories and legends, and has made feathers on their delicate arms and has also named each of them like fairies. And he has made them giants of some of the men who are in their proper condition, and has appointed them to imitate dancing and singing at all times. And the name of the whole congregation is Rahas. Najmul Ghani Rampuri, History of Awadh (Lucknow: Munshi Nawal Kishore, 1919), 2-91.
26. Sharar writes: "The kings were Shi'a, and according to Shi'a law, mut'ah is permissible without any restrictions or restrictions. Taking advantage of this religious freedom, the king would fulfil his desire wholeheartedly, and the rule was that he would not tolerate looking at the face of an unmarried woman. It is seldom by chance that the king has ever seen a market prostitute. Various groups were formed to teach dance and dance in different styles. I was fascinated by all of them; they were called Begums. Abdul Haleem Sharar, Past Lucknow (New Delhi: Maktaba Jamia Limited, 1971), 3-112.
27. Niaz Fatehpuri, Motivations (Lucknow: Nigar Book Agency, 1941), 23.
28. For an analysis of a woman's domestic life in an Urdu novel, see:
Fahmida Kabir. The Concept of Women in Urdu Novels: From Nazir Ahmad to Premchand (New Delhi: Maktaba Jamia, 1992); Dr. Fakhr-ul-Karim Siddiqui, Family Life in Urdu Novels (Allahabad: Dr. Fakhrul Karim Siddiqui, 1994); Dr. Aeela Javed, Tanisiyat in Urdu Novels (Multan: Bahauddin University, 2005); Sughra Mehdi, The Social Status of Women in Urdu Novels (New Delhi: Sajjad Publishing House, 2002); University of Sargodha, 2021)
29. Nazir Ahmad, Muhsinat (Delhi: Dar-ul-Ishaat, 1885), 206.
30. Ibid., 183.
31. Khadija Mastoor, Angan (New Delhi: Modern Publishing, 1984), 15.
32. Ahmad Ansari, Fifteen Novels in Urdu (Aligarh: Your Never Sell Book House, 2003), 147.
33. Qurrat-ul-Ain Haider, Aag Ka Darya, (Delhi, Urdu Kitab Ghar, 1984), 217.
34. Heidi Rika Maria Pauwels, The Voice of the Indian Mona Lisa: Gender and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Rajasthan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), 2.
35. Shams-your-Rehman Farooqui, Kai Chand Thi Sur Asmaan (Jhelum: Jhelum Book Corner, 2020), 158.
36. Ibid., 4-163.
37. Ibid., 169.
38. Ibid., 214.
39. Ibid., 363-4.
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