Abdullah Adiyar: from atheism to Islam
by Anwar H Chowdhury
For one who was an arch atheist, with a communist activist
for a father, who could not accept Islam, knowing that it 'required one to be
strictly disciplined', Abdullah Adiyar, the celebrated South Indian poet,
playwright, orator and journalist of the Tamil-speaking world had come a long
way when he breathed his last on 19 September. After almost a lifetime of
achievements which would be the envy of most people, Adiyar made a name for
himself throughout India ,
and across the seas, as a fervent champion of Islam, even before he himself had
become a Muslim.
Abdullah Adiyar's commitment to promoting Islam, 'the
religion of salvation', was as strong as his belief that it is Allah alone who
gives hidaya (guidance) to people, and it is not for him 'to convert.' He ran
the Islamic Dawah Centre in Madras
and was engaged in an Islamic project for satellite television for the 60
million strong Tamil viewers. He was a popular speaker on Islam not only in the
towns and cities of Tamil Nadu but also abroad; he was invited to speak on the
life of the Prophet by the Tamil Muslims of Britain. He also visited Sri Lanka and Singapore which have a large Tamil
speaking population. He produced audio as well as video cassettes to teach
Islam .
His devotion to da'wah remained undiminished despite a
stroke last year; he could not speak or write much, but he was present at most
Islamic gatherings, and never lost contact with Islamic da'wah work. His
funeral prayer on Friday, 20 September, 1996 at Jami' Masjid in Kodambakim and
burial followed by a memorial gathering bore testimony to the niche he had
found among Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Already an author of 120 novels, 13 plays and 13 books,
editor of the daily Murasoli, (for 17 years) mouthpiece of Dravidian Munnetra Kazagham,
the Tamil regional nationalist party, Adiyar had his introduction to Islam
during the darkest days of his life, thanks to his wife Thayammal, a Christian
then.
The state of emergency declared by prime minister Mrs Indira
Gandhi in 1975 was a nightmare for politicians and opinion makers throughout India ;
under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, DMK workers in Tamil Nadu were
flung into prison, Adiyar included. He was imprisoned and tortured, with
lasting injuries to his stomach. In the bowels of despair and pain, the spark
of Islam touched his soul. His wife's Bible, to quote his words, "did not
provide me the answer. The atheist in me was looking for answers to questions
like 'Why death? What is the reason for creation?'" But it spurred him to
search for answers for his tortured soul which he eventually found in his study
of the life of Prophet Muhammad, and the Qur'an. He read Yusuf Ali's English
translation, making notes which inspired him to write a series of 17 articles
entitled: Nan Kadilikkum Islam (The Islam I love), also published in a book
under the same title, Nan Kadilikkum Islam.
On his release in 1977 he started a journal Neerottam, in
which he published his reflections on Islam. Without any patronage, the
magazine did not last long, but the publication of those articles in a book Nan
Kadilikkum Islam proved an instant success. The second edition was also snapped
up. Translations quickly followed in many languages such as Malayalam, Telagu,
Marathi, Hindi and Urdu.
The Urdu edition of The Islam I love led to a Sindhi edition
in Pakistan
in 1983, thanks to the late President Ziaul Haque. Idarai Majlise Adab, the
publishers, invited Adiyar to Pakistan .
He attended the Shah Abdul-Latif Bhittai Conference in Sukkur, where Ziaul Haque
welcomed him as the guest of honour at the launching of the Sindhi edition by
Sindhi Adab Melo. Adiyar visited Lahore and Karachi and was treated
with such respect that he fondly recalled: `I was honoured as if I was the
minister of a foreign state.'
Another magazine, Tangagurodun, was no more successful, but
his publishing house, Neerottam Publications, he did not abandon. He published
12 books on Islam, some in refutation of critics; some of the titles were From
prison to the Mosque, One God or many?, Islam Calls.
The one publication that had an indelible impression on so
many was The Islam I love. Its impact on one reader, a zamindar (landowning
aristocrat) in faraway Uttar Pradesh, was like a ricocheting bullet that first
got the man in northern India
than the unaware author in the south. His burning desire to meet Adiyar brought
him to Madras
in 1987 to proclaim: "I accepted Islam after reading your book." He
was aghast when he saw, as the author himself admitted, "found me sunk in
my chair with cigarette pressed between the fingers and an open whisky bottle
On the table."
The Zamindar's bursting out in tears at the sight of him
touched Adiyar's conscience. After a sleepless night and reflection, he
realised he had found God's guidance. "Islam's strict discipline"
dissuaded him no longer. On 6 June 1987, Adiyar went straight to Ma'mur Mosque
in Madras , and
accepted Islam, taking the name Abd'Allah, the slave of Allah. His short story,
Wife and My Peacock, won him in 1982 the Tamil Nadu state government's award,
'Kalaimammani', but no work of his could have been dearer to him than the Nan
Kadilikkum Islam which brought him the vista of Islam.
Adiyar was questioned by Indian intelligence officials about
his efforts to invite people to Islam. He told them it was Islam itself
attracted them. "No force on earth can stop conversions in the state of
Tamil Nadu. No political pressure including the BJP [extremist Hinduist party]
can stem the tide."
Born on 16 May 1935 in the industrial city of Tiruppur , Tamil Nadu,
Adiyar received his early education there. During his higher education in
Koyamber (Coimbatore ),
he developed a flair for speaking and writing. Much impressed with Vinobe
Bhave's land for the landless movement, Adiyar made his journalistic debut in
the famous Tamil poet Kanna Dasan's magazine Tezli (Spring). Soon he came in
contact with the Dravidian movement in South India
which pulled him into the DMK. Impressed by him, the former chief minister, the
late C N Annadurai, and the present chief minister who was close to him,
appointed Adiyar editor of Murasoli.
Among those who have been influenced by Adiyar to follow
Islam are a former district secretary of the Communist Party of India , Kodikkal
Chellappa, now Kodikal Sheikh Abdullah; Dr B R Ambedkar's colleague
Veerabhadranam, now Muhammad Bilal; a Buddhist monk, Swami Ananda Bhikhu, now
Muhammad Mujeebullah. Others have been inspired to write books on Islam.
Abdullah Adiyar is survived by his father Vankatachillam,
wife and two sons -who are Muslim -and one daughter, and two brothers.
Courtesy: Impact International, London .
