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Introduction
Sikhs show great reverence towards their holy book, Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS). In fact, such is their reverence that since the SGGS is considered the embodiment of the teachings of their 10 gurus, the embodiment of divine light, and the eternal word of God, they refer to it as the “Living Guru”!
The Sikhs have conferred to SGGS their reverence, hope, fear, love, devotion, etc.
However, in our estimation, the term “Living Guru” could be taken in the literal sense when one observes the daily ceremony carried out by the Granthi (Sikh priest), both in the morning and in the evening, in a ritual known as Sukhasan.
In fact, upon closer inspection, this ceremony and its subtle nuances literally catapults the term “Living Guru” into a whole new light.
Sukhasan Ceremony
Sikhs have a tendency of accusing other religions of performing empty rituals. This accusation essentially stems from the founder himself Guru Nanak who dismissively cast aside the actions of worship in other religions as empty and false displays of piety. Hence, actions such as salaah (praying), sawm (fasting), circumcision, were haughtily discarded as either superstitious or irrelevant in accordance to Nanak’s world view.
However, when observing Sukhasan, one wonders why this particular ceremony too has not been placed in the category of empty rituals.
What is Sukhasan?
Sukh (peace) Asan (position) is the ritual of taking SGGS to ‘Sach Khand‘ – the Guru’s resting place for the night – where, according to the following account, it’s “put to rest”:
The following is a summary of the Sukhasan ceremony followed by a video to really get a better understanding of this:
- The Granthi folds clean, white sheets (rumalas) around the SGGS with great respect while reciting ‘Sohila’, the night/ bed time prayer.
- Then the Granthi stands facing the SGGS and recites Ardas (prayer).
The congregation also stands and joins with folded hands and utmost reverence. - Ardas is said to offer thanks to the SGGS for the day’s benevolence and a humble request for permission to take Guru Sahib to ‘Sach Khand’ – Gurus resting place for the night.
At the end of Ardas, everyone bows to the SGGS. - The Granthi carries the SGGS very respectfully on his head, after covering it with a clean towel or (cotton) cloth, and carries it to ‘Sach Khand’ where “Guru Ji will spend the night”.
The Granthi is followed by a devotee respectfully waving ‘Chauri Sahib’ (sacred whisk) over the SGGS.
The Sangat (congregation) follows, traditionally joining together to sing:
“Wherever my True Guru goes and sits, that place is beautiful, O Lord King. The Guru’s Sikhs seek out that place; they take the dust and apply it to their faces. The works of the Guru’s Sikhs, Who meditate on Vaheguru’s Name, are approved. Those who worship the True Guru, O Nanak – Vaheguru causes them to be worshipped in turn. (Ang 450, SGGS)“ - The SGGS is placed in ‘Sach Khand’, an upstairs room, for its nightly rest.
It is placed on a manji/ bed. - On completion, the Sach Khand lights are switched off and the congregation bows respectfully and takes leave of the SGGS.
This ceremony is further delineated in the following Rehat Maryada (the Sikh Code of Conduct):
The above gives a whole new meaning to the term “Living”.
With rituals that include reciting ‘Sohila’, the night/ bed time prayer (incidentally, this is the same prayer usually recited during the ceremony of cremation); placing SGGS on a manji (bed) with pillows and blankets (romalas); transporting SGGS to Sach Khand – the Gurus resting place for the night; devotees waving a ‘Chauri Sahib’ (sacred whisk) over SGGS; and requests for seeking permission in transporting SGGS, one is forced to ask the question whether this book is treated as just created matter or a real living entity?
When one has a specific locality for this book to be transported to for the night after having wrapped it up meticulously, tenderly and cosily in seemingly white blanket sheets, carrying it to a bed (manji) whilst waving a so-called ‘sacred whisk’ over it; then turning off the lights after bidding it farewell by saying “Wahe Guru ji da Khalsa Wahe Guru ji da Fateh“, the pertinent question one should ask is:
A Sleeping Deity
For the Muslims, this type of ritualism is nothing more than deifying a created thing and elevating it to an object of worship. In Islam, this is the greatest crime one could commit against the Creator – to take worship, which is an exclusive right of the Creator, and direct it to other than Him. It is known as Shirk (associating partners in the worship of Allah) and it is so severe that Allah has warned in no uncertain terms:
Truly he who commits Shirk, then Paradise will be forbidden for Him and Hell-Fire shall be his abode, wherein he shall find no helpers. (Qur’an 5:72)
And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad) just as it was to those who came before you: ‘If you commit Shirk, indeed (all) your deeds will be negated and you will be from among the losers (in the hereafter)’. (Qur’an 39:65)
However, the Sukhasan ceremony is not unique to Sikhism. There are millions of Hindus and thousands of mandirs (temples) who have been practicing a similar ceremony of waking up and putting to sleep their false deities for thousands of years.
The Hindu Sukhasan Ceremony
Early in the morning and late at night, the Hindus, like the Sikhs, sing hymns of devotion, as they open up the doors to the sanctuary where their idols have been put to rest for the night, and transport them out into the open for the beginning of another day of idol-worship. The same process is repeated when the idol is put back to rest.
In the morning before sunrise, the murtis (idols) that are dressed in their nightwear are woken up by the Sadhus (priests) and the shrine doors are opened for the first [Mangala arti] of five ‘arti‘ prayers during that day.
The shrines are then opened a final time for the Shayan arti, with the lights dimmed and lower music, the devotees then recite a few hymns, gently sending the deities to sleep, and the shrines are then closed for the night. [4]
And similar to the Sikhs, they too display great reverence and show meticulous care in their ritual ceremony. As with the Sikhs who seek permission from the SGGS before transporting it, the Hindus too inquire about the welfare of the deity by welcoming it, asking about its journey and whether it faced any problem coming to the place of puja (worship). This is known as svagata. Similar to the manji, asana involves offering the deity a seat. And like the chauri sahib waved over the SGGS, pushpanjali – flowers are offered to the idol, dhupa – incense is lit, and dipa – a lamp too is lit.
Conclusion
We can only conclude that the Sikh’s sukhasan ceremony is nothing more than a classic display of idol-worship.
We feel there is nothing more to say here other than to seek refuge in Allah and ask Him to guide us towards the Truth and His correct worship and away from the darkness of idol-worship. How true are Allah’s words when He says:
We leave you with the account of a scholar from Yemen, Shaykh Yahyaa al-Haajooree, who visited England in 1998. There he was taken to a Hindu temple in London to see for himself idol-worship being practiced in the flesh:
[1] http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Sukhasan
[2] http://www.sikhs.org/reht3.htm
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprabhatam
[4] http://neasdentemple.quickseek.com
[5] From the book: Mushaahadaatee fee Britaaniyah – My Experiences in Great Britain, of Abu ‘Abdir-Rahmaan Yahyaa bin ‘Alee al-Haajooree, p. 32.
You spend your time trying to undermine and ridicule Sikhi instead of learning more about your own faith, your own religion and taking time away from yourself to pray. The Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the 11th Guru, we treat the “GGSJ” as a living being because it contains the true word of God. This isn’t idol worshipping if we believe this is the word of God and therefore the 11th Guru.
I just don’t understand that if you are so secure in your own religion, why are you trying to undermine others? My fear and love for God stops me from bringing up “criticisms” in Islam… I pray your soul has the same love and fear.
Love, true love of something requires that you stand up for the truth in regards to that object you truly claim to love. True love of something does not and cannot entail remaining silent when you know that the rights of the object you claim to truly love are being violated.
This is the biggest difference between us and you Jeni.
You undermine your claim of loving God by turning a blind eye to those who accuse Him of evil, or undermine His absolute perfection, or violate His truth, or lie against Him.
And since Islam and Sikhism can never agree on God’s essential nature, then we as Muslims, those Muslims who truly love Allah, cannot sit idly by as Sikhs accuse Him of falsehoods and propagate Him in a way that violates His truth and His rights upon His creation.
To treat the creation, in this case the GGS made of paper and ink, on par with the Creator is blasphemy and shirk. The Sikhs prostrate to the GGS and, as this article elaborates, carry out a similar Hindu idolatry ceremony. Furthermore, Sikhs name themselves after Hindu idols like Ram, Indra, Krishna. On top of this, Sikhism is pantheistic in their belief that God resides in everything as well as believing their Gurus to be incarnations of God on earth, culminating with the GGS the eternal living Guru.
Muslims shouldn’t be content with their own level of belief. As did all the prophets pbut before us we have been instructed to tell our fellow people to avoid the dangers of the hellfire by serving one creator alone by appealing to his forgiveness, guidance and sustenance. A Muslim should only convey the message of the prophets. It will be up to the person if they heed that advice.
Islam is perfect, logical, consistent and free on contradictions. All of its criticisms have been debunked.
Guru Nanak says Shabad Guru Surt Thun Chela… we sikhs worship the shabad guru….
If in the bible it says that the Al quran will be the last message from God so be it…. but dont relate this to sikhism… if you think that sikhism is false keep it to yourself… dont boast around… you will not gain anything…. Nabi Muhammad s.a.w is a respected prophet… and Im grateful to have Muslims but why Sikhi? What is passed is passed . It cant be undone… But please stop posting false things which is against Sikhi…. Im sure Allah or God wont want this to happen …
Hi Veshvinder,
For us Muslims, this is just a play on words, because whether you worship the Shabad or not, your actions are, to our mind, no different to the Hindus whom you castigate for carrying out similar such acts vis-a-vis their idols.
Now you may argue, as Kahn Singh Nabha argued in his famous treatise from back in the day ‘Hum Hindu Nahin’ (We are not Hindus), that your prostration to the GGS is merely showing respect as people would do to a King, but again, that’s just apologetics that’s attempting to downplay the significance of the act of prostration and, more importantly, the significance of idol worship.
In Islam, worship of other than Allah is condemned to such an extent that prostration is only for Allah and nothing else. For instance, we prostrate towards the Kibla in Makkah as a direct act of worship of Allah. We have been absolutely forbidden to prostrate out of respect etc. to any animate or inanimate object of creation, in order to reinforce the understanding and to eradicate any notions of prostration being directed to anything or anyone other than Allah. Hence, our prostration to Allah is our respect of Him and Him ALONE.
This is NOT true of Sikhism which, despite its condemnation of idol worship, encourages prostration to an inanimate object thereby undermining the very sacred act of prostration to God. If you Sikhs truly are against idol worship, then make thing clear as the true Prophets of God have done by maintaining a clear distinction between prostration towards the creation, which is impermissible in toto, and towards God, which is permissible. Your failure in doing so is merely another example of Sikhism claiming to represent the whole truth, but having little clarity when it comes to upholding and making clear the truth in the midst of falsehood.
As for keeping falsehood to ourselves, then what sort of followers of the Truth would we be if we kept silent in the midst of falsehood?
Would you remain silent if someone was being beaten in front of your eyes? Of course not. Why? Because remaining silent when one can do something to try and prevent evil is as evil as the perpetrator. But whose rights is, pray tell, more important to you, a human’s or God’s? If it’s God’s, then since you cannot remain silent when the rights of a person are being violated, it should stand to reason that you must speak out when God’s rights are being violated since His rights are more important and, thus, demand being protected.
And if you think we are posting falsehoods regarding your religion, then refute our falsehoods; argue your points; convince us that we’re wrong.
Thanks
Maybe stop running a stone in a building and pointing to Mecca as well. Isn’t that ritualistic and idol worship. Maybe look into doing jihad with yourself before pointing to others.
“Isn’t that ritualistic and idol worship.”
Is that a question or a statement? Seems like a question so let me elaborate. It’s certainly ritualistic; though no more ritualistic than the many rituals that exist in Sikh orthopraxy.
But, it certainly isn’t idol-worship, since Muslims do not consider this stone or building to be divine in any shape or form. Hence, you may be conflating between rituals and idol-worship. If you are, then you too might be guilty of idol-worship if you fail to make a clear distinction between the two terms employed.
As for Jihad within ourselves, then that’s what all Muslims do each and every day anyway; and yet, we’ve been ordered, at the same very same time, to call the people upon falsehood to Islam. It’s all part and parcel for us.
We sikhs show respect that’s not idol worship.
Just for the record. The bible does not say the quran is the final word from God. Mohammed is not mentioned in the bible.
They also offer food to sggs as ceremonial offering , only after that food is distributed to sangat. So if sggs is that alive then what about other day to day activities ? I mean apart from eating and sleeping wat about toilet , shower etc. ?