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MINA, 12 January 2006 — From a non-believer to a worshipper; from
polytheist to monotheist; from Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman, the
famous music wizard has come a long way. This journey, he says, has
completely changed his outlook toward life.
Rahman is well-known in India. He revolutionized Bollywood music,
giving it a new direction. But in Mina, the man was spiritually charged,
relaxing in his camp after Isha prayers, remarkably very far from the
rhythm of success.
He said that in India’s film world, people change Muslim names to Hindu
ones to get success but, “in my case it was just the opposite from Dileep
Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman — and I’m very proud of it.”
Rahman’s music is everywhere: in discotheques, in malls, at wedding
parties, on satellite channels, in taxis. He is a celebrity in his own
right. His face adorns the cover of every album he cuts. Autograph hunters
hound him wherever he goes. A couple of companies have tried to lure him
into product endorsements, but he refused, preferring to distance himself
from the glare and the sometimes self-indulgent afterglow of fame.
Such was his attitude when Arab News met him yesterday in Mina after a
hunt of five hours that had started just after Maghreb prayers.
Once a practitioner of idolatry, Rahman now talks about Islam like a
scholar. He winced as he spoke about the ignorance of some Muslims and the
divisions among them on trivial issues.
Rahman, who has come to perform his second Haj with his mother,
utilized every bit of his stay in Mina, Arafat and Madinah in prayer and
remembrance of God to “cleanse the inner self.”
He said Islam is a religion of peace, love, coexistence, tolerance and
modernity. But due to the behavior of a few of us, it’s labeled as an
intolerant orthodoxy. He says that the image of Islam is being tarnished
by a small group of people and that Muslims must come forward to present
before the world the correct picture of their divine faith.
“The enormity of their ignorance of the Islamic history and its code of
conduct is mind-boggling. We should be united in fighting these elements
for the cause of Islam,” he said.
“Muslims should go to lengths to follow the basics, which say ‘be kind
to your neighbors, keep smiling when you meet others, pray and do
charity.’ We should serve humanity. We should not show hostility toward
others, even to the followers of other faiths. This is what Islam stands
for. We should present before the world a model through our behavior,
nature and presentation. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never
used his sword to spread Islam; rather he spread the religion through his
virtues, behavior, tolerance and righteousness. And this is what is needed
to change today’s distorted image of Islam.”
Talking about his Haj, Rahman said, “Allah made it very easy for us.
And up until now, I have enjoyed every bit of my stay in the holy land and
I pray to Allah to accept my pilgrimage.”
For him, the stoning ritual is a physical exercise that symbolizes
internal struggle: “It means the defeat of temptation and killing the
devil inside ourselves.”
“I would like to tell you that this year I got the most precious gift
on my birthday, Jan. 6. Allah gave me the opportunity to confine myself
inside the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and pray all through the day.
Nothing could match this experience and that too on my birthday; I am
extremely delighted and thankful to Allah,” he said.
Rahman said that prayers release his tension and give him a sense of
containment. He performs prayers despite heavy work pressure. “I am an
artist, but despite tremendous work pressure I never skip prayers,” he
said. “I am very punctual in offering the day’s all five prayers on time.
This releases me from tension and gives me hope and confidence that the
Lord is with me, that this is not the only world. It reminds me of the Day
of Judgment.”
It was in the year 1989 that he and his family embraced Islam.
Talking about his reversion, Rahman said, “The whole process started
with a sequence of dream. It was in 1988. I was in Malaysia and had a
dream of an old man who was asking me to embrace Islam. For the first
time, I did not take it seriously, but then I saw the same dream several
times and I discussed it with my mother. She encouraged me to go ahead and
to respond to the call of the Almighty. Also, in 1988, one of my sisters
fell seriously ill and in spite of the family’s effort to cure her, her
health deteriorated by the day. Then under the guidance of one Muslim
religious leader we prayed to Allah, which did wonder for my sister and
she made a miraculous comeback to life. Thus, began my journey from Dileep
Kumar to A.R. Rahman.”
He said the decision to embrace Islam was a mutual one with his mother.
Not one to normally discuss this aspect of his private life, after taking
a pause, Rahman narrates succinctly, “My mother and I resolved to follow
one faith ... we wanted to cleanse ourselves of our sorrows.”
After initial doubts, his three sisters also embraced Islam. For them
he has tried to be a role model, he said. However, his eldest sister was
divorced later.
Rahman began learning piano at the age of four. But life was not all
that hunky-dory for the young boy who lost his father at the age of
nine.
The responsibility of supporting his mother Kasturi (now Kareema Begum)
and three sisters soon fell on his young shoulders. He began his
prosperous musical career at age eleven out of necessity.
Rahman is married to Saira. They have three children: two girls, 10 and
seven, and a three-year-old son.
Rahman performed his first Haj in 2004. This time, he is accompanying
his mother.
“I wanted to bring my wife also for Haj this year, but since my son is
only three years old, she could not make it. God willing, I will come
again — next time with my wife and children,” Rahman
said. | 
