who reported Sarmad as a naked faqir. Sexuality Abhay Chand was a Hindu disciple of Sarmad Kashani. The nature of their relationship is debated by historians. There are no historical records to confirm the details of their encounter, except Sarmad's own poetry. The biography of Sarmad Kashani published by caretakers of his shrine states that he had fallen for a Hindu boy named Abhai Chand whose father eventually relented and allowed them to be together. Death After the War of Succession with his brother Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb (1658-1707) emerged victorious, killed his former adversary and ascended the imperial throne. He had Sarmad arrested and tried for heresy. Sarmad was put to death by beheading in 1661. His grave is located near the Jama Masjid in Delhi, India. Sarmad was accused and convicted of atheism and unorthodox religious practice. Aurangzeb ordered his Ulema to ask Sarmad why he repeated only "There is no God", and ordered him to recite the second part,"but Allah". To that he replied that "I am still absorbed with the negative part. Why should I tell a lie?" Thus he sealed his death sentence. Ali Khan-Razi, Aurangzeb's court chronicler, was present at the execution. He relates some of the mystic's verses uttered at the execution stand: "The Mullahs say Ahmed went to heaven, Sarmad says that heaven came down to Ahmed." ... "There was an uproar and we opened our eyes from the eternal sleep. Saw that the night of wickedness endured, so we slept again." Abul Kalam Azad on Sarmad Abul Kalam Azad, one of the leading political personalities involved in the Indian independence movement, compared himself to Sarmad, for his freedom of thought and expression. See also Dabestan-e Mazaheb References Bibliography Rubā‘iyyāt-i Sarmad, ed. Fazl Mahmud Asiri, with a preface by S. Qazvini, Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee Shantiniketan (Visva Bharati Series 11), Shantiniketan 1950. Abul Kalam Azad, Sarmad Shahid IN: S. S. Hameed, The Rubayat of Sarmad, New Delhi 1991, p.18-41. Cook, D. (2007) Martyrdom in Islam (Cambridge) . Ezekial, I.A. (1966) Sarmad: Jewish Saint of India (Beas) ASIN B0006EXYM6. Gupta, M.G. (2000) Sarmad the Saint: Life and Works (Agra) . Katz, N. (2000) The Identity of a Mystic: The Case of Sa'id Sarmad, a Jewish-Yogi-Sufi Courtier of the Mughals in: Numen 47: 142-160. Rai, L. (1978) Sarmad. His Life and Rubais, Hanumanprasad Poddar Smarak Samita, Gorakhpur. Schimmel, A. And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration