Talk:Bhai Mardana

The question of Mardana's faith
A user asked:

Mardana, if he indeed was a follower of Sikhism as is proclaimed by Sikh fundamentalists, then he could not by definition be a Muslim.

As a Muslim, you accept that the final Prophet of Allah(SWT) is Mohammed(PBUH) not Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

If for proselytization purposes you are suggesting he was a Muslim and converted to Sikhism, then you need to provide facts from Islamic/neutral sources.

Response:

No Confusion at all - Mardana was born a Muslim but a disciple or Sikh!

It's interesting that muslim equate 'neutral' sources to 'Islamic' sources like you just did. The meaning of a 'Sikh' is a disciple. An interview with the direct descendant of Mian Mir on a muslim website proves that Mardana was in fact from a Muslim background, but as a disciple of Guru Nanak he was ultimately a Sikh. The website is He states, "Baba Nanak Sahibs chief disciple was Mardana, who remained a Muslim till he died, and he served Baba Nanak Sahib for sixty-four long years. MardanaҒs descendants still live in Lahore. They describe themselves as Sikh-Muslims." As a disciple of Guru Nanak, he was a Sikh. Even Sanderson Beck in this website states "In 1499 Nanak's father sent the Muslim minstrel Mardana to persuade his son to stay at his post. Instead he became Nanak's closest disciple, and they began traveling."

Bhai Gurdas Ji, whom Sikhs also recite verses of his hymns, states Blw rbwb vjwieMdw mjls mrdwnw mIrwsI] bhalaa rabaab vajaaei(n)dhaa majalas maradhaanaa meeraasee|| Mardana, the bard and witty person and a good player of Rabab in assemblies was a disciple of Guru Nanak.

A disciple is a Sikh. There is also a verse of Mardana's hymn in the Guru Granth Sahib. Mian Mir's descendant references Baba Mardana's descendants. Some descendants have become 'Pooran Sikhs' in Sikh Saroop (Appearance), while some have kept Muslim names. Two examples: Bhai Dilbagh Singh (musician) the website states, "The Ragi Jatha of Bhai Dilbagh Singh, Gulbagh Singh Ji, traces its ancestry to Bhai Mardana." and Baba Ghulam Mohammad Chand,, the website states, "A descendent of Mardana (first disciple and lifelong companion of Guru Nanak and his rabab  player), this 70-year-old  Rababi  is in India for the first time after Partition. "

There is no question and no doubt that Baba Mardana was from a Muslim background but a disciple of Guru Nanak which makes him a Sikh. —Preceding unsigned comment added by VickSPaul (talk • contribs) 02:53, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

How could Mardana have been a Sikh, when the basic tenets of Sikhism state that as a Sikh, one cannot hold beliefs or tenets of any other religion. Also, at the time of Nanak, Sikhism was still in a developing phase and wasnt in its current form that we see today (with the 5 k's, Guru Granth etc....) I think its fair to say that Mardana and Nanak where close friends on a spiritual path, but to say that he was a Sikh is factually incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.228.164.238 (talk) 05:57, 16 August 2009 (UTC)


 * The "requirement" for the Sikh to not hold beliefs or subscribe to another religion was not put into place until the 1900s.
 * Suffice it to say that Mardana was a devotee of Nanak and spent much of his life accompanying Nanak on his travels. At best, he could be classified as a Nanakpanthi Sikh, since his belief may be syncretic across Sufi Islam and Sikhi. Additionally, some of his Muslim descendents continue to play at West Punjabi Gurudwaras in current day Pakistan while his Sikh descendents play in East Punjab Gurudwaras in current day India. AnyBurro9312 (talk) 00:43, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Sikhism is a religion based on religious tolerance. There are no restrictions on religion in Sikhism. Sikhism acknowledges everybody's right to chose their own religion and respect them. Unlike Islam, where the Kalma States, "La ilaha il Allah, Muhammad-ur-Rasool-Allah" meaning "There is No God but Allah, and the Prophet Mohammed is his Last and Final Messenger." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Amrinder143 (talk • contribs) 01:04, 3 November 2010 (UTC)


 * This is not a question of religious tolerance rather clarifying the boundaries of what exactly would have constituted a Sikh in the 15th century.
 * Mardana would likely have fit the proverbial bill at that time, though perhaps not today since religious practices were more fluid and syncretic at that time. AnyBurro9312 (talk) 00:44, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

The death of Bhai Mardana ji is mentioned in a different way by Bhai Kahan Singh In his Mahaan Kosh. This needs to be explored. I will provide & quote biblical reference of this mention. It has to be true. Gursharan Singh Sekhon, USA — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.151.54.158 (talk) 06:02, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 1 one external link on Bhai Mardana. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070105042608/http://www.sadapunjab.com:80/cv/Literature_On_Punjab/PUNJAB/Bhai_Mardana/index0.html to http://www.sadapunjab.com/cv/Literature_On_Punjab/PUNJAB/Bhai_Mardana/index0.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 10:11, 1 November 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Bhai Mardana. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100713024027/http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/early-gursikhs/early-gursikhs-bhai-mardana-ji.html to http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/early-gursikhs/early-gursikhs-bhai-mardana-ji.html
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.sadapunjab.com/cv/Literature_On_Punjab/PUNJAB/Bhai_Mardana/index0.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 09:55, 19 July 2017 (UTC)