Popular composer-singer AR Rahman once reflected on his journey of conversion and how he embraced Sufi Islam. In Naseer Munni Kabir's 'AR Rahman: The Spirit of Music' in 2015, Rahman revealed how a Hindu astrologer suggested his Muslim name Allahrakha Rahman. He also shared how his family influenced his decision.
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For the unversed, AR Rahman's original name was AS Dileep Kumar before he converted to Islam.
Rahman recalled how his father's untimely death led him to the path of spirituality. "My mother was a practising Hindu. She had always been spiritually inclined. We had Hindu religious images on the walls of the Habibullah Road house where we grew up. There was also an image of Mother Mary holding Jesus in her arms and a photograph of the sacred sites of Mecca and Medina."
He also shared that there was no pressure from any side for conversion.
"Nobody is forced to convert to the path of Sufism. You only follow if it comes from your heart. A year after we met Qadri Saaheb, in 1987, we moved from Habibullah Road to Kodambakkam, to the house where we still live. When we moved, I was reminded of what Jesus Christ, peace be upon Him, once said: 'I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth,'" he said.
He continued, "These words taught me that it is better to choose one path. The Sufi path spiritually lifted both my mother and me, and we felt it was the best path for us, so we embraced Sufi Islam. No one around us cared about the conversion. We were musicians, and that allowed us greater social freedom."
Recalling the incident when a Hindu astrologer suggested his name, he said, "We went to an astrologer to show him my younger sister's horoscope because my mother wanted to get her married. This was around the same time when I was keen to change my name and have a new identity.
"He suggested the names 'Abdul Rahman' and 'Abdul Rahim' and said that either name would be good for me. I instantly loved the name 'Rahman'. It was a Hindu astrologer who gave me my Muslim name."
AR Rahman is a prolific singer-composer who has composed music across languages.
