Wajab ul-Arz (lit. A Proper Petition) is a section of Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, also known as Gursikkhan di Bhagatmal, a manuscript in Punjabi, Gurmukhi script, attributed to Bhai Mani Singh (d. 1737), the martyr, who had received the rites of initiation at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh himself. Three copies of the manuscript were preserved in the Sikh Reference Library at Amritsar under Nos. 7398, 6140, and 751 until they perished during Operation Blue Star in 1984. The printed version of Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, however, does not include this section. The Wajab ul-Arz also forms part of Bhagvan Singh’s anthology of rahitnamas entitled Bibekbardhi, an unpublished manuscript of which is preserved in the Dr. Balbir Singh Sahitya Kendra, Dehradun.
The text is presented as a ten-point petition addressed to Guru Gobind Singh by Sikhs who were not formally admitted into the Sikh fold but who otherwise believed in Sikh teachings and precepts. These ten questions highlight the challenges in observing the new code of conduct prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh for the Khalsa, inaugurated on the Baisakhi day of AD 1699. The petitioners requested that the replies bear the Guru’s own signatures to eliminate any ambiguity in the future. In the manuscript, the phrase “specially signed by the Guru” is added to six out of the ten answers.
Two of the questions, for instance, were:
(a) Brahmans used to conduct our marriage ceremonies, and the Vedic ritual was followed. However, Sikhs who have undergone the rites of pahul and who keep their hair unshorn say that we should not call in Brahmans but should instead read Anand along with Lavari. We await your order, O Guru.
(b) O True Master! We used to feed the Brahmans at marriages and on death anniversaries. Now we are required to feed Sikhs alone.
Since the replies to these questions appear to allow some leniency to the believers, many have questioned the authenticity of the work. The name of Bhai Mani Singh seems to have been introduced merely to lend credibility to the text. One of the manuscripts (No. 7398) additionally included an enumeration of the taboos for Sikhs, as well as directions for them to read the Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, with devotion and faith, follow truth and righteousness, fear no one, and equally, cause fear in none. Men of good deeds were to be regarded as of high birth and respected, while those of evil deeds were to be considered of low caste.
