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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India:-Delhi,Chandigarh,Punjab,Himachal Pradesh,Jammu Pakistan:-Sindh,Chakwal,Lahore, Afghanistan:-Kabul, southern regions | |
| Languages | |
| Hindi,Gujarati,Urdu | |
| Religion | |
 Islam, Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mohyal Brahmins,Saraswat Brahmins |
Hussaini Brahmins are a sect within theMohyal Brahmin community of thePunjab region.[1]
The Mohyal community comprises seven sub-clans namedBali,Bhimwal,Chhibber,Datt,Lau,Mohan andVaid.
However, as consistent with theirHindu tradition, they have adopted non-Indic traditions. This has led to a small sub-set of the Moyhal community paying reverence to Islam, most notably to the thirdImam Hussain.[2]
According to V. Upadhyaya[3] they were influenced by theChisti Sufis. While they wear the yajnopavita and the tilak, they take alms from only the Muslims, and not from Hindus.[4] Some of them are found in Pushakar, Ajmer, whereMu'in al-Din Chishti is buried.[5] According to another tradition, Yazid's troops had brought Imam Husain's head to their ancestors home in Sialkot. In exchange for his head, the ancestor exchanged his own sons' heads.[6] Famous Hussaini Brahmins include the actorSunil Dutt, Urdu writers Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Sabir Dutt, and Nand Kishore Vikram.[7]
Few families can still be found in parts ofIraq but most families of Hussaini Brahmins are now settled inPune,[8]Delhi,[9]Chandigarh,Punjab,Himachal Pradesh andJammu region in India.Sindh,Chakwal andLahore in Pakistan andKabul and South Afghanistan inAfghanistan. Some of them also observe Muharram every year.
As per Mohyal oral history, a Mohyal Brahmin of the Dutt clan had fought on behalf of Imam al-Husayn in theBattle of Karbala (680 C.E.), more specifically in the storming of Kufa—sacrificing his seven sons in the process.[10] According to legend, Rahab Sidh Dutt (also mentioned as Rahib Sidh or Sidh Viyog Datt in some versions) was the leader of a small band of career-soldiers living near Baghdad around the time of the battle of Karbala.[11] The legend mentions the place where he stayed as Dair-al-Hindiya, meaning "The Indian Quarter", which matches anAl-Hindiya in existence today.[11]
InAjmer,Rajasthan, a place ofSufi pilgrimage, whereMoinuddin Chishti lived and passed his last days, there is even today a class of people who call themselves Hussaini Brahmins, who are neither 'orthodox Hindus' nor orthodox Muslims. Hussaini Brahmins practiced a mixed blend oforthodox Vedic and Islamic traditions. A saying in Hindi/Urdu language refers to the Hussaini Brahmans thus: "Wah Datt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Musalman ka Iman, Adha Hindu adha Musalman" (Well Datt Sultan, declaringHindu Dharma and following Muslim practice, Half Hindu and Half Muslim.[12]
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