Allah and Paarbrahm are one and the same — the boldest of bridges.
The Arc
This is the great interfaith shabad of the set. Six units braid the sacred names of two traditions. It opens in Islamic vocabulary — Karim, Rahim, Allah, Khuda — the bountiful, merciful, limitless One. The rahau joins registers in one breath: Om and bhagvant beside Khaalak, the Creator who fills every place. Then a garland of Hindu names (Jagannath, Madho, Rikhikes, Gopal, Govind, Mukand), then Islamic again (Maulaa, peer, paikaambar, sheikh; more sacred than Quran and Kateb), then more Hindu names (Narayan, Raam, Baasudev). It closes at the climax: the Guru has cleared the doubt — Allah and Paarbrahm are one.
eko alhu paarbarahm — 'Allah and Paarbrahm are one and the same' — the climactic line.
Themes and Cross-Connections
This shabad is one of the clearest statements in all of Gurbani of the project's core conviction: every tradition's names reach for the same One. Guru Arjan does not merely tolerate the two vocabularies — he interweaves them as equally true windows. The 'doubt' the Guru dispels is precisely the illusion that these are different Gods. This directly embodies Guru Nanak's radical inclusivity as described in the philosophy notes.
For Raag Raamkalee
Raamkalee carries a strong tradition of interfaith address; this shabad is its high point — the raag's meditative openness given its fullest, most explicit expression.
Translation Notes
Both the Islamic names (Allah, Khuda, peer, paikaambar, Quran, Kateb) and the Hindu names (Jagannath, Govind, Narayan, Baasudev, Paarbrahm) are handled with full reverence and set as equals. Nothing is ranked; the caste-and-creed leveling that runs through this project is here extended to the very names of God. FLAGGED as a landmark interfaith comp.
Allah and Paarbrahm are one and the same — the boldest of bridges.
The Arc
This is the great interfaith shabad of the set. Six units braid the sacred names of two traditions. It opens in Islamic vocabulary — Karim, Rahim, Allah, Khuda — the bountiful, merciful, limitless One. The rahau joins registers in one breath: Om and bhagvant beside Khaalak, the Creator who fills every place. Then a garland of Hindu names (Jagannath, Madho, Rikhikes, Gopal, Govind, Mukand), then Islamic again (Maulaa, peer, paikaambar, sheikh; more sacred than Quran and Kateb), then more Hindu names (Narayan, Raam, Baasudev). It closes at the climax: the Guru has cleared the doubt — Allah and Paarbrahm are one.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
This shabad is one of the clearest statements in all of Gurbani of the project's core conviction: every tradition's names reach for the same One. Guru Arjan does not merely tolerate the two vocabularies — he interweaves them as equally true windows. The 'doubt' the Guru dispels is precisely the illusion that these are different Gods. This directly embodies Guru Nanak's radical inclusivity as described in the philosophy notes.
For Raag Raamkalee
Raamkalee carries a strong tradition of interfaith address; this shabad is its high point — the raag's meditative openness given its fullest, most explicit expression.
Translation Notes
Both the Islamic names (Allah, Khuda, peer, paikaambar, Quran, Kateb) and the Hindu names (Jagannath, Govind, Narayan, Baasudev, Paarbrahm) are handled with full reverence and set as equals. Nothing is ranked; the caste-and-creed leveling that runs through this project is here extended to the very names of God. FLAGGED as a landmark interfaith comp.
Last updated: 2026-07-09