Combat Profile
Fifth Guru | Sikh
The fifth Guru compiled the Adi Granth in 1604 — one of the most theologically ambitious acts in the history of scripture: gathering hymns from four Sikh Gurus, then including the voices of Hindu bhakti saints (Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas) and the Muslim Sufi Sheikh Farid, encoding in the table of contents the claim that the divine Word belongs to no single community. He built the Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar with foundation stones reportedly laid by the Sufi saint Mian Mir. Two years after installing the Granth in the Golden Temple, he was arrested by the Mughal emperor Jahangir and tortured to death over five days on heated iron plates with boiling sand poured over him — the first Sikh martyr. His death is the hinge moment after which Sikhi acquired its martial character under his son Hargobind.
Parallels: Origen (vast theological compiler who suffered torture for his faith); Thomas More (refuses to recant under state torture, executed); the compilation of the Talmud under Roman persecution — sacred text preserved through martyrdom. See also: [Guru Gobind Singh](#guru-gobind-singh), [Guru Nanak Dev Ji](#guru-nanak-dev-ji)
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