Fully aware of the Ekh, believing and preaching Bhagat Kabir's struggles against sectarian Muslim and Hindu religious fanatics, Akali Guru Arjan Dev Ji expresses his sympathy for the great Kabir. He wrote this 'shabad' (hymn) in name of Kabir thus in the Adi Guru Durbar:

Akali Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj
The fifth great Sanatan Sikh Guru and his companions seen
here in a moden painting done in the popular Persian style. Such
paintings traditionally depict the Sikh Gurus as being of Royal status

Modern mainstream Sikhs and the institutions they adhere to, such as the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabhia British Raj-nurtured Shromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (S.G.P.C.), Akhand Kirtani Jatha (A.K.J.), various self-proclaimed Sants (saints) and their followers, like to interpret the above words of the great Guru in their narrow-minded sectarian mindset to reassert the sectarian distinctiveness and superiority of Sikhism over Islam and Hinduism.

Shromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (S.G.P.C.)
A photograph of members of the S.G.P.C. in Amritsar, Punjab. The
foundations of this modern day Sikh institution were laid during the post-annexation
period within the Punjab. Sanatan Sikhs do not recognise the authority of the S.G.P.C

Bhai Randhir Singh (formerly known as Basant Singh)
A photograph of Bhai Randhir Singh and his wife. The followers of Bhai Randhir Singh
were known as the 'Bhai Randhir Singh Jatha' who later renamed themselves in the 1970s to the
Akhand Kirtani Jatha (A.K.J.) for fear of being labelled a personality cult. Bhai Randhir Singh's mentor was
Babu Teja Singh of the village Bhasaur, Punjab, who was excommunicated from the Sikh faith in the mid 1900s

Yet it can be seen from above hymn, that once it has been interpreted correctly, in its Sanatan Sikh context, it comes clear Akali Guru Arjan Dev is not asserting a sectarian distinction of the Sikh community. No, the Guru is encouraging people of different faiths, here Hindus and Muslims, not to squabble over outward trappings of their faith but to worship the one common God of all mankind.

To emphasize once again, the Guru in the above hymn employs Muslim and Hindu designations of God together. Then, in the final line Akali Guru Arjan Dev instructs (as did Kabir) Muslims and Hindus to meet their respective religious teachers and acknowledge their one common God, Allah Raam. The Sikh Gurus envisaged an universal spiritual community of all mankind - a community of Bhagats (devotees) of God, be they Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist, Eskimos, etc., that have transcended superficial outward religious and communal trappings which make men squabble and fight.

Devotion to the Almighty
left to right: An actor playing the role of the Hindu saint Naamdev, a Muslim
Sufi saint sat in prayer, a Hindu Sadhu with matted hair, and a painting of the Sufi Muslim saint Kabir

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