Author Topic: History of Baba Sheikh Farid Ji (Read 32873 times)

Kudi Nepal Di · « **on:** June 25, 2010, 05:45:56 AM »

Baba Sheikh Farid Shakarganj was a great saint of India. He was a pioneer of the modern Punjabi culture and concept of Punjabiat. He was born in 1173 when Punjab was going through great crossroads.

When Baba Farid was 16 years old he went to Hajj and stayed in the house of Abdul Rahim Ansari. Since Baba Farid use to talk in Punjabi, an unkempt faqir on hearing Farid’s language foretold the boy’s subsequent greatness. After Farid came back to Punjab, he was sent to Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki at Delhi to learn theology. Qutubuddin, on finding Baba Farid lacking in scholarship, sent him to the shrine of Abdul Shakur of Sarsa, near Delhi, to finish his education.

He made Pak Pattan a great centre of Sufi thoughts. He always used his language – Punjabi spoken by common people – even though he was highly learned and educated in Arabic, Persian, etc. All his couplets are written in Punjabi with Persian script. His torch of thoughts were carried by his successors. He died of pneumonia in 1266.

All cultures have their own distinct features such as music, dance, food, attire, language, etc. Language is probably the most important aspect of any culture. Language gives culture, a unique identity, something which is so unique that only people of that culture identify themselves with that language. There are thousands of languages in this world. From the so-called civilized Europeans to the so-called uncivilized tribals living in the deepest jungles of Africa and South America, each culture has their own unique language. We have pre-conceived notions about languages such as, we tend to think that the language which has a written history is more advanced than others. Oldest languages which have written history are Chinese, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit, etc. But at some point or another a group breaks off to evolve as an independent entity with its own distinct culture and language. For example, French, German, etc came out of Latin. Similarly, Punjabi and Sanskrit came out of Pali while Urdu came out of Persian.

Punjabi is the language, which everyone identifies with the people of the land of five rivers. People of the area lying between river Yamuna and river Indus are called Punjabis. Punjabi literature's first available written compositions are those of Baba Farid.

Baba Farid was born on the first day of the month of Ramzan in 1173 CE in the Punjab town of Kothiwal. His parents named him Farid-ud-Din Masaud, while “Shakar Ganj” got tagged to his name at a later stage, but he is mostly revered as Baba Farid of Pak Pattan. Baba Sheikh Farid was born at a time when Punjab was going through very tough times. Tamarlane (Taimur, the Lame), Halaku (son of Chengez Khan), Mohammed Ghouri, Mahmud Ghazanvi,etc. had or were ravaging Punjab when Farid was born. The official language of India was Turkish and Persian. The Slave Dynasty of Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak was at that time being headed by Sultan Balban. 200-300 years earlier to the West of the Indian subcontinent, sword of Islam had swept through the countries like Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. In India too, Qutb-ud-din Aibak succeeded in establishing a line of rulers, which ruled for some decades from Delhi, over quite a lot of territory. Then came the sufi saints from Arabia and other places to spread their message of love for Allah. Sufi saints like Khwaja Qutub-Ud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki, who was a Syed of Jaffri Hussaini tribe, were very famous.

Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki was Born around 1150 CE and studied under Abu Hafiz, a celebrated doctor of Ush, he went to Ajmer and became a disciple of Khwaja Moin-ud-Din Chishti. In due time he proceeded to Delhi where Baba Farid met him and became his disciple. Emperor Sultan Shams-ud-Din Iltutmish was also his disciple. He died in CE 1235 and was buried in Delhi, where his tomb is held in devout reverence by pious Hindus and Muslims. His descendants are called Chishtis from the tribe of his priest. - Makhazan-ul-Tawarikh.

Genealogy of Baba Sheikh Farid ji is given in the Jawahir-e-Faridi (The gems of Farid), preserved at the shrine of Pak Pattan, by Ali Asghar of Bahadal, a town near Sirhind. Baba Sheikh Farid ji descended from Farrukh Shah, who was king of Kabul and kings of Ghazni and other states were subject to him. Baba Farid ji's Great Grandfather was son of Farrukh Shah, the emperor of Kabul. During that time, Baba Farid’s Great Grandfather was killed when Halaku, the grandson of Chengez Khan invaded Kabul. He killed several princes and learned men, including several of Baba Farid’s ancestors. Baba Farid’s Grandfather Shaikh Shaib abandoned their country and took refuge in the Punjab in CE 1125. The Qazi of Kasur who was acquainted with the high position Shaikh Shaib had held there, treated him and his relatives with great respect and hospitality. After some time Shaikh Shaib proceeded to Multan where he deemed he should be less exposed to worldly influences or the temptings of ambition. He took his abode in Kothiwal, now known as Chawali Mushaikh, close to Dipalpur. He established in Kothiwal, a private college for religious instruction and attracted much attention. His eldest son Jamal-ud-din married Bibi Miriam, daughter of Syed Muhammad Abdula Shah - a descendant of Ali. Bibi Miriam had three sons, Khwaja Aziz-ud-din, Farid-ud- Din Masaud (Baba Farid) and Khwaja Najib-ud-din, and one daughter Khatun Jamila.

Author Topic: History of Baba Sheikh Farid Ji (Read 32873 times)

Kudi Nepal Di

History of Baba Sheikh Farid Ji

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