Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: October 9,2023 | 
| 中文
A painting depicting Baba Guru Nanak Sahib
Sufism is credited to be a catalyst for the spread of Islam across the Indian subcontinent, where communities were previously fragmented on the basis of faiths, castes and classes. Inclusive values in Sufi interpretations of religion were particularly appealing to those frustrated by cross-sectional inequalities and exploitative social and cultural practices. Although Islam reached subcontinent in the 8th century, Sufi mystic traditions became more visible during the 10th and 11th centuries, spreading through trade, commerce and military routes that spread through the Arabian Peninsula, Persia and Central Asia. Sufi teachings were based on ideals of divine spirituality, harmony, love and humanity ready to accept all in its ambit and promoting a spiritual path, often rising beyond the more orthodox interpretation of religion.
From the 11th century onwards, while the Muslim dynasties ruling in the subcontinent kept changing, scholars and mystics from Central Asia and Persia integrated with the local people and their culture. Sufism spread in the subcontinent after the 11th century, with Punjab at the epicenter of various Sufi orders. Qadiri order founded by Abdul-Qadir Gilani, originally from Iraq, relied upon adherence to fundamentals. Suhrawardi order was founded by Abdul-Wahid Abu Najib as-Suhrawardi, a disciple of Ahmad Ghazali. Kubrawi order was established by Najmuddin Kubra, an acclaimed teacher who had traveled widely, and whose influence extended to Turkey, Iran, Kashmir and China. Naqshbandi order is traced back to Khwaja Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani of Central Asia. This order was particularly popular with the Mughal elites, and Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, was its most well-known follower. Mujaddadi is a branch of Qadari-Naqshbandi order, initiated by Shaykh Ahmad Mujaddad Alf Sani Sirhindi who was born and lies buried in Sirhind, Punjab. The Chishti order, took root with the notable saint Moinuddin Chishti making it one of the most widespread Sufi orders. Poetry and music played a major role in popularizing Sufi thought, and continues to reverberate amongst the people of this land.
One of the most prominent successors of Moinuddin Chishti was Fariduddin Ganjshakar, popularly known as Baba Farid of Pakpattan, Punjab. In addition to his spiritual attainment, he regarded the acquisition of knowledge as higher than all kinds of devotions. Interestingly, in the old holy city of Jerusalem, there is a place called Al-Hindi Serai or Indian hospice, where it is claimed Baba Farid lived for many years in the early 13th century. Once he returned to the Punjab, his khanqah (monastery) at Pakpattan became a university of Islamic teaching and spiritualism, where thousands of aspirants, scholars, dervishes and Hindu yogis flocked to receive guidance. His poems are a part of the most revered scripture of Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib. Baba Farid wrote,
Kaaga karang dhadoliya saglaa khaaiyo mass - Aey do nainaan mat khaaiyo, pir dekhan ki aas
O crow, come and peck all this flesh over this skeletal frame of mine, but leave these two eyes untouched, as they are waiting for the beloved Divine!
The Shrine of Baba Farid Ganjshakar in Pakpattan, Punjab
Baba Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism was born in Nankana Sahib near Lahore. Baba Guru Nanak’s teachings are influenced by Islamic Sufi thought. He is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus, and travelled across Asia teaching people the message of unity of God and setting up a unique spiritual, social and political philosophy based on equality, fraternal love, goodness and virtue. He is also said to have made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Around the age of 55, Nanak settled in Kartarpur (Kartarpur in Punjabi means "City of Creator or God"), situated in Narowal District of Punjab, and eventually passed away. The first composition of Baba Guru Nanak, incorporated in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, is Ek Onkar. Baba Guru Nanak wrote:
Ek Onkar, Satnam, Karta purakh, Nirbhau, Nirvair, Akaal moorat, Ajooni saibhan
Gurparsad, Jap, aad sach, Jugaad sach, Hai bhi sach, Nanak hose bhi sach
Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara
There is only one God, His name is true, He is the Creator, He has no fear, He has no hate, He is omnipresent, unborn and self-illuminating, By Guru's grace, he is realized, meditate on his name, He has been true since time began, He has been true since ages, He is still true, Guru Nanak says he will forever be true.
The Shrine of Shah Hussain in Lahore
Shah Hussain was a 16th century Sufi who lived in Lahore during the Mughal rule of emperors Akbar and his son Jahangir. It is said that Shah Hussain, a weaver by profession, was trained in traditional orthodox Islam. One day while studying a commentary, he came across the verse: "Life of this world is nothing but a game and sport”. He asked his master to explain this expression to him, but the interpretation given did not satisfy him. He left the mosque and went about shouting and dancing in public. In a state of ecstasy, he spent most of his time singing and dancing. Shah Hussain is more popularly known as Madho Lal Hussain. Madho Lal was in fact a Hindu Brahmin boy that Shah Hussain had taken on as a disciple. They were constantly together and through their love realized the love for the Supreme Being. Their followers referred to them as one, as though the master and this disciple were one person. Today they are buried in Lahore side by side and their shrine is adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and continues to attract crowds. Shah Hussain’s Urs (annual death anniversary) is celebrated each year in March, and is known as "Mela Chiraghan or Festival of Lights". Shah Hussain’s poetry consists entirely of short poems known as Kafis, typically containing a refrain and some rhymed lines. One of his Kafi’s reads:
Maas jhurey jhur pinjer hoya, kadken lagiyaan hadiyan; Main ayani niyonh ki janan, birhon tanawan gadiyan; Kahe Husain faqeer sain da, lar tere main lagiyan.
My young flesh is all wrinkled, and my bones are a creaking skeleton. I was too young to understand love, and now as the nights swell and merge into each other, I play host to that unkind guest, separation and anticipation.
The Shrine of Sultan Bahu
Sultan Bahu was a 17th century Sufi mystic, port and scholar from Shorkot area of Jhang. Son of an officer of the Mughal army, he is credited to have written more than 40 books on Sufism, mostly in Persian. But what immortalized Sultan Bahu is his poetry, which is sung in many genres of Sufi music, including qawwali and kafi. Tradition has established a unique style of singing his couplets ending every line with a lyrical lament ‘hoo’, a pining sound of divine love. The shrine of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Mahara and was originally built on Bahu's grave site, until the Chenab River changed its course causing the need to relocate it twice. The legend has it that his body was intact at the time of each exhumation. Sultan Bahu wrote:
Alif Allah chambe di booti, Murshid man wich laaee hoo, Nafee asbaat da pane milia, har rage harjae hoo. Andar booti mushk machaya, jaan phullan te aae hoo. Jeeve murshid kaamil Bahu, Jainnay eh booti laee hoo.
My master has planted in my heart the jasmine of Allah’s name. Both my denial that the creation is real and my embracing of God, the only reality, have nourished the seedling down to its core. When the buds of mystery unfolded into the blossoms of revelation, my entire being was filled with God’s fragrance. May the perfect master who planted this jasmine in my heart be ever blessed, o Bahu!
Baba Bulleh Shah's Grave
Baba Bulleh Shah was a 17th century revolutionary Sufi, philosopher, reformer and a poet. He is regarded as the "Father of Punjabi Enlightenment," the "Poet of the People," and the "Sheikh of Both Worlds." He spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions. He lived and was buried in Kasur, Punjab. Bulleh Shah’s philosophy and poetry has continued to influence many generations, intellectuals, revolutionaries and poets such as Guru Tegh Bahadur, Bhagat Singh, Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Baba Bulleh Shah wrote:
Na main momin vich maseetaan, Na main vich kufar diyan reetaan, Na main paakaan vich paleetaan
Na main moosa na firown, Bulleya Ki jaana main Kaun.
I am not a believer inside the mosque, nor a pagan disciple of false rites, nor the pure amongst the impure, neither Moses, nor Pharoh, just Bulleya, and to me, I am not known.
Khwaja Ghulam Farid
Khawaja Ghulam Farid was a 19th century Saraiki Sufi poet and mystic from Bahawalpur, Punjab. Orphaned at a young age, he left the city for the desert where he meditated for 18 years. Most of his work is about the beauty and symbolism of the desert. It was in the starkness of the desert that he found his love for the Divine and wrote poetry that has become immortal. He wrote:
Ay husn haqeeqi noor-e-azal, tenon wajib tay imkan kahon, tenon Khaliq zaat qadeem kahon kahon, tenon hadis khalaq jahan kahon, tenon ishq kahon, tenon ilm kahon, tenon waham yaqeen guman kahon…
O’ Beauty of Truth, the Eternal Light, do I call you necessity or possibility? Do I call you the ancient Divinity, one Creation, or the world itself? Do I call you love and knowledge? Do I call you superstition, belief or conjecture?
Centuries may have passed, but the divine love and the intellectual inquiries that Sufi saints of the land of the five rivers (Punjab) have invoked through their poetry, continue to enrich the spiritual, literary and cultural heritage of Punjab and its people.
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