Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar May 7, 1280 (679 Hijri)), commonly known as Baba Farid, was a 12th-century Sufi preacher and saint of the Chishti Order of South Asia.
Fariduddin Ganjshakar is generally recognized as the first major poet of the Punjabi language, and is considered one of the pivotal saints of the Punjab region. Revered
by Muslims and Hindus, he is considered one of the fifteen Sikh bhagats, and selections from his work are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh sacred scripture.
He is buried in Pakpattan, in present-day Punjab, Pakistan.
Life
Bābā Farīd was born in 1173 or 1188 AD (584 Hijri) at Kothewal village, 10 km from Multan in the Punjab region of the Chauhan dynasty in what is now Pakistan, to
Jamāl-ud-dīn Suleimān and Maryam Bībī (Qarsum Bībī), daughter of Sheikh Wajīh-ud-dīn Khojendī. He was a descendant of the Farrūkhzād, known as Jamāl-ud-Dawlah, a Persian (Tajik) king of eastern Khorasan.
He was the grandson of Sheikh Shu'aib, who was the grandson of Farrukh Shah Kabuli, the king of Kabul and Ghazna. When Farrukh Shāh Kābulī was killed by the
Mongol hordes invading Kabul, Farīd’s grandfather, Shaykh Shu'aib, left Afghanistan and settled in the Punjab in 1125.
Farīd’s genealogy is a source of dispute, as some trace his ancestors back to al-Husayn while others trace his lineage back to the second Caliph Umar ibn Khattab. Baba Farid's ancestors came from Kufa, while Abdullah ibn Umar died during the Hajj and was buried in Makkah. The family tree of Baba Fareed traces through Abu Ishaq
Ibrahim bin Adham, whose ancestors came from Kufa.
Fariduddin Ganjshakar was born in the city of Balkh. His nickname was Abu Ishaq. Khwajah Fudhail Bin Iyadh had conferred the mantle of Khilaafate to him. Besides
being the Khalifah of Hadhrat Fudhail, he was also the Khalifah of Khwajah Imran Ibn Musa, Khwajah Imam Baqir, Khwajah Shaikh Mansur Salmi and Khwajah Uwais
Qarni."
Bābā Farīd received his early education at Multan, which had become a centre for education; it was here that he met his murshid (master), Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī, a
noted Sufi saint, who was passing through Multan, from Baghdad on his way to Delhi. Upon completing his education, Farīd left for Sistan and Kandahar and went to
Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage at the age of 16.
Once his education was over, he shifted to Delhi, where he learned the doctrine of his master, Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī. He later moved to Hansi, Haryana. When
Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī died in 1235, Farīd left Hansi and became his spiritual successor, but he settled in Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan, Pakistan) instead of Delhi.
On his way to Ajodhan, while passing through Faridkot, he met the 20-year-old Nizāmuddīn, who went on to become his disciple, and later his successor (khalīfah).
Bābā Farīd married Hazabara, daughter of Sulṭān Nasīruddīn Maḥmūd. The great Arab traveller Ibn Baṭūṭah visited him. He says that he was the spiritual guide of the
King of India, and that the King had given him the village of Ajodhan. He also met Bābā Farīd's two sons. His shrine (darbār) is in Pakpattan Bābā Farīd's descendants, also known as Fareedi, Fareedies and Faridy, mostly carry the name Fārūqī, and can be found in Pakistan, India and the diaspora. His descendants include the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, whose daughter was Emperor Jehangir's foster mother. Their descendants settled in Sheikhupur, Badaun and the remains of a fort they built can still be found.
Poetry
Kaga sab tann khaiyo, mera chunn chunn khaiyo manss,
do naina mat khaiyo, mohe piya milan ki aass...!!!
कागा सब तन खइयो , मेरा चुन चुन खइयो मांस ,
दो नैना मत खइयो , मोहे पिया मिलन की आस ,
Oh crow, you may eat all my body meat except my two eyes, as i am waiting for my lover (God).
Farīdā bhumi rangāvalī manjhi visūlā bāg
Fareed, this world is beautiful, but there is a thorny garden within it.
Farīdā jo taīN mārani mukīāN tinhāN na mārē ghumm
Fareed, do not turn around and strike those who strike you with their fists.
Farīdā jā lab thā nēhu kiā lab ta kūṛhā nēhu
Fareed, when there is greed, what love can there be? When there is greed, love is false.
Kālē maiḍē kapṛē, kālā maiḍā wais,
GunahīN bhariyā maiN phirāN, Lōk kahaiN darvēsh
Laden with my load of misdeeds, I move about in the garb of black garments.
And the people see me and call me a dervish.
GallīN cikkaṛ dūr ghar, nāḷ piyārē nīNh,
ChallāN tē bhijjē kamblī, rahāN tāN ṭuṭṭē nīNh.
My promise to my love, a long way to go and a muddy lane ahead
If I move I spoil my cloak; if I stay I break my word.
Legacy
One of Farīd’s most important contributions to Punjabi literature was his development of the language for literary purposes. Whereas Sanskrit, Arabic, Turkish and Persian had historically been considered the languages of the learned and the elite, and used in monastic centres, Punjabi was generally considered a less refined folk language. Although earlier poets had written in a primitive Punjabi, before Farīd there was little in Punjabi literature apart from traditional and anonymous ballads. By using Punjabi as the language of poetry, Farīd laid the basis for a vernacular Punjabi literature that would be developed later.
Among the famous people who have visited his shrine over the centuries are the famous scholar-explorer Ibn Battuta, who visited in 1334, and the Founder of Sikhism,
Guru Nanak Dev, who met the then head of the shrine, Sheikh Ibrāhīm, twice, and his meeting led to the incorporation of 112 couplets (saloks) and four hymns by Bābā Farid, in the Sikh Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib, by the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev in 1604. Guru Nanak was familiar with the verse of Bābā Farīd, and not only includes
these verses in the Holy Book, but even comments on some of them. These verses are known to the Sikhs as the Farīd-Bānī; Guru Arjan Dev also added eighteen saloks
from the Sikh Gurus, which add commentary to various of Bābā Farīd's work.
The city of Faridkot bears his name. According to legend, Farīd stopped by the city, then named Mokhalpūr, and sat in seclusion for forty days near the fort of King Mokhal. The king was said to be so impressed by his presence that he named the city after Bābā Farīd, which today is known as Tilla Bābā Farīd. The festival Bābā Sheikh Farād Āgman Purb Melā' is celebrated in September each year from (21-23 sep, 3 days), commemorating his arrival in the city. Ajodhan was also renamed as Farīd's 'Pāk Pattan', meaning 'Holy Ferry'; today it is generally called Pāk Pattan Sharīf.
Faridia Islamic University, a religious madrassa in Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan, is named after him, and in July 1998, the Punjab Government in India established the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences at Faridkot, the city which itself was named after him.
There are various explanations of why Bābā Farīd was given the title Shakar Ganj ('Treasure of Sugar'). One legend says his mother used to encourage the young Farīd to pray by placing sugar under his prayer mat. Once, when she forgot, the young Farīd found the sugar anyway, an experience that gave him more spiritual fervour and led
to his being given the name.
There is another legend that Baba Farid once a caught a bolt of lightning with his bare hands and placed it into a pot, saving many lives.
Tomb
The small tomb of Baba Farid is made of white marble with two doors, one facing east and called the Nūrī Darwāza or 'Gate of Light', and the second facing north called
Bahishtī Darwāza, or 'Gate of Paradise'. There is also a long covered corridor. Inside the tomb are two white marbled graves. One is Baba Farid's, and the other is his
elder son's. These graves are always covered by sheets of cloth called Chadders (the green coloured chadders are covered with Islamic verses), and flowers that are
brought by visitors. The space inside the tomb is limited; not more than ten people can be inside at one time. Ladies are not allowed inside the tomb, but the late Benazir Bhutto, then prime minister of Pakistan, managed to enter inside when she visited the shrine.
Death anniversary and Urs
Every year, the saint's death anniversary is celebrated for six days in the first Islamic month of Muharram, in Pakpattan, Pakistan. The Bahishtī Darwāza (Gate of Paradise)
is opened only once a year, during the time of the Urs fair. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and visitors from all over the country and the world come to pay homage.
The door of the Bahishti Darwaza is made of silver, with floral designs inlaid in gold leaf. This "Gate to Paradise" is padlocked all year, and only opened for ten days from
sunset to sunrise in the month of Muharram. Some followers believe that by crossing this door all of one's sins are washed away. Some critics say it is unholy to pass
through this door only with this intention. Others argue that it is good to pass this door with a resolution not to commit sins in the future. During the opening of the
Gate of Paradise, extensive security arrangements are made to protect people from stampedes. In 2001, 27 people were crushed to death and 100 were injured in a
stampede. A large brick tomb adjacent to the main tomb is the resting place of Fariduddin's siblings. The Urs is celebrated every year from the fifth through the tenth of Muharram. Some of his personal belongings were taken by his descendant Sheikh Salim to a fort he built for his family in Sheikhupur, Badaun, where they are preserved
in a trunk called 'pitari'. To this day it is taken out in a procession for the first six days of Muharram.
Mehfil-e-Sama (Qawwali)
One of the significant features of the daily life of the shrine is Qawwali. It is performed all day at some part of the shrine, but at night it attracts a huge gathering. Every Thursday evening, there is a big Mehfil-e-Sama just outside the tomb, that lasts all night and attracts hundreds of people. Many famous and popular Qawwals (Qawwali
singers) of the country participate in the Mehfil. Many listeners become so mesmerised that they start dancing a traditional religious dance called Dhamaal. The first Thursday evening of every lunar month attracts extra thousands of people, making the shrine jam packed.
