History of Baba Bulleh Shah

 Bulleh Shah:

 Historical Life Of Baba Bulleh Shah

 (1680-1757)

 Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri[1] (Punjabi: سید عبداللہ شاہ قادری), popularly   known as Bulleh Shah (بلھے شاہ), was a Mughal-era Punjabi Islamic   philosopher and Sufi poet. His first spiritual teacher was Shah Inayat   Qadiri, a Sufi murshid of Lahore.

 Early life and background

Bulleh Shah was born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan. He relocated to Malakwal with his parents at a very early age. Bulleh Shah received his early education from Pandoke and later moved to Kasur for higher education. Maulana Mohiyuddin was his teacher. Eminent Sufi saint, Shah Inayat Qadiri was his spiritual teacher and he played a vital role in developing his love for Sufism. Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah and his family descend directly from the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).

Poetry

Bulleh Shah lived after the Pashto Sufi poet Rahman Baba (1632–1706) and lived in the same period as Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689–1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahab (1739–1829), better known by his pen name Sachal Sarmast. Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810) of Agra.

Bulleh Shah practised the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1629–1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640–1724)

The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is the Kafi, popular in Punjabi and Sindhi poetry.

Baba Bulleh Shah’s work represented him as a humanist who wants to give workable solution to the social problems of his surroundings. Bulleh Shah’s poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat, Tariqat, Haqiqat, and Marfat. Bulleh Shah’s poetry is in simple language that has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity. Islamic orthodoxy is being criticized by Bulleh Shah’s poetry & philosophy. 

In modern times, Bulleh Shah’s Kafi is modified to be used to music. Every genre of singer like street- singers, to legends like Abida Parveen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sain Zahoor, and Waddali Brothers, UK based Asian artists, and Pakistani rock band Junoon, has sung Bulleh Shah’s Kafi in a beautiful manner.

popular poetry collection

Makkeh Gaya, Gal Mukdee Naheen, Bulleya Ki Jana Main Kaun, Verhe Aa Varh Mere, Main Jana Jogi De Naal, Aa Mil Yaar, Uth Gaye Gawandon Yaar, Bas Karjee Hun Bas Karjee, Tere Ishq Nachaya, Ishq De Naween Naween Bahar, to name a few.