He lived and was buried in Kasur (present-day Punjab, Pakistan).[3] He is regarded as the "Poet of the People,"[4] and the "Sheikh of Both Worlds" in the Punjab region.[5] His poetry marked a new era in Punjabi literature and spread a wave of reformist ideas throughout the Punjab, which included social, religious and political reforms. His poetry has been sung at many important events, including one organized by UNESCO.[5]
Bulleh Shah's father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and the Quran.[6] For unknown reasons he moved to Malakwal, a village near Sahiwal. Bulleh Shah had at least one sister who was also Sufi.[6][7] Both siblings never married.[7] According to another account, he had two sisters and none of them ever married.[8]
Later, when Bulleh Shah was six years old, his family moved to Pandoke, which is 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah was schooled by his father along with the other children of the village. Most sources confirm that Bulleh Shah had to work as a child and adolescent as a herder in the village. It is confirmed that he received his higher education in Kasur. Some historians claim that Bulleh Shah received his education at a highly reputed madrassa run by Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza, where he taught for some time after his graduation. After his early education, he went to Lahore where he studied with Shah Inayat Qadiri, a Sufimurshid of Lahore.[2][9] Bulleh Shah later became an eminent scholar of Arabic and Persian.[6]
By caste (profession by birth) Bulleh Shah was a peasant.[7]
Persecution
There is a fort-like Gurdwara in Daftuh that was built in the 18th century by the Sikh Chieftainess Bibi Isher Kaur, who donated 80 Squares of lands for its construction.[10][11] Bulleh Shah took refuge in this Gurdwara after a group of Islamic fundamentalists started threatening his life.[12][11]
In his bad times, when even his family looked down upon him (for accepting a lower-caste Shah Inayat Qadiri as a teacher), his sister loved him and stood with him.[7][6]
During his lifetime, he was outcast as kafir (non-believer) by some Muslim clerics.[13][14]
Death
He died in 1757, at the age of 77.[15] He was buried in Kasur, where he had spent most of his life. As he was declared a kafir (a non-believer), religious fundamentalists of Kasur claimed it was prohibited to offer the prayer at his funeral. His funeral prayer was led by Syed Zahid Hamdani, a renowned religious personality of Kasur.[16] A dargah was built over his Kabr (i.e. grave).
Poetry
Bulleh Shah lived after the Punjabi Sufi poet and saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179–1266), and lived in the same period as other Punjabi Sufi poet Sultan Bahu (1629–1691). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1799), who is famous for Heer Ranjha, the Sindhi Sufi poet Sachal Sarmast (1739–1829), and the Pashtun poet Khushal Khattak (1613–1689). Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810) of Delhi.[16]
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).[16]
The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is the Kafi, popular in Punjabi and Sindhi poetry.[2] His poetry is a mixture of traditional mystic thought and intellectualism.[17]
Among the most distinguished persons to be influenced by Bulleh Shah's poetry had been Muhammad Iqbal.[18] It is maintained that Iqbal took his last breath while listening to his kafi.[19][20]
He is the "most famous and celebrated" Punjabi poet[21] and is widely recognized as "poet par excellence".[22] A sample of his poetic work is presented below:
Bulleh Shah's non-orthodox views and simple language played important role in popularization of his poetry. It has been noted in literature that "one reason for his all-time popularity is his relatively modern vocabulary."[25] Among the core tenets of his philosophy includes humanism, equality, tolerance, rejection of double standards, and defiance to the authority of Ulama and blind faith in their authority. For his criticism of replication of beliefs (blind faith and following), the "Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare" compared Bulleh Shah with Percy Bysshe Shelley.[26] For his "ruthless [analysis of] human society" and an "unending quest" to change it, he is often compared with Karl Marx.[27] Among major taboos in his philosophy was reciting words without comprehending them.[28] He was a reformer with very much conscious of the contemporary religious, political and social situations.[17][29]
In Bulleh Shah's poetry, Sufism can be seen as an indigenous philosophy of political activism and class struggle[30] and resistance to powerful institutions like religion and imperialism.[1] Through his poems he spoke against "religious, political and social patriarchal high handedness" of his time.[31] This side of his poetry is evident from his defying of the imperial ban on dancing and singing,[32] and support for Sikhs, in general, and Guru Tegh Bahadur[33] and Guru Gobind Singh,[34] in particular, in their struggle against the imperialist Mughal Empire. Thus, his version of Sufism is usually considered opposite to that of Ali Hajweri and other 'more spiritual' sufis who were confined to their libraries and schools and rarely participated in public discourse.[13]
Humanism is the key attribute of the life and works of Bulleh Shah.[40]
Modern renderings
Bands and albums
In the 1990s, Junoon, a rock band from Pakistan, rendered his poems "Bullah Ki Jaana" and "Aleph" ("Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar"). In 2004, Indian musician Rabbi Shergill turned the classical poem "Bullah Ki Jaana" into a rock/fusion song in his debut album Rabbi; the song was a chart-topper in 2005, helping the album to eventually sell over 10,000 copies and became immensely popular in India and Pakistan.[41][42]
In 2016, a collaboration between two EDM artists (Headhunterz and Skytech) named "Kundalini" used words created by Bulleh Shah, as well as having the words Bulleh Shah in the lyrics.[44] Bulleh Shah's verses have been an inspiration to painters as well, as in the two series of paintings (Jogia Dhoop and Shah Shabad) by an Indian painter Geeta Vadhera inspired by the poetry of Bulleh Shah and other Sufi poets and saints. In 2017, British-Pakistani singer Yasir Akhtar used Bulleh Shah's poetry in his song "Araam Naal Kar – Take it Easy".[45][46] In 2019, Sona Mohapatra used a verse of Bulleh Shah in her song "R.A.T. Mashup".[citation needed]
The journalist Najam Sethi attempted to translate the verses of Bulleh Shah into English.[55] However, his friend Taufiq Rafat published the finest translation of Bulleh Shah's selected poems.[55]
In 2012, the government of Punjab, most populous province of Pakistan, renamed an important road in the provincial capital Lahore to "Bulleh Shah Road".[57] In 2021, the government of Pakistan also approved his name for a road in the country.[58] Pakistan's "largest renewable packaging facility" is also named after him.[59] There is a housing community in Kasur called "Bulleh Shah Colony." Also, a road in Kasur is called "Baba Bulleh Shah Road." A roadway junction on Lahore Ring Road is called "Bulleh Shah Interchange." In 2023, a public hospital in Kasur was renamed to "Baba Bulleh Shah Hospital."[60][61]
An educational institute called "Bulleh Shah Institute" is operating in Badhni Kalan, India, since 2003. Another educational institute called "Bulleh Shah Law College" (affiliated with University of the Punjab) operates in Kasur.[62] In 2007, Pakistani senator Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed raised the proposal for establishment of Bulleh Shah University in Kasur.[63][64] In 2023, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a bill, proposed by Asiya Azeem, for the establishment of "Bulleh Shah International University" in Kasur.[65]
The renowned Pakistani businessman Syed Babar Ali mentioned Bulleh Shah in his autobiography, and the role played by his team in publishing his works.[66]
Politics
In the 1960s and 1970s, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto exploited the rising popularity of the ideas of Bulleh Shah, and the slogan of "Roti Kapra aur Makan" (that inspired the film Roti Kapda Aur Makaan) among the common masses and emerged as a populist leader who eventually became the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan.[67] Bhutto used the term “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar” (a song adapted by Bulleh Shah) in 1973 to predict the political turmoil ahead.[68]
In February 2006 then Chief Minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi addressed a conference at the University of the Punjab, in which he said, Bulleh Shah and other Sufi's "were not only preachers, but also historians of social history."[69]
In March 2013, Hamza Shahbaz (on the behalf of Punjab's chief minister Shehbaz Sharif) inaugurated "Yadgar-e-Baba Bulleh Shah" (a memorial to Bulleh Shah) in Kasur.[70] In 2015, in his address the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recited a verse of Bulleh Shah.[71][72]
In 2015, the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan (former Prime Minister) called Bulleh Shah "the great Sufi inspirational heritage of our region."[73]
In August 2023, the caretaker chief minister of Punjab Mohsin Raza Naqvi laid the foundation stone of the extension project of the dargah of Bulleh Shah. He said, the teachings of Bulleh Shah are "an enlightening as well as an illuminating chapter for us."[74] Among the attendees were Nayyar Ali Dada.
Aseff Ahmad Daula, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, was an admirer of Bulleh Shah. In one of his essays, he equated "Punjabi" with the language of Bulleh Shah.[75] Another Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri praised Bulleh Shah for "always projecting truth in his verses."[76]
Works
Bulleh Shah never published his works. However, a significant part of his work has been preserved and published formally in India, Pakistan and abroad. The following is a list of books and book chapters containing his poetic works (or its translation).
Kulliyat Bulleh Shah (Publisher: Zahid Basheer Printers, Lahore). Editor: Faqir Muhammad Faqir.[89]
Ramooz e Irfan: Kafyan Hazrat Bulleh Shah [Secrets of Sainthood: The Kafis of Saint Bulleh Shah] (Publisher: Kashmir Research Institute, Srinagar). Translator: Fiza Jokalwai.[90]
"Tere ishq Nachaya," a popular poem by Bulleh Shah, has been sung numerous times both in public and film industry, e.g., the popular song Chaiyya Chaiyya is derived from its lyrics.
"Bullah Ki Jaana," one of the most popular poems by Bulleh Shah, has been sung by numerous singers in India and Pakistan.
A brief biographical sketches of him are found in "Encyclopaedia of Untouchables : Ancient Medieval and Modern" (2008)[94] and "Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature" (1987).[17]
^ abcMara Brecht; Reid B. Locklin, eds. (2016). Comparative theology in the millennial classroom : hybrid identities, negotiated boundaries. New York: Routledge. ISBN978-1-317-51250-9. OCLC932622675.
^ abcJ.R. Puri; T.R. Shangari. "The Life of Bulleh Shah". Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA) website. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
^ abAbbas, Sadia (2014). At Freedom's Limit : Islam and the Postcolonial Predicament. New York, NY: Fordham University Press. ISBN978-0-8232-5786-7. OCLC1204032457.
^ abcdKumar, Raj (2008). Encyclopaedia of Untouchables, Ancient, Medieval and Modern. Delhi, India: Kalpaz Publications. p. 190. ISBN978-81-7835-664-8. OCLC277277425. It is said that from among the ancestors of Bulleh Shah, Syed Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari came to Multan from Surakh-Bukhara three hundred years earlier. [...] Bulleh Shah's family, of being Sayyiad caste, was related to prophet Muhammad [...] Bulleh Shah's father, Shah Mohammed Dervish, was well versed in Arabic, Persian and the holy Qura'n. [...] There is a strong historical evidence to show that Bulleh Shah was an eminent scholar of Arabic and Persian.
^ abWaheed, Sarah Fatima (2022). Hidden histories of Pakistan : censorship, literature, and secular nationalism in late colonial India. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-108-99351-7. OCLC1263249486.
^ abShāh, Bullhe (2015). C. Shackle (ed.). Sufi lyrics. Translated by C. Shackle. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-674-25966-9. OCLC1240164691.
^Wolf, Richard K. (2014). The voice in the drum : music, language, and emotion in Islamicate South Asia. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN978-0-252-09650-1. OCLC894227410.
^Husain, Imdad (1989). An introduction to the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Lahore: Vanguard Books. ISBN969-402-000-X. OCLC21322031.
^Asfari, Amin, ed. (2020). Civility, Nonviolent Resistance, and the New Struggle for Social Justice. Leiden: Brill. ISBN978-90-04-41758-8. OCLC1130904784.
^Zeeshan Jawed (4 June 2005). "Soundscape for the soul". The Telegraph (Kolkata newspaper). Calcutta. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
^Shāh, Bullhe (2015). Bulleh Shah : a selection. Translated by Taufiq Rafat. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-940288-5. OCLC927190615.
This table only includes figures venerated traditionally by the majority of Muslims in the Subcontinent, whence persons honored exclusively by particular modern movements are not included.
