ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>FAR&#298D SHAIKH (569-664 AH or AD 1173-1265)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="FAR*D,SHAI"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279FAR&#298D, SHAI<u>KH</u> (569-664 AH/AD 1173-1265), S&#363f&#299 mystic and teacher, who is also known to be the first recorded poet in the Punjabi language. His father Shai<u>kh</u> Jam&#257ludd&#299n Sulaim&#257n whose family related, according to current tradition, to the rulers of K&#257bul by ties of blood, left his home in Central Asia during the period of Mongol incursions in the course of the twelfth century. Seeking safety and some place to settle in, he came into the Punjab where already under <u>Gh</u>aznavid rule several Muslim religious centres had developed and sizeable Muslim populations had grown, particularly in the areas now included in West Punjab (Pakistan).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To Shai<u>kh</u> Jam&#257ludd&#299n Sulaim&#257n was born in 569 AH/AD 1173 in the month of Ramad&#257n a son, the future Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d. The newly born child is said to have been named after the S&#363f&#299 poet Far&#299dudd&#299n Att&#257r, author of several works on S&#363f&#299 philosophy. The child became famous by the first part of his name Far&#299d, which is Arabic for 'Unique'. He also acquired the appellation of Shakargañj or Gañj-i-Shakar (Treasury of Sugar) or P&#299r-i- Shakarb&#257r.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The place of his birth, close to Mult&#257n, was called Ko&#7789hev&#257l. His father having died while he was still a child, his mother Qars&#363m B&#299b&#299, an extremely pious lady, brought him up. He grew up to be a great saint, combining with holiness learning in all the sciences comprehended at that time under Islamic religious studies, such as canon law, jurisprudence and mystical philosophy.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; About the appellation of <i>Shakargañj</i> popularly given him, it is related that in order to induce the child to say his prayers regularly, his mother used to place under his prayer mat small packet of <i>shakar</i> or country sugar which the child would get as a reward. Once, it is said, she forgot to provide the incentive. Such was the piety of the child and such the divine favour that a packet of <i>shakar</i> nevertheless appeared in the usual place. On discovery, this was attributed to a miracle, and hence the appellation <i>Shakargañj</i>. Another explanation given is that while undergoing in his youth extremely hard penance, he in a fainting state once looked around for something to break a three days' continuous fast. Not finding anything to assuage his hunger, he thrust a few stone pebbles into his mouth. By divine intervention, the stones turned into lumps of sugar. But this name may in reality be traceable to the blessing which he is recorded to have received from his spiritual preceptor, <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 Qutubudd&#299n Ba<u>kh</u>tiy&#257r K&#257k&#299, who praised the sweetness of his disposition and of his word, and remarked : "Thou shalt be sweet like sugar."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d is one of the founding-fathers of the famous Chisht&#299 S&#363f&#299 order in India, which began its long course in the country towards the close of the twelfth century with the coming of the great saint <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 Mu'&#299nudd&#299n Chisht&#299. Khw&#257j&#257 Mu'&#299nudd&#299n came to India during the reign of R&#257i Pithor&#257 or Prithv&#299r&#257j Chauh&#257n, the last R&#257jp&#363t king of Delhi, whose kingdom stretched to Ajmer and beyond. Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d became the disciple of <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 Qutubudd&#299n Ba<u>kh</u>tiy&#257r K&#257k&#299, himself a disciple of <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 Mu'&#299nudd&#299n Chisht&#299. He first met his future master at Mult&#257n and became deeply devoted to him. When the <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 was leaving Mult&#257n to resume his onward journey to Delhi, he adjured him to follow him to the city after completing his studies at Mult&#257n. Far&#299d continued his S&#363f&#299 practices under the guidance of the master he had adopted. This involved, in accordance with the tradition of the Chisht&#299 order, rigorous penance and constant prayer, to subdue the flesh and acquire spiritual illumination. Included in this discipline was <i>chill&#257-i-mak&#363s</i>, constant prayer with head hung downwards for forty days. Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d set up a centre of devotion at H&#257&#7749s&#299, in present-day Hary&#257&#7751&#257, later shifting to Ajodhan, now P&#257k Pa&#7789&#7789an in S&#257h&#299w&#257l district of Punjab (Pakistan). This was then a wild and arid area, with few of the comforts of life, and here he came in obedience to <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 Qutubudd&#299n's command : "Go thou and set up settlement in some wasteland." Ajodhan is close to the River Sutlej on its western side, on the banks of one of its tributary streams. The stream was served by a ferry called <i>pattan</i>. Later, in honour of Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d it came to be known as P&#257k Pa&#7789&#7789an (holy ferry). The place, now a fairly well-developed town, is till this day called by that name. It is recorded that Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d spent his entire life from his twenty-fourth year on at Ajodhan, where he made a reputation for himself by his pious and austere living and his many beneficent works. As related by his disciple, the famous Shai<u>kh</u> Niz&#257mudd&#299n Awl&#299y&#257, who visited him at least three times at Ajodhan, there was more often than not very little in his home to eat and the family and disciples would feel blessed if they could make a meal, on <i>&#7693el&#257</i>, a wild sour-tasting berry growing on a leafless thorny bush. He maintained in the tradition of the Chisht&#299 saints, a <i>kh&#257naq&#257h</i> or hospice for itinerant S&#363f&#299s and others, along with a prayer-house where strangers would be provided food and shelter and spiritual instruction. Here Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d also received visits from travelling scholars, other S&#363f&#299s and dervishes and from large crowds seeking his blessing. Some miraculous stories are related of him which illustrate the great faith he inspired and the veneration in which the people held him.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That the S&#363f&#299s brought the healing touch to the strife-torn religious scene in those times is evidenced by an incident which bears a deep symbolic character. Once someone brought a pair of scissors. Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d put it by and asked instead for a needle, saying : "I am come to join not to sever." Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d, whose influence spread far and wide, had, according to a report, twenty <i><u>kh</u>al&#299f&#257s</i> or senior missionary disciples to preach his message in different parts of the country. Out of these, three were considered to be the principal ones. At the head was the famous Shai<u>kh</u> Niz&#257mudd&#299n Awl&#299y&#257 of Delhi, followed by Shai<u>kh</u> Jam&#257ludd&#299n of H&#257&#7749s&#299 and Shai<u>kh</u> 'Al&#257udd&#299n 'Al&#299 Ahmad S&#257bir of Kaliy&#257r, in R&#257jasth&#257n.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The modern town of Far&#299dko&#7789, which is situated close to Ba&#7789hi&#7751&#7693&#257 and would in Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d's time be on the road leading out from Delhi and H&#257&#7749s&#299 towards Mult&#257n, is traditionally associated with his name. Ajodhan would be distant about a hundred miles from this place. A credible story connects the name of this place, Far&#299dko&#7789 (Fort of Far&#299d), with the forced labour that this saint had to undergo there in the time of the local chief named Mokal, then building his fort. By a miracle Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d's sainthood was revealed and, on the inhabitants showing him reverence, he blessed the place.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib contains the spiritual and devotional compositions of certain saints besides the Gur&#363s. Prominent among these are Kab&#299r, Ravid&#257s, N&#257mdev and Far&#299d. The poetry of Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d, as preserved in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is deeply sensitive to the feeling of pity, the subtle attractiveness of sin, inevitable death and the waste of human life owing to man's indifference to God and goodness. His language is of an extraordinary power and sensitivity. The tragic waste of man's brief span of life in frivolous pursuits moves him to tender expression of pity and reproach. Withal he is deeply human and man's situation moves him to deep compassion such as would be in a man with eyes who saw a blind man standing on the edge of a precipice, about to take the fatal step into nothingness. The voice of human suffering finds in him an expression heard seldom and only in the greatest poetry. His language is the authentic idiom of the countryside of southwestern Punjab, where he spent the major portion of his life. Yet by a miracle of poetic creation this language has become in his hands full of subtle appeal, evoking tender emotions and stimulating the imagination.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The main theme of Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d's <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> is what in the Indian critical terminology would be called <i>vair&#257gya</i>, that is dispassion towards the world and its false attractions. In S&#363f&#299 terminology this is called <i>taub&#257</i> or turning away. The <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> of Far&#299d in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is slender in volume, but as poetry of spiritual experience it is creation of the highest order. It consists of four <i>&#347abdas</i> (hymns) and 112 <i>&#347lokas</i> (couplets) . Gur&#363 N&#257nak, Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s and Gur&#363 Arjan have continued the theme of some of Far&#299d's couplets. These continuations appear in the body of Far&#299d's <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i>. Gur&#363 N&#257nak has left a <i>&#347abda</i> in measure S&#363h&#299 as a corrective to Far&#299d's beautiful lyric in the same measure, which, however, appeared to view the future of the human soul in a rather pessimistic light.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Certain recent writers, led by M.A. Macauliffe, have raised doubts as to Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d Shakargañj's authorship of the <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i>, mainly on the score of its language which they think is too modern for his day. While in the course of oral transmission it may have at places taken on the colouring of subsequent periods, it is the authentic idiom of Mult&#257n&#299-Punjabi which that dialect retains to this day. The language argument against Far&#299d's authorship cannot be sustained. The Gur&#363s would not have given this <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> the place of honour they did, were they not convinced that it was composed by Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d Shakargañj, the most revered Muslim S&#363f&#299 of the Punjab. The high level of poetry, the sheer genius which has created it would make the claim of a lesser man than Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d to authorship insupportable. History does not know of any other man as famous as Far&#299d, the name used in the verses included in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>&#346abad&#257rth Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib</i>. Amritsar, 1964<BR> <li class="C1"> Gurdit Si&#7749gh Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Itih&#257s Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib</i>. (Bhagat B&#257&#7751&#299 Bh&#257g). Chandigarh, 1990<BR> <li class="C1"> S&#257hib Si&#7749gh, <i>Bhagat B&#257&#7751&#299 Sa&#7789&#299k</i>. Amritsar, 1959-60<BR> <li class="C1"> V&#299r Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299, <i>Shabad-Shalok Shei<u>kh</u> Far&#299d S&#257hib</i>. Amritsar, 1909<BR> <li class="C1"> Maculiffe, M.A., <i>The Sikh Religion</i>. Oxford, 1909<BR> <li class="C1"> Kohli, Surindar Singh, <i>A Critical Study of Adi Granth.</i> Delhi,1951<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurbachan Si&#7749gh T&#257lib<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>