Endowed with these characteristics a Sufi prays like the noted Sufi Ibn-e-Arabi used to pray: “enter me, O Lord, into the deep ocean of Thine infinite oneness.” When a prayer is endorsed, in the words of Ibn-e-Arabi, “my heart become an image of every picture; it is the place for a dervish to dance; it is a monastery for a monk to learn; it is a house for all or none to worship; it is a Ka’aba to make the pilgrimage; it is the ten commandments of Torah; it is the Koran; my religion is the religion of love, wherever I direct my face it is love to God.”
The world today is divided by borders, religion, culture, customs, conflicting ideas, contradictory ideals etc. Sufism is one universal idea which could bridge the differences of class, faith or colour. Our contemporary world is preoccupied with hedonism, politics, legalism and the outer ritualistic form of religion. Inner goodness and growth of conscience are suppressed, ironically, in the name of religious authenticity and textuality. The world needs the love of Sufis. Yunus Emre, a Turkish Sufi of the 13th century says “love is like the shining sun; a heart without love is nothing more than a stone.” And Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri says “love to all and malice to none … only through this way we can develop river like generosity, sun like affection and earth like hospitality.”
The mullah oriented Islam sits on the fringe of radicalism and it results in the rise of religious nationalism, puritanism and fanaticism. More than pushing the zealotry of religion a propagation of the underlying values of Sufism is the need of today. Faisal Devji, an expert in political Islam at Oxford University says “at Sufism’s core is an embrace of the world. It allows you to identify beyond your mosque to something that can be both Islamic and secular.”
The Sufistic ethos was egalitarian, charitable, humane and friendly. It was often propagated by wandering seers and story tellers. Its blending with the local cultures not only cemented Islam’s place but also served the commonality. South Asia has always been a land of free thinkers and has amalgamated various cultures and thoughts. It is in this land of ancient wisdom and liberal thoughts Sufism flourished in a true sense. Hence the Indian sub-continent became the promising land of Sufis, the envoys of peace that helped the people of different faiths to come under the umbrella of humanity, of commonality.
The Sufis in India came from the north-west region when Hazrat Shaikh Ali Hujwairi settled in India in the 11th Century. Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti came in the 12th Century and Hazrat Shaikh Bahauddin Zakaria settled in Multan in the 13th Century. Sufism left a strong imprint not only on the socio-religious history of India but has also made lasting contribution in the realms of literature, art, philosophy and music. The Sufis were gifted with highest literary accomplishments and creative imagination which they skillfully employed in the local languages often bursting out in sublime poetry. The concept of composite culture of the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the doors of Khanqahs. The Sufi centres encouraged education and learning among the masses. The message of social equality was never conveyed as loud and clear as the Sufi derveshes. Being timeless travelers the Sufis propagated bridging the narrow cultural divides.
It was in the land of five rivers, the Punjab, always fertile for fresh and healthier all-embracing ideas since ages, that Sufism was received with enthusiasm and deeper commitment. The family of Hazrat Shaikh Farid Masud Gunjshakar migrated from Afghanistan and settled in Punjab in the First half of the 12th Century. Being acknowledged as the first Punjabi poet Baba Farid left a strong legacy. The inclusion of his poetry in Gurugranth Sahib more than three centuries later is a subtle point of reference. Punjabi Sufi poets like Sultan Bahu, Shah Hussain, Bulley Shah and Waris Shah, following the path shown by Baba Farid, had reacted sharply against indignities based on religion.
Punjab is in fact a galaxy of God-intoxicated men who belonged to various faiths and creeds – the Hindu saints, the Sikh gurus and the Sufi fakirs. Their mystical songs are still the pride of the whole Punjab and form a common invaluable heritage. The great pioneers of 12th & 13th century Sufi movement in Punjab were known as ‘chahaar yaar’ (the four friends): Bahauddin Zakaria Multani (1170-1267), Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari (1196-1294), Laal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177-1274) and Baba Farid Gunj Shakar (1174-1266).
The Sufi impulses have inspired the most sublime poetry with the saints preferring the local vernaculars for the communion with the Ultimate. The Sufi poetry in Indian vernaculars mostly found its impetus from Persian. No one can deny that Sufi poetry in Persian is more diversified than Arabic and it is Persian, not Arabic, which offers the richest mystical poetry of the world. More than Arabic, the Persian Sufi poetry was influenced by the form and content of Koran. The poetic nature of Persian gave rise to a vast ocean of Sufi poetry which has been appreciated from Albania to Malaysia. More than the people of Arabia and their language and literature it is the people of Persian origin and their language and literature that played a much bigger role in the spread of Islam. They had a profound influence on the Sufi poetry of Sindhi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali etc.
The Punjabi language and literature traces its development from 9th century. Sneh Raso, written in Multani in the 9th or 10th century can be taken as one of earliest Punjabi work. Multani, definitely a pre-Punjabi ‘apabhransha’, had around three hundred terms which are currently in use in Punjabi usage. It is said that Punjabi has a huge chunk of Iranian sources. People say that whenever Punjabi is spoken even for a minute it contains an Iranian source. The Gurugranth Sahib has a large vocabulary from this source. The outcome of this bound is that a Punjabi speaking fellow in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia (where Persian is the cultural language) will find himself in a in a highly familiar fraternal atmosphere.
A close and liberal analysis of Sufism, the Sikh religion and the region of Punjab will certainly highlight a lot of similarities. Sufism celebrates religious reality as one of the joy of life and worship. Given the culture of Punjab, this has particularly resonated in the people of Punjab. Religious historians have tried to trace the Vedantic and the Semitic roots of Sikhism. In Vedantic and Semitic belief the God is not always benevolent and merciful but a retributory and wrathful too. The God in Sufism is always the lover or the beloved. For Guru Nanak the Lord is always merciful; “Mehrwan, Sahib mera mehrwan” (Merciful, my Lord is always merciful). At the beginning of every chapter in Gurugranth Sahib there is a ‘mulmantra’ (the topic sentence or the gist) as every ‘Surah’ (chapter) of the Koran begins with “bi-smi llahi r-rahmani r-rahim” (In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful).
The Koranic idea of ‘all people as one nation’ finds echo in Sikhism. In chapter 2, verse 213 of the Koran, the God says “all people are a single nation”. Further, in chapter 10, verse 09 of the Koran, the God says “people are naught but a single nation. This idea found expression in the words of Guru Nanak: “All men are of the same caste and that we are all equal, no high and low, all brothers and no friends or foes.”
Guru Nanak talks about two types of Muslims – the intolerant, hypocritical, formalist and orthodox and the Sufis. For ten years Guru Nanak worked as ‘mody’ (granary officer) of Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of Punjab. Ghazi Khan, the son of Daulat Khan Lodi, was a young man of very scholarly taste. His library was, at that time, the biggest library of India housing rarest manuscripts of Islamic literature. Scholars from far and near came to consult the books and manuscripts of Ghazi Khan Lodi’s library. Guru Nanak had an access to this library for those ten years that he stayed at Sultanpur.
Guru Nanak travelled widely to both Hindu and Muslim places of worship. In these journeys he had two constant companions: Bala (a Hindu by faith) and Mardana (a Muslim). Mardana also composed some hymns which were later included in Gurugranth Sahib. Guru Nanak belonged to an educated and affluent family that was placed in the service of Afghan rulers of Punjab. In all probability he must have listened to the poetry of Rumi, Saadi, Jami, Hafiz etc and the philosophy of these mystic poets would have aroused in him an interest in divine love, grace and mercy. Guru Nanak met the great saint Shah Sharf of Panipat and Shaikh Ibrahim, the thirteenth successor of Baba Farid. In his journey to Baghdad, with Mardana, he met the noted Sufi Shah Bahlol. All these took the teachings of Guru Nanak close to the mystic doctrines. Noted historian Tara Chand says: “How deep Guru Nanak’s debt to Sufism, it is hardly necessary to state, for it is so evident in his words and thoughts. Manifestly he was stepped in Sufi love.”
Just as there are stages in the spiritual uplift of a Sufi similarly in his ‘Jap ji’ Guru Nanak speaks of five steps in the spiritual progress of man: Dharam Khand (the region of duty), Gian Khand (the region of knowledge), Saram Khand (the region of effort), Karam Khand (the region of grace), Sach Khand (the region of truth). Singing the praise of God, music and free kitchen (langar) are the commonest practices in Sufism and Sikhism. The fundamental basis of Sufism is ‘truth is one’. The alpha numeric IK – ONKAR posits a similar oneness. The Sufi concept of ‘Zikr’ (recital of the name of God) is ‘naam japna’ in Sikhism. Sidaq (sidq: truthfulness), Sabar (sabr: endurance), Hukam (hukm: divine command), Mehar (mehr: affection), Karam (benignity) are some terms in Sikhism that come from Sufi vocabulary.
It is a widely known fact that noted Lahore based Sufi Mir Muhammad Muayyinul Islam (1550-1665) popularly known as Mian Meer was the friend of fifth Sikh guru Guru Arjan Dev and it is anecdotal that he laid the foundation stone of the Golden Temple or at least he was present on the occasion. It was Guru Arjan Dev who started the compilation of Gurgranth Sahib in 1604. The holy book comprises of three sections: a long poem by Guru Nanak summing up the elements of Sikhism, a collection of ragas or songs composed by the first five Gurus, and a mixed collection of commentaries elaborating the ragas together with hymns of many saints and Sufis. Prominent among them are Kabir, Baba Farid, Namdev, Shaikh Bhikan and Mardana. The granth had 292 hymns by Kabir and 134 by Baba Farid.
Punjabi literature has three prominent literary traditions. The Sikh religious tradition, known as Gurmat, is based on the poetry of Sikh gurus. The Sufi tradition begins with Baba Farid and becomes the most powerful literary tradition of Punjab with the poetry of Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Bulley Shah and others. The ‘kissa’ tradition first begins with Damodar who wrote on the famous folk narrative of Heer and reaches its peak with Waris Shah’s Heer. The major poets of this tradition are Hafiz Barkhurdaar, Syed Hashim Shah, Ahmad Yaar, Imam Baksh etc. The Sufi tradition and the ‘kissa’ tradition run parallel, interacting with each other to constitute the most comprehensive and strong tradition of Punjabi poetry.
The lyrical effusion of the Sufis gave birth to a distinct stream of poetry called as Sufi Kavya Dhara. This inherits a long literary tradition in its content, form and scope from the flow of masterly beauty of Farid-Baani. One of Baba Farid’s most important contributions was the development of Punjabi as a language of literary expression. Sanskrit and Arabic had been considered as the languages of the clergy and elites. Punjabi was a vernacular, a folk language. Before Baba Farid, there was very little in Punjabi literature except the traditional and anonymous folk ballads. By using Punjabi as the language of his poetry Baba Farid laid the basis for a rich Punjabi literature.
As stated earlier singing is an important aspect of mystic poetry. The Sufis wrote lyrical poetry in simple language of the people and used images and symbols drawn from everyday life. They employed folk forms like doha, kafi, barah’masa, si’harfi, bait etc. Popular folk narratives like Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwaal, Sasi Pannu and Mirza Sahibaan was used by the Sufi poets to convey the spiritual nature of human existence and to express their understanding of life as the voluptuous union of man and woman. The Sufis of Punjab had the model of Iranian Sufis before them who used the folk narratives of Yusuf Zulaikha, Laila Majnun and Shireen Farhaad for the same purpose.
The medieval Bhakti, Sufi and Punjabi poetry struggles against the deadening enslavement of man to the orthodoxies of religion. Following the path shown by Baba Farid prominent Punjabi Sufi poets like Sultan Bahu, Bulleh Shah, Ali Haidar etc. reacts sharply against the indignities based on religion. Bulleh Shah says:
Brindaban me gaooa charaee
Lanka charh ke naad vajaee
Makke da haji ban aaee
Vah va rang vatai da
Hun kisto aap chupaee da!
(You) grazed cows in Brindaban
(You) blew trumpets by foraying Lanka
(You) became the haji of Mecca
(You) change colours so wonderfully
From whom are you hiding now
Farid Masud Gunj Shakar (1173-1265) has not only been recognized as the first major poet of Punjabi literature but also as one among the fifteen ‘bhagats’ of Sikhism. On his way to Pakpattan after meeting his spiritual guide Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki at Delhi, Baba Farid stayed at a place which was later named as Faridkot. His belongings are kept at Gurudwara Godari Sahib at Faridkot which is visited by the people of all religions. Baba Farid was against all hypocrisy. He says that every human heart is a pearl hence he preaches not to break any heart. His message has a wide humanitarian approach. He sings of insatiable hunger for the love of the Lord. In his poetry the relationship between God and man is that of a husband and wife. Written in sensuous imagery, his poetry is lyrical and free from any sectarian prejudice.
Kaale maide kapre, kala maida wais
GunahiN bhariya maiN phiraN, lok kahaiN darves
Black are my robes and black is my guise
I roamed, filled with sin, and people call me a seer.
GalliN kichar, dur ghar, naal piyare niNh
ChallaN te bhijje kaambli, rahaN taN tutte niNh
Muddy is the lane, the home is distant, and I have promised my love
If I move I spoil the cloak, if I stay I break my word.
Noted historian Prof. Khalique Ahmad Nizami says “Muslim mysticism is, in its essence, a message of love. It aims at creating harmony in the discordant elements of society. True to these ideals, Baba Farid strove day and night to create that atmosphere of love and good will which was, and even today is, the greatest desideratum of human society. A healthy social order free from dissensions, conflicts, discrimination, hatred and jealousy – was the thing he longed for. In love, faith, toleration, and sympathy which included even the enemy, he found the supreme talisman of human happiness.”
Once, Baba Farid told a visitor who had presented him a pair of scissors: “do not give me scissors. Give me a needle. I sew. I do not cut.”
Sultan Bahu (1630-1691) adopted the verse form ‘si-harfi’ or ‘seh-harfi’ to express his sentiments, ending every line with a lyrical tone of exquisite charm pronounced as ‘hoo’. Having more than forty books on Sufism, Sultan Bahu preferred love (ishq) over wisdom (aql) and even faith (imaan).
He is playing the game of love by Himself
He Himself is the Sight,
He Himself is the Seer,
He Himself is the Seen
He Himself is Love,
He Himself is the Lover,
He Himself is the Beloved.
If you lift the veil,
You will see that in reality
There is only One.
Sultan Bahu explains love in the following lines:
For my friend I made my body into a City,
Where I built for him a special home in my heart,
When the one Lord took abode in it,
I was blessed with profound peace.
I now hear His voice echoing everything,
Even in voices other than his own.
Only those who suffer the pangs of love,
Can realise this divine secret.
Shah Hussain (1538-1599) is the pioneer of ‘kaafi’ form in Punjabi poetry. Most of his poetry revolves around the image of the spinning of wheel which he compared with the circle of life. He is also famous as Madho Lal Hussain because of his affection for his disciple Madho Lal whose tomb lies next to his tomb. He enriched Sufi poetry by adding the element of romance in it. His poetry is endowed with rapture and leads to enraptured dancing and singing. He introduced the popular love legends like Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahiwaal in Sufi poetry and involved their persons, places, motifs and images etc to address God.
Rabba mere haal da mahram tu
Ander tooN hiya, bahir tu
Rom rom wich tu
Tu hai taana, tu hai baana, sab kuch mayra tu
Kahey Hussain faqeer nimmana, maeN nahiN sab tu
O God, You know my plight
You are within, and You are outside
You are in every pores of my body
You are the beginning and the end, everything of mine is You
Says Hussain, the beggar, I am nothing and You are everything.
Syed Abdullah Shah popularly known as Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) lived in the same period as the famous Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. His period also coincides with the legendary Punjabi Sufi poet Waris Shah and the Sindhi Sufi poet Sachal Sarmast. Baba Bulleh Shah employed ‘kaafi’ as the dominant style of his poetry. Used by the Sikh gurus, ‘kaafi’ was a very prominent form of Punjabi and Sindhi Sufi poetry. Bulleh Shah appears to be a humanist in his poetry and highlights the mystical and spiritual journey through the four stages of Sufism: The path (Shariat), the observance (Tariqat), the truth (Haqiqat), the union (Ma’arifat).
Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the people of Punjab in their turbulent times of communal hatred. His poetry reflects the frenzied times and blames those who were in power including intellectuals, academics and clergy for dividing the people and for not letting them discover the love of God.
Tear down the mosque, and temples too
Break down all that divides
But do not break the human heart
Because it is there where God resides
He asserts the people:
Neither a Hindu, nor a Muslim
Sacrificing pride, let us sit together
Neither a Shia nor a Sunni
Let us walk the path of peace.
Prefering love (ishq) to jurisprudence (fiqh) Bulleh Shah says:
Law says go to mullah to learn rules and regulations
Love says one word is enough – pull away your books
Law says go and bathe five times and worship alone in the mosque
Love replies – your worship is false if you consider yourself separate from your beloved.
Bulleh Shah was denied by the clerics to be buried in the community graveyard of Qasoor because of his unorthodox views:
Bas kar jee, huN bas kar jee
Ek baar asaaN naal haNs kar jee
Tusi dil wich merey wasdey-o
Aywein sathooN door kion nasdey-o
Naaley ghaat jadoo dil khasdey-o
Bas kar jee, huN bas kar jee
Bulleh Shah main teri bardi-aaN
Tera mukh wekhaaN noo mardi-aaN
Nit sau sau minn’taaN kardi-aaN
Hun baith hijar wich dhas kar jee
Bas kar jee, huN bas kar jee
O, Stop this, Please stop this.
A chat with me, smilingly
You reside in my heart
And yet why you beguile me
I feel charmed by your name on my lips
Yet you give me the usual slips
O, stop this please.
You are my Master, says Bulleh, your slave
I die to to see your face
I plead you hundred times a day
Sit in my heart like a shell in the oyster
O, Stop this, Please stop this.
Today Bulleh Shah is remembered widely and his tomb is being looked after by the city of Qasur for his global respect and recognition because of the harmony and love he talked about:
Tusi wee ucchay, tuhaadi zaat wee ucchi, tusiN wich Ucch de rahan dey
Assi Kasuri, Asadi zaat Kasuri, AsaN wich Kasur de rahan dey.
Faith (aqidaah) and love (ishq) are the twin towers of strength for the Sufis. Love with the Creator can only be attained through love for his creation. According to Bayazid Bistami “if you aspire communion with God, be kind, generous and just to your fellow beings.” Waris Shah (1722-1798), in Punjabi Sufi poetry, is known for his symbols of love. Through the story of romantic love titled Heer Ranjha, his best known seminal work, he tried to portray the love of men for God.
Awwal hamd Khuda da wird kariye
Ishq kitta su jag da mool miyaN
PehlaaN aap hi Rabb ne ishq kitta
Te mashooq he nabi rasool miyaN
Begin with reciting the praise of Lord
Love is the basic of the world, man
God, is the first, who fell in love
The prophet was his beloved, man!
The Sufis of Punjab contributed not only to the linguistic, literary and cultural heritage of Punjab but also identified themselves with its land and people. Sufism and its poetry emphasises the contents rather than the cloth, communitarianism rather than individualism, humanity rather than identity, love rather than hatred. The 21st century promised to be different but with the passing of two decades the world finds itself deeply enmeshed in conflicts. Neo liberalism is encouraging sectarianism. The clash of civilisation is basically the clash of economic and political interest under the garb of religion which has become a tool to safeguard vested interests. The information boom is damaging human knowledge. The post-truth society is damaging tolerance and coexistence. Post-humanism is damaging communitarianism. Internet and search engines are making the individual isolated. Let us look back to Baba Farid who calls us and says:
Let forbearance be the aim of your life
If you are firmly rooted in it, O man
You will grow like a great river
And will not break off into a petty channel.
And pray in the words of Gurugranth Sahib:
Jagat jalaaN da raakh le, Apni Kripa dhar.
The world is burning into cinders, have mercy O Lord.
