Shah Hussain is also often known as Shah Hussain Faqir - Faqir meaning Dervish (mendicant) and Shah means King. So due to his extremely humble Sufi personality, people called him The Dervish King, a person who was a King and a Dervish at the same time.[1]
Life
Posthumous depiction of Shah Hussain
He was born in 945 AH (1538) within the Walled City of Lahore in what is now Punjab, Pakistan.[2] His father was Sheikh Usman,[2] he was a Dhudhi Rajput (a clan of Rajput), and by occupation, he was a weaver (in some of Shah Hussain poetic rhymes he used his pen name as Faqir Hussain Julaha which means "Humble/Poor/Saint Hussain the weaver"),[1] his father, in his early age, enrolled him in a local school where he started to memorize the Quran. His teacher was Hafiz Abubakar. It was 955 AH (1548) when at the age of 10, a renowned Sufi master Sheikh Bahlol Qadri (d. 983 AH/ 1575) met him who later became his mentor. One day in the month of Ramadan his mentor asked him to fetch water for him from river and there he met Al-Khidr (Green One) who blessed him and Shah Hussain recited the whole Quran in Tarawih prayer while he memorized only 7 parts of the Quran, this miracle news spread in the city, Sheikh Bahlol, after some time, went to his town and directed Shah Hussain to regularly visit the Ali Hijwiri shrine in Lahore, Shah Hussain regularly at night stands in the river Ravi and recites the whole Quran until Fajar prayer and then visits to the shrine of Ali Hijwiri and till Zohar prayer recites whole Quran and he never missed a single congregation prayer, he also studied Tafsir Quran from a famous scholar Sheikh Saadullah Lahori in the year 981 AH (1573). While he was studying the Tafsir, he suddenly went out of the mosque and abandoned the path of ascetic and stepped into the path of self-blamers and became a self-blamer Sufi, he started to dance and drink in public, some slandered him, and some had faith in him.[citation needed]
Sheikh Madho Lal, the love of Shah Hussain, born in 983 AH (1575), when for the first time looked at his matchless beauty and fell for him, it was the love at first sight. At the time, Sheikh Madho was 16 years of age and Shah Hussain was 54 years old in the year 999 AH (1590). Sheikh Madho, at the age of 18 in 1002 AH (1593), embraced Islam and became a Muslim. Shah Hussain raised him as his vicegerent and became his spiritual master. Shah Hussain died at 63 years of age in 1008 AH (1599), and before his death, he predicted that his first shrine will be built in Shahdara (located near river Ravi), then after 12 years a flood will appear in the river that will reach to my shrine and then my grave will be shifted to Babu Pura (now Baghbanpura in Lahore; the Shalimar gardens) and my beloved Madho Lal will sit on my seat for 48 years after my death and it happened as the saint predicted, Sheikh Madho Lal, for the rest of his life, followed the footsteps of Shah Hussain and completely secluded himself from the world and confined himself into the shrine of his master Shah Hussain and in 1056 AH (1647) at the age of 73 died and was buried next to Shah Hussain.[citation needed]
Two great Sufi saints, Syed Daud Bandagi Kirmani Qadri (899 AH-982 AH/1484-1574) and his disciple Syed Abu Ishaq Qadri (d. 985 AH/1577), were close friends of Shah Hussain and renowned scholars of his time. Mullah Abdul Hakim Sialkoti and Sheikh Tahir Bandagi Naqshbandi had great honour and respect for him.[citation needed]
Notable books written on his life include Risala Baharia (by Bahar Khan on the directions of Emperor Jahangir), Hasanat ul Arifin (by Prince Dara Shiko in 1653), Haqiqat ul Fuqra (by Syed Sheikh Mahmood in 1662), Miftahul Arifin (by Abdul Fatah Naqshbandi Mujadad in 1667), along with others.[2]
His tomb and shrine is located at the Baghbanpura precincts, adjacent to the Shalimar GardensLahore, Pakistan. His Urs (annual death anniversary) is celebrated at his shrine every year during the "Mela Chiraghan" ("Festival of Lights").[2][3] Madho's tomb lies next to Hussain's in the shrine.[4][1]
In the 18th century, during Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 – 1839) rule of Punjab, the maharaja himself would lead a procession from his palace in Lahore to Shah Hussain's shrine barefoot during Mela Chiraghan (Festival of Lights), accompanied by thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. Shah Hussain's urs and the mela used to happen at two different times but were both combined into one and then called "Mela Chiraghan" (Festival of Lights) by Ranjit Singh. This mela (festival) is considered to be the biggest festival of Punjab.[1][2]
Kafis of Shah Hussain
Hussain's works of poetry consist entirely of short poems known as Kafis.[5] A typical 'Hussain Kafi' contains a refrain and some rhymed lines. The number of rhymed lines is usually between four and ten. Only occasionally is a longer form adopted. Hussain's Kafis are also composed for, and the singing of them has been set to music based on Punjabi folk music. Many of his Kafis are part of the traditional Qawwali repertoire. His poems have been performed as songs by Kaavish, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Ghulam Ali, Hamid Ali Bela, Amjad Parvez, Junoon and Noor Jehan, among others.[1][6]
"It may be asserted that poetry is often written to be sung. And all poetry carries, through manipulation of sound effects, some suggestion of music".[7]
Here are three examples, which draw on the famous love story of Heer Ranjha:
Ni Mai menoon Khedeyan di gal naa aakh[7] Ranjhan mera, main Ranjhan di, Khedeyan noon koodi jhak Lok janey Heer kamli hoi, Heeray da var chak
Do not talk of the Khedas to me, mother. I belong to Ranjha and he belongs to me. And the Khedas dream idle dreams. Let the people say, "Heer is crazy; she has given herself to a cowherd."
Another Kafi:
Sajjan bin raatan hoiyan whadiyaan[7] Ranjha jogi, main jogiani, kamli kar kar sadiyaan Maas jhurey jhur pinjer hoya, kadken lagiyaan haddiyaan Main ayani niyoonh ki janan, birhon tannawan gadiyaan Kahe Husain faqeer sain da, larr tere main lagiyaan
Main vi jaanaan jhok Ranjhan di, naal mere koi challey Pairan paindi, mintaan kardi, jaanaan tan peya ukkaley Neen vi dhoonghi, tilla purana, sheehan ney pattan malley Ranjhan yaar tabeeb sadhendha, main tan dard awalley Kahe Hussain faqeer namana, sain sunedha ghalley
The nights are long without my beloved. Since Ranjha became a jogi, I have scarcely been my old self; people everywhere call me crazy. My young flesh is all wrinkled, my bones are a creaking skeleton. I was too young to understand love; and now as the nights swell and merge into each other, I play host to that unkind guest – separation.
I have to go to Ranjha's hut, will someone go with me? I have begged many to accompany me, but I had to set out alone. The river is deep, and the shaky bridge creaks. I am tortured by my wounds, but Ranjha my beloved is the doctor who can cure them. Only my beloved can bring me comfort.
Two Kafis that are addressed to his Hindu disciple Madho Lal Hussain[8] need a special mention:
Madho Lal! Piyaare ki parwaasa dam da? Udeyaa bhor theyaa pardesi aggey raah agam da! Jinhaan saada shauh rijhaaya tinha nu bhow jam da? Aakhey Hussain faqeer nimaana chhaddiye sareer bhasam da!
Ve Madho! Main wadda theyaa badnaam! Raati pi ke dukh da piyaala tureyaa suwairon shaam! Ki aakhaan main ki si peeti? Loki dassan haraam! Kaafar aakhan saarey mainoon laawan sabh ilzaam! Mukh fairan sabh maidey wallon naal kaddan dushnaam! Rowey Hussain maidey Saain nu Madho chheti pej salaam!
Madho Lal! My dear what is this trust on life? You fly out in the morning and become a stranger, to take on an unknown road! Those that have pleased our Master in this life do they have to fear death which is the hereafter? Says Hussain the pride less mendicant, cast off this body of ashes!
O Madho! I have been greatly defamed! After drinking last night from my cup of sorrows, I have wandered from morning till evening. What can I say that I had drunk of? People say it was the forbidden wine! All here call me an infidel and accuse me of transgression! They turn back their faces from me and abuse me! Wails Hussain O Madho fast send my prayer to my Master!
^ abcdefSameer Shafi Warraich (24 April 2018). "'Love needs no guidance': How Shah Hussain and Madhu Laal defied social norms past and present". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 18 March 2021.
^ abcdefTania Qureshi (11 March 2019). "Shah Hussain — the pioneer of Punjabi kafi". Daily Times (newspaper). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^Annual Mela Chiraghan (Festival of Lights) in Lahore, Pakistan Dawn (newspaper), Published 4 April 2016, Retrieved 17 March 2021
^Lal, Mohan. (2006) Encyclopaedia of Indian literature. Vol. 5, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, p. 3940. ISBN81-260-1221-8.
^Hussain, Shah (1987). Kafiyan Shah Hussain: Kalaam Aur Urdu Tarjumah.
^"Hamid Ali Bela sings Shah Hussain poem". dailymotion.com website. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^ abcNajm Hosain Syed. "Profile of 'Shah Hussain'". travel-culture.com website. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^Amin Naqshbandy, Sheikh Parvaiz (2001). Hazrat Maadho Laal Hussain. the University of Michigan: Umar Publications. p. 120.
Further reading
Great Sufi Poets of The Punjab, by R. M. Chopra, Iran Society, Kolkata, 1999.
Verses of a Lowly Fakir poetry of Madho Lal Hussein translated by Naveed Alam 2016. ISBN0670088277
External links
Complete works of Shah Hussain in Punjabi (Shahmukhi) language, Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA) website
May 19, 2023
shah, hussain, punjabi, شاہ, حسین, shahmukhi, gurmukhi, 1538, 1599, also, known, madhoo, hussain, 16th, century, punjabi, muslim, sufi, poet, regarded, pioneer, kafi, form, punjabi, poetry, lived, during, ruling, periods, mughal, emperors, akbar, jahangir, شاہ. Shah Hussain Punjabi شاہ حسین Shahmukhi ਸ ਹ ਹ ਸ ਨ Gurmukhi 1538 1599 also known as Madhoo Lal Hussain was a 16th century Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry He lived during the ruling periods of Mughal emperors Akbar and his son Jahangir 1 2 Shah Hussain شاہ حسینMiniature painting of Sufi saint Madho Lal Hussain right BornHussain1539 CE 945 AH Lahore Punjab Mughal Empire now Punjab Pakistan Died1599 CE 1008 AH near Ravi River Lahore Punjab Mughal Empire now Punjab Pakistan Resting placeDurbar Shah Hussain Baghbanpura Lahore Punjab PakistanPen nameShah Hussain Hussain Faqir Faqir Hussain Julaha HussainOccupationSufi poetLanguagePunjabiPeriodMughal Period 1538 to 1599Notable worksKafiyan Shah Hussain Contents 1 Name 2 Life 3 Shrine 4 Kafis of Shah Hussain 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksName EditShah Hussain is also often known as Shah Hussain Faqir Faqir meaning Dervish mendicant and Shah means King So due to his extremely humble Sufi personality people called him The Dervish King a person who was a King and a Dervish at the same time 1 Life Edit Posthumous depiction of Shah Hussain He was born in 945 AH 1538 within the Walled City of Lahore in what is now Punjab Pakistan 2 His father was Sheikh Usman 2 he was a Dhudhi Rajput a clan of Rajput and by occupation he was a weaver in some of Shah Hussain poetic rhymes he used his pen name as Faqir Hussain Julaha which means Humble Poor Saint Hussain the weaver 1 his father in his early age enrolled him in a local school where he started to memorize the Quran His teacher was Hafiz Abubakar It was 955 AH 1548 when at the age of 10 a renowned Sufi master Sheikh Bahlol Qadri d 983 AH 1575 met him who later became his mentor One day in the month of Ramadan his mentor asked him to fetch water for him from river and there he met Al Khidr Green One who blessed him and Shah Hussain recited the whole Quran in Tarawih prayer while he memorized only 7 parts of the Quran this miracle news spread in the city Sheikh Bahlol after some time went to his town and directed Shah Hussain to regularly visit the Ali Hijwiri shrine in Lahore Shah Hussain regularly at night stands in the river Ravi and recites the whole Quran until Fajar prayer and then visits to the shrine of Ali Hijwiri and till Zohar prayer recites whole Quran and he never missed a single congregation prayer he also studied Tafsir Quran from a famous scholar Sheikh Saadullah Lahori in the year 981 AH 1573 While he was studying the Tafsir he suddenly went out of the mosque and abandoned the path of ascetic and stepped into the path of self blamers and became a self blamer Sufi he started to dance and drink in public some slandered him and some had faith in him citation needed Sheikh Madho Lal the love of Shah Hussain born in 983 AH 1575 when for the first time looked at his matchless beauty and fell for him it was the love at first sight At the time Sheikh Madho was 16 years of age and Shah Hussain was 54 years old in the year 999 AH 1590 Sheikh Madho at the age of 18 in 1002 AH 1593 embraced Islam and became a Muslim Shah Hussain raised him as his vicegerent and became his spiritual master Shah Hussain died at 63 years of age in 1008 AH 1599 and before his death he predicted that his first shrine will be built in Shahdara located near river Ravi then after 12 years a flood will appear in the river that will reach to my shrine and then my grave will be shifted to Babu Pura now Baghbanpura in Lahore the Shalimar gardens and my beloved Madho Lal will sit on my seat for 48 years after my death and it happened as the saint predicted Sheikh Madho Lal for the rest of his life followed the footsteps of Shah Hussain and completely secluded himself from the world and confined himself into the shrine of his master Shah Hussain and in 1056 AH 1647 at the age of 73 died and was buried next to Shah Hussain citation needed Two great Sufi saints Syed Daud Bandagi Kirmani Qadri 899 AH 982 AH 1484 1574 and his disciple Syed Abu Ishaq Qadri d 985 AH 1577 were close friends of Shah Hussain and renowned scholars of his time Mullah Abdul Hakim Sialkoti and Sheikh Tahir Bandagi Naqshbandi had great honour and respect for him citation needed Notable books written on his life include Risala Baharia by Bahar Khan on the directions of Emperor Jahangir Hasanat ul Arifin by Prince Dara Shiko in 1653 Haqiqat ul Fuqra by Syed Sheikh Mahmood in 1662 Miftahul Arifin by Abdul Fatah Naqshbandi Mujadad in 1667 along with others 2 The Shrine of Shah Hussain in LahoreShrine EditHis tomb and shrine is located at the Baghbanpura precincts adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens Lahore Pakistan His Urs annual death anniversary is celebrated at his shrine every year during the Mela Chiraghan Festival of Lights 2 3 Madho s tomb lies next to Hussain s in the shrine 4 1 In the 18th century during Maharaja Ranjit Singh 1780 1839 rule of Punjab the maharaja himself would lead a procession from his palace in Lahore to Shah Hussain s shrine barefoot during Mela Chiraghan Festival of Lights accompanied by thousands of Sikhs Muslims and Hindus Shah Hussain s urs and the mela used to happen at two different times but were both combined into one and then called Mela Chiraghan Festival of Lights by Ranjit Singh This mela festival is considered to be the biggest festival of Punjab 1 2 Kafis of Shah Hussain EditHussain s works of poetry consist entirely of short poems known as Kafis 5 A typical Hussain Kafi contains a refrain and some rhymed lines The number of rhymed lines is usually between four and ten Only occasionally is a longer form adopted Hussain s Kafis are also composed for and the singing of them has been set to music based on Punjabi folk music Many of his Kafis are part of the traditional Qawwali repertoire His poems have been performed as songs by Kaavish Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Abida Parveen Ghulam Ali Hamid Ali Bela Amjad Parvez Junoon and Noor Jehan among others 1 6 It may be asserted that poetry is often written to be sung And all poetry carries through manipulation of sound effects some suggestion of music 7 Here are three examples which draw on the famous love story of Heer Ranjha Ni Mai menoon Khedeyan di gal naa aakh 7 Ranjhan mera main Ranjhan di Khedeyan noon koodi jhak Lok janey Heer kamli hoi Heeray da var chak Do not talk of the Khedas to me mother I belong to Ranjha and he belongs to me And the Khedas dream idle dreams Let the people say Heer is crazy she has given herself to a cowherd Another Kafi Sajjan bin raatan hoiyan whadiyaan 7 Ranjha jogi main jogiani kamli kar kar sadiyaan Maas jhurey jhur pinjer hoya kadken lagiyaan haddiyaan Main ayani niyoonh ki janan birhon tannawan gadiyaan Kahe Husain faqeer sain da larr tere main lagiyaan Main vi jaanaan jhok Ranjhan di naal mere koi challey Pairan paindi mintaan kardi jaanaan tan peya ukkaley Neen vi dhoonghi tilla purana sheehan ney pattan malley Ranjhan yaar tabeeb sadhendha main tan dard awalley Kahe Hussain faqeer namana sain sunedha ghalley The nights are long without my beloved Since Ranjha became a jogi I have scarcely been my old self people everywhere call me crazy My young flesh is all wrinkled my bones are a creaking skeleton I was too young to understand love and now as the nights swell and merge into each other I play host to that unkind guest separation I have to go to Ranjha s hut will someone go with me I have begged many to accompany me but I had to set out alone The river is deep and the shaky bridge creaks I am tortured by my wounds but Ranjha my beloved is the doctor who can cure them Only my beloved can bring me comfort Two Kafis that are addressed to his Hindu disciple Madho Lal Hussain 8 need a special mention Madho Lal Piyaare ki parwaasa dam da Udeyaa bhor theyaa pardesi aggey raah agam da Jinhaan saada shauh rijhaaya tinha nu bhow jam da Aakhey Hussain faqeer nimaana chhaddiye sareer bhasam da Ve Madho Main wadda theyaa badnaam Raati pi ke dukh da piyaala tureyaa suwairon shaam Ki aakhaan main ki si peeti Loki dassan haraam Kaafar aakhan saarey mainoon laawan sabh ilzaam Mukh fairan sabh maidey wallon naal kaddan dushnaam Rowey Hussain maidey Saain nu Madho chheti pej salaam Madho Lal My dear what is this trust on life You fly out in the morning and become a stranger to take on an unknown road Those that have pleased our Master in this life do they have to fear death which is the hereafter Says Hussain the pride less mendicant cast off this body of ashes O Madho I have been greatly defamed After drinking last night from my cup of sorrows I have wandered from morning till evening What can I say that I had drunk of People say it was the forbidden wine All here call me an infidel and accuse me of transgression They turn back their faces from me and abuse me Wails Hussain O Madho fast send my prayer to my Master See also EditList of Punjabi language poets QawwaliReferences Edit a b c d e f Sameer Shafi Warraich 24 April 2018 Love needs no guidance How Shah Hussain and Madhu Laal defied social norms past and present Dawn newspaper Retrieved 18 March 2021 a b c d e f Tania Qureshi 11 March 2019 Shah Hussain the pioneer of Punjabi kafi Daily Times newspaper Retrieved 17 March 2021 Annual Mela Chiraghan Festival of Lights in Lahore Pakistan Dawn newspaper Published 4 April 2016 Retrieved 17 March 2021 Lal Mohan 2006 Encyclopaedia of Indian literature Vol 5 Sahitya Akademi Delhi p 3940 ISBN 81 260 1221 8 Hussain Shah 1987 Kafiyan Shah Hussain Kalaam Aur Urdu Tarjumah Hamid Ali Bela sings Shah Hussain poem dailymotion com website 4 March 2014 Retrieved 17 March 2021 a b c Najm Hosain Syed Profile of Shah Hussain travel culture com website Retrieved 17 March 2021 Amin Naqshbandy Sheikh Parvaiz 2001 Hazrat Maadho Laal Hussain the University of Michigan Umar Publications p 120 Further reading EditGreat Sufi Poets of The Punjab by R M Chopra Iran Society Kolkata 1999 Verses of a Lowly Fakir poetry of Madho Lal Hussein translated by Naveed Alam 2016 ISBN 0670088277External links EditComplete works of Shah Hussain in Punjabi Shahmukhi language Academy of the Punjab in North America APNA website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shah Hussain amp oldid 1154443505, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
