Hazrat Khwaja Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar

Hazrat Khwaja Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar (Urdu: حضرت بابا فرید الدّین مسعود گنج شکر‎ (1173-1266) was a Sufi saint and Muslim missionary in Punjab region of South Asia, belonging to the Chishti Order.

Life

Bābā Farīd was born in 1179 or 1188 AD (584 Hijri) at Kothewal village, 10 km from Multan in the Punjab region of what is now Pakistan, to Jamāl-ud-dīn Suleimān and Maryam Bībī (Qarsum Bībī), daughter of Sheikh Wajīh-ud-dīn Khojendī. He was one of the founding fathers of the Chishti Sufi order.

Farīd's lineage is traced back to the second Caliph Umar ibn Khattab. Bābā Farīd received his early education at Multan, which had become a centre for Muslim education; it was here that he met his murshid (master), Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī, a noted Sufi saint, who was passing through Multan, from Baghdad on his way to Delhi. Upon completing his education, Farīd left for Sistan andKandahar and went to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage with his parents at the age of 16.

Once his education was over, he moved to Delhi, where he learned the Islamic doctrine from his master, Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī. He later moved to Hansi, Haryana. When Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī died in 1235, Farīd left Hansi and became his spiritual successor, and he settled in Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan, Pakistan) instead of Delhi. On his way to Ajodhan, while passing throughFaridkot, he met the 20-year-old Nizāmuddīn, who went on to become his disciple, and later his successor Sufi khalīfah.

Bābā Farīd had three wives and eight children five sons and three daughters. One of his wives Hazabara, daughter of Sulṭān Nasīruddīn Maḥmūd. The great Arab traveller Ibn Baṭūṭah visited him. Ibn Battuta says that Fariduddin Ganjshakar was the spiritual guide of the King of India, and that the King had given him the village of Ajodhan. He also met Bābā Farīd's two sons. Fariduddin Ganjshakar's shrine darbār is located in Pakpattan.

Bābā Farīd's descendants, also known as Fareedi, Fareedies and Faridy, mostly carry the name Fārūqī, and can be found in Pakistan, India and the diaspora. Fariduddin Ganjshakar's descendants include the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, whose daughter was Emperor Jehangir's foster mother. Their descendants settled in Sheikhupur, Badaun and the remains of a fort they built can still be found.

Legacy

One of Farīd's most important contributions to Punjabi literature was his development of the language for literary purposes. Whereas Sanskrit, Arabic, Turkish and Persian had historically been considered the languages of the learned and the elite, and used in monastic centres, Punjabi was generally considered a less refined folk language. Although earlier poets had written in a primitive Punjabi, before Farīd there was little in Punjabi literature apart from traditional and anonymous ballads. By using Punjabi as the language of poetry, Farīd laid the basis for a vernacular Punjabi literature that would be developed later.

The city of Faridkot bears his name. According to legend, Farīd stopped by the city, then named Mokhalpūr, and sat in seclusion for forty days near the fort of King Mokhal. The king was said to be so impressed by his presence that he named the city after Bābā Farīd, which today is known as Tilla Bābā Farīd. The festival Bābā Sheikh Farād Āgman Purb Melā' is celebrated in September each year from (21–23 Sep, 3 days), commemorating his arrival in the city. Ajodhan was also renamed as Farīd's 'Pāk Pattan', meaning 'Holy Ferry'; today it is generally called Pāk Pattan Sharīf.

Faridia Islamic University, a religious madrassa in Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan, is named after him, and in July 1998, the Punjab Government in India established the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences at Faridkot, the city which itself was named after him.

There are various explanations of why Bābā Farīd was given the title Shakar Ganj ('Treasure of Sugar'). One legend says his mother used to encourage the young Farīd to pray by placing sugar under his prayer mat. Once, when she forgot, the young Farīd found the sugar anyway, an experience that gave him more spiritual fervour and led to his being given the name.

Tomb

The small tomb of Baba Farid is made of white marble with two doors, one facing east and called the Nūrī Darwāza or 'Gate of Light', and the second facing north called Bahishtī Darwāza, or 'Gate of Paradise'. There is also a long covered corridor. Inside the tomb are two white marbled graves. One is Baba Farid's, and the other is his elder son's. These graves are always covered by sheets of cloth called Chadders (the green coloured chadders are covered with Islamic verses), and flowers that are brought by visitors. The space inside the tomb is limited; not more than ten people can be inside at one time. Ladies are not allowed inside the tomb, but the late Benazir Bhutto, then prime minister of Pakistan, managed to enter inside when she visited the shrine. Another rare exceptional case was the late Hajjah Kainz Hussain of Jhelum,wife of the late Haji Manzoor Hussain,was allowed inside the tomb and was given a Chadder,which resulted in miraculous improvement in her health.

Chilla

A Chilla of Baba Farid is located in Dhirdan village of Lunkaransar tehsil in Bikaner district, Rajasthan, India.;Maharashtra, Wardha district samudrapur constituency in Girad asmall town and in shakar baoli

Shrine

The Shrine (mazar/mazār) is vast and spacious, located in the city of Pakpattan, otherwise Pākpattan Sharīf. At first his tomb and shrine were constructed under the supervision of Saint Nizamuddin Auliya/Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia. The shrine is made entirely of marble. Some years back it was partly made of marble and bricks. Charity food calledLangar is distributed all day to visitors^[17] and the Auqaf Department, which administers the shrine. The shrine is open all day and night for visitors. The shrine has its own huge electricity generator that is used whenever there is power cut or loadshedding, so the shrine remains bright all night, all year round. There is no separation of male and female areas but a small female area is also there. There is a big new mosque in the shrine. Thousands of people daily visit the shrine for their wishes and unresolvable matters; for this they vow to give to some charity when their wishes or problems are resolved. When their matters are solved they bring charity food for visitors and the poor, and drop money in big money boxes that are kept for this purpose. This money is collected by the Auqaf Department that looks after the shrine.

On 25 October 2010, a bomb exploded outside the gates of the shrine, killing six people.

Death anniversary and Urs

Every year, the saint's death anniversary or Urs is celebrated for six days in the first Islamic month of Muharram, in Pakpattan, PakistanThe Bahishtī Darwāza (Gate of Paradise) is opened only once a year, during the time of the Urs fair. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and visitors from all over the country and the world come to pay homage. The door of the Bahishti Darwaza is made of silver, with floral designs inlaid in gold leaf. This "Gate to Paradise" is padlocked all year, and only opened for ten days from sunset to sunrise in the month of Muharram. Some followers believe that by crossing this door all of one's sins are washed away. Some critics say it is unholy to pass through this door only with this intention. Others argue that it is good to pass this door with a resolution not to commit sins in the future. During the opening of the Gate of Paradise, extensive security arrangements are made to protect people from stampedes. In 2001, 27 people were crushed to death and 100 were injured in a stampede. The Urs is celebrated every year from the fifth through the tenth of Muharram. Some of his personal belongings were taken by his descendant Sheikh Salim to a fort he built for his family in Sheikhupur, Badaun, where they are preserved in a trunk called 'pitari'. To this day it is taken out in a procession for the first six days of Muharram.

Mehfil-e-Sama (Qawwali)

One of the significant features of the daily life of the shrine is Qawwali. It is performed all day at some part of the shrine, but at night it attracts a huge gathering. Every Thursday evening, there is a big Mehfil-e-Sama just outside the tomb, that lasts all night and attracts hundreds of people. Many famous and popular Qawwals (Qawwali singers) of the country participate in the Mehfil. Many listeners become so mesmerised that they start dancing a traditional religious dance called Dhamaal. The first Thursday evening of every lunar month attracts extra thousands of people, making the shrine jam packed.