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'{{Infobox saint | name = Bulleh Shah | image = BullehShah.jpg | imagesize = 150px | alt = | caption = An artistic depiction of ''Bulleh Shah'' | titles = Spiritual Poet | birth_date = 1680 C.E. | birth_place = [[Uch]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] | death_date = 1757 C.E. | death_place = [[Kasur]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] | venerated_in = [[Islam]] | influences = [[Prophets of Islam]], [[Shah Hussain]], [[Sultan Bahu]], [[Shah Sharaf]] | influenced = Countless Indian [[Sufi]] [[poet]]s | major_work = ''Incoherence of the Philosophers'', ''The Deliverer From Error'' | tradition = [[Kafi]] }} {{Islam}} '''Bulleh Shah''' (1680–1757) ({{lang-pa|{{Nastaliq|بلہے شاہ, ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਸ਼ਾਹ}}}}, [[Hindi]]: बुल्ले शाह, full name '''Abdullah Shah''')<ref name="The Life of Bulleh Shah">[http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/bullahn/ The Life of Bulleh Shah]</ref> was a [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]] [[Sufi]] poet, a humanist and [[philosopher]]. ==Early life== Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of [[Uch]], [[Bahawalpur]], [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]], in present day [[Pakistan]].<ref>[http://www.poetseers.org/spiritual_and_devotional_poets/sufi/bulleh_shah Bulleh Shah Biography]</ref> His father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a teacher and preacher in a village [[mosque]]. Little is known about Bulleh Shah's ancestry except that some of his forebears were migrants from Uzbekistan<ref name=daily>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-8-2004_pg7_46 247th Bulleh Shah fair begins] Daily Times, August 27, 2004.</ref> and that his family claimed direct descent from the prophet [[Muhammad]].<ref name="The Life of Bulleh Shah" /> When he was six months old, his parents relocated to [[Malakwal]]. His father later got a job in [[Pandoke]], about 50 miles southeast of [[Kasur]]. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke and moved to Kasur for higher education. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the [[Qadiriyya|Qadiri]] [[Sufi]] [[Shah Inayat Qadiri]], who was a member of the [[Arain]] tribe of [[Lahore]]. ==Life== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:bulleh shah kasuri.JPG|right|thumb|Tomb of Baba Bulleh Shah in Kasur|{{deletable image-caption|1=Wednesday, 7 October 2009}}]] --> A large amount of what is known about Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some "facts" about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other "facts" seem to have been passed down through oral traditions. Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like [[Shah Hussain]] (1538–1599), [[Sultan Bahu]] (1629–1691), and [[Shah Sharaf]] (1640–1724). Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the [[Sindhi people|Sindhi]] Sufi poet , [[Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai]] (1689–1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet [[Waris Shah]] (1722–1798), of [[Heer Ranjha]] fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahab (1739–1829), better known by his pen-name, [[Sachal Sarmast]] (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). Amongst [[Urdu]] poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from [[Mir Taqi Mir]] (1723–1810) of [[Agra]]. === Poetry Style === The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the [[Kafi]], a style of [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and [[Siraiki]] poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and [[Punjab region|Punjab]], but also by [[Sikh]] gurus. Bulleh Shah’s poetry and philosophy strongly criticizes the [[Islamic]] religious orthodoxy of his day.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} === A Beacon of Peace === Bulleh Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Bulleh Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Bulleh Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Bulleh Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence. Bulleh Shah also hailed the ninth [[Sikh]] Guru, [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] as a [[Ghazw|Ghazi]], or "religious warrior", which caused controversy among Muslims of that time. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} === Humanist === Bulleh Shah’s writings represent him as a humanist, someone providing solutions to the sociological problems of the world around him as he lives through it, describing the turbulence his motherland of Punjab is passing through, while concurrently searching for God. His poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat (Path), Tariqat (Observance), Haqiqat (Truth) and Marfat (Union). The simplicity with which Bulleh Shah has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity is a large part of his appeal. Thus, many people have put his kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like the [[Waddali Brothers]], [[Sain Zahoor]], [[Abida Parveen]] and [[Pathanay Khan]], from the synthesized techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the rock band [[Junoon (band)|Junoon]]. === Modern renderings === In the 1990s [[Junoon (band)|Junoon]], a rock band from Pakistan, rendered "Bullah Ki Jaana" and "Aleph" ("Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar"). In 2004, [[Rabbi Shergill]] turned the abstruse metaphysical poem "[[Bullah Ki Jaana]]" into a Rock/Fusion song that became popular in [[India]] and [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050604/asp/calcutta/story_4806895.asp | title = Soundscape for the soul | author = Zeeshan Jawed | publisher = [[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]] | location = [[Calcutta]] | date = 4 June 2005 | accessdate = 2008-04-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/04/11/stories/2005041100540100.htm | title = Urban balladeer | publisher = [[The Hindu]] | author = Bageshree S. | date = 26 March 2005 | accessdate = 2008-04-23 }}</ref> The [[Wadali brothers|Wadali Bandhu]], a Punjabi Sufi group from India, have also released a version of "Bullah Ki Jaana" on their album ''Aa Mil Yaar... Call of the Beloved''. Another version was performed by [[Lakhwinder Wadali]] and entitled '''Bullah'''. Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used in [[Bollywood]] film songs including "[[Chaiyya Chaiyya]]" and "Thayya Thayya" in the 1998 film ''[[Dil Se]]'', and "Ranjha Ranjha" in the 2010 film ''[[Raavan]]''. The 2007 Pakistani movie ''[[Khuda Kay Liye]]'' includes Bulleh Shah's poetry in the song "[[Khuda kay liye#Songs|Bandeya Ho]]". The 2008 film ''A Wednesday'', included a song titled "Bulle Shah, O Yaar Mere". In 2009 the first episode of the second season of Pakistan's [[Coke Studio]] featured a collaboration between [[Sain Zahoor]] and [[Noori]], "Aik Alif" while, in June 2010, episode one of the third series featured "Na Raindee Hai" and "Makke Gayaan Gal Mukdi Nahi", performed by [[Arieb Azhar]]. ==Death== He died in 1757, and his tomb is located in [[Kasur]], present day [[Pakistan]].<ref>[http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/B/BullehShah/ Poems by Bulleh Shah]</ref> ==Further reading== * ''Bulleh Shah: the love-intoxicated iconoclast'', by J. R. Puri, Tilaka Raj Shangri. Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1986 * ''Great Sufi Poets of The Punjab'', by R. M. Chopra, Iran Society, Kolkata, 1999. == See also == *[[Geeta Vadhera]]'s "Shah Shabad" series - paintings based on the poems of Bulleh Shah *[[Kasur]], the hometown of Bulleh Shah *[[List of Punjabi language poets]] *[[Sufism]] ==Works online== *[http://onetruename.com/bullehshah.htm Bulleh Shah poetry] *[http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/bullahn/ Articles on Bulleh Shah's life and poetry (apna.org)] *[http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/B/BullehShah/index.htm Bulleh Shah: Poems (English translations) and Biography (poetry-chaikhana.com)] ==References== {{Reflist}}<!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit--> == External links == *[http://www.indo-pak.org/content/view/69/58/ Short Biography of Bulleh Shah] *[http://www.wichaar.com/news/239/ARTICLE/7115/2008-05-18.html Biography of Bulleh Shah] *[http://www.sikhspectrum.com/082004/punjabi.htm Littérateurs of the Punjabi Language] *[http://www.punjabi-kavita.com/Baba-Bullhe-Bulleh-Shah.php Complete Punjabi Poetry of Baba Bullhe/Bulleh Shah in Gurmukhi] {{Sufism}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Bulleh Shah | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 1680 | PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Uch]], [[Undivided India]] | DATE OF DEATH = 1757 | PLACE OF DEATH = [[Kasur]], [[Undivided India]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulleh Shah}} [[Category:Pakistani Sufis]] [[Category:Indian Sufis]] [[Category:Pakistani poets]] [[Category:Pakistani spiritual writers]] [[Category:Punjabi poets]] [[Category:Punjabi people]] [[Category:Sufi poets]] [[Category:Sufi mystics]] [[Category:People from Kasur District]] [[Category:Punjabi-language poets]] [[Category:Pakistani literature|Poetry]] [[Category:1680 births]] [[Category:1757 deaths]] [[Category:Pakistani humanists]] [[Category:Pakistani people of Uzbekistani descent]] [[ar:بلهي شاه]] [[bn:বুল্লা সাহ]] [[mr:बुल्ले शाह]] [[no:Bulleh Shah]] [[pnb:بلھے شاہ]] [[ur:بلھے شاہ]]'