Sufism Wisdom: Pakistani Punjabi Spiritual Sufi Poet, Scholar, & Philosopher Bulleh Shah’ Kalam Bandiya Mitti Diya (The man of the soil)
Punjabi Sufi Mystic Poet Bulleh Shah verses about the soil in his poetry.
Hello, Dear Readers and followers, welcome back to my new story, I hope all’s well.
Today’s story is a tribute to the immense Poet, Philosopher, and the Extraordinary man “Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri”. Punjabi Sufi Mystic Poet Bulleh Shah’s history in Urdu: Sayed Abdullah Shah famously renowned as Baba Bulleh shah is a famous Punjabi spiritual Sufi poet, scholar, and philosopher.
After a long time once again another of my favorite Sufi poetry always hit my heart. I’ve always been attracted to this kind of Sufi music which we call Naat or Nasheed and Kalaam. I can’t stop my emotions while listening to Sufi kalaam. it feels great and find inner peace and happiness when I listen to this Naat or Kalaam and Dhikr
I hope you will enjoy and learn some amazing lessons.
Biography of Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah :
Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri (Punjabi/Urdu: سید عبداللہ شاہ قادری) (Shahmukhi); 1680–1757) famously known as Bulleh Shah (بلھے شاہ), was a Mughal-era Punjabi Islamic philosopher and Sufi poet. His first spiritual teacher was Shah Inayat Qadiri, a Sufi mentor of Lahore. He was a Sayyid/Syed, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
According to the English Researcher, Asborn , “Baba Bulleh shah was born in the ancient city of Punjab named as Uch Galania”. Shah Muhammad Darviash, the father of Abdullah Shah, was a religious person. Owing to some uncertain reasons, he had to shift Malakwal, a small village of Sahiwal, with his parents in the early stages of life. Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah got his early education from his father along with other children. In the later ages, he received higher education from Hafiz Gulam Murtaza, the famous religious scholar lived in Qasur.
Shah Muhammad Darviash, the father of Abdullah Shah, was a religious person. Owing to some uncertain reasons, he had to shift Malakwal, a small village of Sahiwal, with his parents in the early stages of life.
You have read so many books of wisdom
But you never read yourself.
Bulleh shah
Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah got his early education from his father along with other children. In the later ages, he received higher education from Hafiz Gulam Murtaza, the famous religious scholar lived in Qasur. The famous saint learned not only Hindi, Persian, and Arabic languages but also got religious education.
It is beyond any doubt that the family of great spiritual poet faced poverty at the early stages of life. He was experienced class stratification in childhood. Although he went through such difficulties yet he got an education at the highest level.
It is not acquaintance that I dread,
But the indifference to which it may lead
Bulleh Shah
The work of Baba Bulleh Shah is remarkable and reforms the society. His poetry highlights the four steps of Sufism which are Shariat, Tariqat, Haqiqat, and Marfat. He discusses the fundamental issues of human life and covers every dimension of the social and political sphere in his poetry. Mian Muhammad Bakhsh writes in his verse about the poetry of Hazarat Baba Buleh Shah that “after reading the kafi of Baba Buleh Shah my faith in Islam became strengthened.
Bulleh sahah was a follower of Shah Anyaat Qadri. He belonged to the Arain tribe of Lahore. In that era, Arian caste was considered a lower stratum of society in the subcontinent. It must have been taken as degrading for the family.
After completing his religious education, Baba Bulleh Shah faced the question of theory of learning like his predecessors. He discussed in his poetry that why one should get knowledge. Bulleh Shah told us the religious education is inevitable for life. It would help not only in this world but also in eternal life.
“I set off to look for horrible people; not a single one did I find.
Eventually I looked within; realizing there is none more horrible than me.”
Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah discusses in his poetry, the benefit of getting knowledge and how it is helpful in real life. According to him, the real knowledge came from life experiences and history. In one of his kafi, he learns himself from the course of history and the naked realities of society. He discusses the importance of the knowledge that no one can gain high status in society without getting knowledge and if someone gets knowledge and it takes away from the right path, there is no benefit of such knowledge. He highlights the reality of life that mullah proud to himself after getting knowledge and consider others a low valuable person in society.
Bulleh Shah finds different attitudes of the society, which reflects in religious differentiation. Bulleh Shah uses symbols like Heer- Ranjha and expands them in his poetry. He gave them a new dimension and enriches philosophical discourse. He says in his poetry that when i instilled the knowledge and lesson of love, I felt fear from the mosques, I ran into the Hindu institution where several horns are blown, there Heer and Ranjhaa became one; Heer was doing the searching for Ranjha in the jungle.
Bulleh Shah, I have seen lifeless bodies
walking, roaming, eating drinking.Bulleh Shah
There was enmity between Mullahs and pundits as mullahs did not like Baba Bulleh shah. It depicts in his poetry that Bulleh Shah does not like mullahs. According to one of his verses, he says that these mullahs are wasted their life in the mosque, their inner side is filled with filth, they are unable to promote unity and they are used to making loud noises.
In the historical lens, the era of Sayed Bulleh Shah was between the end of the 17th century and that of the 18th century. In this time, different wars were being fought and the situation of the region is full of turmoil and difficulties. Shah discusses in his verse in this way
According to a historian, Gian Singh Sarhind, “Sikh destroyed the peace in Punjab which cannot be described in words. Mother, daughters, children, and old people were being killed and there were anarchy and destruction in every part of Punjab. Baba Bulleh shah describes in this way.” Jido apni apni pae gayii”,Dhee maan noon lut ke le gai.
Bulleh Shah knows well about human consciousness on material conditions. In his poetry, he states “Mati qudam kraindi o yar” (O my friend, it is soil that takes every human and non-human shape). And he ended the Kafi by saying that, in the end, the soil goes back to the soil and he thus dismisses the metaphysical concepts of life hereafter. The great Sufi poet highlights the political, social, and justice system of society. He says that a cruel person does fear of cruelty but he has died from his own cruel acts.
He does not feel ashamed of his act and faces difficulties everywhere. Similarly, he explains the social injustice in society in that era. Apne vich ulfat nahii kiya chache kiya tae. No one cares about others even relatives, there is no accord between father and sons, and this era is totally different from the past when there was peace and people take care of others.
Bulleh Shah is a beacon of peace, a humanist, and one of the renowned mystic poets of the Punjab region. According to the Gulam Sarwar Lahori, he died in 1171 Hijri. His tomb is in the Qasur region of Punjab.
Anyway!!! I don’t want you all to wait any longer who are keen on the Bulleh Shah’s poetry
Sufi Poet Bulleh Shah’ Kalam Bandiya Mitti Diya (The man of the soil):
My favorite poem and I am keenly interested in Sufi poetry, if you are keen to read Sufi poetry it makes you able to get success in this world and the next world.
Today's Post about the Sufi poem “ Bandiya Mitti Diya” is a very beautiful and motivational poem. This poem’s poetry is so deep. When you know the meaning of this poem. You don’t control your feelings and emotions and You don’t stop your tears coming out of your eyes Automatically.
I will try my best to explain to you what are the full meanings of this Sufi poem.
English Translation:
Allah Ho
You are made of soil
you have to become soil
why this pride
you are on the soil today
you are under the soil tomorrow
Allah Ho
Ohh, The man of the soil
There, deeds will be judged
Nobody will question your caste
Lies are your ego and multiple faces ( illusions)
You have to face the God one day
Do accurate measurements and weigh
This world is of four days
what will you carry from here
Make Allah your friend if you want to go to heaven
Don’t say “ it’s mine
It is not yours nor mine
This world is fair of four days
then it’s the pile of soil
They put a handful of soil and make your grave higher
They return home reciting some surah ( Chapter of the Holy Quran)
And they do not visit again
Have to leave this hustling bustling court
Sufi poetry always peaceful and soulful which makes us inside happy and helps to find deep soul peace and change our mindset.
There are some more verses of his poetry
The Soil is in ferment
O friend behind the diversity
The soil is the horse
So is the rider
The soil chooses the soil
And we hear the clanging of soil
The soil kills the soil
with weapons of the soil
That soil with more on it
is arrogance
The soil is the garden so is its beauty
The soil admires the soil in all its wondrous forms
After the circle of life is done it returns to the soil
Answer the riddle O Bulleh
And take this burden off my head
Bulleh Shah knew it then, we need to become aware of it now. The pinnacle of excellence in his two poetry is the famous ‘Bandiya Mitti Diya’ meaning ‘The man of the soil’ and ‘Ki Jaana Main Kaun’ meaning ‘I know not who I am’ in which he ponders over the ideas of existence, creation, origin, and stigmatization.
Death doesn’t look age and Love doesn’t look caste . Bulleh Shah
In this poetry, oh man this world is grave how when and how we will die we will never know, Just Allah Knows about everything.
He knows our best. Perhaps the difficulties are meant to keep us upon the deen, so we die upon it. And our Lord is Most Merciful. Muslims believe in Allah, the One True God, and Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) as the Messenger of Allah to the whole of mankind.
The most eminent of the graces which will be given to people of the paradise when they will be for the paradise, they will see Allāh. They will see Him and there is no something that people of the paradise will more like than seeing Allâh. They will see Him without how, without place, and without direction. Allâh said:
“On the Day of Judgment the beautiful faces of the believers — those accepted by Allâh — shall be seeing their Lord.”
Prophet Muhammad said about meeting Allah as was narrated by Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit and mentioned in Saheeh Bukhari :
“Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah will love to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah will hate to meet him.”
“And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (i.e. death)” [The Holy Quran 15:99]
For a Muslim, death marks the transition from one state of existence to the next. Islam teaches that life on earth is an examination-the life to come is the eternal abode where one will reap the fruit of one’s endeavors on earth. Death is therefore not to be resisted or fought against, but rather something to be accepted as part of the overall divine plan.
Further, death is not a taboo subject in Muslim society and is a matter upon which one is encouraged to reflect frequently. In counseling Muslims regarding a terminal illness or relatives after a bereavement, these points should be borne in mind.
Islam views life as sacred and a trust from God (Allah). Termination of pregnancy is therefore generally not permissible within the Islamic frameworks. If the subject needs to be broached this should be done with extreme sensitivity.
To step outside the Islamic framework and have an abortion may engender much guilt. Similarly, deliberate euthanasia is prohibited. Note, however, that undue suffering has no place in Islam and if death is hastened in the process of giving adequate analgesia then this is allowed. What is important is that the primary intent is not to hasten death.
Everything in Islam is centered around the hereafter which is infinite. And this worldly life is insignificant compared to it. Death in Islam is the termination of worldly life and the beginning of the afterlife. Death is seen as the separation of the soul from the body, and its transfer from this world to the afterlife.
When we die and wake up in the next life. No one will be concerned about anything about his past worldly life anymore. Everyone’s main fear would be the fear of Allah
But as Allah is Just, he will not let injustice happen to his creation.
Whoever is wronged in this world, Allah will make it up for them in the hereafter. Whoever went through hardship in this world and had trust in Allah, his reward will be more than those who didn't go through hardship in this world.
The tougher your trials are in this world the more reward you will get in the hereafter.
‘Whoever comes with a good deed will receive ten times as much, and whoever comes with an evil deed will be requited with no more than the like of it’ (Quran 6:160)
Allah will question everyone individually depending on how they lived the worldly life. Everyone’s test will be different from one another. Allah will ask about every single favor we receive in this world. For example on the day of judgment, when the rich people of this world will be asked about “how they spent their money.”, the rich would then only wish that they were never rich in the world. On the other hand, poor people won’t be asked about this favor.
Ultimate justice is not possible without a second life.
In this poetry, Bulleh Shah also teaches us about Do accurate measurements and weighing which is also important and one of the biggest issues. After making the pledge of buying and selling, according to the way of Islam, it is only fair to hand over the agreed-upon goods in a complete and perfect condition. Islam even goes a step further than this and encourages us to confer favor; how unfortunate is the one who is not even fair, let alone showing favor. Not falling short in the weighing is similar to the backbone of increasing trade, and Allah Almighty also commands this. In the sphere of Islamic influence the Quranic injunction “to give full measure and to weigh with the right scales”
Give full measure when you measure and weigh with even scales.[40] That is fair and better in consequence. (Qur’ān 17:35)
The Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH has also stated at various places regarding dishonesty in weighing and measuring.
There is a valley in Hell which is so hot that even a mountain would melt in it, and Hell itself seeks refuge from it; those who are lazy towards Salah and who do not give the full measure when weighing will be imprisoned in it. (Qurrat-ul-‘Uyoon, p. 391 summarised)
Time is Precious.
Our time in this world is limited. No one knows when we will die. So use time wisely.
All these problems in this world exist because people are born different. They have different lives, different problems, distractions, desires, dreams, associations, and fears. All these things act as hurdles in the way of obedience to Allah. So this life in fact is a test of our Faith in Allah. If I have an utmost desire for something, and the only means accessible to me are unfair, even if my mind tells me I can get away with this there’s one thing that can stop me, fear of Justice in the next life.
O Allāh grant us the ability to plan our each and every day more efficiently and effectively and make our life a means for every aspects of goodness. Ameen
When anyone debates a Muslim they’ll notice that his belief is very strong and they can’t make him doubt himself very easily, hence they ( Muslims) are very religious people and they take offense so much when Prophet Muhammad is being insulted.
Other poetry of Bulleh Shah is equally compelling and makes one ponder over questions as basic as human origin, brittleness of materialism, and the reality of existence. Similar to the exceptional excellence of his poetry are the accounts of his life that continue to charm and amaze all new to the horizons of Sufism.
Here is one of my favorite his another poetry ;
Bullah teaches us by his poetry to fight and control ourselves inside rather than looking out for the satanic crew. He believes that evil comes from inside of us, so we must learn to control it.
Final Thoughts:
The poetry of the Great Saint Hz Baba Bulleh Shah is not only famous in Punjab, Pakistan, but the fame also spreads far & wide, all around the world. Bulleh Shah’s poetry is always surrounded by a compelling aura of omniscience and mysticism. A few of my favorite couplets are mentioned in this story.
The theme of love in Bulleh Shah‟s poetry is not confined to love for God but he expresses love for humanity, love for the Prophet, and ultimately love for the Divine and also finding solutions to social issues and conflicts in society. what is appealing in his poetry is the simplicity with which the great saint addresses complicated basic problems of life and humanity.
Despite our differences on so many fronts, nature is teaching us we can live together in peace and still remain beautiful. Love is the most durable power in the world. This creative force is the most potent instrument available in mankind’s quest for peace and love among different people around the world.
I think it is my utmost responsibility to pass on these concepts of Bulleh Shah and other great Sufi poets etc. as it is to the Other and next generation.
It is not acquaintance that I dread,
but the indifference to which it may lead.Bulleh Shah
Sung by renowned artists, it gained international acclaim not only for its compelling lyrics but also for the multitude of enchanting and transcending compositions that superimposed the central message.
I believe these points will help.
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Thank you for reading!
Finally, I pray to Allah to benefit those who read this article and others, grant me truthfulness in what I say and do, preserve my thoughts and my pen from deviation and guide me in all my affairs.
And all praise and thanks are due to Allah, without Whose help and guidance nothing can be accomplished. May Allah bless you with happiness, success, guidance, health, and knowledge. May Almighty Allah give us the strength to follow the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and make us part of the group who is among the most righteous! Ameen.
Be patient with yourself. And Keep learning!!
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