Sufi Sant Baba Farid Ji

Baba Farid, or Baba Sheikh Farid, or Khwaja Farīduddīn Mas’ūd Ganjshakar was a Sufi preacher and one of the most significant saints in Punjab during the 12th century. It won’t be wrong to call him the first poet of the Punjabi language because of his inspiring and life related poetry, the sacred book of Sikhs, ‘Shri Guru Granth Sahib’, has a lot of Baba Farid’s work. Though he was Muslim, but he was respected by Hindus as well.

Baba Farid was born in the month of Ramzan in 1173 CE at Kothewal village, Punjab (now in Pakistan). Early in his life the title of 'Shakar Ganj' (treasury of Sugar) was added to his name; there is a legend behind this. As a young boy Baba Farid was asked to offer daily prayers by his mother.On asking about what he’d get after saying his prayers, Baba Farid’s mother replied that she will give him sugar once he’s done. Baba Farid’s mother used to hide sugar under his prayer mat and after the completion of his prayers; she used to give him that sugar as a reward. One day Baba Farid’s mother forgot to keep sugar under the carpet, but to her surprise after his prayers she found the sugar under the prayer mat. Since that day she started calling her son ‘Shakar Ganj’.

Baba Farid was just 16th years old when he was sent on the  Hajj, where he stayed at Abdul Rahim Ansari’s home. After seeing Baba Farid’s command and fluency in Punjabi, a faqir foretold that he would become a great saint one day. After coming back to Punjab Baba Farid was sent to Delhi to learn theology. Baba Farid was a learned man who knew Arabic, Persian and other languages as well, but he was so attached to the Punjabi language that he wrote all his couplets in Punjabi. Baba Farid polished Punjabi language for literary work. At that time Punjabi was considered to be a less sophisticated folk language and far away to be used for poetry. Moreover before Baba Farid’s work Punjabi literature didn’t have as much substance as it enjoys today and was limited to just a few anonymous ballads.

Present day Faridkot (Punjab), got its name from Baba Farid. It is said that Baba Farid stopped by the city known as Mokhalpur and sat in isolation for forty days near the fort of King Mokhal. The king got impressed by this divine person and named the city after him. The place where Baba Farid sat is known as Tila Baba Farid. To remember his arrival in the city, each year a three days festival known as Bābā Sheikh Farād Āgman Purb Melā’ is celebrated from 21st Sep to 23rd Sep.

Baba Farid died of Pneumonia in 1266 CE, the fifth day of the month of Muharram. He was buried outside the town of Pak Pattan. Pak Pattan was created by him as a place of great Sufi thoughts. The place where he was buried is known as Martyr’s Grave. His successors are known as Chistis. It won’t be wrong to call him the founder of Punjabi literary tradition and modern Punjabi culture.

Shrine Of Baba Farid Ji

The small Shrine 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 Chaddars' (the green coloured chaddars 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, was permitted to enter inside by the shrine guardians, when she visited the shrine. Another rare exceptional case was the late Hajjah Kainz Hussain of Jhelum, wife of the late Haji Manzoor Hussain, who was allowed inside the tomb and was given a Chaddar,.

Charity food called Langar is distributed all day to visitors here 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 available. 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 of the Government of Pakistan that looks after the shrine.

Chillas of Baba Farid ji

• A Chilla of Baba Farid is located in Dhirdan village of Lunkaransar tehsil in Bikaner district, Rajasthan, India.
• Poraha village in Amravati district of Maharashtra, India.
• Girad a small town in Samudrapurconstituency of Wardha district of Maharashtra, India.
• Manegaon a small village situated in Tehsil Barghat, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India.
• Bad Chicholi, in Betul District of Madhya Pradesh.
• Ajmer dargha sharif, Rajasthan, India.
• The Shrine (mazar/mazār) is vast and spacious, located in the city of Pakpattan, otherwise Pākpattan Sharīf, located in central Punjab province in Pakistan.

Ajmer Chilla Baba Farid ji