Khwaja Ghulam Farid (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Sufi poet from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. He was a member of the Chishti Nizami Sufi order. He wrote poetry in several languages, and his literary heritage has been claimed by both the

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and the Saraiki language movements.

Early life

Farid's mother died when he was four years old and he was orphaned around the age of eight when his father, Khwaja Khuda Bakhsh, died. He was then brought up by his elder brother, Khwaja Fakhr-ud-Din, also known as Khwaja Fakhr Jehan Sain, and grew up to become a scholar and writer. He wrote kafi poems in

Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Persian, and

Braj Bhasha The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

. Sadeq Mohammad Khan III

Nawab of Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and merge ...

took Farid to his palace at

Ahmedpur East Ahmedpur East or Ahmedpur Sharqia (), also spelled ''Ahmadpur'', ''Ahmed Pur'' or ''Ahmad Pur'', is a city in Bahawalpur District, Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the headquarters of Ahmadpur East Tehsil. It is the 69th largest city of Pakistan ...

for his religious education by a scholar, when he was 8 years old. His brother Fakhr-ud-Din, who had brought him up after his parents' deaths, also died when Farid was 28 years old. Farid then left for the

Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert ( ur, ; Punjabi: ), also locally known as Rohi (), is a desert in the southern part of Punjab, Pakistan that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is on ...

(also known as ''Rohi'') for '' chilla'' (retreat) where he lived for 18 years. Most of his work includes mentioning of the beauty of this place. Farid performed ''

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...

'' (pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

) in 1876.

Works

His most significant works include: * '' Diwan-e-Farid'' (Punjabi verse) * ''Manaqabe Mehboobia'' (in Persian prose) * ''Fawaid Faridia'' (in Persian prose) Khawaja Ghulam Farid tomb at Kot Mithan

In his poetry, he frequently uses the symbolism of a desert. Namely, he discusses how beautiful the desert is and how it attracted him to stay there for 18 years and how he believed that made him feel close to

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

. His work however does also include slightly touching the topic of political affairs, opposing the British rule in

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

state, writing a letter to the

and also mentioning it in some of his poetry.

Legacy

*The 20th century saw the development of a branch of literary studies on Farid's life and work called ''Fareediyat''. *Today, many religious and educational institutions in Pakistan and India are named after Farid (e.g., Khawaja Farid Government College,khawaja farid University of engineering and information technology in Rahimyar Khan, Pakistan) as are streets and town living quarters. *A literary award named after Farid – the Khwaja Ghulam Farid Award – is awarded yearly by the

Pakistan Academy of Letters The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout t ...

in literature, its recipients including

Ismail Ahmedani Ismail Ahmedani (1930–2007) (اسماعیل احمدانی) was a Saraiki novelist, fiction writer, and promoter of the Saraiki language. Life He was born 1 January 1930 in a small village "Khoi" in Rajanpur District, British India (now Pak ...

(in 2013) and Irshad Taunsvi (in 2007) among others. * In 2001, on Farid's 100th death anniversary ('' urs''),

Pakistan Post Pakistan Post ( ur, ) is a state enterprise which functions as Pakistan's primary and largest postal operator. 49,502 employees through a vehicle fleet of 5,000 operate traditional "to the door" service from more than 13,419 post offices acros ...

issued a memorial stamp to honour him in its "Poets of Pakistan" series * Sadiq Public School, the public school built by Nawab Sadeq Mohammad Khan V in Bahawalpur, has a house for the day scholars of the prep section named after Farid, called Fareed House. * Fareed Gate is the name of one of the historic gates surrounding the old city of

named in Farid's honour. *The

Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology The Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology (KFUEIT) is a public university located in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 2014 on the initiative of the then Chief Minister of Punjab Mian Muha ...

(KFUEIT) in Rahim Yar Khan District was named after Farid. * Shrine of Khawaja Ghulam Farid in Rajanpur, Punjab is among the ''10 most visited shrines in Pakistan''.

References

External links

The complete works of Khwaja Farid in Punjabi on Academy of the Punjab in North America website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farid, Khwaja Ghulam 1845 births 1901 deaths Sufi mystics Sufi poets People of British India Punjabi Sufi saints Poets from Punjab, Pakistan 19th-century poets People from Rahim Yar Khan District Punjabi-language poets Punjabi-language writers Chishti Order Punjabi people Indian poets

Early life

Works

Legacy

See also

References

External links