Hashim Shah ( Punjabi , ਹਾਸ਼ਿਮ ਸ਼ਾਹ ; b. 1735 d. 1843) was a

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

i writer and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

poet, best known for his story '' Sassi Punnun'' (or ''Sassi Panhu''). His family migrated from Holy city Madina to Punjab,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where they began living at Jagdev Kalan, the biggest village in Ajnala tehsil,

Amritsar district Amritsar district is one of the twenty three districts that make up the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. Located in the Majha region of Punjab, the city of Amritsar is the headquarters of this district. As of 2011, it is the second most ...

. Hashim Shah was born in Jagdev Kalan in 1735 or 1752 and lived in that village his entire life. He wrote three stories "Kissa Kaw" named ''Sassi Punnu'', '' Sohni Mahiwal'', and ''

Shirin Farhad Shirin Farhad or Shirin Farhaad may refer to: * A version of the classic Persian story of Khosrow and Shirin * Shirin Farhad (1931 film), ''Shirin Farhad'' (1931 film), an Indian musical film directed by J.J. Madan, the second Indian film with soun ...

''. Hashim, besides following the family tradition of hikmat (physician), copunselling and Piri-Muridi, also worked as a carpenter for sustenance. He left the profession of carpentry when Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

and his courtiers extended their patronage to Hashim. Thereafter, he devoted his entire life to spiritual attainments and composing Sufistic (mystic) poetry. Hashim Shah's poetry is unique in its own right. Credited as one of the best poets of his era many books have been written about him by his followers. His poetry has a certain style reverberating with description and sometimes sadness. The way he has narrated Sassi Punnu speaks for the depth in his words and the immense aptitude he had. Sufism ran in Hashim's family. He, his father and grandfather practised piri-muridi. He took Sufism as an established belief. His Punjabi poetry reverberates with mysticism of high order and can be allegorically interpreted for Love Divine. Hashim died in Ajnala, 1843 or 1823 and was buried in Tharpal village in

Narowal District Narowal District ( Punjabi and ) is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Narowal city is the capital of the district. During the British rule, Narowal was the town of Raya Khas tehsil of Sialkot District. Narowal District formed ...

where every year Urs was held on or about 21st of Jeth (end May – early June). In his poetic compositions his prosody is Punjabi though his vocabulary abounds in Hindi, Persian and Arabic words He has written the following books: *''Qissa Shirin Farhad'' *''Qissa Sohni Mahiwal'' *''Qissa Sassi Punnun'' *''Gyan Prakash'' *''Dohre''

References

*''Great Sufi Poets of The Punjab'' by R. M. Chopra, (1999), Iran Society, Kolkata. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hashim Punjabi-language poets 1735 births 1843 deaths People from Amritsar Sufi poets