Shamas Faqir ( Kashmiri:شَمَس فَقیٖر) or Shams Faqīr was a Kashmiri

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. He belonged to the

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

silsila of Sufism. Although there are no authentic biographical records, Mohammad Sidiq Bhat is believed to have been born in 1843 to a poor family in Chinkral Mohalla, Habba Kadal

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, Kashmir. He didn't receive formal education, but became apprenticed to Mohammad Na‘īm (locally known as Nyam-Saeb), a Kashmiri Sufi poet. He became a disciple of Souch Maliar, Abdul Rehman of Barzulla, Atiq-Ullah of Gulab Bagh, Mohammad Jammal and Rasool Saeb. When he was 25, he left for

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

, in the Indian

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 ...

, where he became a disciple of another Sufi Saint Rasūl Shāh Hākih-Tsr. After his return from Amritsar he lived in

Anantnag Anantnag ( ; ), also called Islamabad ( ; ), is the administrative headquarters of Anantnag district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "admi ...

, Kashmir, where he married. He returned to his ancestral home in

for some time, subsequently meditating for six months in a cave at Qazi Bagh in the

Budgam Budgam (), known as Badgom (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town in Budgam district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. In the 2001 census, it was recorded as having a notified area committee,This gives the population of Budgam adga ...

district of Kashmir. Following this he lived in Braripora Krishpora. Many of his poems are on the theme of a mystic's quest for the primal cause of the universe. Shamas Faqir's poems used the Kashmiri idiom of his time, and also words from Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit. His poem ''Merajnama'' recounts Prophet Muhammad's spiritual journey to God. Shamas Faqir died in 1901, and was buried at Krishpora Shamasabad

Kashmir. He had two sons and a daughter.Kashir Sufi Shayiree, Volume 1 Published by Jammu & Kashmir Academy Of Art Culture And Languages, Srinagar 1985 pages 460-461. Shamas Faqir's grandsons Sheikh Peer Mehraj ud din (Aasi Shamas) and his younger brother Sheikh Peer Mohammad Altaf (sons of Sheikh Peer Gh Mohidin Sahib (RAH) kamli wali presently at his place. Sheikh Peer Mehraj ud din (aasi shamas) is also a poet (shayar).

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