Bulleh Shah

An informative and interesting article. As mentioned that Bulleh did not believe in saying something ambiguous. Whatever he wanted to convey he said it by hitting the nail in the head. His kalam reproaches the hypocrites.

Parh parh masley roz sunaavey
Khaanaa shak shubey da khaweyn
Daseyn hor te hor kamaaweyn
Ander khot baahir suchyaar

You deliever sermons everyday
You eat the food of suspicion and doubt
You preach something and act inversly
Inwardly you are corrupt but outwardly you are pious

Moreover I agree with tharilist786 that this couplet belongs to Main Muhammad Baksh `` masjid dha de, mandir dha de....( .not by bulleh shah) please correct me if you find me wrong in this regard.

masjid dha de, mandir dha de....i believe that was part of saiful mulk, by pir muhamad mian...not a poem by bulleh shah...am i wrong?

About 20 years back i had purchased a audio cassette named Bulleh Shah Dee Kafiyaan, sung by Sh. Narender Chanchal. Some words were
`` Je Rub(God) Milda Nahateyaan Dhoteyan,
Te Milda Dadduan(frogs) Macchhian(fishes),
Je Rub Milda Madhi Masani,
Te Milda Chham Chidikhiyaan,
Je Rub Milda Jungal Wele,
Te Milda Gauaan Vacchhian,
Bulleh Shah Rub Usnu Milda,
Te Niyataan Jinhaan Diyaan Acchhian,
Nee Main Kamlee Haan
Hazi lok Makke Wal Jaande
Assaan Jaana Takth Hazare Nee Main Kamlee Haan.

i remember a poetry by bulleh shah it goes:
bulleh ya weh too raatin jaagen taan sant kaha vein, ratti jaagan kutey tethon ute
(Bulleh shah you stay awake at nights and people call you a saint. dogs stay awake at nights, who are better than humans)
malak da dar mool na chad dey pavein sau sau paindey joote teton ute
(dogs do not leave the door of the owner even if hit by shoes therefore they are better than humans)
bulleh ya weh too ve deen mana ley nahin tey baazi ley gaye kutey tethon uthe
(Bulleh Shah you too must be obedient to god your master or dogs will supersede you)

i remember a poetry by bulleh shah it goes:
bulleh ya weh too raatin jaagen taan sant kaha vein, ratti jaagan kutey tethon ute
(Bulleh shah you stay awake at nights and people call you a saint. dogs stay awake at nights, who are better than humans)
malak da dar mool na chad dey pavein sau sau paindey joote teton ute
(dogs do not leave the door of the owner even if hit by shoes therefore they are better than humans)
bulleh ya weh too ve deen mana ley nahin tey baazi ley gaye kutey tethon uthe
(Bulleh Shah you too must be obedient to god your master or dogs will supersede you)

This is to reference to Naqshbandi`s reference....I am not a great historian like him. But yes he is right when he talks about spiritual Sufism ideologies insipred by Sunni spiritual ideology....but let me tell u my friend it`s not where a person gets his doctrine and education from (as you said Bulleh Shah was educated in madrassah), it`s how you utilize the knowlegde after that is important.

If you refer to Bulleh Shah`s lines

``Na maen bheth mazhab da paaya Na maen apna naam dharaaya ``...which means ``Secrets of religion, I have not known .I am not the name I assume ``...that shows he went beyond religious text books & religious preachings and had attained SELF REALISATION ...the REAL HIMSELF

He was a humanist and let me tell you it`s not the maulvis/Mullas in Islam and (the Pandits in Hinduism) which is gonna help you find the real GOD...the Almighty....which is inside you....You YOURSELF will have to take that special effort and Bulleh Shah had done that ....

Umair,

Thanks a lot for this wonderful article. Baba Bulle Shah is a prominent figure in Sufi culture and I was dying to know something about him. Sufis should not be seen in the light of Hinduism or Islam or for that matter in any other man-made religion. Sufis always talked about humanity, one God whom we call Sadashiv, Allah, Rabb, God, Khuda, and oneness of universe. They wanted people to understand the falsehood of our practices and taught us about God within all of us and equality of all human beings.

I listen to NFAKs original sufi qawwalis (non techno variety) regualrly and somehow, did not like Abida Parveen`s version that much. If somebody can provide me links where I can did more info about BaBa Bulle Shah and BaBa Ghulam Farid, I will be grateful.

echoboom

Quran says, `Have you seen those who have made `Ehbaar` (the religious professionals) as God`. Mullah is not mentioned in the Quran which was revealed to the Prophet. Ecchoboom might have read some Qurn revealed to the Mullah which names that professional seller of Islam as Allah above all human beings, even the progeny of the Prophet (peace be upon all).

umair,
thanks for your article on bulleh shah. nusrat fateh ali khan sang a lot of his poetry.
also, i`ve enjoyed the discussion that came out of your article.

escapist

But who is `Rabulaalimin` of the Quran Who is the only one to be praised, worshipped and asked for help (see Surae Faatiha, the Ummul-Quran). Allah as a `mohtasib` is the God of the Mullah, Allah as Rab who is `Rehman and Raheem` is the God of the humans. Allah is one but it has many `Sifaat`. It depends upon you how you recognize Him- Allah as the owner of hell which he has to fill up with `Jin-o-Ins` or Allah as Rab, the sustainer, the God of love and compassion.

Dear teshah, escapist, and echoboom

Although we failed to benefit from the undisputed scholarship and wisdom of Naqshbandi, you guys came through. Thank you.

I am certain the average reader is now more enlightened about Sufism, Islam, and the relationship between the two.

Regards.

Romair ( & others )

Here is the complete Masnavi of Rumi ( translations) , commentary & much more. A great comparison of various translations plus intro. to a new translation.

http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/masnavi.html

For a sufi a diehard & fumdamentalist belief & love for Allah, Qura`an, Prophet & his progeny AND invoking of shariat and observing tariquat is an integral & unfettered obligation. A sufi is not some kind of Mharishi, or Chopra or pop-psycho charlatan, or quick-fixer feel-good Doctor.

No non-muslim can be a sufi and simply because someone from tinsle-town & tabloid has oohed & aahed over it , one should never ever consider oneself learned or even at the shoe-level of a maulana, a maulvi, or even a mullah.

Hope muslims as well as others would benefit from this site.

P.S: Romair; I understand about that `innocent` enquiry. This is not the time & place to talk about it. You are doing fine. May you excel in your business.

Everyone only ``sees`` the world according to ones own belief. The ``world`` is inside us , not ``outside``.

teshah

Whatever that meant.

Its not the Mullahs. Its the Quran itself which says,


The Meaning of The Holy Qur`an. Surah:23. Al-Mu`minun. Ayah 14

16.Say: ``Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?`` Say: ``(It is) Allah.`` Say: ``Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?`` Say: ``Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with light?`` Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: ``Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible.``

The Meaning of The Holy Qur`an. Surah:39. Az-Zumar. Ayah 62

62.Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs.

Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

Ralph
`God is not God unless He is called Allah`

Mullah says Allah is the personal (zaati) name of the one who is generally called by the name of God, Rab, Khuda, etc.. It is, so to say, His `Signature` and accordingly the mullah-ridden PTV has virtually banned the name of Khuda from all its programs. It reminds me of a couplet of Akbar Allahabadi:

Raqeebon ne rappat likhwaae ja ja ke thhane mein
kih Akbar naam leta he Khuda ka is zamaane mein

They can`t say `khuda haafiz` on Ptv now when all urdu and persian litterature is full of the name of Khuda.

`God sends Prophets. But he told whatever he wanted to tell, now or for ever, to a man named mohammad, and shut down the prophet production line for ever.`

The production line is perhaps too busy producing Firouns and Hamaans (modern mullah) to have a time for producing a Musa or his like, even ignoring the age old wise saying `Har Firoun-e-ra Musa` (for every Pharao there is a Moses). This is obscurantism par excellence.
The mullah cannot tolerate even a false prophet what to speak of a real Prophet.

Ralph.

I admire Bullay shah as a great poet. But to consider him an Islamic figure would be unfair to both Islam and Bullay shah.

I dont hold Naqshbandi in utter and vicious contempt at all :)

I also think the writer has very wisely wrote ``the punjabi humanist``, instead of ``punjabi muslim sufi poet`` or what not.

Regards