Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah was born around 1680 in Uch, Subah of Multan (present-day Punjab, Pakistan) in Mughal Punjab, into a Sayyid family.

Bulleh Shah's father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and the Quran.{{Cite book |last=Kumar |first=Raj |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e8o5HyC0-FUC&dq=bl&pg=PA190 |title=Encyclopaedia of Untouchables, Ancient, Medieval and Modern |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |isbn=978-81-7835-664-8 |location=Delhi, India |page=190 |language=English |oclc=277277425 |quote=It is said that from among the ancestors of Bulleh Shah, Syed Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari came to Multan from Surakh-Bukhara three hundred years earlier. [...] Bulleh Shah's family, of being Sayyiad caste, was related to prophet Muhammad [...] Bulleh Shah's father, Shah Mohammed Dervish, was well versed in Arabic, Persian and the holy Qura'n. [...] There is a strong historical evidence to show that Bulleh Shah was an eminent scholar of Arabic and Persian.}} For unknown reasons, in his early life, his family moved to Malakwal, a village near Sahiwal. Bulleh Shah had at least one sister who was also Sufi.{{Cite book |last=Shāh |first=Bullhe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hic3XnRU-VgC |title=The Mystic Muse |date=1996 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-341-0 |language=en}} Both siblings never married. According to another account, he had two sisters and none of them ever married.{{Cite web |title=International Journal of Punjab Studies (Vol. 3) (1996) |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=sister+of+bullhe+shah&tbm=bks |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.google.com}}

Later, when Bulleh Shah was six years old, his family moved to Pandoke, which is 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah was schooled by his father along with the other children of the village. Most sources confirm that Bulleh Shah had to work, as a child and adolescent, as a herder in the village. It is confirmed that he received his higher education in Kasur. Some historians claim that Bulleh Shah received his education at a highly reputed madrassa run by Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza, where he taught for some time after his graduation. After his early education, he went to Lahore where he studied with Shah Inayat Qadiri, a Sufi murshid of Lahore.{{Cite web|date=2009-11-25|title=Bulleh Shah|url=https://sufipoetry.wordpress.com/poets/bulleh-shah/|access-date=2022-01-09|website=Sufi Poetry|language=en}} Bulleh Shah later became an eminent scholar of Arabic and Persian.

By social stratum, Bulleh Shah was a peasant.

There is a fort-like Gurdwara in Daftuh that was built in the 18th century by the Sikh Chieftainess Bibi Isher Kaur, who donated 80 squares of land for its construction.{{Cite news |last=Indiablooms |title=Pakistan 'neglects' Gurdwara dedicated to Baba Bulleh Shah {{!}} Indiablooms - First Portal on Digital News Management |url=https://www.indiablooms.com/world-details/SA/41262/pakistan-neglects-gurdwara-dedicated-to-baba-bulleh-shah.html |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Indiablooms.com |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Qaiṣar |first=Iqbāl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3nXAAAAMAAJ |title=پاكستان وچ سكھاں دياں تواريخى پوتر تھاواں |date=1998 |publisher=Punjabi History Board |language=pa}} Bulleh Shah took refuge in this Gurdwara after a group of Islamic fundamentalists started threatening his life.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-25 |title=An ode to Baba Bulleh Shah, historic gurdwara in Pakistan falls to nature's vagaries, govt's apathy |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/sufi-poet-baba-bulleh-shah-gurdwara-sahib-in-pakistan-punjab-heritage-8858407/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}

In his bad times, when even his family looked down upon him (for accepting a lower-caste Shah Inayat Qadiri as a teacher), his sister loved him and stood with him.

During his lifetime, he was outcast as kafir (non-believer) by some Muslim clerics.{{Cite book |last=Waheed |first=Sarah Fatima |title=Hidden histories of Pakistan : censorship, literature, and secular nationalism in late colonial India |date=2022 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-99351-7 |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |oclc=1263249486}}{{Cite book |last=Ghulam |first=Chatha Akbar |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1124524187 |title=Faith, Not Religions : a Collection Of Essays. |date=2012 |publisher=iUniverse.Com |isbn=978-1-4759-6461-5 |oclc=1124524187}}

He died in 1757, at the age of 77. He was buried in Kasur, where he had spent most of his life. As he was declared a kafir (a non-believer), religious fundamentalists of Kasur claimed it was prohibited to offer the prayer at his funeral. He was then buried on the outskirts of Kasur and his funeral prayer was led by Syed Zahid Hamdani, a renowned religious personality of Kasur.{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1332459|title=My visit to Bulleh Shah's tomb made me feel an otherworldly sense of peace|last=Zia|first=Sidra|date=17 June 2019|website=Dawn|location=Pakistan|language=en|access-date=20 May 2020}}

A dargah was built over his tomb in the following decades. It is now, officially, a protected monument under regulation of the Punjab government.

File:Bulleh Shah's Shrine.JPG

File:Grave of Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.jpg

File:Bulleh Shah's grave.JPG

File:Bullay Shah ibsisayndija2.jpg

File:Shrine Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.jpg

Bulleh Shah lived after the Punjabi Sufi poet and saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179–1266), and lived in the same period as other Punjabi Sufi poet Sultan Bahu (1629–1691). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1799), who is famous for Heer Ranjha, the Sindhi Sufi poet Sachal Sarmast (1739–1829), and the Pashtun poet Khushal Khattak (1613–1689). Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810) of Delhi.

Bulleh Shah practised the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1629–1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640–1724).

The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is the Kafi, popular in Punjabi and Sindhi poetry. His poetry is a mixture of traditional mystic thought and intellectualism.{{Cite book |last=Datta |first=Amaresh |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=1987 |isbn=9788126018031 |location=New Delhi |pages=600 |language=English}}

Many people have put his Kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Fareed Ayaz, Pathanay Khan, Abida Parveen, the Waddali Brothers and Sain Zahoor, from the synthesised techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the Pakistani rock band Junoon.

Among the most distinguished persons to be influenced by Bulleh Shah's poetry had been Muhammad Iqbal.{{Cite book |last=Sud |first=Kider Nath |url=https://archive.org/details/iqbalhispoemsare0000unse |title=Iqbal and His Poems - A Reappraisal |publisher=Sterling Publishers |year=1969 |location=Delhi |pages=41 |language=English}} It is maintained that Iqbal took his last breath while listening to his kafi.{{Cite book |title=Indian Horizons; Volumes 26-27 |publisher=Indian Council for Cultural Relations |year=1977 |location=New Delhi |pages=43 |language=English}}{{Cite book |last=Duggal |first=Kartar Singh |title=Literary Encounters; Volume 1 |publisher=Marwah Publications |year=1980 |location=India |pages=8 |language=English}}

He is the "most famous and celebrated" Punjabi poet{{Cite book |last=Snehi |first=Yogesh |title=Spatializing popular Sufi shrines in Punjab : dreams, memories, territoriality |date=2019 |isbn=978-0-429-51220-9 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |publisher=Routledge |oclc=1098274711}} and is widely recognized as "poet par excellence".{{Cite book |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/3685 |title=Travels of Bollywood Cinema: From Bombay to LA |date=2012-02-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-807598-1 |editor-last=Roy |editor-first=Anjali Gera |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198075981.001.0001 |editor-last2=Huat |editor-first2=Chua Beng}} A sample of his poetic work is presented below:

Verse 1:

"The mullah and the torch-bearer

Hail from the same stock;

They give light to others,

And themselves are in the dark."{{Cite book |last=Bullhe |first=Shāh |date=1986 |url=http://archive.org/details/bullehshah0000unse |title=Bulleh Shah : the love-intoxicated iconoclast |editor-first1=J.R. |editor-last1=Puri |editor-first2=T.R. |editor-last2=Shangari |publisher=Radha Soami Satsang Beas |location=Punjab |via=Internet Archive}}

Verse 2:

"Let anyone who calls me Sayyid be punished

with the tortures of hell;

And let him revel in the pleasures of heaven,

who labels me an Arain."{{Cite book |last1=Shāh |first1=Bullhe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQE2AAAAMAAJ |title=Bulleh Shah: The Love-intoxicated Iconoclast |last2=Puri |first2=J. R. |date=1986 |publisher=Radha Soami Satsang Beas |language=en}}

Bulleh Shah's non-orthodox views and simple language played important role in popularization of his poetry. It has been noted in literature that "one reason for his all-time popularity is his relatively modern vocabulary."{{Cite book |title=Crossing boundaries |date=1997 |publisher=Orient Longman |author=Geeti Sen |isbn=81-250-1341-5 |location=New Delhi |oclc=38257676}} Among the core tenets of his philosophy includes humanism, equality, tolerance, rejection of double standards, and defiance to the authority of Ulama and blind faith in their authority. For his criticism of replication of beliefs (blind faith and following), the "Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare" compared Bulleh Shah with Percy Bysshe Shelley.{{Cite book |last=Cobb |first=Mark |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/867929609 |title=Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare. |date=2012 |publisher=OUP Oxford |others=Christina M. Puchalski, Bruce Rumbold |isbn=978-0-19-150218-7 |location=Oxford |oclc=867929609}} For his "ruthless [analysis of] human society" and an "unending quest" to change it, he is often compared with Karl Marx.{{Cite web |last=Soofi |first=Mushtaq |date=2019-08-26 |title=Punjab Notes: Bulleh Shah: beyond caste and its polluting touch |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1501710 |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} Among major taboos in his philosophy was reciting words without comprehending them.{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Michael Muhammad |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/826853777 |title=Journey to the End of Islam. |date=2009 |publisher=Soft Skull Press |isbn=978-1-59376-552-1 |location=Berkeley |oclc=826853777}} He was a reformer with very much conscious of the contemporary religious, political and social situations.{{Cite book |last=Dhillon |first=Harish |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/858762739 |title=First Raj of the Sikhs : the Life and Times of Banda Singh Bahadur. |date=2013 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=978-93-81398-39-5 |location=Carlsbad |oclc=858762739}}

In Bulleh Shah's poetry, Sufism can be seen as an indigenous philosophy of political activism and class struggle{{Cite web |last=Inam |first=Moniza |date=2018-03-11 |title=IN MEMORIAM: THE SUFI COMMUNIST |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1394228 |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} and resistance to powerful institutions like religion and imperialism. Through his poems he spoke against "religious, political and social patriarchal high handedness" of his time.{{Cite book |last=Gaur |first=I. D. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227921397 |title=Martyr as bridegroom : a folk representation of Bhagat Singh |date=2008 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-81-905835-0-3 |location=New Delhi, India |oclc=227921397}} This side of his poetry is evident from his defying of the imperial ban on dancing and singing,{{Cite book |last=Bullhe Shāh,?-1758? |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35151781 |title=The mystic muse |date=1996 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |others=Kartar Singh Duggal |isbn=81-7017-341-8 |location=New Delhi |oclc=35151781}} and support for Sikhs, in general, and Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh,{{Cite book |last=Lakshman Singh |first=Bhagat |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/858588727 |title=Short sketch of the life and work of Guru Govind Singh, the 10th and last guru of the Sikhs |date=1995 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=81-206-0576-4 |location=New Delhi |oclc=858588727}} in particular, in their struggle against the imperialist Mughal Empire. Thus, his version of Sufism is usually considered opposite to that of Ali Hajweri and other 'more spiritual' sufis who were confined to their libraries and schools and rarely participated in public discourse.

Bulleh Shah was a "revolutionary" and "rebel" poet who spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions of his time and, thus, his influence can be seen on many noted socialists, progressives and workers and women rights activists like Jam Saqi, Taimur Rahman,{{Citation |title=Loye Loye Bhar Ly Kurye Sung By Taimur Rehman, LAAL Band. | date=14 August 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOlN8tghs0g |language=en |access-date=2023-02-16}} Bhagat Singh, Faiz Ahmad Faiz,{{Cite book |last=Wolf |first=Richard K. |title=The voice in the drum : music, language, and emotion in Islamicate South Asia |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-252-09650-1 |location=Urbana |oclc=894227410 |publisher=University of Illinois Press}}{{Cite book |last=Husain |first=Imdad |title=An introduction to the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz |date=1989 |publisher=Vanguard Books |isbn=969-402-000-X |location=Lahore |oclc=21322031}} Madeeha Gauhar,{{Cite web |date=2013-09-12 |title=Ajoka holds festival to mark 9/11 |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1042289 |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} and Major Ishaque Muhammad.{{Cite journal |last=Kazmi |first=Sara |title=Of subalterns and Sammi trees: Echoes of Ghadar in the Punjabi literary movement |url=https://socialiststudies.com/index.php/sss/article/download/27242/20156/69627 |journal=Socialist Studies |year=2018 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=114–133|doi=10.18740/ss27242 |s2cid=150355584 |doi-access=free }}

Humanism is the key attribute of the life and works of Bulleh Shah.{{Cite book |editor-first=Amin |editor-last=Asfari |date=2020 |title=Civility, Nonviolent Resistance, and the New Struggle for Social Justice |isbn=978-90-04-41758-8 |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |oclc=1130904784}}

In the 1990s, Junoon, a rock band from Pakistan, rendered his poems "Bullah Ki Jaana" and "Aleph" ("Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar"). In 2004, Indian musician Rabbi Shergill turned the classical poem "Bullah Ki Jaana" into a rock/fusion song in his debut album Rabbi; the song was a chart-topper in 2005, helping the album to eventually sell over 10,000 copies and became immensely popular in India and Pakistan.{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050604/asp/calcutta/story_4806895.asp|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171011175204/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1050604/asp/calcutta/story_4806895.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 October 2017| title = Soundscape for the soul| author = Zeeshan Jawed| website = The Telegraph (Kolkata newspaper)| location = Calcutta| date = 4 June 2005| access-date = 20 May 2020}}{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/04/11/stories/2005041100540100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105132448/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/04/11/stories/2005041100540100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2012| title = Urban balladeer| author = Bageshree S.| date = 11 April 2005|work=The Hindu| access-date = 20 May 2020}}

The Wadali Bandhu, a Punjabi Sufi group from India, have also released a version of "Bullah Ki Jaana" in their album Aa Mil Yaar... Call of the Beloved. They also worked with British-Punjabi music composer, Mukhtar Sahota, to create their own rendition of a famous Punjabi folk song, "Charkha" which was released in May 2007.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFAHyGWc1AY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/FFAHyGWc1AY|archive-date=2024-03-24 |url-status=live|title=Charka - Mukhtar Sahota & Wadali's - Unpredictable |via=YouTube |date=4 May 2007 |access-date=24 March 2024}}{{cbignore}} Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali and entitled "Bullah".{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, a qawwali composed in honour of Shahbaz Qalandar, has been one of Bulleh Shah's most popular poems and has been frequently rendered by many Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi singers including Noor Jehan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Sabri Brothers, Wadali brothers, Reshman and Runa Laila. Other qawwali songs by Bulleh Shah, include "Sade Vehre Aya Kar" and "Mera Piya Ghar Aaya". In 2008, a version of Bulleh Shah's famous verse, Aao Saiyo Ral Deyo Ni Wadhai, was sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, for his debut solo album, Tabeer. Ali named the song "Bulleh Shah" in honor of the poet.

In 2016, a collaboration between two EDM artists (Headhunterz and Skytech) named "Kundalini" used words created by Bulleh Shah, as well as having the words Bulleh Shah in the lyrics.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8zB7QKU87c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/e8zB7QKU87c |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Headhunterz & Skytech – Kundalini (Official Music Video) |via=YouTube |date=10 May 2016 |access-date=17 January 2020}}{{cbignore}} Bulleh Shah's verses have been an inspiration to painters as well, as in the two series of paintings (Jogia Dhoop and Shah Shabad) by an Indian painter Geeta Vadhera inspired by the poetry of Bulleh Shah and other Sufi poets and saints. In 2017, British-Pakistani singer Yasir Akhtar used Bulleh Shah's poetry in his song "Araam Naal Kar – Take it Easy".{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l9kI5-aiGQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/0l9kI5-aiGQ |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Yasir Akhtar | Araam Naal Kar – Take it Easy ft.Martay M'Kenzy (Official Video)|date=3 February 2017|access-date=16 February 2017|via=YouTube|publisher=Yasir Akhtar}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/130751-Yasir-Akhtar-the-singing-sensation-is-back-with-Aram-Nal-Kar|title=Yasir Akhtar, the singing sensation, is back with 'Aram Nal Kar'|date=11 February 2017|access-date=16 February 2017|via=Geo News|publisher=Tanveer Khatana}} In 2019, Sona Mohapatra used a verse of Bulleh Shah in her song "R.A.T. Mashup".{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

The 1973 movie Bobby song by Narendra Chanchal starts with the verse Beshaq mandir masjid todo, Bulleh Shah ye kahta. Some of Bulleh Shah's verses, including "Tere Ishq Nachaya", have been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs including "Chaiyya Chaiyya" and "Thayya Thayya" in the 1998 film Dil Se.., "Tere Ishq Nachaya" in the 2002 film Shaheed-E-Azam and "Ranjha Ranjha" in the 2010 film Raavan.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Bulleh-Shahs-poetry-in-present-day/articleshow/14098893.cms |title=Bulleh Shah's poetry in present day|website=Times Of India|date=13 June 2012 |access-date=20 May 2020}} The 2007 Pakistani movie Khuda Kay Liye includes Bulleh Shah's poetry in the song "Bandeya Ho". The 2008 Bollywood film, A Wednesday, included a song titled "Bulle Shah, O Yaar Mere". In 2014, Ali Zafar sung some of his verses as "Chal Buleya" for Bollywood soundtrack album Total Siyapaa, and the song was reprised by Zafar same year in Pakistan Idol.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/556499-lady-dadas-nightmare |title=Lady Dada's Nightmare – I | Instep |work=The News International |date=15 June 2014 |access-date=17 January 2020}} The 2016 Bollywood films Sultan and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil feature the song "Bulleya", sung by Papon and Amit Mishra respectively, which is short for Bulleh Shah.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}} Poetry of Bulleh Shah was also used in 2015 film Wedding Pullav composed by Salim–Sulaiman. A song "Hun Kis Theen" based on his poetry was also featured in Punjabi animated film Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur.{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/sikh-history-hasnt-been-documented-well-and-some-of-the-versions-available-are-inaccurate-4365320/ |title=Sikh history hasn't been documented well and some of the versions available are inaccurate |work=The Indian Express |date=9 November 2016 |access-date=17 January 2020}} In the 1998 Bollywood film Dil Se one of the more popular songs chal chaiya chaiya is actually a rendition of the popular Bulleh Shah kalam Tera ishq nachaya bol thaiyya thaiyya.

In 2009, the season 2 of Coke Studio featured "Aik Alif" performed by Sain Zahoor and Noori. Ali Zafar also used some of Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain's verses in his "Dastan-e-Ishq".{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr8NGEGTK6Q |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Zr8NGEGTK6Q |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Dastaan-e-ishq, Ali Zafar – BTS, Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 2|date=23 June 2009|via=YouTube|publisher=Rohail Hyatt}}{{cbignore}} In 2010, the season 3 featured "Na Raindee Hai" and "Makke Gayaan Gal Mukdi Nahi" performed by Arieb Azhar. In 2012, Shah's poetry was featured with Hadiqa Kiani performing "Kamlee".{{cite web|author=Ata ur Rehman |url=http://www.pakium.com/2012/05/13/hadiqa-kiani-kamlee-coke-studio-season-5-episode-1 |title=Hadiqa Kiani Kamlee, Coke Studio Season 5 Episode 1 |date=12 May 2012 |publisher=Pakium.com |access-date=17 January 2020}} In 2016, Ahmed Jahanzeb and Umair Jaswal performed "Khaki Banda"; In third episode of season 11 Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawal & Brothers performed a Qawwali based on Kalam by Bulleh Shah.{{cite web|url=https://nation.com.pk/25-Aug-2018/coke-studio-releases-third-episode-of-season-11 |title=Coke Studio releases third episode of Season 11 |work=The Nation|location=Pakistan |date=25 August 2018 |access-date=17 January 2020}} In season 12 Hadiqa Kiani used verses of Bulleh Shah in the song "Daachi Waaleya".{{cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/pakistani-cinema/coke-studio-brings-love-ballads-and-sufi-poetry-from-top-stars-1.68060545 |title=Coke Studio brings love ballads and Sufi poetry from top stars | Pakistani Cinema|work=Gulf News |date=25 November 2019 |access-date=20 May 2020}}

Academic and literary circles

The journalist Najam Sethi attempted to translate the verses of Bulleh Shah into English.{{Cite web |last=Aslam |first=Irfan |date=2015-05-15 |title=How Bulleh Shah was translated into English |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1182060 |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} However, his friend Taufiq Rafat published the finest translation of Bulleh Shah's selected poems.

The work of Bulleh Shah influenced and inspired many other poets and artists, such as Muhammad Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ali Arshad Mir, and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh.{{Cite web |last=Desk |date=2023-12-01 |title=The Universal Appeal of the Poetry of Bulhe Shah |url=https://republicpolicy.com/the-universal-appeal-of-the-poetry-of-bulhe-shah/ |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=Republic Policy |language=en-US}}

Socio-economics

In 2012, the government of Punjab, most populous province of Pakistan, renamed an important road in the provincial capital Lahore to "Bulleh Shah Road".{{cite news |last1=Hasnain |first1=Khalid |title=Roads, intersections' naming: Shahbaz approves CDGL's summary |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/782532/roads-intersections-naming-shahbaz-approves-cdgls-summary |access-date=27 July 2022 |work=DAWN.COM |publisher=Dawn |date=31 January 2013 |language=en}} In 2021, the government of Pakistan also approved his name for a road in the country.{{cite news |last1=Hasnain |first1=Khalid |title=Lahore streets, intersections to be named after famous personalities |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1640853 |access-date=27 July 2022 |work=DAWN.COM |publisher=Dawn |date=16 August 2021 |language=en}} Pakistan's "largest renewable packaging facility" is also named after him.{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.bullehshah.com.pk/ |website=www.bullehshah.com.pk |publisher=Bulleh Shah Packaging (Pvt.) Limited |access-date=27 July 2022}} There is a housing community in Kasur called "Bulleh Shah Colony." Also, a road in Kasur is called "Baba Bulleh Shah Road." A roadway junction on Lahore Ring Road is called "Bulleh Shah Interchange." In 2023, a public hospital in Kasur was renamed to "Baba Bulleh Shah Hospital."{{Cite web |date=2023-08-07 |title=DHQ hospital named after Baba Bulleh Shah |url=https://pakobserver.net/dhq-hospital-named-after-baba-bulleh-shah/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Pakistan Observer |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-08-04 |title=Kasur DHQ Hospital renamed after Baba Bulleh Shah |url=https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/04-Aug-2023/kasur-dhq-hospital-renamed-after-baba-bullay-shah |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Daily Pakistan Global |language=en}}

An educational institute called "Bulleh Shah Institute" is operating in Badhni Kalan, India, since 2003. Another educational institute called "Bulleh Shah Law College" (affiliated with University of the Punjab) operates in Kasur.{{Cite web |title=University of the Punjab- Affiliated Colleges - Bulleh-Shah-Law-College-Main-Sadar-Diwan-Road-Kasur |url=http://pu.edu.pk/affiliation/collegeinfo/1304/Bulleh-Shah-Law-College-Main-Sadar-Diwan-Road-Kasur |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=pu.edu.pk}} In 2007, Pakistani senator Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed raised the proposal for establishment of Bulleh Shah University in Kasur.{{cite news |date=27 August 2007 |title=Demand for Bulleh Shah university |language=en |work=DAWN.COM |publisher=Dawn |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/263177/demand-for-bulleh-shah-university |access-date=27 July 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Shaikh |first1=Ahsan ul haq |date=9 January 2022 |title=UNIVERSITY IN CHUNIAN |language=en |work=DAWN.COM |publisher=Dawn |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1668469 |access-date=27 July 2022}} In 2023, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a bill, proposed by Asiya Azeem, for the establishment of "Bulleh Shah International University" in Kasur.{{Cite web |title=NA passes 26 bills to set up new universities, institutes amid criticism about quality education |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1094931-na-passes-26-bills-to-set-up-new-universities-institutes-amid-criticism-about-quality-education |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}

The renowned Pakistani businessman Syed Babar Ali mentioned Bulleh Shah in his autobiography, and the role played by his team in publishing his works.{{Cite book |last=Babar Ali |first=Syed |url=https://lums.edu.pk/sites/default/files/sba-biography.pdf |title=Learning From Others |publisher=Topical Printers, Lahore |year=2017 |isbn=978-969-9251-71-9 |edition=2nd |location=Lahore |pages=99 |language=English}}

Politics

In the 1960s and 1970s, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto exploited the rising popularity of the ideas of Bulleh Shah, and the slogan of "Roti Kapra aur Makan" (that inspired the film Roti Kapda Aur Makaan) among the common masses and emerged as a populist leader who eventually became the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-05 |title=Bhutto's ideology is need of the hour |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/533378/bhuttos-ideology-is-need-of-the-hour-daily-times/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Daily Times |language=en-US}} Bhutto used the term “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar” (a song adapted by Bulleh Shah) in 1973 to predict the political turmoil ahead.{{Cite web |last=Sharjeel |first=Shahzad |date=2019-12-06 |title=The myriad interpretations of Sufi anthem 'Mast Qalandar' |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/columnists/061219/the-myriad-interpretations-of-sufi-anthem-mast-qalandar.html |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Deccan Chronicle |language=en}}

In February 2006 then Chief Minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi addressed a conference at the University of the Punjab, in which he said, Bulleh Shah and other Sufi's "were not only preachers, but also historians of social history."{{Cite book |last=Drage |first=Teresa Ann |url=https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws%3A34696/datastream/PDF/view |title=The National Sufi Council: Redefining the Islamic Republic of Pakistan through a discourse on Sufism after 9/11 (PhD thesis) |publisher=University of Western Sydney |year=2015 |pages=130 |language=English}}

In March 2013, Hamza Shahbaz (on the behalf of Punjab's chief minister Shehbaz Sharif) inaugurated "Yadgar-e-Baba Bulleh Shah" (a memorial to Bulleh Shah) in Kasur.{{Cite web |title=Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10151519973642931&set=a.10151519972877931.1073741835.352666212930 |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=www.facebook.com}} In 2015, in his address the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recited a verse of Bulleh Shah.{{Cite web |date=2015-08-20 |title=PM Nawaz Recties Bulleh Shah Poetry While Addressing Parsi Community - video Dailymotion |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32ekk8 |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Dailymotion |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2013-05-10 |title=Nawaz pledges equal status to minorities |url=https://nation.com.pk/10-May-2013/nawaz-pledges-equal-status-to-minorities |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=The Nation |language=en}}

In 2015, the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan (former Prime Minister) called Bulleh Shah "the great Sufi inspirational heritage of our region."{{Cite twitter |number=637122777665765376 |user=ImranKhanPTI |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=Twitter |language=en |title=Today is the Urs of the great Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah. He is part of the great Sufi inspirational heritage of our region. |first=Imran |last=Khan}}

In August 2023, the caretaker chief minister of Punjab Mohsin Raza Naqvi laid the foundation stone of the extension project of the dargah of Bulleh Shah. He said, the teachings of Bulleh Shah are "an enlightening as well as an illuminating chapter for us."{{Cite web |title=CARETAKER CM MOHSIN NAQVI VISITS MAZAR OF SUFI SAINT HAZRAT BABA BULLEH SHAH (RA) AND LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF ITS EXTENSION PROJECT |url=https://dgpr.punjab.gov.pk/node/24400 |website=Directorate General Public Relations, Government of the Punjab}} Among the attendees were Nayyar Ali Dada.

Aseff Ahmad Daula, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, was an admirer of Bulleh Shah. In one of his essays, he equated "Punjabi" with the language of Bulleh Shah.{{Cite web |date=2005-07-18 |title=A question of identity: The Pakistani Southasian |url=https://www.himalmag.com/a-question-of-identity-the-pakistani-southasian/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=Himal Southasian |language=en-GB}} Another Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri praised Bulleh Shah for "always projecting truth in his verses."{{Cite web |date=2004-04-19 |title=KASUR: Tribute paid to Bulleh Shah |url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/356788/kasur-tribute-paid-to-bulleh-shah |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

Bulleh Shah never published his works. However, a significant part of his work has been preserved and published formally in India, Pakistan and abroad. The following is a list of books and book chapters containing his poetic works (or its translation).

Works in English:

• Sufi Lyrics: Selections from a World Classic (Publisher: Harvard University Press), 2021. English Translation by: Christopher Shackle.{{Cite book |first=Bullhe |last=Shāh |title=Sufi lyrics |date=2015 |editor=C. Shackle |translator=C. Shackle |isbn=978-0-674-25966-9 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=1240164691}}
• Bulleh Shah: A Selection (Publisher: Oxford University Press), 2016. English Translation by: Taufiq Rafat.{{Cite book |first=Bullhe |last=Shāh |title=Bulleh Shah : a selection |date=2015 |translator=Taufiq Rafat |isbn=978-0-19-940288-5 |location=Karachi, Pakistan |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=927190615}}
• Baba Bulleh Shah (in Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Mystics to Rumi) (Publisher: Penguin Books), 2009. Author: Mahmood Jamal.{{Cite book |last=Mahmood Jamal |url=http://archive.org/details/islamic-mystical-poetry-by-mahmood-jamal |title=Islamic Mystical Poetry - Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi |isbn=9781101488348}}
• Bulhe Shah: Volume 141 (Publisher: Sahitya Akademi), 1987 (reprinted in 1990). Author: Surindar Singh Kohli.{{Cite book |last=Kohli |first=Surindar Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CloGAAAAMAAJ |title=Bulhe Shah |date=1987 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |language=en}}
• Bulleh Shah: The Love-intoxicated Iconoclast (Publisher: Radha Soami Satsang Beas), 1986. Authors: J. R. Puri and T. R. Shangari{{Cite book |last1=Puri |first1=J. R. |url=http://archive.org/details/bulleh-shah-the-love-intoxicated-iconclast_202303 |title=Bulleh Shah The Love Intoxicated Iconclast |last2=Shangari |first2=T. R. |publisher=Radha Soami Satsang Beas}}

Works in Gurmukhi (Punjabi):

• Bulleh Shah Jeevan Te Rachna [The Life and Career of Bulleh Shah] (Publisher: Punjabi University, Patiala, India), 2010. Editor: Jeet Singh Sital.{{Cite book |last=Jeet Singh Sital |url=http://archive.org/details/bulleh-shah-jeevan |title=Bulleh Shah Jeevan |date=2010}}
• Kalam Bulle Shah [The Verses of Bulleh Shah], 2009. Editor: Gurdev Singh.{{Cite book |last=www.DiscoverSikhism.com |url=http://archive.org/details/KalamBullehShah |title=Kalam Bulleh Shah |language=Punjabi}}
• Bulleh Shah: A Sufi Poet [Collection of Verses], Oxford University Press, 2010. Edited by Shabnam Virmani.{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2024-10-29 |title=Best 2 Lines Love Shayari in Punjabi - Express Your Emotions |url=https://shayari2u.com/love-shayari-in-punjabi/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Shayari2u |language=en-US}}

Works in Shahmukhi (Punjabi):

• Kalam Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah [The Verses of Saint Bulleh Shah] (Publisher: Karmanwala Book Shop), 2009. Editor: Sami Ullah Barkat.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/bulle-shah |title=Bulle Shah}}
• Bulleh Shah Kehende Nain [Bulleh Shah says], 1987. Editor: Maqbool Anwar Dawoodi.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/bulleh-shah-kehende-nain |title=Bulleh Shah Kehende Nain |language=Malay}}

Works in Urdu:

• Sayin Bulleh Shah [Master Bulleh Shah] (Publisher: Radha Soami Satsang Beas), 2000. Authors: T. R. Shangari and J.R. Puri.{{Cite book |last=T.R. Shangari and J.R. Puri |url=http://archive.org/details/sain-bulleh-shah |title=Sain Bulleh Shah |date=1987}}
• Bulleh Shah (Publisher: Sahitya Akademi), 1992. Author: Surinder Singh Kolhi. Translator: Kamil Qureshi.{{Cite book |last=Surinder Kolhi |url=http://archive.org/details/bullehshah_202002 |title=Bulleh Shah |date=1992 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi}}
• Tazkara [Discussion], 1984. Author: Mian Akhlaq Ahmad.{{Cite book |last=Mian Akhlaq Ahmad |url=http://archive.org/details/tazkera-hazrat-shah-inayat-qadiri-shattari |title=Tazkera Hazrat Shah Inayat Qadiri Shattari |date=1984}}
• Kulliyat Bulleh Shah (Publisher: Zahid Basheer Printers, Lahore). Editor: Faqir Muhammad Faqir.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/kulliyat-bulleh-shah |title=Kulliyat Bulleh Shah |language=Urdu}}
• Ramooz e Irfan: Kafyan Hazrat Bulleh Shah [Secrets of Sainthood: The Kafis of Saint Bulleh Shah] (Publisher: Kashmir Research Institute, Srinagar). Translator: Fiza Jokalwai.{{Cite book |last=Hazrat Bulle Shah |url=http://archive.org/details/rafooz-e-irfan-kafyan-urdu-hazrat-bulle-shah |title=Rafooz E Irfan Kafyan Urdu Hazrat Bulle Shah}}

Work in Sindhi:

• Bulleh Shah Joon Kafiyoon [The Kafis of Bulleh Shah], 1983. Editor: Noor Haider.{{Cite book |last=Noor Haider |url=http://archive.org/details/bullehshahjoonkafiyoon |title=Bulleh Shah Joon Kafiyoon |date=1983}}

Works in Hindi:

• Sai Bulle Shah Radha Swami Satsang Vyas (Publisher: Radha Soami Satsang Beas), 1995.{{Cite book |last=Radha Swami Satsang Vyas |url=http://archive.org/details/sai-bulle-shah-radha-swami-satsang-vyas |title=Sai Bulle Shah Radha Swami Satsang Vyas}}
• Kafian Baba Bulleh Shah [The Kafis of Bulleh Shah] (Publisher: Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary/ Namdhari eLibrary).{{Cite book |last=Baba Buley Shah |url=http://archive.org/details/kafian-baba-bulleh-shah |title=Kafian Baba Bulleh Shah}}

Other works:

"Dama Dam Mast Qalandar" is one of the most famous Sufi songs in India and Pakistan. It was originally written by Amir Khusrau, and was modified by Bulleh Shah. The version composed by Bulleh Shah was sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Laal (band) and numerous other singers from India and Pakistan.

"Tere ishq Nachaya," a popular poem by Bulleh Shah, has been sung numerous times both in public and film industry, e.g., the popular song Chaiyya Chaiyya is derived from its lyrics.

"Bullah Ki Jaana," one of the most popular poems by Bulleh Shah, has been sung by numerous singers in India and Pakistan.

A brief biographical sketches of him are found in "Encyclopaedia of Untouchables : Ancient Medieval and Modern" (2008){{Cite book |last=Kumar |first=Raj |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/277277425 |title=Encyclopaedia of untouchables ancient, medieval and modern |date=2008 |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |isbn=978-81-7835-664-8 |location=Delhi |oclc=277277425}} and "Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature" (1987).

• List of Punjabi language poets
• Sufism
• Waris Shah
• Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza
• Shah Inayat Qadiri
• Tere ishq Nachaya
• Chaiyya Chaiyya
• Bullah Ki Jaana

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=RXQaAQAAIAAJ Bulleh Shah: The Love-Intoxicated Iconoclast], by J. R. Puri, Tilaka Raj Shangri. Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1986, {{ISBN|9788182560031}}.
• Great Sufi Poets of the Punjab, by R. M. Chopra, Iran Society, Kolkata, 1999.

{{commons category|Bulleh Shah}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080916225455/http://www.wichaar.com/news/239/ARTICLE/7115/2008-05-18.html Biography of Bulleh Shah]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051031002735/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/082004/punjabi.htm Littérateurs of the Punjabi language]}}

{{South Asian Muslim Saints}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulleh Shah}}

Category:1680s births

Category:1757 deaths

Category:Poets from the Mughal Empire

Category:Mughal Empire Sufis

Category:People from Kasur District

Category:Punjabi-language poets

Category:Punjabi Sufi saints

Category:Sufi mystics

Category:Sufi poets

Category:Sufism in Pakistan

Category:Sufi shrines in Pakistan

Category:18th-century Mughal Empire people