Shah Hussain ( pa, ; ; 1538–1599), also known as Madhoo Lal Hussain, was a 16th-century

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab region ...

Sufi poet who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form of

Punjabi poetry Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Sha ...

. He lived during the ruling periods of

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

and his son Jahangir.

Name

Shah Hussain is also often known as Shah Hussain Faqir - ''

Faqir Faqir may refer to: People * Fakir, Sufi Muslim ascetics * Faqir (given name), Arabic masculine name * Faqir (clan), Muslim ethnic group in South Asia Places * Faqir Mosque, 15th-century mosque in Chittagong, Bangladesh * Faqir Turko st ...

'' meaning ''

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

'' (mendicant) and '' Shah'' means '' King''. So due to his extremely humble Sufi personality, people called him ''The Dervish King'', a person who was a King and a Dervish at the same time.

Life

He was born in 945 AH (1538) within the

Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...

in what is now Punjab, Pakistan. His father was Sheikh Usman, he was a Dhudhi Rajput (a clan of Rajput), and by occupation, he was a weaver (in some of Shah Hussain poetic rhymes he used his pen name as Faqir Hussain Julaha which means "Saint Hussain the weaver"), his father, in his early age, enrolled him in a local school where he started to memorize the Quran. His teacher was Hafiz Abubakar. It was 955 AH (1548) when at the age of 10, a renowned Sufi master Sheikh Bahlol Qadri (d. 983 AH/ 1575) met him who later became his mentor. One day in the month of Ramadan his mentor asked him to fetch water for him from river and there he met Al-Khidr (Green One) who blessed him and Shah Hussain recited the whole Quran in Tarawih prayer while he memorized only 7 parts of the Quran, this miracle news spread in the city, Sheikh Bahlol, after some time, went to his town and directed Shah Hussain to regularly visit the Ali Hijwiri shrine in Lahore, Shah Hussain regularly at night stands in the river Ravi and recites the whole Quran until Fajar prayer and then visits to the shrine of Ali Hijwiri and till Zohar prayer recites whole Quran and he never missed a single congregation prayer, he also studied Tafsir Quran from a famous scholar Sheikh Saadullah Lahori in the year 981 AH (1573). While he was studying the Tafsir, he suddenly went out of the mosque and abandoned the path of

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

and stepped into the path of self-blamers and became a self-blamer Sufi, he started to dance and drink in public, some slandered him, and some had faith in him. Sheikh Madho Lal, the love of Shah Hussain, born in 983 AH (1575), when for the first time looked at his matchless beauty and fell for him, it was the love at first sight. At the time, Sheikh Madho was 16 years of age and Shah Hussain was 54 years old in the year 999 AH (1590). Sheikh Madho, at the age of 18 in 1002 AH (1593), embraced Islam and became a Muslim. Shah Hussain raised him as his

vicegerent Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or head of state: ''vice'' (Latin for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct"). In Oxford colleges, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the Master of a ...

and became his spiritual master. Shah Hussain died at 63 years of age in 1008 AH (1599), and before his death, he predicted that his first shrine will be built in Shahdara (located near river Ravi), then after 12 years a flood will appear in the river that will reach to my shrine and then my grave will be shifted to Babu Pura (now

Baghbanpura Baghbanpura ( ur, ) is a town and Union Council of Shalimar tehsil, Lahore District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located along the Grand Trunk Road some 5 kilometres northeast of the main Lahore city. The site for Baghbanpura was granted by Mughal ...

in Lahore; the Shalimar gardens) and my beloved Madho Lal will sit on my seat for 48 years after my death and it happened as the saint predicted, Sheikh Madho Lal, for the rest of his life, followed the footsteps of Shah Hussain and completely secluded himself from the world and confined himself into the shrine of his master Shah Hussain and in 1056 AH (1647) at the age of 73 died and was buried next to Shah Hussain. Two great Sufi saints, Syed Daud Bandagi Kirmani Qadri (899 AH-982 AH/1484-1574) and his disciple Syed Abu Ishaq Qadri (d. 985 AH/1577), were close friends of Shah Hussain and renowned scholars of his time. Mullah Abdul Hakim Sialkoti and Sheikh Tahir Bandagi Naqshbandi had great honour and respect for him. Notable books written on his life include ''Risala Baharia'' (by Bahar Khan on the directions of Emperor Jahangir), ''Hasanat ul Arifin'' (by Prince Dara Shiko in 1653), ''Haqiqat ul Fuqra'' (by Syed Sheikh Mahmood in 1662), ''Miftahul Arifin'' (by Abdul Fatah Naqshbandi Mujadad in 1667), along with others. Shrine of Maddho Lal Hussein, Lahore

Shrine

His tomb and shrine is located at the

precincts, adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens Lahore, Pakistan. His

Urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. t ...

(annual death anniversary) is celebrated at his shrine every year during the "

Mela Chiraghan Mela Chiraghan or Mela Shalimar ( pa, ; "Festival of Lights") is a three-day annual festival to mark the urs (death anniversary) of the Punjabi poet and Sufi saint Shah Hussain (1538-1599) who lived in Lahore in the 16th century. It takes pla ...

" ("Festival of Lights"). Madho's tomb lies next to Hussain's in the shrine.Lal, Mohan. (2006) ''Encyclopaedia of Indian literature.'' Vol. 5, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, p. 3940. . In the 18th century, during

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

(1780 – 1839) rule of Punjab, the maharaja himself would lead a procession from his palace in Lahore to Shah Hussain's shrine barefoot during Mela Chiraghan (Festival of Lights), accompanied by thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. Shah Hussain's

urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. t ...

and the mela used to happen at two different times but were both combined into one and then called "

" (Festival of Lights) by Ranjit Singh. This mela (festival) is considered to be the biggest festival of Punjab.

Kafis of Shah Hussain

Hussain's works of poetry consist entirely of short poems known as Kafis. A typical 'Hussain Kafi' contains a refrain and some rhymed lines. The number of rhymed lines is usually between four and ten. Only occasionally is a longer form adopted. Hussain's Kafis are also composed for, and the singing of them has been set to music based on Punjabi folk music. Many of his Kafis are part of the traditional Qawwali repertoire. His poems have been performed as songs by Kaavish, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,

Abida Parveen Abida Parveen (Urdu, sd, ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned h ...

, Ghulam Ali, Hamid Ali Bela,

Amjad Parvez Amjad Parvez ( ur, ) (born 28 March 1945) is a Pakistani engineer, writer, and a singer.Junoon and

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Press ...

, among others. "It may be asserted that poetry is often written to be sung. And all poetry carries, through manipulation of sound effects, some suggestion of music". Here are three examples, which draw on the famous love story of

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", " Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic ...

: Another Kafi: Two Kafis that are addressed to his Hindu disciple Madho Lal Hussain need a special mention:

References

External links

Complete works of Shah Hussain in Punjabi (Shahmukhi) language, Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA) website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Shah Punjabi Sufi saints Sufi poets Punjabi-language poets 1538 births 1599 deaths Sufism in Pakistan Sufi shrines in Pakistan Shrines in Pakistan Punjabi people Punjabi Sufis People from Lahore