Shaikh Muhammad Sharif Sabir (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Heer Waris Shah ''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 na ...

published in 1985. It took him over ten years to complete this work. Earlier, he had already written a book of poetry and edited ''

Puran Bhagat Puran Bhagat (later became Sri Chauranginatha) was a Punjabi Nath Saint and prince of Sialkot. As per unauthenticated history, he had been exiled and lived the last days of his life in a village located in the suburbs of Sialkot city. His temple ...

'' of

Qadir Yar Qadir Yar (1802–1892), born Qadar Baksh, was a Muslim Sandhu Jatt and a poet of the Punjabi language. Born in Gujranwala, he wrote Punjabi Qissa like ''Qissa Purana Bhagat'', ''Raja Rasal''. Life Qadir Yar was born in the village Machhike ...

, and translated parts of ''

Gulistan Gulistan, Golestan or Golastan ( fa, گلستان) means "flower land" in Persian language (''gol'' meaning "flower", and ''-stan'' or meaning "land"). It may refer to: Places Iran "Golestan" most often refers to: * Golestan province in nor ...

'' and '' Bustan'' of

Saadi Shirazi Saadi Shīrāzī ( fa, ابومحمّد مصلح‌الدین بن عبدالله شیرازی), better known by his pen name Saadi (; fa, سعدی, , ), also known as Sadi of Shiraz (, ''Saʿdī Shīrāzī''; born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was ...

into Punjabi. He edited

Sultan Bahu Sultan Bahu ( pa, , ਸੁਲਤਾਨ ਬਾਹੂ ; also spelled Bahoo; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a 17th-century Punjabi Sufi mystic, poet, scholar and historian. He was active in the Punjab region (present-day Pakistan) duri ...

’s poetry collection ''Abiat-e-Bahu'', Mian Mohammad Bakhsh's monumental work of ''

Saiful Muluk Saiful Muluk ( ur, ) is a mountainous lake located at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley, near the town of Naran in the Saiful Muluk National Park. At an elevation of 3,224 m (10,578 feet) above sea level, the lake is located above the tree l ...

'', the poetry of

Bulleh Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) ...

and had just completed editing of the poetry of

Baba Farid Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as B� ...

before his demise. Being also a scholar of Persian and Arabic, he undertook a Herculean translation of Ali Hajweri Gunj Bakhsh’s ''

Kashf ul Mahjoob The ( fa, کشف المحجوب , lit=Revelation of the Hidden) was the first formal treatise on Sufism, compiled in the 11th-century by the Persian scholar Ali al-Hujwiri. The work contains a complete system of Sufism with its doctrines and pr ...

'' from Persian to Urdu. He was commissioned by the Punjab Auqaf Department.

Early life

Sharif Sabir was born into a poor household in Pakki Saraan (near

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Sheikhupura District Sheikhupura District ( pa, ; ur, ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Unlike his age fellows, he spent most of his teenage years working and earning to pay for his tuitions. He started his career as an English language teacher in a government school. While teaching English to elementary classes, he privately did a Masters in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and went on to teach

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Central Model School. He was promoted to become a language specialist and taught at the Central Training College. He became a headmaster before the Punjab government and the Waris Shah Academy got his services on deputation to complete his research on

. Although he took his retirement in the 1980s, he continued his research and published a number of books in later years.

Life Long Research - Editing of Heer Waris Shah

Sharif Sabir was posted for two years at the Waris Shah Memorial Committee (WSMC), which was established by the cultural department of Punjab. Here, he was tasked to build

Waris Shah Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' . Background Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Kh ...

’s

Shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

Jandiala Sher Khan Jandiala Sherkhan, or Jandiala Sher Khan ( ur, ), is a town of Sheikhupura District in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. It is part of Sheikhupura Tehsil. and is located at 31°49'15N 73°55'10E. The town is notable for being the birthpl ...

and also publish an authentic

text. By the time his posting began, Sabir had already spent 12 years on his research. During his posting, apart from reviewing his previous work he was also able to access one 1821 hand-written manuscript that according to him was found in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He traveled all over Punjab, especially to places where the old dialect was still spoken. He went to see the traders and the craftsmen to understand the terms used by

while describing their trades and professions; he went to snake-charmers to learn about snakes; he visited scholars of folklore and consulted many a book on mythology to understand the background of the myths and the stories alluded to by

. WSMC published Sabir’s edited Heer in 1985. Sabir later in 2006, printed a revised and updated edition with the help of Progressive Books,

. The most striking feature of his Heer compilation is that he has provided the meanings of difficult words and details about people and places that appear in

’s epic.

Marriage and children

Sharif Sabir was married to Zubaidah Akhter and had four sons and two daughters. One of his sons died as a teenager in an accident while playing with fire. His remaining children emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2008. He visited them in 2013 and stayed for two years. In 2015, he decided to go back to his village in

Death and afterward

Sharif Sabir died in his village after he developed a chest infection. He was buried near a friendly saint’s tomb in Narang Mandi.

Published works

All the books Sharif Sabir edited include:

, complete poetry of

and

Saiful Malook Saiful Muluk ( ur, ) is a mountainous lake located at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley, near the town of Naran in the Saiful Muluk National Park. At an elevation of 3,224 m (10,578 feet) above sea level, the lake is located above the tree l ...

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh (میاں محمد بخش) was a Punjabi Muslim Sufi and poet. Born in the city of Mirpur to a Gujjar family of Paswal tribe, he is renowned as a great poet and Sufi scholar by the people of Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Writ ...

-- have one outstanding feature in common. All of them carry a glossary of difficult words. No other book in

Punjabi Literature 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 ...

, other than those written on the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...

, contain comprehensive glossaries like the ones found in the works he has edited. Following is a list of books he has authored, edited or translated:

Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions

He was given the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

and a paltry sum of Rs 70,000 for his monumental work

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabir, Sharif 1928 births 2015 deaths Pakistani philosophers Pakistani poets Punjabi-language poets