Abdul Wahab Khar ( ), also appears as Wahab Khar, was the 19th-century Kashmiri Sufi mystic poet and saint. He is sometimes referred to as "scholar" for his contribution to the

literature of Kashmir Literature of Kashmir has a long history, the oldest texts having been composed in the Sanskrit language. Early names include Patanjali, the author of the ''Mahābhāṣya'' commentary on Pāṇini's grammar, suggested by some to have been the sam ...

. He was actively engaged in writing Sufi devotional poems and used to attend musical gatherings throughout his life. From the poetry's perspective, he is primarily known for his devotional poetic book titled ''Verses of Wahab Khar'', comprising

Kashmiri language Kashmiri () or Koshur (, /kəːʃur/) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2020, the Parliament of India passed a bill to make ...

poems which was later published by the Kashmir Jay Kay Books in 2007.

Biography

Wahab was born around 1842. However, some news media have cited his birth as 1910. He had not received any formal education, but was believed to had

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

abilities and conceptual approach such as

moral reasoning Moral reasoning is the study of how people think about right and wrong and how they acquire and apply moral rules. It is a subdiscipline of moral psychology that overlaps with moral philosophy, and is the foundation of descriptive ethics. Descr ...

. After covering

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

in his poetry, he was then regarded as a saint, and 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 ...

'' (death anniversary) is celebrated evey year in the month of April inside the premises of his

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

(Sufi shrine) at

Pampore Pampore (), known as Pampar () or Panpar () in Kashmiri, is a historical town situated on the eastern side of the Jhelum River on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the Pulwama district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir ...

, Jammu and Kashmir. Besides

Sufi Muslim Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

s, his shrine is frequently visited by the devotees from the different religious, including

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s. Wahab is claimed to "sprung out a hot water spring amid a forest on his own". The spring he sprung out still flows in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khar, Abdul Wahab 1842 births 1912 deaths Sufi poets Kashmiri poets Poets from Jammu and Kashmir Kashmiri Sufi saints