Farid-ud-Din Masud Ganj-e-Shakar - Dost ba Dost Pewast

Life & Poetry of Farid-ud-Din Masud Ganj-e-Shakar (R.A.)

O Farid,
rent your silken veil
and put on a rough, woolen mantle;
wear whatever clothes you must
to meet the Beloved.

O Sheikh, no one in this world
can stay alive forever.
The place upon which I now sit,
many have sat before
and gone on their way.

Fariduddin Ganj-e-Shakar r.a. was born in 1179 C.E. in Khotwal, a village near Lahore [Pakistan]. At the age of 7 his mother sent him for higher education to Multan. Here he stayed in a masjid [mosque] where he learnt the Holy Qur'an by heart and studied Hadith, Fiqh, Philosophy and Logic under the tutorship of Maulana Minhajuddin.


During his studies, Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Baktiar Kaki r.a. of Delhi visited Multan where Hazrat Baba Farid r.a. became his disciple in the Chishtiyya Silsila. Upon the instructions of his Shaikh, he undertook a tour of Islamic countries, for about 18 years from 1196 C.E. to 1214 C.E. He travelled to Ghazni, Baghdad Sharif, Jerusalem, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Mecca and Medina meeting many great saints and Sufis.


After the demise of Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. the mantle of spiritual leadership in the Chishtiyya Silsila fell on the shoulders of Hazrat Baba Farid r.a.when Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a.nominated him to be his Khalifa or spiritual successor.


The Khanqah of Baba Farid r.a., with his patronage, became a great university of "moral and spiritual training." Thousands of aspirants, scholars, dervishes and Sufis reaped benefit from this spiritual university. Hazrat Baba Farid r.a. reached the pinnacle of spiritual glory through extremely hard Mujahidas (spiritual striving) to gain mastery over the Nafs.


An old woman that was one of the devotees of the Saint presented a piece of cloth for the kaffan [shroud] of Hazrat Baba Farid r.a.. She implored: “I have not spun even a single thread of this cloth without having Wudu [purification]. I had prepared it for my own coffin but if it is accepted for the kaffan of this great Saint, I feel confident, Allah would be pleased with to pardon my sins and grant me salvation.”  Hazrat Baba Farid’s r.a. son accepted this cloth as the Kaffan.


His noble shrine is in Pakpattan, Pakistan.

True lovers are those
who love with all their hearts.
Those who think of another,
speak of another
are called false lovers.

Those steeped in the color
of God's love
abide in His care.
Those who forget His name
are a burden upon earth.

Those whom He gathers
become dervishes at His door.
Exalted are the mothers of such men
who gave them birth,
blessed is their coming into the world.

You are caring, infinite,
boundless, endless.
Those who have discerned
this truth,
their feet, their mouths I kiss.

You are my protection
O Lord, my salvation.
Grant to Sheikh Farid
the blessing
of Your adoration.

Read more: http://muslim-canada.org/sufi/ganjeshakar.html

http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/F/FaridBabaShe/index.htm