31 Facts About Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah criticised powerful religious, political, and social institutions; and is revered as the 'Poet of the People' amongst Punjabis.

Bulleh Shah received his higher religious education at Kasur from Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza; and later studied in Lahore under Shah Inayat Qadiri.

Bulleh Shah's poetry resonated with a wide audience due to the use of colloquial language; employing metaphors and imagery to convey complex spiritual ideas to those outside formal religious circles.

Bulleh Shah became known for his mystic poetry, which blended his philosophy of oneness of god, divine love, humanism, social equality and tolerance; and critiqued social norms and institutions for exploiting the ordinary people.

Bulleh Shah's poetry caused the spread of reformist ideas throughout the Punjab, which included calls for social, religious and political reforms.

Bulleh Shah's works left an impact on the Punjabi language, marking a new era of Punjabi literature which helped propagate a literary variety of Punjabi, based on colloquial speech, employing nuances from various local forms of the language.

Bulleh Shah spent most of his life in Kasur, where he died at the age of 77.

Bulleh Shah is revered as the 'Sheikh of Both Worlds' amongst Punjabi Muslims.

Bulleh Shah's poetry has been ingrained in Punjabi proverbs, qisse, and folk traditions; and has been recited at many cultural events, particularly his kafis, including one organized by UNESCO.

Bulleh Shah was born around 1680 in Uch, Subah of Multan in Mughal Punjab, into a Sayyid family.

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.

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.

Bulleh Shah later became an eminent scholar of Arabic and Persian.

Bulleh Shah took refuge in this Gurdwara after a group of Islamic fundamentalists started threatening his life.

Bulleh Shah was buried in Kasur, where he had spent most of his life.

Bulleh Shah was then buried on the outskirts of Kasur and his funeral prayer was led by Syed Zahid Hamdani, a renowned religious personality of Kasur.

Bulleh Shah lived after the Punjabi Sufi poet and saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar, and lived in the same period as other Punjabi Sufi poet Sultan Bahu.

Bulleh Shah's lifespan overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah, who is famous for Heer Ranjha, the Sindhi Sufi poet Sachal Sarmast, and the Pashtun poet Khushal Khattak.

Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir of Delhi.

Bulleh Shah practised the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, and Shah Sharaf.

The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is the Kafi, popular in Punjabi and Sindhi poetry.

Bulleh Shah's poetry is a mixture of traditional mystic thought and intellectualism.

Bulleh Shah is the "most famous and celebrated" Punjabi poet and is widely recognized as "poet par excellence".

Bulleh Shah was a reformer with very much conscious of the contemporary religious, political and social situations.

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, Bhagat Singh, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Madeeha Gauhar, and Major Ishaque Muhammad.

Bulleh Shah's verses have been an inspiration to painters as well, as in the two series of paintings by an Indian painter Geeta Vadhera inspired by the poetry of Bulleh Shah and other Sufi poets and saints.

In 2012, Bulleh Shah's poetry was featured with Hadiqa Kiani performing "Kamlee".

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.

An educational institute called "Bulleh Shah Institute" is operating in Badhni Kalan, India, since 2003.

The version composed by Bulleh Shah was sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Laal and numerous other singers from India and Pakistan.