Poetry of Bābā Farīd
A Historical and Thematic Analysis
Abstract
Shaikh Farīd al-Dīn Mas‘ūd Ganj-i Shakar (569/1173-664/1265) is one of the celebrated Chishtī Sufis of the Indian subcontinent. Chishtī order is credited with several seminal literary innovations in Medieval Islamic India. Bābā Farīd is considered the father of Punjabi poetry. He also had a great command of other languages including Persian and Arabic. The present study explores the contemporary sources that interacted with Bābā Farīd’s couplets. An effort has also been made to explore the originality of the Ashlōk-i Shaikh Farīd included in the Guru Granth. The study is a unique endeavour to conceptualize and examine the thematic connection of Bābā Farīd’s poetry with his life, teachings, and metaphysical thoughts preserved in biographical compendia.
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