Biography:Shamas Faqir

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Shamas Faqeer
Shams Fakeer.jpg
TitleShamas Faqir
Other namesShamas Seab
Personal
Born
Mohammad Sidiq Bhat

1843
Chinkral Mohalla near Habba Kadal Srinagar
Died1901
Resting placeBraripora Shamasabad, Khansahib, Budgam, Kashmir
ReligionIslam
Era19th century
RegionJammu and Kashmir
DenominationIshq (Sufi)
Main interest(s)Sufism Tasawuf
Notable work(s)Sufi poetry
TariqaQadiriyya
Other namesShamas Seab

Shamas Faqir ( شمس فقیر) or Shams Faqīr[1] was a Kashmiri Sufi poet. He belonged to the Qadiriyya silsila of Sufism.[citation needed]

Although there are no authentic biographical records,[2] Mohammad Sidiq Bhat is believed to have been born in 1843 to a poor family in Chinkral Mohalla, Habba Kadal Srinagar, Kashmir.[3] He didn't receive formal education, but became apprenticed to Mohammad Na‘īm (locally known as Nyam-Saeb), a Kashmiri Sufi poet. He became a disciple of Souch Maliar, Abdul Rehman of Barzulla, Atiq-Ullah of Gulab Bagh, Mohammad Jammal and Rasool Saeb.[4]

When he was 25, he left for Amritsar, in the Indian Punjab, where he became a disciple of another Sufi Saint Rasūl Shāh Hākih-Tsr.[5] After his return from Amritsar he lived in Anantnag, Kashmir, where he married. He returned to his ancestral home in Srinagar for some time, subsequently meditating for six months in a cave at Qazi Bagh in the Budgam district of Kashmir. Following this he lived in Braripora Krishpora.[6]

Many of his poems are on the theme of a mystic's quest for the primal cause of the universe.[further explanation needed] Shamas Faqir's poems used the Kashmiri idiom of his time, and also words from Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit.[citation needed] His poem Merajnama recounts Prophet Muhammad’s spiritual journey to God.[citation needed]

Shamas Faqir died in 1901, and was buried at Krishpora Shamasabad Budgam Kashmir. He had two sons and a daughter.[7] Shamas Faqir's grand sons Sheikh Peer Mehraj ud din (Aasi Shamas) and his younger brother Sheikh Peer Mohammad Altaf (sons of Sheikh Peer Gh Mohidin Sahib (RAH)kamli wali presently at his place.Sheikh Peer Mehraj ud din (aasi shamas) is also a poet (shayar).

References

Further reading

  • Aziz, Afaq (2002), Kulliyyat-e Shams Faqir (Complete Works of Shams Faqir), Srinagar: Nund Rishi Cultural Society
  • Mamoon, Khalil & Shafi Shauq (2006), Kashmiri Sufi Shairi (Kashmiri Sufi Poetry), Srinagar: All India Urdu Munch
  • Habib, Aamir (2015), "The Mystics and the Idea of Kashmiri Composite Culture: A Study of Prakash Ram Bhat and Shams Faqir, M.Phil. diss., Jamia Millia Islamia