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Sheikh Farid-ud-Din Masud reverently called 'Ganj-i-Shakkar' (storehouse of candy), has been a great patriarch of Punjab and Panjabi language. He was born and flourished in Punjab during theyears 1173-1265 A.D. He was a renowned scholar, an eminent man of wisdom and 'a' devoted darwesh who dedicated his life to the attainment of Union with God'. He was also a loving and widely revered preceptor who established his gaddi (holy seat) at Pakpattan, the line of whose disciples included even the celebrated Sufi saint of Delhi, Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulya. He was such a prominent and popular moral and spiritual teacher of men that his holy name has been revered by the people of Punjab now for almost eight centuries and his blessed birthday is being celebrated annually with great pomp and show not only at Pakpattan in Pakistan but also at Faridkot in India, till today. So much so that his lyrical verses have been preserved and honoured by inclusion, along with the sacred writings of the Sikh Gurus, in Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikh faith; complied in 1604 A.D.by Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Sheikh Farid belonged to the Chishti Order of the Sufis. 

He was ‘one of the earliest Sufis who consolidated the humanitarian thought, and traditions of Sufism in India'. In the course of time, he also became a bridge of moral and spiritual thought between Muslims and non-Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. His teachings were of general moral nature exhorting men to be God-fearing, humble, contented, liberal and compassionate. These did not smack of any sectarian bias and superior attitude. All that endeared him not only to his followers but also to the common folk for hundreds of years. 

Sheikh Farid was also a great and noble poet who sang about his love of God, nature and man with great passion in 'words of immortal beauty'. His lyrical effusions consist of 4 beautiful hymns and 123 couplets, called Shabads and Slokas, as preserved in Guru Granth Sahib. Some of his verses have become household words and are frequently used even by the common folk. It is so because these have been composed in a form which is close to folklore; and couched in simple language and idiom of daily use in Punjab, the Land of Five Rivers. 

The reasons for such abiding significance of the contribution of his lyrical utterances, their widespread popularity and continuing influences in Punjab and on Punjabi language, literature and culture are quite obvious. The most prominent of these is Farid's adoption of the mother-tongue (viz. Panjabi) of the common Panjabis for the expression of his thought and conveyance of his message to them directly and effectively. According to the available evidence, Farid was the first to do that. He was also the first Punjabi poet of Sufism who initiated an original and distinct stream of poetry in the Land of Five Rivers, called Sufi Kavya-Dhara of Punjab which inherits a rich and long literary tradition, carrying its continuing influence and impress even on the modern poetry of Punjab. He thereby, also laid the base of the literary tradition of Panjabi language and hence has often been called the Patriarch or Father of Punjabi with a deep sense of pride.

Through him and his mystical pourings, the Punjab and Punjabi are justly proud of inheriting a rich and fine literary tradition which is at least eight centuries old. Sheikh Farid's message had a wide humanitarian base and a broad human approach. In an age marked by theological bigotry and great brutality, he brought the touch of humanity and fellow-feelings to all. It was he who exhorted one and all to be forgiving, considerate and compassionate in the following golden words of the language of the Punjab of his days: (Do not utter even a single unpolite word to any one, as the true Master abides in one and all. Do not break the heart of any one, as every heart is a priceless jewel.) It was because of such a universal message and the aforesaid great qualities that Guru Nanak and his Apostolic successors, the Gurus, themselves initiating a great movement of humanity, moral regeneration and peace among warring sects, incorporated his compositions in their Sacred Book. So much so that its holy compiler and edition Guru Arjan Dev Ji (1563-1606), endorsing the message of Farid and advocating the maxim: 'Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man', added his own comment, addressed to Farid himself, as under: (The Creator dwells in His Creation, O Farid: and the Creation in the Creator; Who may be called bad when there is none without Him?) 

Farid's message has, thus, been "of universal value in paving the way for understanding across the barriers of faiths." When one sings his verse, called Shabads (hymns) and Slokas (couplets) in which it is so well couched, "they sink into the mind and slowly the greatness of the man, the sweetness of his language and warmth of his affection become apparent". Farid was also the first poet of Punjab and Punjabi who sang his love and devotion for God in the accents of the loving and sensitive feminine soul, using the symbol of human relationship between wife and husband or human love between lover and the beloved. It was, he again, who first chanted in Punjab and in Punjabi the pangs of separation of the human soul from the Supreme Soul, who gave vent to his own personal feelings and expressed his longings for union with the Divine Beloved in marvelous images and symbols, such as the following: ("O black koel; what has rendered you sable-black?" "The fire of separation from the beloved has done this to me.”

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