Poets

Bulleh Shah Qadiri Shatari, often referred to simply as Bulleh Shah (Punjabi: بلہے شاہ, ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਸ਼ਾਹ, Hindi: बुल्ले शाह) whose real name was Abdullah Shah, was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher.

Early Life

Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, now in Pakistan.

When he was six months old, his parents relocated to Malakwal. There his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a preacher in the village mosque and a teacher. His father later got a job in Pandoke, about 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke, and moved to Kasur for higher education. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the eminent Sufi saint, Shah Inayat Qadiri, from Arain tribe of Lahore Punjab.

Little is known about Bulleh Shah's direct ancestors, except that they were migrants from Uzbekistan. However, Bulleh Shah's family was directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad.

Life

A large amount of what is known about Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some "facts" about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other "facts" seem to have been passed down through oral traditions.

Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like