Shamas Faquir - Great Sufi Poet and mystic

Shamas Faquir does not need any introduction as every one knows it well that he is a great poetic and mystic of the 19th century. He is the mystic and poetic of sufi school and his poetry is full of sufiyana thought  he has watered sufism with his sweat and blood. His poetry has the tinge and fragrance of sufism. He has an important place in the devotional poetry of Kashmir. He was born in 1843 in Chinkral Mohalla, near Habbakadal Srinagar Kashmir. His original and first name is Mohammad Sidiq Sheikh but he is known and famous as Shamas Faquir. He passed away at the age of 57 years in 1901 and his resting place is Braripora Shamshabad,  Budgam. His main interests were sufism and Tasawuf. He is also called as Shamas Seab and Shah Samas. He was a staunch Muslim and followed sufism. 

              (Resting place of Shamas Faquir)

Shamas Faquir became a disciple of various sufi saint. He went to Amritsar Punjab at the age of 25 years and there he studied under the sufi saint Rasul Shah Hakih. When Shamas Faquir returned from Punjab he settled in Anantnag and married and there after returned to his ancestral house in Srinagar. After returning to his ancestral home, he undertook prolonged meditation in a cave in Qazi Bagh, Budgam. He remained in solitude for six months before he settled in Braripora which is now known s Shamasabad, in Khansahib area of Budgam.

His poem Merajnama is very famous and touching as it describes Prophet Muhammad’s celestial ascent Miraj-a symbol of spiritual attainment and union with God. He has used the metaphor such as rivers, lamps, dust, and wine which is in consonance with sufi symbolic language. Shamas Faquir came to fore at a time when there was rich spiritual mix of Rish order with Sufi traditions. He was deeply influenced by the saints such as Lal Ded and Shiekh-ul-Alam also called Nund Rishi. His poetry is the admixture of Hindu mysticism, Islamic and it embodies indigenous Kashmiri values of simplicity and universal brotherhood.His poetry reflected syncretism as it emphasized communal unity and brotherhood.It is no exaggeration to state that Shamas Faquir was the epitome of simplicity and sufism which was ingrained in his blood and thought. He was the torch bearer of sufi cult of thought and his contribution for propagating sufism was next to none and all through his life he strived for flourishing sufi traditions and thought. 

Shamas Faquir has been the subject of academic work and research highlighting the spiritual and literary dimensions of Kashmiri sufi poetry.One Dr Saltanat Farooq in her translations of his verses keeps his work within global Sufi literary framework, highlighting the fact that Kashmiri’s overlooked mystical literature. Aziz, Afaq in 2002 published, Kulliyat-e-Shamas Faquir through Nund Rishi cultural society. Habib, Aamir got published a research work in 2015 entitled "The Mystics and the idea of Kashmiri Composite Culture - A study of Prakash Ram Bhat and Shams Faquir" in M.Phil dissertation, Jamai Millia Islamia. He was a mystic, poet and follower of the Qadiriyya Sufi order. His poetry provides very insightful ideas about the distinct and unique features of Kashmiri language and literature. His poetry is relevant even today and it can serve as a subject of innovative research in Kashmiri Linguistics and literary studies Faquir is a well-known and popular Sufi poet and saint of the 19th century and he is a household name in Kashmir so far as the Sufism and Sufi saints and poets are concerned. His real name was Muhammad Sidiq Bhat and he was born in the spring of 1839. His poetry reflects the experience he gained with the interaction with several sufi saints of his time. His poetry was an embodiment of simplicity and the sum and substance of Sufism and he nurtured Sufi cult and thought with his poetry. 

He has mediated for six months in a village Kazi Bagh Budgam. It is said of him that he did great penance in solitude and wrote poetry which is the reflection of Sufism, Islam and Hinduism and his poetry was syncretic as it was full of teachings for a composite universal living.Much research work has been done on his poetry and the contribution of his personality and poetry on Sufism. There is still much scoped for research work on his poetry and that research will be of much use to Kashmiri linguistics and all those associated with Kashmiri literature. Shamas Faquir is held in high esteem even after his death for his simple sufi poetry which is easy to comprehend for its rich beauty and simplicity.Shamas Faquir has got an exalted position among the saint and sufi poets and his poetry and his divine personality will remain to inspire us for many times. His poetry is even relevant in the present times and its simplicity and its being the summum bonum of sufism, Islam and tenets of Hinduism and this admixture is the most characteristic feature of his poetry.His name is on the tongue of elder Kashmiris both Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits.He and his poetry and mysticism will be the torch bearer even in modern times where materialism is all that is regarded the aim of the life and to get the things of comfort and luxury is all that matters to the modern man and in such a society the poetry of Shamas Faquir stands tall and we can rely upon it for the spiritual fulfilment. May his soul rest in peace and may he give his blessings to the man amid socio-moral dilemma and crisis.