Farid Ganj Shakkar, or Farid al-Sani

[chatanga]

This Shabad is by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Siree Raag on Pannaa 17

isrIrwgu mhlw 1 ]

Awvhu BYxy gil imlh AMik shylVIAwh ]

imil kY krh khwxIAw sMmRQ kMq kIAwh ]

swcy swihb siB gux Aaugx siB Aswh ]1]

krqw sBu ko qyrY joir ]

eyku sbdu bIcwrIAY jw qU qw ikAw hoir ]1] rhwau ]

jwie puChu sohwgxI qusI rwivAw iknI guxNØI ]

shij sMqoiK sIgwrIAw imTw bolxI ]

ipru rIswlU qw imlY jw gur kw sbdu suxI ]2]

kyqIAw qyrIAw kudrqI kyvf qyrI dwiq ]

kyqy qyry jIA jMq isPiq krih idnu rwiq ]

kyqy qyry rUp rMg kyqy jwiq Ajwiq ]3]

scu imlY scu aUpjY sc mih swic smwie ]

suriq hovY piq aUgvY gurbcnI Bau Kwie ]

nwnk scw pwiqswhu Awpy ley imlwie ]4]10]

Siree Raag, First Mehla:

Come, my dear sisters and spiritual companions; hug me close in your embrace.

Let's join together, and tell stories of our All-powerful Husband Lord.

All Virtues are in our True Lord and Master; we are utterly without virtue. ||1||

O Creator Lord, all are in Your Power.

I dwell upon the One Word of the Shabad. You are mine-what else do I need? ||1||Pause||

Go, and ask the happy soul-brides, ""By what virtuous qualities do you enjoy your Husband Lord?""

"We are adorned with intuitive ease, contentment and sweet words.

We meet with our Beloved, the Source of Joy, when we listen to the Word of the Guru's Shabad.""||2||

You have so many Creative Powers, Lord; Your Bountiful Blessings are so Great.

So many of Your beings and creatures praise You day and night.

You have so many forms and colors, so many classes, high and low. ||3||

Meeting the True One, Truth wells up. The truthful are absorbed into the True Lord.

Intuitive understanding is obtained and one is welcomed with honor, through the Guru's Word, filled with the Fear of God.

O Nanak, the True King absorbs us into Himself. ||4||10||

This is the katha of this Shabad starting at approx 22.30 mins.

I was listening to this today, and it reminded me on a now closed topic, about whether the Farid was Shakkar OR al-Sani. In it Sant Gurbachan Singh tells of Guru Nanak Dev Ji going to Pakpattan and meeting al-Sani, who asks Guru Nanak Dev Ji onhow ot acheive Mukti.

Some posters were of the opinion that it was al-Sani's bani that Guru Ji included in SGGS.

[Singh559]

Please do share the katha link as well bro. Would love to download it so I can have a listen later on.

[chatanga]

sorry i had tried to upload it in that 1st post but didnt check whether it had.

if it doesnt work again, its on gurmatveechar.com, go to katha, puratan katha, Sant Gurbachan Singh, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, 1st folder, Ang 17, file number 40.

[Bijla Singh]

Gurbani of Bhagat Farid Ji in Aad Guru Granth Sahib is of Sheikh Braham Farid Saani. He was the 13^th successor of Farid Ganj Shakar. Every successor adopted the name Farid. There is a lot of internal evidence in Gurbani to prove this such as grammar, use of similar Punjabi words and usage of words like Gur, Saadh, Prabh which are not used by Muslims or in Islam. Also authenticity plays a big role in it. Dr. Khaliq Ahmad Nizami in his Phd thesis has proved beyond the doubt that the Bani is of Farid Saani because Farid Ganj Shakar never composed any bani. This fact is accepted by descendants of Farid Ji (Farid Gharana). Read Bhagat Bani Itihaas by Giani Gurdit Singh. Guru Rakha

[chatanga]

yes im a little confused over it myself. but listening to Sant Gurbachan Singh, he is clear that it is Bhagat Farid Ganj Shakker, (the grandfather).

Bijla Singh bro, do you know who this title Ganj Shakkar was appropriated to ? the was it al-Sani or his predecessor?

Can you give us any links to dr nizams works?

[Singh559]

yes im a little confused over it myself. but listening to Sant Gurbachan Singh, he is clear that it is Bhagat Farid Ganj Shakker, (the grandfather).

Bijla Singh bro, do you know who this title Ganj Shakkar was appropriated to ? the was it al-Sani or his predecessor?

Can you give us any links to dr nizams works?

I'm not well read or anything at all, but I've heard Ganj Shakkar was the title given to Bhagat Fareed Ji.

Can you elaborate how he got the title of Shakkar Ganj? I've heard a few variations of the story and don't know which one is true.

[Bijla Singh]

The book is called "The life and times of Shaikh Farid-u'd-din Ganj-i-Shakar". As is clear from the title, Farid of 12^th century was called Ganj-i-Shakar. He was a fundamentalist and is considered father of Pakistan because he converted loads of people to Islam who later supported a separate Muslim state. His native tongue was Arabic and composed no bani. People later used his epithet in their own compositions but only his successors had the right to use it. A fundamental Muslim would praise Mohammad and would not use words like Saadh, Prabh and Gur in his compositions. This debate is more than 100 years old. Most Sikh scholars just like Sant Ji believe that Gurbani belongs to the first Farid. Sant Ji also believed in the traditional viewpoint that Bhagats were called from Sachkhand. I personally do not agree with these viewpoints because it opens a gateway to myriads of questions on the authenticity of Gurbani. I think Sikh scholars are not studying this topic seriously. Just like they are confused about Bhagat Jaidev (there have been two) and Bhagat Naamdev (there have been 3 or 4) they are also confused about Bhagat Farid Ji. Surinder Singh Kohli, Gurbachan Singh Talib, Balwant Singh Anand, Prof. Sahib Singh and Dr. Trilochan Singh have written in favor of first Farid. But I think Dr. Preetam Singh’s recent book is better than all of them yet still very weak. Nihal Singh Soori and Giani Gurdit Singh have written in favor of Farid Saani. The latter’s book, a well-researched one, is still in the market. Guru Rakha

[chatanga]

Bijla Singh, Have you read "The life and times of Shaikh Farid-u'd-din Ganj-i-Shakar" ? If yes, where did you get it from?

have been looking on the internet, it is not availabl in any shops, but it was written in 1955.

I'm not well read or anything at all, but I've heard Ganj Shakkar was the title given to Bhagat Fareed Ji.

Can you elaborate how he got the title of Shakkar Ganj? I've heard a few variations of the story and don't know which one is true.

there are several anecdotes about his name. His mom put stones in place of sugarlumps under his prayer mat, which turned to sugarlumps after he had said his prayers.

when i was learning Urdu, in one of the books it tells of Bhagat Farid Ganj Shakkar, saying that on his way to met his murshid, he fell over and mud went inot his mouth, which tasted just like sugar. His Murshid told him that as you have found God, everything is sweet to you, hence the name Ganj Shakkar.

The book is called "The life and times of Shaikh Farid-u'd-din Ganj-i-Shakar". As is clear from the title, Farid of 12^th century was called Ganj-i-Shakar. He was a fundamentalist and is considered father of Pakistan because he converted loads of people to Islam who later supported a separate Muslim state. His native tongue was Arabic and composed no bani.

Bro, just think that these very people were the ones that bombed his mazaar very recently. Do you think they would have donme that if he were a fundamentalist type?

[Bijla Singh]

I have the book but since I did not buy it from a bookstore I cannot reveal the source. See if you can find the one published in 1973. I may be able to get my copy scanned and upload it in the future but it won’t be anytime soon. There are plenty of quotes provided in Bhagat Bani itihaas. If you require them I can type some for you. Farid Ji of 12^th century was a sufi and at the time Sufis had not split into two factions. Later on, one faction advocated the policy of forced conversion and rose to prominence during Jahangir’s reign. This Nakashbandi order was the main culprit behind Guru Sahib’s martyrdom. The other faction (Mian Mir, Buddhu Shah) was more on the side of Gurmat. These days, Sunnis consider all Sufis as heretics so they are being targeted. But it doesn’t change the fact that Farid Ji converted a lot of people to Islam. When I say he was a fundamentalist, I mean in terms of following Islam in strict sense so he couldn’t have composed anything in Punjabi and used non-Muslim words. Guru Rakha

[chatanga]

There are plenty of quotes provided in Bhagat Bani itihaas. If you require them I can type some for you.

If you can, then it would be great, if you can provide some basic details about what parts of the Bhagat Bani steer you more towards al-Sani.

Have been looking on the net about Ganj Shakkar, and the general opinion is that he was born in present day afghanistan, wouldnt he have been more of a persian/dari speaker?