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Shah Abdul Karim Bulri
شاه عبدالڪريم بلڙي
Shrine of Shah Karim in Bulri, Sindh, Pakistan
Personal
Born1536
Mutalvi, Sindh, Pakistan[1][2]
Died1623 (aged 87)
Bulri Shah Karim, Sindh, Pakistan
Resting placeShrine of Shah Abdul Karim Bulri, Bulri Shah Karim, Sindh, Pakistan
ReligionIslam
FlourishedMughal period
ChildrenSyed Lal Muhammad Shah (died in childhood), Syed Abdul Rahim (died in lifetime), Syed Jalal Shah, Syed Burhan Shah, Syed Lal Muhammad Sani, Syed Din Muhammad, Syed Shah Hussain, Syed Abdul Quddus
Parent
  • Syed Laal Muhammad Shah[7][8] (father)
LineageSayyid through Musa al-Kazim[3][4][5]
Notable work(s)Bayan ul-Arifeen
EducationMadrassa
Known forBeing great-great-grandfather of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai[6]
Organization
OrderQadiriyyah and Suhrawardiyyah-Owaisiyyah[9][10][11][12][13]
PhilosophySufism
Muslim leader
TeacherSyed Ibrahim Shah Bukhari (Qadiriyyah), and Makhdoom Nuh Halai (Suhrawardi-Owaisi)[14][15][16]
SuccessorSyed Jalal Shah
Influenced by
Initiationinto Qadiri Tariqah[20][21][22] and into Suhrawardi-Owaisi Tariqah[23]
by Syed Ibrahim Shah Bukhari (Qadiriyyah) and Makhdoom Nuh Halai (Suhrawardi-Owaisi) [24][25][26]

Shah Abdul Karim of Bulri (1536–1623) (Sindhi: شاه عبدالڪريم بلڙي) famously known as "Shah Karim", was an early Sindhi Sufi poet from Sindh, Pakistan. Shah Abdul Karim Bulri was the great-great-grandfather of the famous poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.[27]

Early life[edit]

He was born in a Syed family in Matiari, presently in eastern Sindh. Since he spent most of his life in Bulri, a village in the Tando Muhammad Khan,[28] the word Bulri is often appended to his name.[29] As his father died when he was young, he was brought up by his mother and elder brother Syed Jalal. From childhood, he took a keen interest in matters related to God and spirituality and often didn't pay attention to the lessons taught in school and instead spent his time immersed in thoughts of God. He frequently went to mystical gatherings in where sermons accompanied by rural music were sung. This affected him so much that little by little he started to compose his own poetry.

When he was of age, Shah Abdul Karim married as per the wish of his elder brother Syed Jalal Shah. He met a very devout individual in his local mosque named Sultan Ibrahim and, impressed by him,[30] became his disciple. After the death of his elder brother, to take care of his family, he became a laborer as per the advice of Sultan Ibrahim. Shah Abdul Karim imposed a very stringent discipline on himself which few people around him knew of. He used to work in the day with interludes for prayer. In the night, he used to walk around the locality filling any earthen pots he found empty. As he grew older he wrote many spiritual poems in Sindhi and used them as a device to express his love for the Divine. During his old age, he was highly respected by the people and had a number of disciples.[31]

His poetry and malfuzat appeared for the first time in Bayan al-Arifin wa Tanbih al-Ghafilin, a Persian[32] work, written by a disciple he had later in his life named Mir Daryai Tharawi, in 1630, seven years after his death. One of the major poets of Sindhi, Shah Karim Bulri has been called the Chaucer of Sindhi Literature.[29]

Poetry and beliefs[edit]

Shah Abdul Latif gave a Batini meaning to many Quranic expressions such as,

  • He is the first, He is the last, The Apparent and the Hidden (57:3)
  • Wheresoever you may turn there is the face of God (2:115)
  • He is nearer to you than your jugular vein (50:16)
  • Every moment he discloses himself in fresh glory (55:29)

Shah sang, Separation and union are one and the same, God, the best of proposers, will unite the lover and the loved one. Shah Abdul Latif knew of the works of Ibn Arabi and his doctrine of Wahdat-ul-Wujood and based his life on those principles. He wrote 93 lines of Sindhi poetry.[33]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sufis of Sindh.
  2. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  3. ^ Life Of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. 1980.
  4. ^ Jotwani, Motilal Wadhumal (1996). Sufis of Sindh. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. ISBN 978-81-230-0508-9.
  5. ^ Burton, Richard F. (1851). Sindh, And The Races That Inhabit The Valley Of The Indus, With Notices Of The Topography And History Of The Province.
  6. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  7. ^ Life Of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. 1980.
  8. ^ Sufis of Sindh.
  9. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Sufi Foundation". shahabdullatifbhittai.com.
  11. ^ Shah Abdul Latif and His Sufistic Thought.
  12. ^ Shah Latif and His Family Tree.
  13. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  14. ^ Shah Latif and His Family Tree.
  15. ^ Shah Abdul Latif and His Sufistic Thought.
  16. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  20. ^ Shah Latif and His Family Tree.
  21. ^ Shah Abdul Latif and His Sufistic Thought.
  22. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  24. ^ Shah Latif and His Family Tree.
  25. ^ Shah Abdul Latif and His Sufistic Thought.
  26. ^ "Patron Saint of Bulri". The Friday Times. 2 October 2020.
  27. ^ Shackle, Christopher (2012). "ʿAbd al-Karīm". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24148. ISSN 1873-9830.
  28. ^ "Shah Karim Bulri, Tando Muhammad Khan". heritage.eftsindh.com. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  29. ^ a b Jotwani, Dr Motilal. Sufis Of Sindh. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 9788123023410.
  30. ^ Dunya, Sindhi (2016-02-17). "Shah Abdul Karim Bulri: A Passionate Sufi Poet of Sindh". Sindhi Dunya. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  31. ^ Jotwani, Motilal (1986). Sufis of Sindh. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. p. 65. ISBN 9788123023410.
  32. ^ Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 9788126018031.
  33. ^ Schimmel, Annemarie (1974). Sindhi Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-01560-8.

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