Born
Farid-ul-Din Masaud Shakar Ganj was a descendant of the
lineage of Farukh Shah, the King of Kabul and was the son of Jamal-ud-din
(father) and Bibi Miriam (mother).
Sheikh Farid
A contemporary painting of the great Muslim Saint
A tale in the text 'Jawahi-r-Faridi'
(the jewels of Farid) mentions that Farid was taught prayers by
his mother, and when asked what is to be gained by prayers, his
mother replied "Sugar!". His mother hid sugar under his
prayer mat, and, each time Farid prayed, she would give him this
hidden sugar as a reward for his penance. One day, his mother forgot
this sugar, yet when she reached under the carpet she found sugar.
From that day, she referred to her son as 'Shakar Ganj'
(treasure vault of sugar).
At the age of 16, Farid made his Hajj
(pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca) and returned upon
arriving back home was sent to the shrine of Adbul Shakur of Sarsa
near Delhi, to study.
He became a disciple of Khawaj Qutab
Bukhtiar Kaki, himself a great Sufi. Kabir always spoke in Punjabi
(as was spoken by the common people) but was educated in Persian,
Arabic etc. He married Emperor Nasir-ul-Din Balban's daughter, Hazabar
and had 8 children.
Sheikh Farid died of pneumonia on the
fifth day of the muslim month of Muharrim (1266 AD) and was buried
near the village of Pakpatan. The 6th successor of Baba Farid was
known as Baba Sheikh Farid ji Sani, who was a close
friend to Akali Guru Nanak Dev ji. 130 Sloks (ballads) 4 hymns attributed
to Sheikh Farid can be found in Adi Guru Durbar.
Tomb of Sheikh Farid
Mazar and Masjid of Hadhrat Baba Faird Ganj-e-Shakar, Pakpatan,
Pakistan
