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| -The portrait of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai |
The Message of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai is the well-renowned Sindhi classical mystic poet. He was born into Sayed family of Hala, Sindh, in the year, 1689. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was massively influenced by Molana Jalal-ud-din Rumi, Farid-ud-Din Attari and Sheikh Saadi, among others. It is the principal reason why he did poetry in the Persian language as well along with the Sindhi. He also got inspiration from Khawaja Muhammad Zaman of Luari with regard to spirituality. His work is admired all over the world. Unquestioningly, Shah Abdul Latif is believed to be the greatest poet of the Sindhi language and the Muslim world.
Also Read: Muhammad Iqbal- the Greatest Poet of the Muslim World By Siraj Mustafa
With his poetry, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai has deluged Sindh with depth of intellection. He stood against injustices of his time. During his time, it was an era of fundamentalism, and Sindh in particular, was hijacked by the extremists. Amid this, he raised the slogan of Humanism, and did not let the differences of religion, race, and status override the humanity. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a hope for down-trodden people, underprivileged, and those who were discriminated on the grounds of religion. He prayed for everyone.
دوست مٺا دلدار عالم سڀ آباد ڪري
Through his poetry, Shah Sahib played a pivotal role in disseminating awareness about inequalities, and injustices. The people of the region were facing brutalities of the rulers of that time, and every time he encouraged them to resist. His all poetry is centered on humanism, of which every word is about the struggle for good, dream of prosperity, affection, and so forth.
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| -The Shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai |
Shah Abdul Latif’s poetry is not just limited to particular time and space, rather it transcends both. His poetry is the embodiment of the ‘history of Sindh’, and acknowledges every bit of every moment. He was not scared of powerful forces, rather he challenged them. Whenever he saw something wrong was done, he was at the vanguard to protest. In his sight, there was no value of wealth, imperialism, splendor, or anything that was the cause of discontent. This is why he always held Humanism in high-esteem. He gives a message of becoming a benign person (Kamil Insan), whose every thought and actions are premised on the welfare of community and humanism as a whole.
نڪي کڻن پاڻ سين ، نڪي کڻن پاڻ
One may also find a ‘lesson of unity’ in the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif. He believed that through unity anything in the world no matter how impossible is destined to be achieved. By virtue of his mystic, nationalistic, reactionary and revolutionary poetry, he has given a call of aversion to evil, and of the pursuit of truth. Other than this, he forbids to kneel down before tyranny, and emphasizes on loving the freedom, and on fostering unity.
وڳر ڪيو وتن پرت نه ڇنن پاڻ ۾
پسو پکيئڙن ماڻھان ميٺ گهڻو
He does not have favorable views about those people who do not have affection for their land (motherland). They do not have the right of existence at all. They are burdens not only on themselves but also on a society. According to him, such persons that do not love their motherland can never be true to anything.
سڄڻ ساڻيھ ، ڪنهن اڻاسي وسري
حيف تنين هوء وطن جن وساريو
Sindh that has always been remaining the land of Sufism along with peace is under attack by some extremist forces and ideology, and it seems like the land of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai is fast becoming the land of fundamentalism, to say the least. Alarmingly, his message about tolerance, pluralism, egalitarianism, and above all, humanism, is being forgotten. Therefore, it is the immediate need of time to embrace the message and philosophy of Shah Sahib, which he has propagated through his exquisite poetry. It is time to own Shah Sahib, and fight extremist mindsets who are spreading hatred in the name of religion.
Good "the message of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai"
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