Author – Labib Mahfuj Chisty
Brief information:
Name – Abdul Wahab Farki
Popular name – Sachal Sarmast
Father’s name – Mia Salauddin
Birth – 1 January 1739
Died – 1 January 1829
Birthplace – Ranipur Daraja in Sindh, Pakistan.
A boy came to meet the great mystic saint of Sindh, Wali Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Nicknamed Sachal, people call him Sarmast. The boy stayed with Latif Bhittai for some time. Seeing the boy’s talent, foresight, and love of knowledge, and observing the radiant glow of the boy’s inner truth, Shah Latif Bhittai said, “This boy will open the lid of the cauldron that I have boiled.”
His name is Sachal Sarmast. Sachal or Sachal means truthful and Sarmast means joyful. These titles were given to him from his very childhood due to his inherent spiritual inclination. His father’s name was Abdul Wahab Farooqui.
Abdul Wahab Farooqui was born in 1739 AD in the village of Daraja in Khairpur, near Ranipur, Sindh, Pakistan. His father’s name was Mia Salahuddin. He lost his father at a young age. His uncle Pir Khwaja Abdul Haq took the responsibility of raising him. He received spiritual education from his uncle Abdul Haq. He accepted him as his guru. In his youth, he got married to his cousin. Two years later, his wife died. He never married again.
He was a supreme sage in his life. He loved solitude and silence. He never went out of his village. He was very simple in his clothing and diet. His favorite food was pulses and curd. He slept only on a wooden bed. Just looking at Sarmast with long soft hair and sharp, enchanting eyes, a fountain of unquenchable peace flowed in his heart.
After living a humble ascetic life, separated from the worldly world all his life, he left this world in 1829 at the age of 90. He was buried next to the graves of his father and uncle. The then ruler of Khairpur, Mir Rustam Ali Khan, built a very beautiful shrine resembling a temple there. Every year, Ursh is celebrated there for a long time from the 12th of Ramadan.
The active Sarmast is called “Shayar-e-Haft Jaban”. He wrote poems in seven languages. He has composed mystical and mystical poems in Arabic, Sindhi, Saraiki, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian and Balochi languages. He was inspired by the ideology of Maharishi Mansur Hallaj, Mohiuddin Ibnul Arabi (RA). In many places, the clear influence of Mansur’s “Anal Haq” or Ibnul Arabi’s “Ohdatul Ojud” can be seen in his poetic philosophy.
Sarmast wrote poems in almost all the prevailing gharanas of Sindhi literature of that time. His works are in various genres including Kafi, Bait, Ghazal, Masnavi, Si Harfis, Mustajad, Hamd, Jhulna, Gharoli, Musaddas, Diwan-e-Ashkar and Darad Nama.
Agha Sufi is his first book. The book was first published in Shikarpur, Sindh in 1933. He used to write these divinely inspired poems in a state of special ecstasy. When the inspiration of divine words appeared within him, he would be in a state of bewilderment. Tears would flow from his eyes in an endless stream. The hair on his head would stand on end, he would recite his poems in meditation. His followers would write them down. When his ecstasy would pass, he would deny the words he had spoken. His own spoken words would seem unfamiliar to himself. There would be various incomprehensible and mysterious conversations in the poems.
Author – Labib Mahfuj Chisty
Editor – Apon Khobor
Chairman – Apon Foundation
03/01/2024