‘Sufi‘ as described by Faqueer QadirBakhshBedil

Abstract

Sufism is such a philosophy of life that can be followed by anyone but to do that certain principles and rules have been formulated and introduced by Sufis and Sufi poets. Sufi thought has been the part of Sindhi culture and society for ages. Sindhi Sufi poets have played a very significant role in propagating the light of this Sufi thought. Sufism has greatly affected the lives of common men in all ages. Sindhi society has also been strongly influenced by Sufi thought and philosophy. Sufism carries the message of humility, submissiveness, love, peace and humanity, and the followers of this thought wish to maintain non-violence and moderation in society. FaqueerQadirBakhshBedil is like a precious pearl in Sindhi poetry. He is one of the most important poets of northern Sindh in particular. Bedil is basically a Sufi poet. He belongs to the group of poets whose creed is pantheism and who follow the way of ecstasy and rapture. Bedil is part of that school of thought in Sindhi poetry who aggressively and fearlessly raise the slogan of ‘I‘m the Truth‘. To understand the philosophy of ‘I‘m the Truth‘ (Anal-Haq) there is a long line of poets from MansoorHallaj to Khuwaja Moeenuddin Chishti and from SachalSarmast to FaqueerQadirBakhshBedil. The merits of a Sufi are stated in ‘WahadatNama‘ in the Risalo (collection) of FaqueerBedil which can work as a touchstone to recognize a true Sufi. In this article I have done the brief and selective study of the poetry of of Faqueer QadirBakhsh Bedil to highlight his idea of Sufi.