Birha Tu Sultan: Love, Longing, and the Final Days of Baba Farid
Thematic Connections: Birha (The Pain of Separation)
◈ Amir Khusro: “Har Shab Manam” — A Persian masterpiece on the nightly sighs and the agony of the lover’s separation at the door (Astana).
◈ Khwaja Ghulam Farid: “Tati Ro Ro Waat Neharaan” — The burning landscape of Rohi as a metaphor for the heat of Birha.
◈ Shah Hussain: “Maye Ni Main Kinu Aakhan” — The internal scream of the soul experiencing the ‘Birhon’ that Baba Farid calls ‘Sultan.’
◈ Explore the ‘Birha’ Collection: Discover how Sufi masters across languages describe the path of longing.
Section 1: Birha — The Sultan of Love
برہا برہا آکھیے، برہا توں سُلطان
فریدا جِت تن برہوں نہ اُپچے سو تن جان مَسان
Birha Birha Akhiye, Birha Tu Sultan
Farida Jit Tan Birhon Na Upche So Tan Jaan Masaan
Everyone speaks of ‘Birha’ (the pain of separation), but I call Birha the ‘Sultan’ (the King);
O Farid, that body in which the pain of love does not arise is nothing but a cremation ground.
جوبن جاندے نہ ڈراں ،جے شوہ پریت نہ جا
فریدا کتی جو بن پریت بن ، سک گئے کملا
Joban Jaande Na Daraan, Je Shoh Preet Na Jaa
Farida Kitti Joban Preet Bin, Suk Gaye Kumla
I do not fear the passing of youth, as long as the Love of my Lord remains;
O Farid, countless youths have withered and dried away for the lack of Love.
Section 2: The Autumn of Life
بڈھا ہویا شیخ فرید ، کنبن لگی دیہہ
جے سَو ورھیاں جِیونا ، بھی تن ہوسی کھیہہ
Buddha Hoya Sheikh Farid, Kanban Lagi Deh
Je Sau Variyan Jeevna, Bhi Tan Hosi Kheh
Sheikh Farid has grown old, and his body has begun to tremble;
Even if one lives for a hundred years, the body must eventually return to dust.
دیکھ فریدا جو تھیا : داڑھی ہوئی بھور
اگوں نیڑے آیئا پچھا رہیا دور
Dekh Farida Jo Thiya: Daarhi Hoi Bhoor
Agon Nere Aaya, Pichha Rahya Door
Look Farid, at what has happened: your beard has turned grey;
The future (the grave) has drawn near, and the past is left far behind.
Vocabulary: Birha & Baqa
- Birha (برہا): The intense pain of separation from the Beloved.
- Masaan (مسان): A cremation ground; a place of the dead.
- Joban (جوبن): Youth and its physical beauty.
- Shoh (شوہ): The Husband; a Sufi metaphor for the Divine Lord.
- Deh (دیہہ): The physical body.
- Kheh (کھیہہ): Ashes or dust.
- Bhoor (بھور): Grey/White; symbolic of aging.