Govt, civil society should organise programmes through media to inform the public about Shah Latif's message of peace
KARACHI: In this era of terrorism and anarchy, the message of the 18th century poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, also called the Murshid of Sindh, is a ray of hope for every living soul. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s 272nd Urs is underway at Bhit Shah village, Hala, where Shah Latif rests. He was a great Sufi poet of Sindh whose message has been translated into Urdu, Punjabi, Seraiki, English, German, French and many other languages around the globe. He once said, “O God, may ever You in Sindh bestow abundance rare; Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace and fruitful be.”
Shah Latif was born in 1689 at Hala Haveli, Sindh. His father, Habibullah, was also a great poet and philosopher. Sufi poets like Sachal Sarmast in Sindh and Baba Bulleh Shah in Multan continued the legacy of Shah Latif. Sachal Sarmast carried forward Shah Latif’s message and further opened the doors of spirituality. Prominent personalities like GM Syed, Ibrahim Joyo, Dr Nabi Baksh Baloch and other writers/thinkers of Sindh have written extensively about Shah Latif’s philosophy and poetry, and its meaning and interpretation. His message of love and peace for Sindh and for the world is as relevant today as it was in the 18th century. Shah Latif and his community also faced the same tyrants, landlords and frustrating environment that we still have to deal with, but he never gave in and continued spreading his message of peace, love and enlightenment through verses.
Dr HT Sorley, in his book, Musa Pervagans, has compared the mystic poetry of the great poets of Greek, Latin, Chinese, French, Arabic, Urdu and Sindhi, and concluded that none of them is comparable to Shah Latif. He said, “It is not justifiable to give preference to any one talented poet upon other. It will always remain controversial, but as far as my personal opinion is considered, of the thirteen poets of seven languages, Shah Abdul Latif and his work on mystic poetry, elevating one to a state of trance, shall always stand tall and occupy place above others.” Dr Sorley was the first occidental scholar who studied Shah Latif’s poetry in the context of literary criticism for his PhD thesis. The Oxford University Press published his monumental work on Shah in 1940. His work, Shah Latif of Bhit, is still recognised as a masterpiece. The book has also been translated into Sindhi by Atta Mohammad Bhambro. The celebration of Urs activities is not sufficient; the government and civil society should organise programmes through media platforms to inform the public about the message of love and peace of Shah Latif so that society can come out of its current state of anarchy that has been spread because of terrorism.
Aijaz Ali Khuwaja
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2015.
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