Shah Abdul Latif

Question and Answers

Q.1 Who was Shah Abdul Latif? Where and when was he born?
Ans. Shah Abdul Latif was a great saint who is lovingly called “Lal Latif” by his devotees. He was born in a small village called “Hala Haveli” in the year 1689.

Q.2 What do you know about the ancestors of Shah Abdul Latif?
Ans. Shah Abdul Latif’s ancestors had migrated to Sindh during the days of Tamerlane. They had come from Hiirat a town in West Afghanistan. They liked Sindh so much so that they decided to make it their permanent home. Many centuries later one of their decendants, Syed Habib Shah, was blessed with a son who grew up to be “Saint Lal Latif”.

Q.3 Why is Shah Latif known as “Saint of Bhit”?
Ans. When Shah Latif father died, he left his home and went to live on a Mound at some distance from his village. A mound of sand is called “Bhit” in Sindhi. Due to the fact that he lived on this mound for the rest of his life, Shah Latif came to be known as “The Saint of Bhit.”

Q.4 Name the shrines of saints found in Pakistan.
Ans. In every part of our country, there are shrines of such saints:
In Lahore, The shrines of Data Ganj Bakhsh and Mian Mir Sahib.
In Pak Pattan, Lived and Died Baba Fareed.
In Multan, The Shrine of Ghoues Bahaul Haq.
In Sindh, the Shrines of Shah Abdul Latif and Qalander Lal Shahbaz.
In Peshawar, in Quetta, and in countless other towns and cities there are the tombs of these man of God.

Q.5 What are the important features of Shah Latif poetry?
Ans. The important features of Shah Latif’s poetry is that it is written in the language of the common people, and other great quality of his poetry beside its simplicity is its moving music.

Q.6 What is the message of Shah Latif’s poetry? or What according Shah Latif is the goal of life?
Ans. The message of Shah Latif is the message of love. He believed in the brotherhood and equality of men and in pleasing God by good deeds. This according to Shah Latif is the goal of life.

Q.7 When is the Urs of Shah Abdul Latif’s held?
Ans. Shah Abdul Latif Urs is held at his shrine every year on 14th Safar, the second, month of the muslim calender.

Q.8 How do Shah Latif’s devotees celebrate his Urs?
Ans. Shah Latif’s Urs is held at his shrine every year in 14th Safar, the second month of the Muslim calender. Thousands of people gather to listen to the Saint’s song sung to the Tambooro and after their prayers. Many learned men read papers that tell about Latif’s life and poetry.

Q.9 What do you know about Shah Latif’s music?
Ans. Shah Latif was not only a saint and a poet but also a great musician. He found great comfort in music. His skill in this art enabled him to make many improvements and changes in the difficult music of his time. He loved simplicity in music and musical instruments. He did not agree with the idea that music should be difficult. So he made it simple and also vented on instrument called “Tambooro”.

Q.10 What do you know about Tamboora?
Ans. The tambooro is a simple musical instrument invented by the Sufi, philosopher Shah Abdul Latif.

Q.11 Write a short note on the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif?
Ans. Shah Abdul Latif started composing poetry while he was only a boy. Shah Abdul Latif was a mystic poet. He was a versatile, genious and had attempted all aspects of poetry.
Shah Abdul Latif was a poet of the people and was successful in awakening them to the discovery of the truth of spiritual life. He had very deed sympathy for the poor and had expressed in his sentiments about them with great pathos and fubings.
His collection of poems was so valued that it was translated into many languages and is called “Risalo of Shah Latif.”