Born: 1173/1188, Kothewal village in Multan
Died: 1266/1280, PakpattanHonored in: Islam, specifically the Chishti Sufi orderInfluences: Qutbuddin Bakhtiar KakiInfluenced: Countless Pakistani and South Asian Sufis, including Nizamuddin Auliya, Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari and Khawaja Ghulam Farid About His Life
- Baba Farid (Punjabi: بابا فرید) was a 12th-century Sufi preacher and saint of the Chishti Order of South Asia.
- Fariduddin Ganjshakar is generally recognized as the first major poet of the Punjabi language, and is considered one of the pivotal saints of the Punjab region. Revered by Muslims and Hindus, he is considered one of the fifteen Sikh bhagats, and selections from his work are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh sacred scripture.
- Bābā Farīd was born in 1173 or 1188 AD (584 Hijri) at Kothewal village, 10 km from Multan in the Punjab region of the Chauhan Dynasty in India (now Pakistan), to Jamāl-ud-dīn Suleimān and Maryam Bībī (Qarsum Bībī), daughter of Sheikh Wajīh-ud-dīn Khojendī.
- He was a descendant of the Farrūkhzād, known as Jamāl-ud-Dawlah, a Persian (Tajik) king of eastern Khorasan.
- He was the grandson of Sheikh Shu'aib, who was the grandson of Farrukh Shah Kabuli, the king of Kabul and Ghazna. When Farrukh Shāh Kābulī was killed by the Mongol hordes invading Kabul, Farīd’s grandfather, Shaykh Shu'aib, left Afghanistan and settled in the Punjab in 1125.
- Farīd’s genealogy is a source of dispute, as some trace his ancestors back to al-Husayn while others trace his lineage back to the second Caliph Umar ibn Khattab.
- Baba Farid's ancestors came from Kufa, while Abdullah ibn Umar died during the Hajj and was buried in Makkah. The family tree of Baba Fareed traces through Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Adham, whose ancestors came from Kufa.
- Fariduddin Ganjshakar was born in the city of Balkh. His nickname was Abu Ishaq. Khwajah Fudhail Bin Iyadh had conferred the mantle of Khilaafate to him. Besides being the Khalifah of Hadhrat Fudhail, he was also the Khalifah of Khwajah Imran Ibn Musa, Khwajah Imam Baqir, Khwajah Shaikh Mansur Salmi and Khwajah Uwais Qarni.
- Bābā Farīd received his early education at Multan, which had become a centre for education; it was here that he met his murshid (master), Qutbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī, a noted Sufi saint, who was passing through Multan, from Baghdad on his way to Delhi. Upon completing his education, Farīd left for Sistan and Kandahar and went to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage at the age of 16.
- Once his education was over, he shifted to Delhi, where he learned the doctrine of his master, Qutbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī. He later moved to Hansi, Haryana.When Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī died in 1235, Farīd left Hansi and became his spiritual successor, but he settled in Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan, Pakistan) instead of Delhi.
- On his way to Ajodhan(Pakpattan), while passing through Faridkot, he met the 20-year-old Nizāmuddīn, who went on to become his disciple, and later his successor (khalīfah).
- Bābā Farīd married Hazabara, daughter of Sultān Nasīruddīn Mahmūd. The great Arab traveller Ibn Batutah visited him. He says that he was the spiritual guide of the King of India, and that the King had given him the village of Ajodhan. He also says that Shaikh Farīduddīn, as he calls him, was so careful about purity that if his clothes touched those of another person he would wash them.
- He also met Bābā Farīd's two sons. His shrine (darbār) is in Dera Pindi, and his epitaph reads, "There is only one Farīd, though many spring forth from the bud of the flower".
- Bābā Farīd's descendants, also known as Fareedi, Fareedies and Faridy, mostly carry the name Fārūqī, and can be found in Pakistan, India and the diaspora.
- His descendants include the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, whose daughter was Emperor Jehangir's foster mother. Their descendants settled in Sheikhupur, Badaun and the remains of a fort they built can still be found.
- His shrine is located in Pakpattan. The Shrine (mazar/mazār) is vast and spacious, located in the city of Pakpattan, otherwise Pākpattan Sharīf. At first his tomb and shrine were constructed under the supervision of Saint Nizamuddin Auliya/Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia. The shrine is made entirely of marble. Some years back it was partly made of marble and bricks. Charity food called Langar is distributed all day by visitors and the Auqaf Department, which administrates the shrine. The shrine is open all day and night for visitors
