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Shah Hussain
(1538 - 1559) Pakistan

Shah Hussain

Sufi Saint

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Shah Hussain was a Punjabi Sufi poet and Sufi saint. He was born in Lahore, Pakistan, the son of Sheikh Usman, a weaver, and belonged to the Dhudha clan of Rajputs. He is considered a pioneer of the kafi form of Punjabi poetry.

Hussain's poetry consists entirely of short poems known as Kafis. A typical Hussain Kafi contains a refrain and some rhymed lines. The number of rhymed lines is usually between four and ten. Only occasionally is a longer form adopted. Hussain's Kafis are also composed for, and have been set to, music deriving from Punjabi folk music. Many of his Kafis are part of the traditional Qawwali repertoire. His poems have been performed as songs by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and Noor Jehan, among others.

Shah Hussain's love for a Brahmin boy called "Madho" or "Madho Lal" is famous, and they are often referred to as a single person with the composite name of "Madho Lal Hussain". The two symbolise a divine love. Madho's tomb lies next to Hussain's in the shrine. Their tomb and shrine lies in Baghbanpura, adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens. His urs (annual death anniversary) is celebrated at his shrine every year during the "Mela Chiraghan" ("Festival of Lights").

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Source: https://sufipoetry.wordpress.com/

If you want to read some of Shah Hussain's poems, please go at his page in our book Famous Homoerotic Poems.

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