Khwaja Ghulam Farid

Khawaja Ghulam Farid (also romanized as Fareed; c. 1841/1845 – 24 July 1901) was a 19th-century Sufi poet and mystic from Bahawalpur, Punjab, belonging to the Chishti Order. Most of his work is in the local Multani, or what is now known as Saraiki. However, he also contributed to the Standard Punjabi, Urdu and Persian literature.

Life
Born into a Koreja family, Khawaja Farid traced descent from Umer ((r. 634 – 644)), the second Rashidun caliph. One of his ancestors had migrated to Sindh, and the family was established as saints associated with the Suhrawardī Sufi order. In the early 18th century, the family seat moved to Mithankot, and subsequently transferred their allegiance to the Chishtī order. Khawaja Farid was born in c. 1841/1845 at Chachran. Farid was orphaned around the age of eight when his father died. He was then brought up by his elder brother, Khawaja Fakhr al-Dīn, and grew up to become a scholar and writer. He received a fine formal education at the royal palace of Ṣādiq Muḥammad IV, the Nawab of Bahawalpur. His brother Fakhr al-Dīn, who had brought him up after their parents' deaths, also died when Farid was 26 years old. Farid performed hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in 1875, and then retired to the Cholistan Desert (also known as Rohi) for chilla (retreat) where he spent a total of eighteen years. He died at Chachran on 24 July, 1901, and was buried at Mithankot.

Works
His most significant works include:
 * Dīwān-i Farīd
 * Manāqib-i maḥbūbiyya (in Persian prose)
 * Fawāʾid-i Farīdiyya (in Persian prose)

Legacy

 * A literary award named after Farid –  the Khwaja Ghulam Farid Award  –  is awarded yearly by the Pakistan Academy of Letters in literature, its recipients including Ismail Ahmedani (in 2013) and Irshad Taunsvi (in 2007) among others.
 * Fareed Gate is the name of one of the historic gates surrounding the old city of Bahawalpur named in Farid's honour.
 * The Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology (KFUEIT) in Rahim Yar Khan District was named after Farid.
 * Shrine of Khawaja Ghulam Farid in Rajanpur, Punjab is among the 10 most visited shrines in Pakistan.