Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah
An artistic depiction of Bulleh Shah
Born	1680 Uch, Multan Subah, Mughal Empire (now Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	1757 (aged 77) Kasur, Bhangi Misl, Sikh Confederacy (now Punjab, Pakistan)
Major shrine	Kasur, Punjab, Pakistan
Influences	Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Shah Sharaf
Influenced	Countless Sufi poets
Tradition or genre	Kafi

Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri (Punjabi: سید عبداللہ شاہ قادری) (Shahmukhi), ਸਈਅਦ ਅਬਦੁੱਲਾ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਕਾਦਰੀ (Gurmukhi); 1680–1757) popularly known as Bulleh Shah (بلھے شاہ (Shahmukhi); ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਸ਼ਾਹ (Gurumukhi)), was a Punjabi humanist and philosopher. His first spiritual teacher was Shah Inayat Qadiri, a Sufi murshid of Lahore. Bulleh Shah gathered spiritual treasures under the guidance of his murshid and was known for the karamat (miraculous powers) he had.

Bulleh Shah lived after the Pashto Sufi poet Rahman Baba (1653–1711) and lived in the same period as Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689–1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahab (1739–1829), better known by his pen name Sachal Sarmast. Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810) of Agra.