Rahman Baba

Abdur Rahman Mohmand
Native name	عبدالرحمان بابا
Born	1632 CE (1042 AH) Bahadur Kelay, Hazarkhwani, Peshawar, Mughal Empire (in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan)
Died	1706 CE (1118 AH) (aged 74–75) Peshawar
Resting place	Peshawar
Ethnicity	Pashtun
Genre	Pashto poetry
Subject	Sufism
Notable works	Dīwān
Relatives	Abdus Sattar Ghoryakhel (father)

Abdur Rahmān Mohmand (1632–1706) (Pashto: عبدالرحمان بابا‎), or Rahmān Bābā (Pashto: رحمان بابا‎), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Peshawar in the Mughal Empire (modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). He, along with his contemporary Khushal Khan Khattak, is considered one of the most popular poets among the Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His poetry expresses a peaceful mystical side of local culture which is becoming increasingly threatened by less tolerant interpretations of Islam.

Rahman Baba was a Mohmand sub-tribe of Ghoryakhel Pashtun, a group of people who migrated from the Hindu Kush mountains to the Peshawar valley, between 13th to 16th century. He grew up in a small pocket of Mohmand settlers on the outskirts of Peshawar. Rahman apparently lived peacefully in the area, and never mentions his involvement in the fierce intertribal conflicts of his day.

Opinion is divided about Rahman's family background. Several commentators are convinced that his family was village Malik (chieftains). However, Rahman Baba was more likely to have been a simple, though learned man. As he himself claimed: "Though the wealthy drink water from a golden cup, I prefer this clay bowl of mine."

Abdur Rahman Baba died in 1715 CE, and his tomb is housed in a large domed shrine, or mazar, on the southern outskirts of Peshawar (Ring Road Hazar Khwani). The site of his grave is a popular place for poets and mystics to collect to recite his popular poetry. In April each year, there is a larger gathering to celebrate his anniversary.

Rahman Baba was an ascetic but various unfounded theories have been made about who Rahman's guide may have been, and to which Sufi order he was attached. Sabir suggests that Rahman had a Naqshbandi tariqa initiation in Kohat, as well as training from the sons of Pir Baba: while Schimmel and Saad Ahmed Baksh assign Rahman to the Chishti order. Aqab, himself of the Qadiriyyah order, claims Rahman was a Qadiri. Some people claims that he (Rahman Baba) was a barelvi (meladi) which is not true.

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