Rohal Faqir

Sufi Rohal Faqir
صوفي روحل فقير
Born	1734 A.D (1124 Hijri) Padma-Bhit Umerkot Sindh
Died	1804 A.D Kandri Sindh
Venerated in	Islam, Hinduism
Influences	Shah Inayat Shaheed
Influenced	Shahu Faqir, Ghulam Ali Faqir, Khuda Bux Faqir, Darya Khan Faqir
Tradition or genre	Poetry, Sufism and Mysticism

Sufi Rohal Faqir( 1734–1804) (Sindhi: صوفي روحل فقير ‎) was a saint-poet and mystic, and exponent of sophistic philosophy. Zangeja by caste, Muslim by religion and a Sufi by practice, he was considered to be the great saint poet Kabir reborn in Sindh. Rohal was the progenitor of the famous kandri sharif tribes of the poets and man of piety.He reached the heights of Sufism through blessings of Sufi-sageShah Inayat-the famous martyr. In his poetry he expresses his message of giving up egoism and hatred and following the cult of love. Sufi Rohal was first person to fuse vedantic elements with Muslim Sufi concepts. Now his shrine at Kandri Sharif Taluka Rohri District Sukkur.

Sufi Rohal Faqir, son of Shahu Faqir Zangejo is believed to have been born in 1734 A.D. at "Padma Bhit" near Umerkot, Sindh. According to another tradition, he was born in 1124 (Hijri) at the village which was later called "Rohal Wai". This village no longer exists. He had two brothers, Sultan and Mayvo.

Sufi Rohal’s father Shaho Faqir was attached with the court of Kalhora dynasty ruler Miyan Din Muhammad (Died 1111 Hijri). He was among the advisor of Miyan Din Muhammad. Recognizing the services of his father, he was entered in official service. With the passage of time, he managed to reach close to royal court of Kalhora ruler, Miyan Ghulam Shah Kalhoro and he was made the minister of royal treasury in 1762 which continued till 1782 Hijri.

Sufi Rohal Faqir instead of indulging himself into the pleasures of official service, he would ponder and desire for the ultimate truth that he was missing very dearly from his life. His service tenure was full of honesty and trust that may be the reason of winning the trust of court. He never left side of sincerity and dedication to his official job. In 1772 A.D. when Miyan Ghulam Ali Shah Kalhoro died and his son Miyan Sarfraz Kalhoro took up the office. Sufi Rohal, very soon, realised the reality of transitory world and gave resignation from his job. Though he was insisted by Miyan Sarfraz to stay in his service because of unmatched and dedicated service, this time Sufi Rohal made up his mind to seek the truth and move in the journey towards Beloved.

From then on, he started searching for spiritual guide. He quest took him to Jhok Sharif (Miranpur) in District Thatta at the moment, where he found his spiritual guru in form of Sufi Izatullah Shah Sufi-ul-Qadri. He was entered into the discipleship and he quenched his spiritual thirst. It is said that during his stay at Jhok Sharif, he performed secluded meditative worship. After his return, there was a sea change in his life. Now he had turned into a pure practising Sufi.