Shah Hussain

Shah Hussain (; 1538 – 1599), also known as Mādhō Lāl Hussain, was a Punjabi Sufi poet, who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form in Punjabi poetry; and the first major early-modern poet in the Punjab, living during the 16th century in the early Mughal era, the Mughal interregnum with the Sur era, and the Mughal restoration.

Name Shah Hussain is also often known as Shah Hussain Faqir - Faqir denotes a Dervish (mendicant) and Shah means King. He is therefore sometimes known as The Dervish King. he was a Dhudhi Rajput (a clan of Rajput), and by occupation, he was a weaver (in some of his poetic rhymes, Shah Hussain used his pen name as Faqir Hussain Julaha which means "Saint Hussain the weaver"). His ancestor Kaljas Rai was a convert of Islam. Notable books written on his life include Risala Baharia (by Bahar Khan on the directions of Emperor Jahangir), Hasanat-ul-Arifin (by Prince Dara Shiko in 1653), Haqiqat-ul-Fuqra (by Syed Sheikh Mahmood in 1662), Miftah-ul-Arifin (by Abdul Fatah Naqshbandi Mujadad in 1667), along with others.

Shah Hussain's decision to place Madho's name before his own was a gesture of eternal remembrance. This fusion of names—Madho Lal Hussain—symbolizes their inseparable bond and serves as a metaphor for harmony between different faiths and communities.

Poetic Diction Shah Hussain often assumed a female persona in their poetry, portraying themselves as brides and God as the male beloved or bridegroom. He used multiple terms for God in his poetry, such as Sajjan, Sāi'yāņ, Şāĥib, and Kant, all referring to husband, beloved, or bridegroom in Punjabi. ਸਜਣ ਦੇ ਹਥਿ ਬਾਂਹ ਅਸਾਡੀ, ਕਿਉਂ ਕਰਿ ਆਖਾਂ ਛਡਿ ਵੇ ਅੜਿਆ

سجن دے ہتھ بانہ اساڈی، کی کر آکھاں چھڈ وے اڑیاThe human soul is represented as a bride, with different states of the soul depicted through various female roles; An unmarried girl unaware of her destiny, a bride-to-be waiting for her groom or a married woman in marital bliss or longing for reunion. He wrote in the concept of spiritual marriage or "betrothal to God" to symbolize the soul's union with the Divine. Madho's tomb lies next to Hussain's in the shrine. 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 the singing of them has been set to music based on Punjabi folk music. Many of his Kafis are part of the traditional Qawwali repertoire. His poems have been performed as songs by Kaavish, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Ghulam Ali, Hamid Ali Bela, Amjad Parvez, Junoon and Noor Jehan, among others.

"It may be asserted that poetry is often written to be sung. And all poetry carries, through manipulation of sound effects, some suggestion of music".

Here are three examples, which draw on the famous love story of Heer Ranjha: Verse translation|lang=pa-Latn Ni Mai menoon Khedeyan di gal naa aakh need a special mention: