“Karlo Ganje Shakar naala pyaar, haq Farid Farid pukaro kade na āve hār.”
Hold love for Ganj-e-Shakar, call out ‘Haq Farid, Farid,’
and the one who keeps this love does not lose heart.
This Punjabi kalam is an ode to the great Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganj-e-Shakar (1173–1266), the Sufi saint of Pakpattan Sharif, whose poetry laid the foundation for Punjabi mysticism and inspired generations of Qawwals to sing in devotion. His very title, Ganj-e-Shakar (“Treasure of Sweetness”), reflects the saint’s nature, soft, compassionate, and overflowing with divine love.
Through verses like “Allah Muhammad Chaar Yaar, Haji Khwaja Qutub Farid”, the kalam honours the spiritual lineage connecting the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to the saints who carried the light of divine remembrance through their hearts and voices. In Qawwali, such kalams are sung at shrines where lovers of God gather to dance, cry, and lose themselves in remembrance, the sound itself becoming zikr, the remembrance of the Beloved.
This rendition was performed by Ilahi Sufi Qawwali, a groundbreaking all-female Qawwali ensemble based in Bali, Indonesia. The group is an initiative of the Sama School of Music, an international institute devoted to the study and preservation of classical Qawwali and devotional music traditions.
Under the guidance of Tahir Qawwal, a world-renowned vocalist of Fanna-Fi-Allah Sufi Qawwali, and Alexandra Amïe Lyons, the ensemble’s leader, the Ilahi singers are deep in the study of raag, taal, and Urdu and Punjabi poetry, carrying this sacred tradition forward with devotion and respect.
May the blessings of Baba Farid Shakar Ganj continue to inspire all hearts toward sweetness, humility, and divine love.
