Punjab is not only great but is also vast and varied. Punjab, the land of five rivers, is very fortunate in having developed and cherished, since centuries, a long and glorious tradition of a composite culture. It seems to have been evolved and enriched by a galaxy of God-intoxicated men who belonged to various faiths and creeds, such as Hindu saints, Sikh Gurus and Sufi fakirs. Their mystical songs, in particular, are the pride of whole Punjab and form a common and invaluable heritage of Punjab.

The lyrical effusions of these blessed men, incidentally, gave birth to a distinct stream of the poetry of this land, called Sufi Kavya-Dhara, which inherits a rich and long literary tradition. The content and form, scope and standard as well as the flow of masterly beauty of Farid Bani, which has come down to us through the grace of Guru Granth Sahib, is a proof of this ‘Dhara’ having been in vogue about seven centuries ago.

It was developed by Shah Hussain during the sixteenth century and was raised to its pinnacle by Bulleh Shah during the eighteenth century. Its downfall began after Hashim Shah came to power during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was, however, kept flowing by Maulvi Ghulam Rasul, Syed Miran Shah and Khwaja Ghulam Farid during the next few decades.

Most of all major poets of Punjab have, more or less, been influenced by it. Its influence on the Non-Muslim mystic poets of the first half of the twentieth century viz. Sant Rein, Sadhu Daya Singh, Paul Singh Arif, Man Singh Kalidas and Kishan Singh Arif is quite evident. Even the poets of the modern period, including Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957), the father of modern Punjabi literature, have also imbibed its impact.

Sheikh Farid-ud-din, (1173-1265) was the first Sufi poet who "sang his insatiable hunger for the love of Lord in works of immortal beauty". Farid’s message had a wide humanitarian base and a broad human approach. In an age marked by great brutality, he brought the touch of humanity and fellow feeling to all. Farid was also the first poet of Punjab, who used the symbol of human relationship between wife and husband to express his longings for union with the Divine.

The kafis (lyrics) of Shah Husain (1538-1599), the popular romantic Sufi saint of Lahore added to Sufi poetry its peculiar element of masti (rapture) and introduced enraptured dancing and passionate signing. Hussain was also the first Sufi poet of Punjab who adopted the popular measure of Kafi to express his mystic ideas. The credit of introducing the element of popular love-legends of Punjab (Heer Ranjha and Sohni Mahiwal) to Sufi Verse and utilizing their persons, places, motifs and incidents as images, metaphors and allegories etc. also goes to him. Sultan Bahu (1629-1691), one of the greatest mystics of India, who belonged to district Jhang, adopted the verse-form of Shiarfi (arostic) for the expression of his sentiments, ending every line of his verse with a lyrical tone of exquisite charm, pronounced as hoo. It was he who, preferring ‘Ishq’ (love) not only to ‘Aqal’ (wisdom) but also to ‘Iman" (faith).