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In the saffron-scented valley of Kashmir, where poetry and mysticism have long been wedded, few names ring with as much spiritual authority and poetic thrust as Abdul Wahab Khar (c. 1842–1912). Born in the humble village of Shaar Shali, located in Pampore, Wahab Khar came into this world as a mystic poet whose words continue to echo within Kashmiri hearts even after over a century of his death. Even though he was born a simple blacksmith, he made such a profound impact on the spiritual and cultural image of Kashmir that he came to be known as the “Ironman of Poetry.”
A Saint from the Soil
Wahab Khar was born to a family of blacksmiths, a caste usually regarded as low in the strict social hierarchies of the period. His father, Hait Khar, was also a poet and spiritual practitioner, and Wahab inherited both his trade and his mystical inclination. He lived life firmly rooted in the working-class rhythms of Kashmir—plowing the earth, making iron tools, and interacting with the local community. But underlying this simplicity was a spiritual forge. Although never formally educated, Wahab managed to have a very deep inner insight that would express itself later in his poetry.
The Path to Mysticism
Wahab Khar’s spiritual path started under the guidance of the Sufi master Ahmad Sahab Machama of the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order. His ujourney was punctuated by periods of intense meditation, withdrawal, and even bouts of what most contemporaries saw as madness—a typical pattern in the life of mystics that goes beyond human reason. These did not make him withdraw from society but instead attracted people to him. Within no time, Wahab Khar was famous not just as a poet but also for his spiritual aura and saintly persona.
He became intensely entwined with a number of other mystics and poets of his time, such as Waza Mehmood, Prakash Ram, Shamas Fakir, and Razaaq Sahib. These relationships contributed to the rich climate of cross-pollinating ideas in Kashmir’s syncretic Sufi tradition.
A Poetry Forged in Fire
Wahab Khar’s poems, composed in his indigenous Kashmiri tongue, are remarkable for their clarity, simplicity, and metaphysical depth. Just as the blacksmith recasts iron, Wahab recast the human psyche in his verses. His poetry is filled with content about divine love, spiritual extinction (fana), interior cleansing, and the transitory nature of earthly life.
In one of his greatest metaphors, he compares the soul with a tree cut down and reborn as part of divine plan. Elsewhere, he warns the conceited of their doom with the plain line, “Even if you ride a lion, death shall ultimately arrive.” These lines take very deep roots in the Kashmiri oral culture and are still quoted in common usage.
His most famous works are Mehraj Nama, a poetical account of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascension, and Machh Tullar, which is an amalgamation of pastoral and metaphysical writing heavily based on Kashmiri landscape and mysticism. His poems are now gathered in publications such as Verses of Wahab Khar (Jay Kay Books, 2007), and they are still at the core of Kashmiri literary tradition.
Faith, Miracles, and Popular Veneration
Wahab Khar was not just a poet—he was a spiritual mentor, a healer, and a man of miracles in the eyes of his people. There are many legends surrounding his life. They say he made a hot water spring burst forth in a forest, that he domesticated flames during a community bonfire, and that he foretold the actions of intruders. Whether symbolic or literal, the stories have maintained his image as a man who dwelt on the borderland between the terrestrial and the sacred.
What really separates Wahab Khar in the Sufi topography of Kashmir is his accessibility. He was a mystic to the commoners, never secluded from the world. His poems were recited in Mehfils (spiritual sessions) and on street corners, and his shrine at Shaar Shali is still a site of communal worship. His yearly Urs in April attracts individuals from all religions—Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians—who visit him to pay respects at his grave. The worship he inspires is not theological but profoundly cultural and emotional.
A Legacy Beyond Time
In the life of Wahab Khar, one gets a glimpse of the plural, inclusive spirituality of Kashmir. His poetic language, rooted in the daily existence of Kashmiris, has ensured his teachings’ continuation in devotional meetings as well as popular culture. His poetry has been immortalized by singers such as Ghulam Hassan Sofi, whose voice brings Wahab’s words alive among contemporary listeners. Today, words such as “Atti chhu Wahab Khar ti Laajawaab” (“Even Wahab Khar is speechless here”) are part of the popular vocabulary, a testament to his strong cultural influence.
At a time when the world is becoming increasingly divided and disillusioned, Wahab Khar’s message of love, humility, and self-destruction in the divine continues to be a living spiritual heritage. His life is a demonstration of how larger-than-life personalities can arise from the most modest beginnings and utter words that are beyond time, language, and orthodoxy.
Over a century after his death on 13 April 1912, Wahab Khar is not only a Kashmiri poet but also one of its spiritual beacons—an eternal blacksmith of the soul.
Syed Amjad Hussain is an author and Independent research scholar on Sufism and Islam. He can be mailed at iamthesyedamjadhussain@gmail.com
Source: The Daily Good Morning Kashmir