Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Baba Bulleh Shah (or Bullhe Shah) ( ; ) and Bulleya, was a Muslim Punjabi philosopher, reformer and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) some three hundred years earlier. His first spiritual teacher was Shah Inayat Qadiri, a Sufi murshid of Lahore. He was a mystic poet and is universally regarded as "The Father of Punjabi Enlightenment". He was a "revolutionary" poet who spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions and, thus, his influence can be seen on many noted socialists and rights activists. During his lifetime, he was outcasted as kafir (non-Muslim) by some Muslim clerics. He lived and was buried in Kasur in present day Pakistan. Biography He was born around 1680 in Uch, Multan province, Mughal Empire (present day Punjab, Pakistan). Bulleh Shah was an eminent scholar of Arabic and Persian. After his early education, he went to Lahore where he met Inayat Qadri, and became his disciple. Bulleh Shah's father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and the Quran. Due to uncertain reasons, he had to move to Malakwal, a village of Sahiwal. Later, when Bulleh Shah was six years old, his family moved to Pandoke, which is 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah was schooled by his father, along with the other children of the village. Most sources confirm that Bulleh Shah had to work as a child and adolescent herder in the village. It is confirmed that he received his higher education in Kasur. Some historians claim that Bulleh Shah received his education at a highly reputed madrassa run by Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza where he taught for some time after his graduation. After his early education, he went to Lahore where he met Inayat Arian, and became his disciple. He died in 1757, at the age of 77 and was buried in Kasur, where he had spent most of his life. A dargah was built over his grave. He was declared non-Muslim by a few literalist "Mullah" of Kasur and they had claimed it was prohibited to offer the funeral prayer of Bulleh Shah due to Kufr fatwa (allegations) put on him by extremists. His funeral prayer was led by Qazi Hafiz Syed Zahid Hamdani, a great religious personality of Kasur. He was buried in Kasur when he died around 1757. A