RAHMAN BABA BRIEF HISTORY

Abdul Rahman Mohmand (b.1653- d.1711)(Pashto: عبدالرحمان مومند) popularly known as (Pashto: رحمان بابا) was called the Nightingale of Pakhtoonkhwa, the Pashto speaking region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rahman Baba is a legendary Pashto Sufi poet, and he was even called a new ‘Hafiz Shirazi’.^[1] His poetry places him alongside Khushal Khan Khattak for his contribution to Pashto poetry and literature

Early life

Qareeb ur Rahman claims was of the Sarban tribe, who are recognized as the ‘true Afghans, Pushtuns’ because they can trace their ancestry back to the eldest son of the putative Pashtun ancestor Qais Abdur Rashid. The Sarban tribe migrated into the Peshawar valley in modernNorth-West Frontier Province, Pakistan from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century.

Rahman was a Mohmand, of the Ghoriah Khel (tribe), who lived in a small pocket of Mohmand settlers on the outskirts of Peshawar.^[2] From 1550 CE the Yusufzai tribe had come to dominate the area, following the defeat of the Ghoriah Khel in the battle of Sheikh Tapur. Rahman apparently lived peacefully in the area, and never mentions his involvement in these inter-tribal conflicts.

Opinion is divided about Rahman’s family background.^[3] Several commentators are convinced that his family were village Maliks (chieftains).^[4]However Rahman Baba did not perceive himself to be of a powerful family.

Abdul Rehman Baba died in 1707 AD his tomb is situated near the Shrine of Akhuand Darwaizah Baba at Peshawar, which is visited by his followers and admirers throughout the year. ^[5]

[edit]Religious background

Rahman Baba was an ascetic but various unfounded theories have been made about who Rahman’s guide may have been, and to which order he was attached. Sabir suggests that Rahman had a Naqshbandi Sufi tariqa initiation in Kohat, as well as training from the sons of Pir Baba. Schimmel and Saad Ahmed Baksh casually assign Rahman to the Chishti order. Aqab, himself of the Qadiriyyah order, claims Rahman was a Qadiri..