Hazrat Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri (RA) popularly known as Bulleh Shah (RA) was a Mughal-era Punjabi Islamic philosopher and Sufi poet. His first spiritual teacher was Hazrat Shah In
ayat Qadiri (RA), a famous Sufi murshad of Lahore.
Hazrat Bulleh Shah (RA) lived after the Pashto Sufi poet Rahman Baba (RA) (1632 - 1706 AD) and lived in the same period as Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (RA) (1689 - 1752 AD). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722 - 1798 AD), of "Heer Ranjha" fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahab (RA) (1739 - 1829 AD), better known by his pen name Sachal Sarmast (RA).
Hazrat Bulleh Shah (RA) practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Hazrat Shah Hussain Qadri (RA) (1538 - 1599 AD), Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) (1629 – 1691 AD), and Hazrat Shah Sharaf (RA) (1640 - 1724 AD).
The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is the Kafi, popular in Punjabi and Sindhi poetry.
Many people have put his Kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers.