Bābā Farīd al-Dīn Ganj Shikar, or Shakar-Ganj (ca. 569–664/1174–1265), was one of the most revered and distinguished medieval Sufi mystics in India. Originally called Masʿūd, he was born in either 569/1174 or 571/1175 in the town of Kuthwāl in the district of Multān (Nizami, Life and Times, 11; Mīr Khurd, 101). Both Firishtah (2/383) and Ghulām Sarwar (1/304) cite 584/1188 as the year of his birth.

The three primary sources for Bābā Farīd’s life and teaching come from the circle of Shaykh Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ, wh…