Rahman Baba

His poetry expresses the mystical side of Islam, in line with his Sufi-oriented nature.

• Name — Abdul Rahman Momand • Native Name — عبدالرحمن • Religion — Sunni Islam • Sect — Sufism • Known for — Pashto poetry • Monastic Name — Wali • Birthplace — Peshawar, Mughal Empire (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) • Died —; (aged 73–74 years) • Place of death — Peshawar, Mughal Empire • Resting Place — Peshawar, Pakistan • Father — Abdus Sattar Ghoryakhel • Notable Works — Dīwān • Occupation — Poet

Opinion is divided about Rahman's family background. Several commentators are convinced that his family was village Malik (chieftains). However, Rahman Baba was more likely to have been a simple, though learned man. As he himself exclaimed: "Though the wealthy drink water from a golden cup, I prefer this clay bowl of mine." • Illustration — Illustrated page from a diwan (poetry collection) of the Pashtun Sufi poet Rahman Baba

After his demise, poets, musicians and singers flocked to his gravesite annually. This annual congregation attained a festive status over the years which has carried on as part of Peshawar's rich cultural tradition to this day. However, on 5 March 2009, "militants" bombed Rahman Baba's tomb in Peshawar. "The high intensity device almost destroyed the grave, gates of a mosque, canteen and conference hall situated in the Rehman Baba Complex. Police said the bombers had tied explosives around the pillars of the tombs, to pull down the mausoleum". The shrine reopened in November 2012 after Rs. 39 million reconstruction.

• Illustration — Rahman Baba High School in Kabul, Afghanistan • H. G. Raverty, The Gulistan-i-Roh: Afghan Poetry and Prose • H. G. Raverty, Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans, from the 16th to the 19th Century • Abdur Rahman Baba, Robert Sampson, and Momin Khan. The Poetry of Rahman Baba: Poet of the Pukhtuns. Translated by Robert Sampson and Momin Khan. Peshawar: University Book Agency, 2005. • Robert Sampson. "The Poetry of Rahman Baba: The Gentle Side of Pushtun Consciousness." Central Asia 52 (2003): 213–228. • Robert Sampson and Momin Khan. Sow Flowers: Selections from Rahman Baba, the Poet of the Afghans. Peshawar: Interlit Foundation, 2008. • Robert Sampson. "The War on Poetry: Snuffing out Folk Tradition Along the Pakistan-Afghan Border." The Frontier Post, 7 December 2008. • Abdur Raḥmān Baba, Jens Enevoldsen, "The Nightingale of Peshawar: Selections from Rahman Baba." Interlit Foundation, 1993. • Abdur Raḥmān Baba. "Rahman Baba: A Few Verses from His Deewan." Translated into English Rhyme by Hidayatullah Muhibkhel Arbab Mohmand.