Fariduddin Masud Ganjshakar (April 4, 1188 - May 7, 1266), commonly known as Baba Farid or Sheik Farid, was a 13th century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet, and preacher. Revered by Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus alike, he remains one of the most revered Muslim mystics of South Asia during the Islamic Golden Age. Sheik Farid is highly respected among Sikhs and his 120 salokes composed by him have been included in the Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhs. In July 1998, the Punjab Government in India established the Baba Farid University of Health and Science at Faridkot, the city which itself was named after him. Farida Islamic University, a religious madrassa in Shawal, Punjab (Pakistan) is named after him.
Baba Farid was born in 1188 in Kothewal near Multan in the Punjab region to Jamal-ud-dis Suleiman and Maryam Bibi. His family migrated to the Indus Valley from Kabul during the time of his grandfather. He received his early education at Multan, which had become a centre of Muslim education. Once his education was over, he moved to Delhi, where he learned the Islamic doctrine from his master, Khawaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar and later moved to Hansi, Haryana. When Khawaja Bakhtiyar died in 1235, Baba Farid became his spiritual successor and settled in Pakpattan, Punjab (Pakistan). One of the Farid’s most important contributions to Punjabi literature was his development of the language for literary purposes.
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