Published on 27 Aug 2009 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Muhammad Rafiq Shinwari

Raafiq Shinwari

Muhammad Rafiq Shinwari was born in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. He was a kid when he migrated with his mother to Peshawar after his father's death. His mother was a religious person and would take along Rafiq Shinwari when she would visit Hazrat Abdul Sattar Shah Bacha [a pious and greatly revered personality of Peshawar]. Religious upbringing by his mother and visits to Hazrat Shah Sattar Bacha darbar shaped Rafiq Shinwari's life trajectory in three important ways. First, he got the opportunity to meet Amir Hamza Shinwari, who for all practical purposes became his teacher and mentor. Amir Hamza Shinwari himself was a devout follower of Hazrat Abdul Sattar Shah Bacha and often visited the darbar. Second, it was at the Sattar Shah Bacha darbar
that the bare essentials of Rafiq Shinwari music career were laid. Rafiq Shinwari while still, a kid would regularly sing carols at the darbar with other devotees. Finally, and most importantly as Rafiq Shinwari would say, it was this association with Shah Sattar Shah bacha that nourished and cultivated Rafiq Shinwari's mystic [sufi] inclinations. In the early 1960s, Rafiq Shinwari got the opportunity to sing carols at Radio Station Peshawar. Rafiq Shinwari could not play any musical instrument but was keen to compose music. While once in a while he did compose songs at the Station, it was really in the early 1970s that his career took off and Rafiq Shinwari became the most sought-after composer. This was the period that Pashto movie production started on a regular basis. Rafiq Shinwari composed some of the most memorable songs for scores of Pashto movies [e.g., Orbal, Dara Khybar, Ghazi KaKa, Alqa Ghair, Khana Badoosh, Jawargar, Baaghi, Deedan, Lumbay, Abe-e-Hayat, and Badamala, etc]. Rafiq Shinwari was not just a singer or composer, but a person of great character and a Sufi. I had the opportunity to meet Rafiq Shinwari twice at his residence in Bala Manrri, Peshawar in 1987 and 1988. On one occasion I asked him as to how he could compose such serene music despite that he did not know to play any musical instrument. To that, he responded that it comes out of my heart and that it is all because of the grace of God and the prayers of Hazrat Abdul Sattar Shah Bacha. At a personal level, Rafiq Shinwari was an afflicted man, saddened by the untimely death of his son who for unknown reasons committed suicide. After Rafiq Shinwari death, his wife had to brace another calamity when their second son committed suicide. SOURCE: AnwarGul wrote this biography of Muhammad Rafeeq Shinwari. He interviewed Muhammad Rafeeq Shinwari in 1982 at his residence.