The Poetry (Shrukhs) of Sheikh-ul-Alam (RA):

The great Indian sages and saints like Tulsidas, Tukaram, Surdas, MiraBai, Guru Nanak Dev, Namadev, Kabir and others preached through Doha, Chau-Pai, Rubai and Bani.

Sheikh-ul-Alam the patron saint of Kashmir, preached through his poetry known as Shrukhs. The Shrukhs is in fact the Prakrit form of Sanskrit 'Shloka'.

Although he could neither read nor write he spontaneously uttered verses or Shrukhs which are considered the gems of Kashmiri literature. They have terrestrial as well as celestial meanings. They are concise and rhythmic and have stuck to the minds of the people. These have been collected in two volumes, called the Rishi Nama and Nur Nama. They were handed down to generation after generation for 200 years after his death by word of mouth.

The Shrukhs of Sheikh-ul-Alam were collected and written down in 19th century by Baba Kamal-Ud-Din, Mir Abdullah and Baba Khalid in their respective Rishi Namas; Rishi Nama of Baba Nasib-Ud-Din Gazi was written only 190 years after the death of the saint and contains only a few Shrukhs.

A number of his verses are quoted in day-to-day conversation by the common people and such verses have attained the status of proverbs, wise sayings and parables.

Sheikh-ul-Alam's poetry is the spontaneous expression of his spiritual experiences and observations. He, in fact, has poured his very soul in his verses. His poetry reveals the grandeur of the Saint as a great soul and poet of high order. He made his poetry the message of his faith, love and brotherhood, peace and respect for all creeds and beliefs like a master mind he has converted his feelings, experiences and observations in living images and word pictures.

His poetry has a cooling and soothing effect, with something deep, something peculiar to communicate. It has a glow of spirituality around it and a keen reader gets lost and is absorbed in it. One feels refreshed after reading or listening to it. Every time its recitation has something new and novel to convey. The spontaneity of the Sheikh’s poetry is like that of a mountain stream which has a powerful gush-and makes its way through the stone beds and hard rocks. The Saint has used the languages in such a creative way that every word and phrase bears a fresh look, attains new dimensions of grace and meaning. His poetry is not confined to the mystic experiences alone. Sometimes he comes out of his mystic world also and talks of life. His longer poems are the word picture of the society of the age and unveil the inequality, injustice, tyranny and social disorder in such a way that a sensitive person can hardly control his tears.

Sheikh-ul-Alam’s poetry is commonly believed to be Quran in Kashmiri verse.