Bâbâ Farîd’s Hymns in Granth Ṣâhib with Qur’ânic Backdrop: A Review

Bābā Farīd al-Dīn Ganj-i-Shakar, considered as the first Punjābī Sūfī poet, not only exercised his skill but also conveyed Qur’ānic and Prophetic (PBUH) message through his Punjābī poetry. His poetry is a rich source of Islamic teachings in lingua franca of the Punjab. The research intends to explore that whether the inclusion of his poetry in the Sikh scripture is recognition of Muslim mysticism or the poetry itself. The study attempts to examine the relation of the hymns of Bābā Ṣāhib with the teachings of Holy Qur’ān. Bābā Farīd, because of his high stature as an originator of Punjābī poetry, got a place in Granth Ṣāhib. The goal of this research is to highlight the pivotal position of Bābā Ṣāhib in connecting the two major religions of the world. The paper not only substantiates the historic position of Bābā Ṣāhib but also gives an insight to the services rendered by his poetry in promoting the interfaith harmony in the Sub-continent. This article focuses on Bābā Farīd as a literary and moral Canon, which led his work to be included in Sikh scripture. Moreover, it hints at the nuances of religious tolerance, mutual respect and love for knowledge, which lacks otherwise in a multi-religious society. In this article some of Bābā Ṣāhib’s verses in Granth Ṣāhib will be traced and analysed, taking into account their Qur’ānic interpretations. The comparative and somewhat historical approaches have been adopted to lay out a vivid analysis of his hymns in relation with the verses of the Holy Qur’ān and hence a message is extracted. Thus, he, evidently becoming part of one of the greatest anthologies of Punjābī poetry, attracted a huge outreach. The research question of this article is, whether the Holy Qur’ān is a basic source of Bābā Ṣāhib’s poetry or otherwise. It is strongly recommended that in order to attain actual harmony in our society, Bābā Ṣāhib’s work should be published in Shah-Mukhi script for the contemporary readership.

Seed Enhancement Techniques for Seedling Establishment and Increased Productivity of Early Sown Carrot under High Temperature Conditions

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) having a family of Umbelliferea, is a winter crop and is used fresh or in processed form throughout the world. For early carrot production, problem of seed germination exists due to high temperature at the start of August in Punjab, Pakistan. To cope with the issue, a comprehensive research was performed at Institute of Horticultural Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The present study had focused to enhance high temperature tolerance in carrot seed that resulted in better germination by using pre-sowing seed treatments. For the purpose, Seeds of carrot cultivar T-29 were primed with various concentrations of different chemicals, i.e GA3, Kinetin, IAA, SA, KNO3 or with distilled water, and evaluated in laboratory (35±2 oC) in comparison with unprimed seeds (control)to optimize the best concentration (priming dose) from each chemical under high temperature stress (35±2 oC) in term of final germination percentage and other related traits. Pre-sowing seed treatments significantly improved almost all the parameters under study i.e., SA 0.1 mM followed by GA3 0.05 mM and KNO3 50 mM showed promising results for seed germination and seedling vigour related attributes. Two best performing doses from each chemical, which gave maximum germination under high temperature stress in Laboratory, were selected for field evaluation. Seed inoculation was also performed with azotobactor. Thereafter, primed, inoculated and unprimed seeds tested in the field under RCBD and treatment means were analyzed. All the pre-sowing seed treatments enhanced the final emergence percentage. Carrot root quality (colour, diameter, weight and length), sugars (reducing, non-reducing and total sugars, TSS) ascorbic acid contents, antioxidants enzyme activities, malondialdehyde contents, total phenolic, total antioxidants, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and water use efficiency of plants were positively improved by pre-sowing seed treatments, SA 0.1 mM performed the best followed by GA3 0.05 mM. In the field condition, maximum emergence (33.2%) was achieved with GA3 0.05 mM followed by SA 0.1 mM 30.5%, priming treatments in comparison with control (14.8%), while carrot root yield was enhanced upto (2.82 kg/12.5 ft2 against 0.1 mM SA priming treatment) as compared to unprimed seeds (1.72 kg/12.5 ft2). It was revealed that carrot seed priming with SA 0.1 mM solution and/ or GA3 0.05 mM solution could be a good strategy for enhancing emergence with healthy seedlings and establishment as well as further growth and production of early carrot crop at high temperature.