Heer Ranjha was written by Waris Shah. Some historians say that the story was the original work of Shah, written after he had fallen in love with a girl named Bhag Bhari. Others say that Heer and Ranjha were real personalities who lived under the Lodi dynasty and that Waris Shah later utilised these personalities for his story. Shah states that the story has a deeper meaning, referring to the unrelenting quest that man has towards God.

Rag Heer Ranjha. The invocation at the beginning, in one version:

Awal-akhir naam Allah da lena, duja dos Muhammad Miran

Tija naun maat pita da lena, unha da chunga dudh sariran

Chautha naun unn paani da lena, jis khaave man banhe dhiran

Panjman naun Dharti Maata da lena, jis par kadam takiman

Chhewan naun Khwaja Pir da lena, jhul pilave thande niran

Satwan naun Guru Gorakhnath de lena, pataal puje bhojan

Athwan naun lalaanwale da lena, bande bande de tabaq zanjiran

First take the name of Allah and second the Great Muhammad, the prophet

Third, take the name of father and mother, on whose milk my body thrived

Fourth, take the name of bread and water, by eating which my heart is gladdened

Fifth, take the name of Mother Earth, on whom I place my feet.

Sixth, take the name of Khwaja (Khizr, the Saint), who gives me cold water to drink

Seventh, take the name of Guru Gorakh Nath who is worshipped with a platter of milk and rice

Eighth, take the name of Lalanwala who breaks the bonds and the chains of captives

(The Legends of the Panjab by RC Temple, Rupa and Company, Volume two, page 606)

Heer is an extremely beautiful woman, born into a wealthy family of the Sial Tribe in Jhang which is now Punjab, Pakistan and her caste is Kharal or Kharral Jatt. ,. Ranjha (whose first name is Dheedo; Ranjha is the surname,his caste is Ranjha), a Jat of the Ranjha tribe, is the youngest of four brothers and lives in the village of Takht Hazara, Pakistan by the river Chenab. Being his father's favorite son, unlike his brothers who had to toil in the lands, he led a life of ease, playing the flute ('Wanjhli'/'Bansuri'). After a quarrel with his brothers over land, Ranjha leaves home. In Waris Shah's version of the epic, it is said that Ranjha left his home because his brothers' wives refused to give him food. Eventually he arrives in Heer's village and falls in love with her. Heer's father offers Ranjha a job herding his cattle. Heer becomes mesmerised by the way Ranjha plays his flute and eventually falls in love with him. They meet each other secretly for many years until they are caught by Heer's jealous uncle, Kaido, and her parents Chuchak and Malki. Heer is forced by her family and the local priest or 'Maulvi' to marry another man named Saida Khera.

Ranjha is heartbroken. He wanders the countryside alone, until eventually he meets a Shaiva Jogi (ascetic). After meeting Gorakhnath, the founder of the "Kanphata" (pierced ear) sect of jogis at Tilla Jogian (the 'Hill of Ascetics', located 50 miles north of the historic town of Bhera, Sargodha District, Punjab), Ranjha becomes a jogi himself, piercing his ears and renouncing the material world. While reciting the name of the Lord, he wanders all over Punjab, eventually finding the village where Heer now lives.

The two return to Heer's village, where Heer's parents agree to their marriage - though some versions of the story state that the parent's agreement is only a deception. On the wedding day, Kaido poisons her food so that the wedding will not take place, in order to punish the girl for her behaviour. Hearing this news, Ranjha rushes to aid Heer, but is too late, as she has already eaten the poison and has died. Brokenhearted once again, Ranjha eats the remaining poisoned Laddu (sweet) which Heer has eaten and dies by her side.

Heer and Ranjha are buried in Heer's hometown, Jhang. Love-smitten couples and others often pay visits to their mausoleum.

Because its plot involves a romance opposed by family members and ends with the two lovers dying, the story is often compared to the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet.^[6][7]

The epic poem has been made into several feature films between 1928 and 2013.^[8][9]

In 2013, the television serial Heer Ranjha, directed by Shahid Zahoor and produced by Yousuf Salahuddin, aired on PTV Home.^{[citation needed]}

The British musician Panjabi MC references the tale of Heer and Ranjha in his 2003 song Jogi.^[10] It has been sung by various Pakistani singers, including the classical/traditional artist Ghulam Ali.

The tale is even mentioned in popular Bollywood songs such as "Ranjha" by Rupesh Kumar Ram from the movie Queen and "Ranjha Ranjha" by Rekha Bhardwaj and Javed Ali from the movie Raavan.

The names of Heer and Ranjha have been referred in the song lyrics of "One Love: The Taj Anthem" by A.R.Rahman.

The (late) Alam Lohar is renowned for reciting Heer in various styles and one of the first international folk singers to bring this story in a song format.

• Muna Madan
• Damodar Das Arora
• Sassi Punnun
• Alam Lohar