Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: August 29, 2019 | 
| 中文
Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya's shrine
The best time to visit a Sufi shrine is at dawn or dusk. The mornings are always serene, filling ones’ heart with a spiritual calmness, while the evenings are usually busy and vibrant. Devotees throng to shrines to pay their respects, and the congregation of Qawwals sing devotional poetry in the saint’s honour. Dhamal, a dance of transcendence, reverberates through the atmosphere. Perhaps nowhere is this profound experience more expected than the shrines of Multan, and nowhere in Multan does it manifest more intensely than at the shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya.
Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya Al-Asadi Al Hashmi was born around 1170 at Kot Kehror, a village of Layyah District near Multan, in Punjab. He belonged to the noble Qureshi tribe, who had migrated from Makkah to Multan. He is known for being the most prominent follower of the Suharwardiya order of Sufism in the Indian subcontinent. Suharwardiya was founded by Abu Najib as-Suhrawardi, who emphasised the importance of vocational and recreational groups (such as trade-guilds and youth clubs) in Baghdad during the eleventh and twelfth century. It was because of Bahauddin Zakariya’s influence, that Multan became known as "Baghdad of the East.”
As a saint, he was deeply loved and venerated by the people for his nobility and spiritual guidance. His Urs (death anniversary) is celebrated with the utmost reverence by all of his devotees. Muslim, Sikhs, Christians and Hindu community from far and wide take part in paying their gratitude to this patron saint of Multan.
According to legend, Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya chose his beloved Multan as his final resting place. Some even say that he built his mausoleum during his lifetime, to watch over and bless his land. A verse written by Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya states:
Multan ma ba jannat a'la barabara
Ahista pa ba-nah ke malik sajda mi kunad.
Translation: Our Multan is comparable to Paradise - Tread slowly, the angels are paying obeisance here.
Bahauddin Zakariya’s shrine is said to be one of the most important shrines in southern Punjab. It was built in the 18th century by the Durrani governor of Multan, Nawab Ali Mohammad Khan Khakwani, and serves as a prototype for Multan's distinct architectural style.
The shrine itself is situated north of the walled city of Multan, a soaring quadrangular edifice with a 51ft base. The walls create a large octagon raised above the square foundation. A slightly tapered cylindrical column rounds off each angle, and the structure has a white tomb on top. A vast courtyard surrounds the shrine, covering several hundred square metres. Typical of most Islamic sacred structures, the large structure narrowing into a monolith creates an illusion of vertical movement towards the sky, a testament to the unanimity of the divine.
While the central structure is built using polychromatic, burnt clay bricks, it is most known for the signature blue tiles in and around it. These tiles reflect the Central Asian, Persian and Chinese influences on the area’s architecture. The glazed ceramic tiles are locally known as Kashi, and are still considered a speciality of Multan. The name Kashi suggests a direct link from Kashgar, a city in the Xinjiang province of Western China. Another tradition traces it back to the town of Kashan in Central Iran, which is also notable for its decorative tile work.
However, over a period of centuries, the Kashi work of Multan has developed its own unique, indigenous style. The colours used for the tiles at Bahauddin Zakariya’s shrine are mainly cobalt blue, turquoise, and white, arranged to make intricate geometrical patterns. These include scrolls, pastilles meanders, pentagons, hexagons and isometric tessellation. The floral patterns particularly draw inspiration from local flowers, vines and rosettes.
Today’s Multan is known as the “City of Saints” because besides Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya, other prominent saints such as Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Shamsuddin Sabzwari Multani, and Muhammad Shah Yusaf Gardez and Shams Tabrez are also buried in this city. Be sure to pay it a visit for beautiful and spiritually charged shrines.
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