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Just before you get to the major town of Mirpur in Azad [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/Kashmir"]Kashmir[/URL]—going from Islamabad, past the local town of Dina which lies only 8 km from the famous fort of Rohtas built by Sher
Shah Suri—you come to a scenic place amidst the winding road high up in the mountains. Known as KhaRi Sharif, which is one of the most famous Sufi shrines in the Subcontinent, it houses the sacred bodies of two Muslim saints—awliya: Hazrat Mian Muhammad Bakhsh and his Pir or Sufi preceptor (aka Shaykh or Murshid) Hazrat Baba Pir e Shah Ghazi ‘Bu Ali Qalandar more commonly known in the Punjab as DamRi Walay Sarkar as well as a few other shrines of related saints.
Not much is known about the lives of either saint although from their works it is clear that both were Sunni Muslims who were Hanafis and both belonged to the Qadiri Order of Sufism (the most widespread in the world) founded by Piran-e-Pir Hazrat Sayyid Abd al Qadir al Jilani al Baghdadi (may Allah sanctify his secret and perfume his resting place!). Both are highly revered by all and sundry as Intimates of Allah-the awliya. One of the miracles attributed to Hazrat Pir e Shah Ghazi is that unless a quarter of a lac of small coins (damRi) are donated at his shrine each day he will not let the sun set! Hence the name. Such a feat—though miraculous—is not beyond the powers of Allah’s Saints whom He favours with whatever He wills. The praise of the courtier is really the praise of the King! It is also a principle amongst the scholars of Islam that any miracle performed by the Prophet of a nation is possible, in theory, for the awliya in his Ummah. Thus the saints amongst the Ummah of Prophet Jesus-upon whom be peace!—could raise the dead. The saints amongst the Ummah of Prophet Solomon could fly in the air, etc. Since our Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) is the Master of the Prophets [Sayyid al Anbiya’] and the greatest of them all—and since his miracles encompassed all the miracles of the other prophets—it follows that the awliya of his Ummah can do, in theory, all of these things which he did—upon him be the blessings of Allah and peace. And it is well-recorded in an authentic and famous hadith that Allah’s Messenger brought back the sun so that Hazrat Ali could read his namaz on time after it had set! (See Qadi ‘Iyad’s ash-Shifa for the reference). Anyway this digression was just to show that Islamically speaking such an astounding karamat is possible for a saint. Whatever your opinion of this, the fact is that the locals all believe it. Day and night you will find the shrines thronged by a multitude of people—old and young, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, male and female. Yet, despite the crowds of people there is a sense of deep calm and serenity which permeates the whole shrine complex.
Near the shrine vendours of all sorts ply their [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/trade"]trade[/URL] and do roaring business. It is a part of the blessings of the pirs lying at rest inside! Anyway to return to the main focus of this little article, though Baba Pir e Shah Ghazi is famous, even more well-known is the name of his disciple—Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. His fame though rests more on a remarkable book of Sufi poetry he wrote—though he too is venerated as a Sufi saint and Islamic scholar. Indeed although he has many other books—mainly in Persian and Arabic about the technical aspects of Sufism, Islamic law, etc. as well as poetry, his magnum opus has become the Saiful Maluk—the Sword of Kings—which tells a love story involving fairies etc. as an allegory for the Sufi’s journey to God. The book is one of the classics of Punjabi literature and similar in theme—though much shorter—to Rumi’s Mathnawi; it is of a similar standard and has earned its author the epithet of Rumi e [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/Kashmir"]Kashmir[/URL]—The Rumi of [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/Kashmir"]Kashmir[/URL]. Indeed it is so famous that even the illiterate peasants often know whole chunks of it by heart and one of the common pastimes in the Punjab in all sorts of society is a gathering where the kalam of Mian Sahib is melodiously recited. Such a gathering is known as a Mehfil e Saiful Maluk. Famous as a majzub (a Sufi lost in the love of Allah) Mian Sahib wrote this work whilst still young in reply to his brothers who complained that he didn’t do anything all day! He lived in the mid 19th century and was revered by all. His book has ensured his name will live for ever and ever amongst the Muslims (and non-Muslims) of the Punjab and the Punjabi diaspora.
Shah Suri—you come to a scenic place amidst the winding road high up in the mountains. Known as KhaRi Sharif, which is one of the most famous Sufi shrines in the Subcontinent, it houses the sacred bodies of two Muslim saints—awliya: Hazrat Mian Muhammad Bakhsh and his Pir or Sufi preceptor (aka Shaykh or Murshid) Hazrat Baba Pir e Shah Ghazi ‘Bu Ali Qalandar more commonly known in the Punjab as DamRi Walay Sarkar as well as a few other shrines of related saints.
Not much is known about the lives of either saint although from their works it is clear that both were Sunni Muslims who were Hanafis and both belonged to the Qadiri Order of Sufism (the most widespread in the world) founded by Piran-e-Pir Hazrat Sayyid Abd al Qadir al Jilani al Baghdadi (may Allah sanctify his secret and perfume his resting place!). Both are highly revered by all and sundry as Intimates of Allah-the awliya. One of the miracles attributed to Hazrat Pir e Shah Ghazi is that unless a quarter of a lac of small coins (damRi) are donated at his shrine each day he will not let the sun set! Hence the name. Such a feat—though miraculous—is not beyond the powers of Allah’s Saints whom He favours with whatever He wills. The praise of the courtier is really the praise of the King! It is also a principle amongst the scholars of Islam that any miracle performed by the Prophet of a nation is possible, in theory, for the awliya in his Ummah. Thus the saints amongst the Ummah of Prophet Jesus-upon whom be peace!—could raise the dead. The saints amongst the Ummah of Prophet Solomon could fly in the air, etc. Since our Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) is the Master of the Prophets [Sayyid al Anbiya’] and the greatest of them all—and since his miracles encompassed all the miracles of the other prophets—it follows that the awliya of his Ummah can do, in theory, all of these things which he did—upon him be the blessings of Allah and peace. And it is well-recorded in an authentic and famous hadith that Allah’s Messenger brought back the sun so that Hazrat Ali could read his namaz on time after it had set! (See Qadi ‘Iyad’s ash-Shifa for the reference). Anyway this digression was just to show that Islamically speaking such an astounding karamat is possible for a saint. Whatever your opinion of this, the fact is that the locals all believe it. Day and night you will find the shrines thronged by a multitude of people—old and young, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, male and female. Yet, despite the crowds of people there is a sense of deep calm and serenity which permeates the whole shrine complex.
Near the shrine vendours of all sorts ply their [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/trade"]trade[/URL] and do roaring business. It is a part of the blessings of the pirs lying at rest inside! Anyway to return to the main focus of this little article, though Baba Pir e Shah Ghazi is famous, even more well-known is the name of his disciple—Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. His fame though rests more on a remarkable book of Sufi poetry he wrote—though he too is venerated as a Sufi saint and Islamic scholar. Indeed although he has many other books—mainly in Persian and Arabic about the technical aspects of Sufism, Islamic law, etc. as well as poetry, his magnum opus has become the Saiful Maluk—the Sword of Kings—which tells a love story involving fairies etc. as an allegory for the Sufi’s journey to God. The book is one of the classics of Punjabi literature and similar in theme—though much shorter—to Rumi’s Mathnawi; it is of a similar standard and has earned its author the epithet of Rumi e [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/Kashmir"]Kashmir[/URL]—The Rumi of [URL="http://www.chowk.com/tag/Kashmir"]Kashmir[/URL]. Indeed it is so famous that even the illiterate peasants often know whole chunks of it by heart and one of the common pastimes in the Punjab in all sorts of society is a gathering where the kalam of Mian Sahib is melodiously recited. Such a gathering is known as a Mehfil e Saiful Maluk. Famous as a majzub (a Sufi lost in the love of Allah) Mian Sahib wrote this work whilst still young in reply to his brothers who complained that he didn’t do anything all day! He lived in the mid 19th century and was revered by all. His book has ensured his name will live for ever and ever amongst the Muslims (and non-Muslims) of the Punjab and the Punjabi diaspora.
