A man is entranced at the mausoleum of Madhu Lal Hussain in Lahore. His hair, like the branches of the trees that hover above him, sway in the breeze in rememberance of God. - Arif Ali/ White Star
Which is your favourite Sufi shrine in Pakistan? What sight from your last visit to a mazaar has stayed with you? Share your pictures from mausoleums across Pakistan with Dawn.com at photos@dawn.com.
The following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
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Adeel
Jan 19, 2010 10:10am
Data darbar in Lahore, as well I also like Hazrat Sutan Bahu and Baba Farid also. I am also a fan Baba Bulleh Shah. I would love to go to Sehwan Sharif too. I feel more spiritual connections at these shrines than anywhere else.
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Waqas
Jan 19, 2010 09:02am
My last visit to a shrine was to Abdullah Shah Ghazi's mazaar on top of a hillock near Karachi Sea view. It was my first time at Ghazi's shrine as I am not a native of Karachi and was only on a short trip there. I distinctly remember the long and steep stairway and the information displayed about Ghazi inside the shrine. Before leaving the place, I saw a man enter and prostrate in front of what was Ghazi's grave. I found that quite disturbing but given the superstitious climate of Pakistan, I think this must be quite common place.
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Israr Khan
Jan 19, 2010 08:09am
Hazrat Pir Mehr Ali Shah of Golra Sharif, Data Ali Hajvari and Eid Gah Sharif in Rawalpindi. I have grown up going to these mazars and feel a very strong spiritual conection towards them.
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muhammad irfan
Jan 19, 2010 07:17am
Well all sufies are respectable for me but I am more follower of Haz Data Gtng Buksh and Baba Fred. I like the picture posted above looks very artistic and present with lot of feelings.
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Mina Ihsan
Jan 19, 2010 06:10am
Favourite shrine- Abdullah Shah Ghazi in karachi, I love the stairs leading to the actual mazar.
A sight which has remained with me are "dias" (lamps) burning in the evening light on Baba Farid's Mazar in Pak Pattan.
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M. Asghar
Jan 19, 2010 12:13pm
Different shrines, one should visit, but this prostrating in sheer devotion and asking for wishes, though understandable, is simply the terrible weight of ignorance and the commerce of the shrine exploits it to the maximum.
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S. A. M.
Jan 19, 2010 01:13pm
I was born and brought up in Karachi. I have seen Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Clifton Noori Shah Baba near Clayton Road. Data Darbar in Lahore. Shah Abdul Azeem in Tehran. I have been to many other places.
It is difficult for a person to understand the thinking behind going to mazars. It may look like worshipping the graves but it certainly is not. It is a lot more than that. When we go to these places we feel closed to spirituality. It is my own belief and may be of many others that the place where pious people are buried also becomes respectful. But sometimes people exceed in their devotion and perform acts which are contrary to the belief of Islam. Whenever I go to Karachi I make it a point that I visit Abdullah Shah Ghazi's mazar and offer niaz.
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TM
Jan 19, 2010 02:54pm
Mangoo Pir shrine in outskirts of Karachi and the two Qalander shrines are very captivating. Sehwan Sharif and Masree Shah baba in Clifton is also very soothing spiritually.
Some of the other shrine places have become commercialized so I don
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Ahsan
Jan 19, 2010 04:30pm
Well the most interesting topic ever touched by dawn blog. What I think is all Shrines are equal for me, because I get mental peace over there. So my best shrine is all shrines of Sufies around the world.
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Nusrat Pasha
Jan 19, 2010 04:34pm
Admiration for Sufis, if genuine, should prompt following the practical attitudes of these men of God. The true legacy of a Sufi is not his mausoleum. It is his set of values. What did these mystics actually stand for ? They stood for the love of God. They stood for benevolence and kindness and love towards humans. They stood for tolerance and accommodation for adherents of the alien faith. This is the true legacy of the Sufis.
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Asim
Jan 19, 2010 05:08pm
One need to educate oneself that although the shrine practice is all over Muslim world... who actually is benefiting from these shrines and at what degree and cost.
If all comes from Allah and one has a direct link with HIM then why should one rely on a medium who is dead and in a state which he himself does not know of?
I understand that it's a pain point for many (even in USA where I reside) but its just an open thought.
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FAROOQ WARSI
Jan 19, 2010 05:51pm
I am a seaman by profesion for last 30 years, visited almost all the places of worship and shrine of all relegion but feel click only where visitors are organized and diciplined, good experience for once in life.
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Lori Giani
Jan 19, 2010 06:04pm
I really love this photo! It touches my soul because it reflects an energy that is focused on God rather than man. It gives me strength. With love from Cape Town to you all.
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Lori Giani
Jan 19, 2010 06:22pm
I would also love to congratulate "White Star" on a continuous stream of excellent photography. Your pictures have often taken my breath away, with great respect!, keep them flowing.
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Saiyed Hussain Shahbazi
Jan 19, 2010 06:36pm
One of my favourite shrine in Pakistan is of Baba Farid (ra) and I loved the Mungo Pir shrine before it was renovated. The renovation has totally changed the energy. As per as giving sajda to the shrine, well, it
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Khawaja
Jan 20, 2010 07:59am
@Confused
Firstly, they could be prostrating in reverence (just as Angels prostrated in front of Adam) and not in worship, but what's in the heart we don't know.
Shaheed means dying either doing something Allah said or Prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h) said and Shaheed are not dead, they're alive as we all know. So one aspect of considering them alive is ask help from them just as someone would ask for help from his relatives or friends.
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amir
Jan 20, 2010 05:36pm
This has nothing to do with real Islam but is rather a cultural aspect from the Indo Pak region formed from the mixing of Hindu and Islamic teachings.
I have visited these places as a tourist but find those people who pray to these dead people, worship at there graves and ask then to intercede pathetic and born of ignorance of a beautiful religion.
We have a direct line to god, if only we realised that instead of praying to who is gone (no matter what good they did in there lives).
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Anam Mushtaq
Jan 19, 2010 06:59pm
All the Sufi shrines provide the visitor with the glimpse of their world, and their connection with the beloved. The shrines that provide me with a strong spiritual connection are: Sai Kawawali Sarkar .. [ this is a Sufi shrine in Gujrat. Pakistan] .. Hazrat Data Ganj Baksah, and Sawiwan Sharif. These are the only darbars I have visited, but its something about it that just makes you forget all your worries and a sudden peace takes over you.
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Bashar
Jan 19, 2010 07:06pm
The sufis who preached Islam in the sub-continent were pious beings, who professed relentlessly the oneness of Allah. They preached "Tauheed" and instructed their followers that no one other than Allah is worthy of worship or being invoked for help.
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Tahir Rasul
Jan 20, 2010 11:27am
Frequent visitor of Shrine Bari Imam and Baba Kalu Sarkar's darbar at Mansar Shareef, Distt. Attock. Would love to visit Data darbar, Kalaam Shareef, Golra Shareef, Hazrat Sutan Bahu and Baba Farid where ever find an Opportunity. It is absolutely not going there to worship the graves but to go there for peace, pay respect and to be close to spirituality which is the essence of humanity for greater peace & harmony. At the end you are close to Allah and his Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) to move on the right path.
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anis ahmed
Jan 20, 2010 04:51pm
Some sects in Pakistan are also doing sajda to their live maulana, which is extreme. Such is the ignorance of the people. They are under this happy feeling that moulana will relieve us of all our worries if we give him a hefty sum of money. Of course people of faith know there is none other than the one Allah.
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aj rafiq
Jan 19, 2010 10:36pm
ISLAM forbids us from making anyone's grave into a mausoleum. but unfortunately our uneducated people who don
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Abdullah
Jan 20, 2010 05:10pm
Dear people, your Lord is nearer to you than your jugular vein, as Quran says. Look inwards not out wards to find God.
Last year I visited this shrine during Urs. Found nothing for the faithful, but everything for the charlatans of religion.
Salvation lies in following the path/teachings of these saints..........
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Khalid Khan
Jan 19, 2010 11:20pm
I went to school right next to Hazrat Ali Hajveri's mazaar and have followed his teachings through Kashf ul Majoob. But what has stayed with me for almost 10 years now is the sight of muslims, hindus, and sikhs offering friday prayers side by side at Hazrat Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti's mazaar in Ajmer.
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Usman Malik
Jan 20, 2010 03:12am
A good picture on Photo blog :)
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ATIQ-UR-REHMAN
Jan 20, 2010 05:16am
Amazing simply that is. It reveals the true passion and enthusiasm to not to lurk for even a single second lest there may not the breath get disconnected to get connected to the Allah. Extreme sort of ISHQ that is, the True ISHQ, needed, trust me to get out of worries and unnecessary loathes.
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Imran
Jan 20, 2010 08:14pm
Great topic to bring up. It is Islam at it's excellence. Everyone dies but the great ones are remembered generation after generation. We should all strive to go different shrines and pay our respects. Hopefully we can learn the secrets of the Allah to live forever in our union with our beloved prophet(SAW). Love and peace to all! My favorite shrine is my murshid's Khawaja Naseer Ud Din Chisti Sabree Qadri Qalandri Shenshah Abdaal. The first buzurgh who's Urs anniversary in the month of Ramadan. Near Suwa Aasil after Keet pind, Lahore. No one is sent back empty handed.
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Abbas
Jan 21, 2010 04:40am
Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine in Clifton, Karachi. The entire atmosphere is festive.
I respect those who prefer not to visit shrines. And I hope they respect those of us who do.
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A.Bajwa
Jan 22, 2010 03:29am
This would not be accepted widely but our Sufi Saints had a vision of God which is very much close to one projected in the Holy Quran. God as not only the creator but eternally a great moral force, and man the essence of creation despite his perverse struggle against the nobility of creation.
Moreover our ancestors accepted Sufis version and concluded a society contract with them because of the purity and nobility of their message.
I ask any fundamentalist to convert a single pagan to Islam ! The Sufis converted tribe after tribe. Without them there would have been no Islam in India.
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Sherabi Singh Kebabi
Jan 22, 2010 04:57am
Its a very old Masjid called "Guru Ki Masjeed" in Hargobindpur overlooking the beautiful Beas River in Punjab. Build by the Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind. Its absolutely peaceful and serene. You can feel an immense spirituality there. Muslim, Hindu and Sikh brothers come to this place to get peace of mind and tranquility.
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