Sayed Usman Marwandi (Lal Shahbaz Qalandar) | |
---|---|
Title | Qalandar |
Personal | |
Born | Sayed Usman Marwandi 1177 [1] |
Died | 19 February 1274 96–97) [1] | (aged
Religion | Islam |
Parent | Sayyid Ibrahim Kabiruddin al-Jawabi (father) [3] |
Other names | Lal Shahbaz Qalandar |
Muslim leader | |
Based in | Sehwan |
Period in office | 12th/13th century |
Usman Marwandi, (1177 - 19 February 1274) popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Sindhi : لال شهباز قلندر), was a Sufi saint and poet who is revered in South Asia. [1]
Born in Marwand, Sistan, [4] [5] Lal Shahbaz Qalandar eventually settled in Sindh and is revered by the local Sindhi population. [6]
He is called Lal ("ruby-coloured") because he used to wear red color attire, red was his favorite color; [7] "Shahbaz" to denote a noble and divine spirit and "Qalandar" as he was a wandering spiritual man. [1]
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is sometimes called Jhulelal (Sindhi: جھولےلال). [8] [1] The term Jhulelal means "red bridegroom". There are various legends why he was called thus. According to the Garland Encyclopedia, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was referred to as Jhulelal (red bridegroom) because he was promised marriage to a daughter of his friend, but the friend died and later his friend's son refused to allow the agreed upon marriage, which caused Lal Shahbaz Qalandar to grief. [9] [10]
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, son of Sayyid Ibrahim Kabiruddin al-Jawabi, [11] [3] was born in Marwand to a Sayyid family from Baghdad, Iraq. He later settled in Sehwan, Sindh under the reign of the Ghaznavid and Ghurids (today's Punjab, Pakistan). [12]
A contemporary of Rumi, he travelled around the Muslim world and settled in Sehwan, Sindh where he was eventually buried. [13] There is evidence of his presence in Sindh in 1196 when he met Pir Haji Ismail Panhwar of Paat and he is believed to have arrived in Sehwan around 1251. There he established a meeting house ( khanqah ), taught in the Fuqhai Islam Madarrsah and wrote his treatises Mizan-us-Surf, Kism-e-Doyum, Aqd and Zubdah. Lal Shahbaz lived a celibate life. [1]
In Multan, he met Baha-ud-din Zakariya of the Suhrawardiyya order, Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar of the Chishtiyya and Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari. The friendship of these four became legendary. They were known as the Chahar Yar (In Persian "the four friends"). [3] According to some historians, the four friends visited various parts of Sindh and Punjab (in present-day Pakistan). [3]
This was also the time period when Ghiyas ud din Balban (reigned: 1266 – 1287) ruled India. [3]
It is said Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was a tough ascetic. When he arrived in Sehwan (then Savistan), there was a shaivites cult of ascetics. He joined the ascetics, was engaged in tapasiya and acts of self-mortification like sitting on a cauldron of fire. [10]
The 19th century spiritual Sufi Manqabat Dama Dam Mast Qalandar is dedicated to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and is widely popular in the sub-continent.
The shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1356, [14] expanded by Mirza Jani Beg [15] and his son Mirza Ghazi Beg of the Tarkhan dynasty, but was not completed until 1639, when Nawab Dindar Khan paved the courtyard with glazed tiles. [16] The silver work on the gate, the balustrade around the tomb and the top of the dome was gifted by Mir Karam Ali Talpur of the Talpur dynasty. [16] Later on the shrine was decorated with Sindhi 'kashi-tiles', mirror-work and a gold-plated door was installed by the late Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. [17] The inner sanctum is about 100 square yards with a silver-canopied grave in the middle, according to Nadeem Wagan, Cutharo silver donated by Sardar Mahboob Ali Khan Wagan (Chief Sardar of Wagan Tribe) on one side of the marble floor is a row of about 12-inch-high (300 mm) folding wooden stands, on which there is a set of copies of the Quran for devotees to read. On the other side, beside a bundle of incense, are rows of oil-lamps lighted by devotees. Thousands of devotees visit the tomb particularly every Thursday. [18] [19] The shrine is considered being the chief shrine for malangs and qalandars - adherents of a distinct Sufi order inspired by the teachings of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
Lal Shahbaz's annual Urs (death anniversary), held on the 18 Sha'aban – the eighth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, brings more than two million pilgrims from all over Pakistan and parts of India, Bangladesh. Essentially, it is a south Asian affair. [20]
On 16 February 2017, a group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the shrine, which resulted in the deaths of 88 people. [19] The following morning, the shrine's caretaker continued the daily tradition of ringing the shrine's bell at 3:30 A.M. and defiantly vowed that he would not be intimidated by the terrorists. Pakistani government and security forces have also launched a nationwide security crackdown and have recently killed 37 terrorists. [21] The shrine's dhamaal, or meditative dancing ceremony, was resumed the very next evening following the attack. [18]
Dhamaal is a mystical dance of Sindh which is mainly performed by faqirs, dervishs, sufi saints and devotees. The Dhammal of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is quite famous. The main performers would wear all red color Jama and Sindhi Patko (turban), the red is the color of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, which was the favorite color of him, he wore the attire of red color as well, hence the name "Lal" has been given to him which means "Red". [22] Dhammal is characterized by religious fervor. Nagaro, Nobat, Gharyal, Ghugoo instruments etc provide the beat and tempo for the dance.
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Dama Dam Mast Qalandar is a spiritual Sufi qawwali written in the honour of the most revered Sufi saint of Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) of Sehwan Sharif. The origins of the poem is unknown, since no recordings or written documents exist mentioning it prior to the 1950s. However, legends around the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan suggest that the original poem was initially written by the 13th-century Sufi poet Amir Khusrow, then further modified by Bulleh Shah in the 18th century. The poem includes a reference to the town of Sehwan, and the word "Lal" can refer to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar as a young man, his legendary ruby glow, or his red dress. Bulleh Shah gave an entirely different color to the qawwali, adding verses in praises of Shahbaz Qalandar and giving it a large tint of Sindhi culture. It also venerates Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad.
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On 16 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place inside the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Sindh, Pakistan, where pilgrims were performing a Sufi ritual after the evening prayers. At least 90 people were killed and over 300 injured.
The Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is a shrine and mausoleum dedicated to the 13th century Muslim and Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The shrine is located in Sehwan Sharif, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The shrine is one of the most important in Pakistan, and attracts up to one million visitors annually.
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