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Dargah Hazrat Baba Farid Ganjshakar at Pakpattan |
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Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Masood Ganjshakar was born in 1188 AD (584 Hijri) at Kothewal village of Multan district. Hazrat Jalaluddin Suleman was his father and Maryam Ji was his mother. He was a disciple of Khawja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki (Dehliwala). Baba Farid is recognised as the first acclaimed poet of Punjabi language. His verses have been collected in Guru Granth Sahib under the chapter Farid’s Sayings by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Jagat Gur Nanak Dev Ji, while on his way to Sindh, had made a brief stop at Pakpattan to visit the shrine of Baba Farid. The place where he had set his foot is called Tibba Nanak Sar.
Baba Farid departed from this world on Tuesday, 7th May 1280 AD (679 T-lijri) and since then his mazar (tomb) is the pride of Pakpattan. Khwwj,a Nizamuddin Aulia constructed his tomb. Mazar has two doors, namely Noori darwaza and Bahishti darwaza. Bahishti darwaza opens once a year and during the fair thousands of people pass through it. It (door) is made of silver and floral designs are laid in gold sheet. Thousands of devotees come to visit the shrine daily from within the country and from abroad.
His death anniversary is celebrated every year on the 5th of Muharram.
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Text and photographs:Historical Sikh Shrines in Pakistan : Iqbal Qaiser |