Shah Gardez
Encyclopedia
Within the city of Multan
Pakistan
there is a beautiful shrine of Hazrat Muhammad Shah Yusaf Gardezi commonly known as Shah Yousaf Gardez just inside the Bohar Gate. It is a rectangular dome-less building decorated with glazed tiles, a work of considerable beauty. He came to Multan
in 1088 AD and revitalized the then-dead city. Shah Yousaf Gardez converted many people to Islam and performed numerous miracles which can be found in history books. The famous historian Arnold J. Toynbee
in his book "Between Oxus and Jumna" writes,
“………the tomb under whose shadow I am now writing ….. is the tomb of Shah Yousaf Gardezi. I am being entertained in the Gardezi family’s ‘Dewan-Khanah’, their family guest house, and the tomb, with the tombs of the saints descendants clustering round it, is only a stone’s-throw away. Being named Joseph, I (like Stalin) am this saint’s namesake, but I cannot claim also to be a ‘Shah’; for, in Pakistan
, ‘Shah’ signifies a Sayid: that is to say, a descendant of the Prophet
Muhammad
(Salalla ho Alihey Wa Aaley hi Wassallam).
The legend declares that, nine hundred years ago, Shah Yousaf Gardezi came riding into Multan
on a lion, with a live snake for a whip and a pair of pigeons fluttering over his head. He had ridden his lion all the way from Gardez in Afghanistan
, and he had bought with him the teaching of the Twelve-Imam branch of Islam
(the form of Shi'ism that today is the national religion of Persia). In the course of Nine Hundred years both the saint's descendants and the pigeon's descendants have multiplied exceedingly. This whole quarter of the city (Multan
) is now occupied by the houses of the Gardezis and the Gardezis' cousins' cousins. As for the Pigeons, they live on the Gardezis' roofs and cluster, in force, on the Gardezis' Saintly ancestor's tomb. The tomb is cased in blue tiles, dating from the reign of Mughal Emperor Humayun, and at intervals there are apertures in the tile works, opening into cavities specially provided to give the pigeons a lodging as close as possible to the spot where the saints’ body lies. It is a pretty sight to see them poking in and out, for all the world as if the tomb has been built solely for their benefits.
The pigeons flutter here below. The kites soar there, up aloft, at what looks almost like jet-plane altitude when one lifts up ones eye towards the sky. Since this is the Indian Subcontinent, the kites do not make pigeons their prey. They take their cue from the local human beings and leave the pigeons alone.
Nine hundred years of unbroken family history. What a sheet-anchor for the fortunate Gardezis in this swiftly changing world."
, Pakistan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
there is a beautiful shrine of Hazrat Muhammad Shah Yusaf Gardezi commonly known as Shah Yousaf Gardez just inside the Bohar Gate. It is a rectangular dome-less building decorated with glazed tiles, a work of considerable beauty. He came to Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
in 1088 AD and revitalized the then-dead city. Shah Yousaf Gardez converted many people to Islam and performed numerous miracles which can be found in history books. The famous historian Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, 1934–1961, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline, which examined history from a global...
in his book "Between Oxus and Jumna" writes,
“………the tomb under whose shadow I am now writing ….. is the tomb of Shah Yousaf Gardezi. I am being entertained in the Gardezi family’s ‘Dewan-Khanah’, their family guest house, and the tomb, with the tombs of the saints descendants clustering round it, is only a stone’s-throw away. Being named Joseph, I (like Stalin) am this saint’s namesake, but I cannot claim also to be a ‘Shah’; for, in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, ‘Shah’ signifies a Sayid: that is to say, a descendant of the Prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
(Salalla ho Alihey Wa Aaley hi Wassallam).
The legend declares that, nine hundred years ago, Shah Yousaf Gardezi came riding into Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
on a lion, with a live snake for a whip and a pair of pigeons fluttering over his head. He had ridden his lion all the way from Gardez in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and he had bought with him the teaching of the Twelve-Imam branch of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(the form of Shi'ism that today is the national religion of Persia). In the course of Nine Hundred years both the saint's descendants and the pigeon's descendants have multiplied exceedingly. This whole quarter of the city (Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
) is now occupied by the houses of the Gardezis and the Gardezis' cousins' cousins. As for the Pigeons, they live on the Gardezis' roofs and cluster, in force, on the Gardezis' Saintly ancestor's tomb. The tomb is cased in blue tiles, dating from the reign of Mughal Emperor Humayun, and at intervals there are apertures in the tile works, opening into cavities specially provided to give the pigeons a lodging as close as possible to the spot where the saints’ body lies. It is a pretty sight to see them poking in and out, for all the world as if the tomb has been built solely for their benefits.
The pigeons flutter here below. The kites soar there, up aloft, at what looks almost like jet-plane altitude when one lifts up ones eye towards the sky. Since this is the Indian Subcontinent, the kites do not make pigeons their prey. They take their cue from the local human beings and leave the pigeons alone.
Nine hundred years of unbroken family history. What a sheet-anchor for the fortunate Gardezis in this swiftly changing world."
Mausoleum of Shah Yousuf Gardez
Mausoleum of Shah Yousuf Gardezi is located in inside Bohar Gate in the city of saints MultanMultan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...