Rukn-e-Alam
Encyclopedia
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...
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The Shaikh was the son of Pir Sadar-Al-Din Arif born at Multan on Friday, the 9th of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
649 Hijri
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
(26 November 1251). He was the grandson and successor of Shaikh Baha-Ud-Din Zakariya
Baha-ud-din Zakariya
Baha-ud-din Zakariya was a Sufi of Suhrawardiyya order . His full name was Al-Sheikh Al-Kabir Sheikh-ul-Islam Baha-ud-Din Abu Muhammad Zakaria Al-Qureshi Al-Asadi Al Hashmi....
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Shaikh Rukn-e-Alam (Rukn-al-Din) died on Friday, the 7th of Jumada al-awwal
Jumada al-awwal
Jumada al-awwal is the fifth month in the Islamic calendar.We can also find the alternative spelling Jumada al-Ula.The origin of the word is as follows: the word Jumda, from which the name of the month is derived, is used to denote dry parched land: land devoid of rain, and hence denote the dry...
735 Hijri (3 January 1335). He was buried in the mausoleum of his grandfather, according to his own will. After sometime, however, his coffin was transferred to the present mausoleum. Upon his death the Sheikh conferred his spiritual succession to Sheikh Hamid ud Din al Hakim, buried at Mau Mubarak in Rahim Yar Khan, who was his Khalifa e Awal and was married to his aunt, the daughter of Sheikh Baha ud Din Zikriya.
The saint is still revered today and his tomb is the focus of the pilgrimage of over 100,000 pilgrims from all over South Asia who visit and commemorate his memory. Makhdoom
Makhdoom
Makhdoom , is a meaning of in Urdu Muslim Sufi title in South Asia and Central Asia.This title is now used by the descendents of the Sufi masters who are mostly Pirs, politicians and landlords in southern Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan....
Shahabuddin who is the Sajjada Nashin
Sajjada nashin
The Sajjada Nashin is the descendant of a Sufi Pir or descendant of a disciple of a Pir, who tends to the shrine which is erected over the Pir's tomb or grave, known as a Dargah or Mazar....
of Sheikh Hamid ud Din al Hakim is the current Sajjada Nashin
Sajjada nashin
The Sajjada Nashin is the descendant of a Sufi Pir or descendant of a disciple of a Pir, who tends to the shrine which is erected over the Pir's tomb or grave, known as a Dargah or Mazar....
and custodian of the Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam.
Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam
From whichever side the city is approached, the most prominent thing that can be seen from miles all around is a huge dome. This dome is the Shrine of the saint. The tomb is located on the southwest side of the Fort premises. This elegant building is an octagon, 51 feet 9 inches in diameter internally, with walls 41 feet 4 inches high and 13 feet 3 inches thick, supported at the angles by sloping towers. Over this is a smaller octagon 25 feet 8 inches, on the exterior side, and 26 feet 10 inches high, leaving a narrow passage all round the top of the lower storey for the Moazzan, or public caller to prayers. The whole is surmounted by a hemispherical dome of 58 feet external diameter. The total height of the building, including a plinth of 3 feet, is 100 feet. As it stands on the high ground, the total height above the road level is 150 feet.
Besides its religious importance, the mausoleum is also of considerable archaeological value as its dome is reputed to be the second largest in the world. The mausoleum is built entirely of red brick, bounded with beams of shisham wood, which have now turned black after so many centuries. The whole of the exterior is elaborately ornamented with glazed tile panels, string-courses and battlements. Colors used are dark blue, azure, and white, contrasted with the deep red of the finely polished bricks.
The tomb was said to have been built by Ghias-ud-Din Tughlak (r. 1320-1325) for himself during the days of his governorship of Depalpur, between 1320 and 1324 AD, but was given by his son, Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...
to the descendents of Shah Rukn-e-Alam for the latter’s burial in 1330.
The mausoleum of Rukn-e-Alam has been admired by not only the travelers and chroniclers but also by the art-historians and archaeologist who wrote the architectural history of the subcontinent.
In the 1970s the mausoleum was thoroughly repaired and renovated by the Auqaf Department of the Punjab Government. The entire glittering glazed interior is the result of new tiles and brickwork done by the Kashigars of Multan.
See also
- Baha-ud-din ZakariyaBaha-ud-din ZakariyaBaha-ud-din Zakariya was a Sufi of Suhrawardiyya order . His full name was Al-Sheikh Al-Kabir Sheikh-ul-Islam Baha-ud-Din Abu Muhammad Zakaria Al-Qureshi Al-Asadi Al Hashmi....
- List of mausolea
- Mausoleums of MultanMausoleums of MultanThere are various Mausoleums of Multan due to Multan's rich heritage of pirs and saints, the city also has many mausoleums and shrines. Here are some of the best-known mausoleums that can still be visited today.-Mausoleum of Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakaria:...
- Qari Muhammad Muslehuddin Siddiqui