Bibi Pak Daman

Shrine of Bibi Pak Daman, front view

Bibi Pāk Dāman (Urdu: بی بی پاکدامن) is the mausoleum of Ruqayyah bint Ali located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.[1] Legend has it that it holds the graves of six ladies from Muhammad's household (Ahl Al-Bayt). Ruqayah bint Ali ibn Abu Talib was the daughter of Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abu Talib with his wife Umm al banin bint Huzaam. Ruqayah bint Ali was the full sister of Hadrat Abbas ibn Ali and also the wife of Muslim ibn Aqeel[2] (emissary of third Shi'a Imam Husayn ibn Ali to Kufah). Others are said to be Muslim ibn Aqil's sister and daughters. It is said that these ladies came here after the event of the battle of Karbala on the 10th day of the month of Muharram in 61 AH (October 10, AD 680). Bibi Pak Daman, which means the "chaste lady", is the collective name of the six ladies believed to interred at this mausoleum, though it is also (mistakenly) popularly used to refer to the personage of Ruqayyah bint Ali alone.[3] They were among the women who brought Islam to South Asia, preaching and engaging in missionary activity in the environs of Lahore. It is said that Data Ganj Bakhsh, considered a great Sufi saint of the South Asia, was himself a devotee of the Bibi Pak Daman shrine[3] and received holy knowledge from this auspicious shrine.

Some scholars consider Ruqayah to have been the daughter of Sayid Ahmed Tokhta (12th century). Bibi Paak Daaman is located between Garhi Shahu and Railway Station area. The easiest way to go to Bibi Paak Daaman is from the Empress Road and from there, take the small road opposite Police Lines and then the first left-turn. Recently Government of Pakistan is considering approval of the expansion of the Bibi Pak Daman's shrine.

Names in history

Seven ladies and four men are traceable from history,[4] as it is found that she introduced herself stating that “ I am widow of Martyr Muslim, daughter of Ali and sister of commander-in-chief in Hussain Army (Abbas) and other five ladies were my sisters in law, whereas the sixth one was our maid “Halima” but she was equal to us in status. She introduced further telling the names of men that they were our guards and belonged to our tribes namely (i) Abb-ul-Fatah (ii) Abb-ul-Fazal (iii) Abb-ul-Mukaram, and (iv) Abdullah.

The name of first Mujawir (one who looks after the grave and cares for visitors) was Baba Khaki. Besides two names “ Ruqaya and Halima” Dr. Masood Raza Khaki, the then Deputy Director General in the Education Department (1977), Government of Punjab, traces the five names from historical records as:

(1)Umm-e-Hani (2)Umm-e-Luqman (3) Asma (4)Ramla (5)Zainab

Historically, the first proper Khanqah was constructed by Malik Ayaz in the period of 11th Century and reconstructed in the regime of Akbar the great.

Urs

The shrine is visited by both Shias and Sunnis. In the Islamic month of Jumada al-Thani three days urs of Bibi Pak Daman from 7 to 9 is celebrated. The urs proceedings are mostly a Sunni affair while Shias visit the shrine most commonly during Muharram and Safar. Many Shias also visit during the urs. The street and shrine area remain filled with devotees all the day from all over Pakistan. On the eve of Urs, the shrine is even more crowded. People from across the subcontinent, mainly from Provinces of Punjab and Sindh, come to the shrine to pay their homage and make a wish which they believe more likely would come true. A narrow lane that leads to the shrine has shops on both sides containing Muharram-related items. Imam Ali, Imam Hassan, Imam Hussain and literature on the history of Karbala, Khak-e-Shifa (soil of Karbla) and CDs of Nohas (elegies) are available at the shops.[5][6] A reverence event of urs includes a ritual in which women devotees bring water for ablution of the graves at the shrine of Bibi.[7] The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab Limited (TDCP), Government of Punjab has placed this shrine in the list of some popular shrines for the tourists [8]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ Syad Muhammad Latif, Lahore: its history, architectural remains and antiquities: with an account of its modern institutions, inhabitants, their trade customs, Syed Muhammad Minhaj-ud-Din, 1957, ... Beyond the Government House, at a distance of three hundred yards from the main road, is the tomb of Bibi Pak Daman, or the chaste lady, the most venerated old monument in Lahore and its vicinity. The name of this lady was Rukia ...
  2. ↑ Zaidi, Noor (July 24, 2014). "A Blessing on Our People": Bibi Pak Daman, Sacred Geography, and the Construction of the Nationalized Sacred". Publication History, University of Pennsylvania. doi:10.1111/muwo.12057.
  3. 1 2 Shemeem Burney Abbas, The female voice in Sufi ritual: devotional practices of Pakistan and India, University of Texas Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-292-70515-9, ... Among the women who brought Islam to the subcontinent are the Bibi Pak Daman, or the Pur Women ... Upon arrival in Lahore, they engaged in missionary activity ... Data Ganj Bakhsh Hujwiri ... was a devotee of the shrines of the Bibi Pak Daman ...
  4. ↑ Ali Hussain Rizvi (2006). History of Shiyan-e-Ali (PDF) (in Urdu) (2nd ed.). Karachi(Pakistan): Imamia Academy. pp. 734–737.
  5. ↑ Salahudin Safdar (January 15, 2008). "‘Ladies of Purity’ remembered". Pakistan Today, Lahore. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  6. ↑ Ali Usman (April 30, 2012). "Bibi Pak Daman — A place of solace for everyone". Daily Times, Lahore. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bibi Pak Daman". The National (Pakistan). March 28, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Some other popular shrines are". Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab Limited. 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2015.

External links

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