Sehwan Sharif

سہون شریف Sehwan Sharif, has continuously been inhabited throughout its Two Thousand year old history, its old name has been "Seevistaan". This small town is now made famous by the fact that, a great saint chose this place as his final resting place.... Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (r.a), a Persian speaking patron saint of Sindhi's, was born early in the twelfth century in 1177 in Marand, in ancient Persia, to a noble, Sayed Ibraheem Kabir (Mujab/Jawabi), who was a close friend of the King of Marand, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s real name was Sayed Shah Hussain, and his mother was a high-ranking princess and the daughter of the Sultan of Marand. He showed from his infancy signs of a deep spiritual nature. It is said that even when very young he had developed occult powers. He knew Quran by heart at age seven, and at twenty he initiated the Qalandar order.
It is believed that Lal (literally meaning: RED) Shahbaz Qalandar was so named because of the red robe he wore all his life.
The shrine around Lal Shahbaz Qalandar tomb was built in 1356, it dazzled the eye with its Sindhi kashi tiles, mirror work and OnE gold-plated door. Made by the Government if Iran by the order of the late Shah of Iran, the Gold was given by the Government of Pakistan by the late Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The inner sanctum is about 100 yards square with the silver canopied grave in the middle.
His annual Urs celebrations are held on the 18 -19-20 of Shaban - the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It attracts about a million pilgrims mainly from Sindh and Punjab provinces, who flock into Sehwan, a small town of about 80,000. On each morning of the three-day feast, the narrow lanes of Sehwan are packed to capacity as thousands and thousands of pilgrims, fakirs and worshipers make their way to the shrine to commune with the saint.