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Shams: Dispelling Anecdotes About Uch

This document discusses the faulty historical accounts of Pir Shams, an Ismaili missionary who established a religious mission in Multan and Uch, Pakistan in the late 12th century. It summarizes that: 1) Many accounts place Pir Shams much later than his actual time in the late 12th-early 13th century, when he was a contemporary of Zakiriyya, an influential Sufi saint. 2) Pir Shams was likely born in 1165 and died in 1276, making him a contemporary of Zakiriyya who helped establish Sufism in Multan. 3) Pir Shams' religious mission in Uch and Multan predated the

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172 views38 pages

Shams: Dispelling Anecdotes About Uch

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John Dee

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58 Constructing Islam on the Indus

CHAPTER

Two
Shams

Dispelling anecdotes about Uch

In modern times, Uch is famous for its patron saints, Jalal al-din Surkhposh
and his descendants, who made it a Suhrawardi centre after the order had
literally ceased to exist in Multan due to Tughluqid persecution. Surkhposh
was one of Zakiriyya’s later initiates, who had been commissioned to set up a
Suhrawardi khanqah in Uch.1 The execution of Rukn-e-'Alam’s nephew and
successor Hud on sedition charges by Muhammad Tughluq was probably
accompanied by a purge of suspected sympathisers in Multan. However, Firuz
Shah’s snubbing of Zakiriyya’s tomb and Multan’s Suhrawardi khanqahs during
his visit was not accompanied by any (reported) anti-Suhrawardi activity in
Uch. Therefore, it can be assumed that even after the axis of imperial favour
had shifted entirely towards the Chishti Order in Multan, Uch continued as
a Suhrawardi centre under Surkhposh’s descendants. This process was most
certainly aided by a second religious phenomenon the headquarters of which
were based in Uch. The Isma'ili da'wa or religious mission in Multan had
survived its progenitor, Pir Shams, and had made Uch its headquarters. Pir
Shams was Zakiriyya’s contemporary. The da'wa continued at full strength in
Uch in the post-Zakiriyya period, during the time of Muhammad Tughluq’s
military campaigns in Multan and Sind, and Firuz Shah’s self-assumed
massacres of heretics.

1 See al-Huda 2003, p.117, diagram of Suhrawardi shaykhs.

Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Florida, on 26 Feb 2017 at 23:56:56, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use,
available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107477636.005
Shams 59

The faulty periodisation of Pir Shams

Pir Shams’s biography to date is mostly anecdotal and at times historically
inaccurate. Some scholars of Isma'ilism have misplaced his mission by nearly
one hundred years, and give the date of his death as 1356.2 Farishta gives his
arrival in Kashmir as being in 1496, which would date him three hundred years
after Zakiriyya. An Isma'ili text from the Gujarat, the Satveni-ji Vel, states
that Pir Shams was actually the Isma'ili Imam of his time (also called Shams),
namely Imam Shams al-din (b.1240s), who was the son of the last Imam of
Alamut. The text claims that Imam Shams al-din left the Imamate to his son
Qasim Shah in 1310 and came to India in disguise, and states this to be the
reason behind Pir Shams’s remarkable spiritual powers.3 Similar exaggerations
and misleading dates have also found their way into his connections with the
Suhrawardi Sufi Order.
A chart in a Suhrawardi text from Multan that gives the chronology of
Suhrawardi shaykhs in that city shows Pir Shams as having succeeded Yusuf
Shah Ghirdez,4 which suggests that he lived during Firuz Shah’s reign (1351-
1388). In this it corresponds with the mistakes made by Isma'ili scholars
and others about dating Shams’s life. The chart however does claim a direct
connection between Pir Shams and the Suhrawardi Order in Multani Sufi
hagiography. While some of Shams’s own descendants were known to have
been Suhrawardi Sufis in Uch, there is no real proof to suggest that Pir Shams,
like his cousin Shahbaz Qalandar, was initiated into the Suhrawardi Order.
His real date of birth shows that he was Zakiriyya’s contemporary more than
anything else.
Contrary to Pir Shams being the Isma'ili Imam in disguise and arriving in
India in 1310, nearly a hundred years after Mu'izz al-din Sam’s assassination
in 1206, the real Shams was reportedly born on 29 May 1165,5 and died in
1276. The date of Shams’s birth suggested by Zawahir Moir seems to be
accurate, as it supports his famous tussle with Zakiriyya, which is mentioned
in Isma'ili sources and in Multani oral tradition. Shams had shifted to Multan

2 Hollister 1953, p.335: Ivanow in JBBRAS, XII, 1936, p.60.

3 Ibid.
4 Al-Huda 2003, p.116: Farhat Multani (1980) Awliya-i Multan, Multan: Ayaz
Publications, p.17-91
5 Zawahir Moir/Noorally, ‘Hazrat Pir Shams al-din Sabzwari Multani’ in Abdal al-
Isma' iliyya, p. 83 ff. Also see Daftary 2007, p.385.

permanently in 1201 at the age of thirty-six.6 This was just a few years after
his contemporary Zakiriyya (born 3 June 1171, died 1262) had returned from
Iraq, to start his Suhrawardi khanqah in Multan around 1188.
According to Isma'ili sources, Shams’s father, Pir Salah al-din, was the
chief Isma'ili hujjat or da'i for Balkh (eastern Khurasan) and India (Sind and
Punjab in modern-day Pakistan). Shams inherited the da'wa from his father
in his early thirties, and moved through the region of eastern Khurasan and
the Punjab in the late 1190s, preaching Isma'ili doctrines.7 During his early
travels, Shams is said to have visited Uch a few times first, reportedly restoring
life to a local ruler’s son, before settling in Multan in 1201.8 If the reference
here is to the city of Uch and not its surroundings, this ruler could only be
one of the Ghorid governors of Uch under Mu'izz al-din Sam, as there were
no other rulers based in the city at that time.9
It is important to note here that Shams’s arrival in Uch in the 1190s and
his subsequent fame barely predate Mu'izz al-din Sam’s murder by an Isma'ili
assassin. Resurgent Isma'ili activity in the middle Indus region eventually
benef ited the new Ghorid governor Qabacha, by giving him a kingdom on
Mu'izz al-din Sam’s death. Although there is no evidence to suggest that the
local Isma'ilis were connected to this assassination, their involvement cannot
be ruled out, mainly due to the extreme cruelty of the Ghorids. In 1175
Mu'izz al-din personally massacred Isma'ilis in Multan, before appointing 'Ali
Karmakh as governor in Uch, who followed a similar policy.10 These details
have been explored in the last chapter and seem to suggest with some certainty
an undeclared triangle between Zakiriyya, Shams and Qabacha, one which
must have ultimately left Qabacha very shaky. The feverish level of Isma'ili
missionary work carried out by Shams in the region during this period could

6 Khan 1983, p.204: A.J. Cunara, Nur al-Mubin, a text on Isma'ili history and religious
figures compiled under the third Aga Khan in the early twentieth century.
7 Ibid. According to Zawahir Moir, Shams’s f irst arrival in Multan was in 1175-80 at a
very young age, coinciding with the Isma'ili da'i Satgur Nur’s mission in the Gujarat.
This is notable as Shams’s initial arrival actually precedes Zakiriyya’s return to Multan
in 1188, suggesting on-going Isma'ili activity in the city.
8 Ibid. This sequence of events as reported by Khan complements Zawahir Moir’s
reportage for Shams’s arrival in the region of Uch, if not in Multan itself.
9 Local tradition mentions Shams resorting life to a Turko-Mongol king’s son. Hence,
it is likely that the incident involved a Ghorid (Turkic) governor, rather than a Hindu
chief or monarch.
10 See Chapter 1, ‘The Suhrawardi Order in Multan.’

not have taken place without some kind of official tolerance or discretion.
This tolerance however may not have been voluntary, and could have been a
necessity borne out of mutual interdependence, most likely between Qabacha
and Zakiriyya. As will be seen later, their association obviously went sour at
some point, but only after Shams had completed the groundwork for his da'wa.
The historical and political analysis of the Multan region in the last
chapter demonstrates Zakiriyya’s role as its kingmaker. It is unlikely that
Shams could have operated on the scale that he did, especially as reported in
Isma'ili sources, without official protection or tolerance. Although there is no
report of Zakiriyya directly supporting or protecting Shams, unlike the many
qalandars that he initiated, perhaps there was an understanding between them
behind the scenes. This argument is supported by the fact that Shams’s initial
missionary work was in Uch, which was the seat of the Ghorid governor,
when Zakiriyya was based in Multan, supporting that same governor. Shams
simply could not have operated in Uch without a cover. And if Zakiriyya did
provide that support, a simple reason for the governor to comply would be the
f inancial and spiritual clout that he (i.e. Qabacha) needed from Zakiriyya to
remain ruler, in a region of continuous strife. We have seen in the last chapter
that at the time Zakiriyya was richer than the state treasury and on occasion
actually bankrolled the governor. In addition, prior to the Mongol invasions,
Zakiriyya’s international network with established Suf is and their khanqahs
in the larger region must have been a force to be reckoned with.
This chapter primarily deals with the part that Shams’s personality and
the events of his life played in the development of the religious environment
of the middle Indus region, especially in terms of multi-faith doctrines. It
reconstructs his spiritual legacy and biography using oral traditions, Isma'ili
ginans or mystical poetry, ceremonies recorded at his shrine, and geography.
The chapter later explores the enigmatic tie between certain Isma'ili ceremonies
started by Shams, and the secret iconography found on the monuments of the
Suhrawardi Order in Multan and Uch, connections which were consciously
kept hidden from the common eye and have remained so for eight hundred
years. These connections will be explained in greater detail in the following
chapters.

The itinerary of Shams’s arrival in Multan

Pir Shams’s early arrival in the region of Multan, before Zakiriyya’s return
from Iraq as Abu Hafs’s deputy, has been discussed above. Although historical
evidence, and Isma'ili sources as interpreted by ginan expert Zawahir Moir,

establish Uch as the first headquarters for Shams’s da'wa; the place of Shams’s
initial passage through the region, as the teenage son of the chief Isma'ili da'i,
is said to have been Multan. Hence Shams’s connection to Multan is an old
one. The story of Shams’s arrival in the city, associated with his fame more
than Uch, and his being granted a place outside the citadel walls to preach,
after the initial hatred of the Multanis, is the subject of both local folklore and
Isma'ili poetry. Some of the anecdotally reported events have been quoted by
latter-day historians, but most of these are as references to Shams’s shrine in
Multan, which was to become his permanent headquarters.11
The details of Shams’s arrival in local Multani folklore are extraordinary
descriptions, which dwell on his supernatural feats, including amongst
others, crossing a river on a paper boat while escaping from his enemies,
and summoning down the Sun to cook a bird, due to which he became very
popular.12 However, the Uch period of his da'wa is comparatively less known,
except through a few Isma'ili references, which also hold the key to his
biography; these will be examined below. An important aspect of Shams’s first
arrival in the region, as noted by Zawahir Moir, is that he was the contemporary
of another ‘miracle-wielding’ Isma'ili missionary from Alamut, Satgur Nur,
who preached in the Gujarat.
In the absence of primary sources, oral reports on Shams from Multan and
Uch are central to ascertaining the chronology of his early movements, before
he finally came to rest at the site of his (current) shrine, which was initially
his khanqah. Shams’s shrine in Multan is located only a mile down the hill
from the khanqah complex of his contemporary Zakiriyya, then the de facto
ruler of the city. Shams’s unannounced arrival at the city gates, his fame and
his subsequent antagonism with Zakiriyya, are well-recorded and at times
exaggerated events. Most scholars who have written about Shams’s arrival in
Multan usually take the Isma'ili (ginanic) view, of a spiritual contest between
Shams and Zakiriyya that Zakiriyya lost.13 Other historians report the event
more mutedly, as Zakiriyya’s short-lived resentment of Shams.14
However, the fact that Zakiriyya was the most inf luential person in Multan
at the time is well-established. Hence, Shams’s accommodation within the city

11 Khan 1983, p.205.

12 See Malcom 1829, vol. 2, p.282. These are reports similar to the ones about his raising
a local ruler’s son from the dead (in Uch).
13 Kassam 1995, p.378.
14 Zakiriyya ordered the Multanis to withhold the serving of food and drink to Shams:
Malcom 1829, vol. 2, p.282.

walls and his preaching Isma'ili doctrines just a mile from Zakiriyya’s own
khanqah could not have proceeded unsupported. In essence, considering the
older Isma'ili connection to the Suhrawardi Order in the form of Abu Hafs
in Iraq, and Zakiriyya’s own empathy for heterodoxy through his qalandar
connections, one can easily surmise to say that Zakiriyya must have somehow
tolerated the Isma'ili doctrines Shams preached at his front door. It must be
remembered that Shams settled in Multan in 1201. If the report is correct,
this would be just a few years after Qabacha became the governor of Uch,
on the death of the previous anti-Isma'ili governor 'Ali Karmakh. In such a
scenario, Shams’s only tacit support and protection to operate freely in Multan
would be Zakiriyya.

Satvarani Vadi
The famous story of Shams summoning the Sun down in Multan is frequently
mentioned in both oral traditions and Isma'ili poetry, as are his movements in
the region. The reports in Isma'ili ginans are remarkably similar to those in
local folklore in terms of events, but there is some confusion in the names of
places, and greater confusion still in the chronology of events. Shackle and Moir
have transcribed a part of the ginan, Satvarani Vadi, or ‘The Greater Account
of Truth’, which describes the Isma'ili version of Shams calling the Sun down
to cook food for his young disciple.15 Some of Shams’s geographical movements
as mentioned in this ginan differ from those reported in local folklore for the
same event. The confusion is amplified by the allegorical language of the
ginan, which gives fabulous accounts for Shams’s life.
The Satvarani Vadi manuscript describes the story of Shams’s arrival in the
country in great detail. Like some other sources and folklore, the ginan records
his first place of arrival as Uch. It states that the ruler of ‘that city’ Baha al-din
(Zakiriyya) observed Shams’s arrival from his riverside palace on the opposite
bank, and did not welcome it.16 Shams responded first by sailing a paper boat

15 Shackle and Moir 2000, pp.134-135.

16 Satvarani Vadi (private MS), p.132 ff. This specific ginan uses allegorical references to
describe Shams’s actual movements and the events surrounding his life. These reports
should not be interpreted strictly. Hence, the reference herein to ‘that city,’ can actually
be to Multan, which lies across a river from Uch. There is no possibility of Zakiriyya
having had a ‘palace’ in Uch. His khanqah was located in Multan on the citadel mound,
which is physically far removed from any river. The reference in the ginan is probably to
Zakiriyya initially having heard about Shams’s arrival, and not having appreciated it.

to demonstrate his spiritual prowess.17 He then gave Zakiriyya a ‘side glance’

(allegory), because of which two horns grew from Zakiriyya’s head in fear.
The horns projected upwards (from Zakiriyya’s head) into the ceiling of his
palace’s balcony, marooning him there. They had to be eventually sawed off
(to free him).18 Subsequently communication was established between the two
(opponents) through Zakiriyya’s son, Shaykh Sadr, who found Shams sitting in
a mosque. He brought a message from Zakiriyya saying that there was no place
for new ascetics in Multan, represented by a bowl full of milk. Sadr was first
rebuked by Shams for Zakiriyya’s Sunnism, by his moulding three mounds of
ash on the ground as a reference to Zakiriyya’s orthodoxy.19 Shams then sent a
reply to Zakiriyya by placing a rose in the bowl of milk as representing himself,
which Sadr took back.20 The rose signified that Shams would supersede all
the other Sufis in the city.21 The reference to Zakiriyya as the ruler of Uch
in the ginan could also be representative (in ginanic allegory) of his power, as
eclipsing that of the local (Ghorid) governor (who was based in Uch).
According to the ginan, news of Shams’s arrival then reached ‘the city.’
In this case, due to the reply having been sent back to Zakiriyya through the
bowl of milk, the city should be read as Multan where Zakiriyya was based,
and the event as the arrival of Shams’s fame to it. However, Shams’s own entry
into Multan is not mentioned in the manuscript at this point, suggesting that
he was still based elsewhere. Perhaps he was still in Uch where the ginan
mentions him as having arrived first. Based on fieldwork this author suggests

17 Ibid. The confusion between Uch and Multan starts here, with the ginan giving the
impression that the boat-sailing event actually took place in Multan, where this would
have been physically impossible due to the absence of a river next to Zakiriyya’s khanqah.
18 Ibid. As its obvious description is completely unintelligible, this report can also be
allegorically interpreted as, ‘Shams’s fame and spiritual proficiency eclipsing (horns)
that of Zakiriyya’s, conf ining him to his khanqah.’ The ginan is a thematic description
of events over-layered with fabulous hagiography, one which must be decoded and
verified through actual history and folklore.
19 Ibid: representing the first three caliphs, or Sunnism.
20 The Shaykh Sadr mentioned here cannot be Zakiriyya’s son Sadr al-din 'Arif (d.1285),
who would not have been born then, unless of course the allegory of the ginan represents
others as Zakiriyya’s sons. In local folklore, Shaykh Sadr is actually replaced by Haji
Baghdad, one of Zakiriyya’s disciples.
21 Satvarani Vadi (private MS), p.134 ff. In Sind, the story of the bowl of milk is also
used to describe Shahbaz Qalandar’s arrival in Sehwan; however in Isma'ili ginans, it
is used solely for Shams.

that the reported meeting between Shams and Shaykh Sadr did not take place
in Multan either, but was rather held at some distance from the city walls.
Subsequently, according to the ginan, the son of the ruler of ‘the city’ (not
identified as Multan or Uch) died.22 When all the scholars and ascetics of
‘the city’ could not revive him, Shams was called in and he duly restored life
to the child.23 The event scared and incensed the orthodox 'Ulama so much
that they charged Shams with breaking the shari'a (by bringing a dead person
to life, hence interfering with God’s will). They passed a fatwa or religious
edict against him, decreeing that he be skinned alive as punishment, and be
deprived of all food and drink. As a result, he searched for food for 3 days,
which was denied to him.24
When Shams finally managed to convince a butcher to sell him some raw
meat, he cooked it by summoning down the Sun. Thereupon his tormentors
rushed back to him acknowledging his power and begged for forgiveness. They
asked for the Sun to be sent back up, lest it consumed the city, to which Shams
agreed.25 Shackle and Moir have questioned the chronology of events as cited
in the ginan. The confusion between Multan and Uch probably resulted from
the erroneous copying of an earlier manuscript.26 The presentation of events in
Satvarani Vadi should be interpreted in light of the corruption of the original
ginan, after loss in its (oral) transmission and subsequent reconstruction, as is
the case with many early Isma'ili ginans.

22 Ibid.This certain reference to ‘the city’ is in the verse which comes immediately after
the verse that reports the meeting between Shams and Sadr. Hence, here the ginan
gives the impression of the child’s death as having taken place in Multan, which is not
the case. It is obvious that two different cities are being mentioned in the ginan at the
same time, i.e. Multan and Uch, but this is not initially evident.
23 Ibid. According to local folklore this event took place in Uch, suggesting that the ruler
was Qabacha.
24 Ibid. At this point (p.134) there is confusion in the ginan. It does not give an exact place
for the punishment. The ginan also gives the impression that the events of the skinning
and the withholding of food took place simultaneously. To add to the confusion (between
Multan and Uch), many other details of actual events are missing in the manuscript,
which may be due to verses having been lost in the ginan’s reconstruction, courtesy
Zawahir Moir.
25 Ibid. The author is thankful to Zawahir Moir for these references.
26 Zawahir Moir also told the author that she has seen an older Satvarani Vadi manuscript
which mentions only a brief tussle between Shams and Zakiriyya, instead of the
elaborate spiritual contest usually described between them.

Power relations in Multan and Uch at the time of Shams’s arrival

In spite of its errors, the fact that Satvarani Vadi mentions Uch as Shams’s
first point of arrival in the country carries significance. Firstly, it sheds further
light on the political connections that were needed for Shams’s missionary
activity to take place. Zakiriyya’s position is elaborated in the ginan as ‘the
ruler of Multan.’ Secondly, the ginan complements folklore from Uch which
also describes Shams as arriving in that city first. As seen earlier, Uch was
ruled by Mu'izz al-din Sam’s governor 'Ali Karmakh, until he was replaced
by Nasir al-din Qabacha on his death in the late 1190s. This is when Shams
f irst showed up in Uch (i.e. in the 1190s), with a young Zakiriyya poised as
the ruler of a semi-independent Multan. Zakiriyya has less historical aff inity
with Karmakh as compared to Qabacha, or rather nothing is known of it.
The missing link here is quite simply that there is no historical evidence of
Zakiriyya’s relations with either Mu'izz al-din Sam or his governor Karmakh.
But in Qabacha’s time as governor, good relations are clearly reported to have
existed between him and Zakiriyya.
As asserted, Shams’s missionary work in Uch could not have been carried
out without some official tolerance. Historical analysis suggests that this would
have been under the new governor Nasir al-din Qabacha, as 'Ali Karmakh was
prudent in his anti-Isma'ili work. In addition, since Karmakh was appointed
governor by Mu'izz al-din Sam in 1175, 27 when Zakiriyya was only four
years old, the chances of Shams heading an Isma'ili mission at an equally
young age are unlikely. It would not be incorrect to conclude that Shams’s
(permanent) move to Uch and the subsequent upsurge in Isma'ili activity in
the region is a post-Karmakh affair, one which was tolerated by the (local)
Ghorid administration in Uch, most probably due to pressure from Zakiriyya.

Shams and local folklore: Uch

Oral traditions from Multan and Uch describe the power relations of the time
more clearly than the ginan. They clarify much of the confusion in Satvarani
Vadi, which exists mainly between places and actual events. In addition, the
chronology of events about Shams available from the combined folklore of
Multan and Uch offers a coherent description of his life, one which is also
geographically accurate, unlike the ginan. It must be pointed out that existing

27 Khan 1983, p.47: Farishta, vol. 1, p.56.

biographical data on Shams has mostly been collected from oral traditions in the
region, first by Colonial era writers like Malcolm, later by scholars like Ivanow
and Hollister, and more recently (amongst others) by Zawahir Moir herself,
who is a source for this work. Besides oral tradition, most of these scholars
used Isma'ili ginans, which too were at some point orally transmitted. Farishta
is perhaps the only early historian who mentions Shams in his history, and
actually misplaces him by more than a hundred years. The non-verification of
Shams’s life events through secondary methods has been a cause for confusion
in his biography. Hence, the process of ‘validating’ the ginan Satvarani Vadi for
errors through local narratives and geography is a scholarly exercise well called
for, especially considering that Folkloristics is (now) an independent academic
discipline, which is able to make its own contributions to history. According
to local folklore, Shams went through a very tumultuous time before reaching
his spiritual high ground in the Indus region.
Oral traditions and certain rituals from Uch suggest that Shams came to
Uch in Qabacha’s reign, where he established his da'wa successfully.28 Shams’s
first arrival was probably in Sitpur, which was (then) a non-Muslim principality
outside Uch, and was ruled by a Buddhist queen called Sita Rani, who became
Shams’s devotee.29 Oral traditions state that Shams’s presence in the region
was not appreciated by the local authorities; he was eventually skinned alive
for being a Shi'a and for his successful Shi'a (Isma'ili) proselytism. He was left
to die on the fringe of the desert outside Uch. In this time of extreme torment
Shams was accompanied by his young attendant, a boy of thirteen years who had
come with him from Iran. The skinning was ordered by the orthodox clergy and
may have involved Qabacha. It was the result of a fatwa issued against Shams
for being a heretic (Shi'a) and propagating a false religion. Shams somehow
survived the skinning, and with his attendant’s help, managed to retreat into
the desert from where he had been left to die, and disappeared. Nothing was
heard of him for a while. After two and a half years he reappeared in Uch with

28 The local tradition complements Satvarani Vadi (p.132) in this case. Somewhere during
this period Zakiriyya’s annoyance as mentioned in the ginan must have occurred.
29 In Uch the Sita Rani story is often applied to Surkhposh, but is discredited here due
to his later birth and arrival in the city, for details see Chapter 3. A story similar to
Sita Rani’s, about Shams, is found in Satvarani Vadi (p.132 ff ), where the local queen
became Shams’s devotee, and the king his enemy. The ginan could be referring to
the same queen (i.e. Sita Rani) who is mentioned in Uch’s folklore; especially as the
(ginanic) story is contained in the section which describes Shams’s first arrival in Uch.

his skin grown back, wearing a snakeskin and wielding remarkable spiritual
powers. Around this time the son of the local ‘Turko-Mongol ruler’ (perhaps
Qabacha) died. Shams subsequently brought him back to life when nobody
else could.30
The act astounded everybody and earned Shams admirers as well as (more)
enemies. He quickly set about collecting his loyal supporters in Uch, who had
lived clandestinely during his absence.31 Meanwhile the forces of orthodoxy
were trying to recover from the damage caused to their religious standing
because of Shams’s miracle. They formulated a strategy for arresting and
killing him. He was subsequently pursued by soldiers and their allies to be put
to death along with his (few followers). Shams and his band initially managed
to outrun the pursuers, but were (finally) cornered on the banks of the river
Panjnad. On his instructions, Shams’s followers hurriedly put together a boat-
like structure from salvaged paper and rags on the river bank. Shams boarded
the paper boat first, and then asked his followers to get on one by one. Before
boarding, Shams asked his followers to discard all their worldly possessions
on the river bank. He then blew on the makeshift sail and the boat started to
float (into the water), and then to sail, much to the amazement of his enemies,
who thought they had him cornered. However, midway across the Panjnad the
boat started to sink. This is when Shams told a follower on board to throw the
last piece of gold that he had hidden in his sleeve into the water, after which
the boat sailed effortlessly to the safety of the opposite bank of the vast river.32

30 For a second account of the same story, see Hollister 1953, p.353; Faridi 1971, p.39. The
story narrates ‘when nobody could restore the child to life, Shams appeared and kicked
him saying rise in the Name of thy Lord, and nothing happened, then he stated rise in
my name ‘Shams,’ and so the child came back to life.’ The citation (by Hollister) does
not mention the child as Qabacha’s son, only as the son of an Uch noble. However local
folklore describes the king as a Turko-Mongol, sometimes even as ‘Chengiz Khan,’
due to which an association with the local governor (Qabacha) can be made. In her
book, Tazim Kassam describes the same event as having taken place in Multan, which
is erroneous, see Kassam 1995, pp.378ff.
31 In the latter half of Satvarani Vadi there is a similar mention of Shams’s secret followers,
many of whom were women. They had set up underground lodges in their houses and
held secret meetings (in Uch). They were called guptis or hidden ones, a term still used
for secret Isma'ilis today.
32 These details were recorded from local elders in Uch, during Muharram in March
2006, as part of the author’s PhD fieldtrip. In Sind, Shams’s boat miracle is ascribed
to his relative Shahbaz Qalandar, just like the milk bowl story in Satvarani Vadi.

The miracle of the boat is remembered in Uch in its Muharram ceremonies

through a religious icon connected to Shams. Contrary to ginanic reports, the
icon and the ritual attached to it suggest that the boat sailing event actually
took place in Uch, instead of Multan.

Local folklore: Multan

In the folklore of Multan, Shams came to the city with a few followers
(presumably after having escaped from Uch). When he reached the outskirts of
Multan, he camped at a site outside the city walls as a gesture of respect to the
Suf is already present in the city; probably a reference to Zakiriyya. He initiated
contact with Zakaryiya through his disciple. Zakiriyya replied by sending a
bowl of milk through the disciple, stating that there was no room for any more
Sufis in the city. In response, Shams sent back the rose, signifying himself,
floating on the milk. But he was turned away and refused entry within the
city walls. He was also denied the sale of food on the orders of the Multani
elite to dissuade him from staying on further. These events were orchestrated
at the behest of the learned men and clergy.33
Although he could do without food for any number of days, being a true
dervish, Shams was unable to obtain food for his disciple, who was merely a
boy. He called out to a flying dove to come down; in another version of the
story, it was a fish which obeyed and jumped out of a nearby pond. Shams
then summoned the Sun (to earth) and used its heat to cook the bird (or fish).
When news of this miracle reached Multan, its elite, including Zakiriyya,
came with an official entourage to beg Shams’s forgiveness. They asked him
to enter the city and to stay. Hence, after his Sun miracle Shams gained entry
into the walled city. He set up his lodge outside the Multan citadel, which
housed Zakiriyya’s own khanqah, never to leave again or be molested. His
shrine is located on the site of his lodge. Shams entered Multan in 1201 and
made it the permanent centre for his da'wa.34 He subsequently built a vast
Isma'ili network in the region, as stated in his own ginans and other poetry.35

33 Albeit with a different chronology, Satvarani Vadi also mentions Shams’s maltreatment
by the Sayyids and the learned men of ‘the city,’ (see p.134 ff).
34 This version of the story is often narrated, and is partially referenced here from historian
Ahmad Nabi Khan; it is based on Multani folkloric accounts. It is important to note
that the report ascribes good relations between Shams and Zakiriyya, see Khan 1983,
p.204.
35 Ibid.

Based on oral tradition, the story of Shams’s entry into Multan is quoted
with some variation, but with the same chronology, by many historians.36
Isma'ili sources cite Shams’s successful establishment of eighty four lodges
from Kashmir to the middle Indus region, with the appointment of deputies
who conducted religious ceremonies and collected tithes.37

The correct chronology of Shams’s movements between Multan and Uch

The sequence of events mentioned in Satvarani Vadi roughly corresponds
with local folklore from Multan and Uch. Some of the events in the ginan’s
chronology are, however, different. The skinning of Shams, his restoring life
to the son of the ruler (of Uch), and the sailing of the paper boat (in Uch),
are confused in the ginan with the withholding of food from Shams and his
Sun miracle, both of which took place in Multan. But this is only so because
the ginan does not name a particular city and its references can be to either
of the two cities. In the correct itinerary of Shams’s movements, geographical
inaccuracies between Satvarani Vadi and folkloric accounts should be omitted.
Of these, the most obvious is the boat journey. Nevertheless, in spite of some
confusion, Satvarani Vadi serves as an invaluable source for details on Shams’s
life.38
There is no doubt that Zakiriyya was outwardly known as an orthodox
Sunni, but as seen in the last chapter, his connections to (Shi'a) heterodoxy
through the qalandars, and his theological preference for the Ja'fari fiqh in his
khanqah textbook, bring out another side to his religious persona. Zakiriyya’s
religious attributes already signify a cryptic empathy towards Shams, one
which must have been responsible for Shams’s entry and accommodation
inside Multan; as this is something which would have been impossible without
Zakiriyya’s endorsement. During the initial Multan standoff however, Shams
probably camped outside the city walls, which would have been locked every
night, in the likeness of all medieval cities.

36 Malcom 1829, vol. 2, p.282. The source for the folklore used in this sub-section is the
Gardezi family of Multan. The family has also been consulted by historians in the
Colonial period. Rukn-e-'Alam’s initiate Yusuf Shah Ghirdez probably hailed from
the Gardezi family.
37 Zawahir Noorally, op.cit 84 ff.; W. Ivanow, Collections, I; idem, Isma' ili Literature: The
Rise of the Fatimids.
38 Most importantly, the ginan manuscript provides evidence for Shams’s arrival in Uch,
before Multan, on p.134.

Analysis of Multani oral traditions about Shams led this author to a site
located in a small village outside the old city walls. The oral tradition of the
area asserts that this was the spot where Shams performed his Sun miracle. By
extension, this is would also be the site where he stayed on his initial arrival
outside Multan, from where f irst contact with Zakiriyya was initiated, and
from where the milk bowl communication took place.
The name of the village in concern is ‘Suraj Kund,’ a name it shares with
another pre-Islamic site located outside of Delhi. Suraj Kund means ‘pond
of the Sun,’ which is how the site outside Delhi is identified, but it can also
mean ‘Sun hook’ in Saraiki (with kund literally meaning hook), in light of
the assertion made by locals, on the Multan site’s origins being connected to
Shams’s Sun miracle. The presence however of a pond at Multan’s Suraj Kund
is noteworthy. Whatever the real meaning of the name in the Multani context,
one should not forget the old Sun temple of Multan, and the ‘heterodoxy that
was fostered here during the Fatimid era,’39 which endured until the time of
Shams’s arrival. It provided him with a pre-existing ‘Sun-based’ religious
template to work with. Hence it would not be wrong to assume that the story
of Suraj Kund in Multan has a pre-Islamic component to it.40 As will be seen
later in this chapter, Shams was to ‘foster his own doctrinal heterodoxy,’ one
that outdid all other forms of religious syncretism that came before it in this
region - or perhaps anywhere else in the world.
In prosperous medieval Multan, Suraj Kund would have been an outlying
suburb beyond the city gates, perhaps with its own mosque, as mentioned in
the ginan. The small enclosure today (Figure 2.1) is venerated by villagers and
local visitors, who light oil lamps and incense in it every Thursday night, due
to its connection to Shams. The site is not too well-known outside the locality,
and its discovery came as a surprise to some even in the (Punjab Government’s)
Department of Archaeology, who are usually very well informed about the
area’s built heritage.
The part that oral tradition has played in demystifying Shams’s life for
this section is appreciable. The reason for the slight discrepancy that exists
between local narratives and Satvarani Vadi is that most Isma'ili ginans were
first written down centuries after Shams’s era (in the 1500s), in the Gujarat,

39 See Flood 2011, p.42.

40 For a detailed analysis of the Suraj Kund site in Multan, see Hasan Ali Khan, ‘Suraj
Kund: A lost icon in the hagiography of Shah Shams in Multan,’ in Humkhayal, vol. 4,
(2015), p.34ff.

Figure 2.1. The site of Shams’s Sun miracle in the village of Suraj Kund

which is located one thousand miles from Multan. In contrast, local folklore and
religious ceremonies have continued uninterrupted in the middle Indus region
for over eight centuries. For this work, folklore on Shams was collected from
a number of (credible) sources, and tested for common traits in its reportage.
In the transcription of field notes and the interviews, special attention was
paid to the coherence of the reports and they were tallied with the region’s
geography, without which accuracy in ascertaining Shams’s movements would
have been impossible.41

The river and the arrival from Uch

The chronology of Shams’s movements, as described in Satvarani Vadi and local
folklore, and his arrival in Suraj Kund from Uch, can be traced on a map. These

41 Folklore on Shams was gathered from three different sources. One source was the
(family) historian of the Gardezi family, who identified the Suraj Kund site. In Suraj
Kund, the author subsequently spoke to the village elders about Shams (second source).
The Gardezi family (archives) were also consulted by British historians when they wrote
about Multan, see Toynbee 1961. The Gardezis are regarded as the best keepers of oral
traditions in the city. The third source was the elders of Uch, from whom details on
Shams and the boat icon were collected in Muharram/March 2006.

movements reveal the route taken by Shams to Multan, which is verified by

geography. Some non-Isma'ili sources consulted by historians describe Shams
as having crossed the river Indus on a paper boat before reaching Multan.42
However, the Satvarani Vadi manuscript transcribed by Shackle and Moir
does not name the river.43 In contrast, oral traditions in Uch specifically call
this river the Panjnad.
Geographically, Shams’s journey to Multan from Uch would necessitate
the crossing of a river, irrespective of which river it was. Hence, some riverine
passage was involved in Shams’s arrival at Suraj Kund, which lies just outside
the city walls. There is however no river in the vicinity of either the village
or the old city walls. The route described in Figure 2.2 (next) was the most
probable one taken by Shams to reach Multan.
The plate shows Shams’s movements, starting in Uch, then onto Sitpur,
and finally to Multan (marked by squares). The river nearest to Multan is the
Chenab to the west, but Uch is located well south of Multan. The other main
river in the vicinity is the Panjnad (to the south), which is formed when the
Chenab actually joins the river Sutlej just before Uch. The Panjnad then flows
into the Indus a further forty-five miles downstream. It carries a vast amount
of water and can easily be mistaken for the Indus by a foreigner. Hence, the
Multani source quoted by Malcolm identifying the river for Shams’s paper
boat miracle as the Indus could be a misinterpretation.
The city of Uch physically lies just a few miles from the Panjnad, where,
according to local sources, Shams had sailed his paper boat. Shams’s boat event
having taken place on the Panjnad, around Uch instead of Multan, also makes
greater geographical sense on the map (see Figure 2.2). In addition, if Shams
first came to Sitpur from Khurasan and set up his da'wa there, as is narrated
in Uch, he would have been physically cut off from Qabacha in Uch city by
the Panjnad itself. A closer look at the map shows a triangular island-like land
formation around Sitpur, defined by three water courses, the Panjnad, the
Chenab before it falls into the Panjnad, and the Indus. This area is physically
detached from the mainland by water and would have been very difficult to
attack in the medieval era (see Figure 2.2). The triangle was probably a ‘safe
area’ for Shams and his followers, and its geography explains how Sitpur
survived as an independent Buddhist principality within earshot of nearby

42 See Malcolm 1829, vol. 2, p.282.

43 Shackle and Moir 2000, p.27.

Ghorid Uch.44 Oral traditions from Uch can be regarded as the most accurate
in describing Shams’s early activities in the country, including his first arrival
in Sitpur, and the sailing of the paper boat on the Panjnad.

Figure 2.2. Shams’s passage from Uch to Sitpur through the Panjnad
and then on to Multan45

The narrative from Uch which states that the skinning of Shams took
place around the city (and not in Multan as claimed in Isma'ili sources), is also
corroborated by geography. The only real desert in the region is located east
of Uch (see Figure 2.2). All other land in this area is arable, especially around
Multan and Sitpur, and has been fertile agricultural land for millennia. The
greater Thar Desert however starts in the south-east of Uch city, and extends
into Rajasthan. Shams’s skinning and being left for dead on the desert fringe
could only have taken place here. This scenario also explains the (mostly)
unexplored hagiography of Shams in Rajasthan, as the folklore of the Indian
state is rife with references to his spiritual feats.46 Rajasthan is probably the
place to which Shams had escaped in order to recover from his injuries. Without

44 A city called ‘Samaiya’ is mentioned in Satvarani Vadi (p.132 ff), with reference to the
Buddhist queen and her followers who had become Shams’s devotees. Some locals in
Uch identified this as an older name for Sitpur.
45 Syed 1985, pp. 38-39, recreated from a contemporary era map.
46 Khan (Sila) 1997, pp.71-74. Shams is known as Samas Rishi in Rajasthan.

the folklore of Uch and its desert connection, there would be little evidence
available from the Indus region of Shams ever having gone to Rajasthan.
A final piece of evidence in favour of Shams’s long association with Uch is
the celebration of his paper boat miracle through a religious icon in Muharram.
The 'Ashura ceremonies in Uch involving this icon are distinctive, like the
ceremonies found at Shams’s own shrine in Multan. The ritual of the boat
icon in all likelihood dates to Shams’s death, and was probably started by his
followers as a way of honouring him.

The Shams ta'ziya: An Isma'ili icon in the spiritual legacy of

the Suhrawardi Order in Uch
Unlike other places in South Asia, the most striking feature of Muharram
ceremonies in Uch is the use of gongs, horns and other distinct forms of music
in the rituals. In addition, on the tenth of Muharram a certain ta'ziya,47 which
is fashioned as a boat, is placed at the centre of the main procession. In the use
of gongs, horns and drums, Uch’s rituals are reminiscent of the Muharram
ceremonies of the Qalandariyya Suf i Order from Sehwan, attributed to
Shams’s relative Shahbaz Qalandar. Although not a (major) focus of this
book, it should be noted that traditionally the use of gongs in religious ritual
is a Buddhist motif, and that of the horn a Jewish one. The (combined) use
of both instruments in rituals is very pronounced in Uch and in Sehwan, and
delineates some kind of a religious syncretism connected to Shams/Shahbaz
Qalandar. This observation is strengthened by the fact that the horn is locally
known as the ‘Nad,’ short for the Nad-e-'Ali, a Shi'a supplication that we will
encounter in Chapter 4.48
It is generally believed that the first ‘official’ Muharram ceremonies were
begun in the tenth century by the Fatimids in Egypt, and the Buwayhids in
Iraq. The first ta'ziyas were roughly fashioned around the same time. In the sub-
continent, Muharram ceremonies in the major Shi'a centres of Lucknow and
the Deccan were traditionally connected to those in Iran and Iraq, albeit with
an added local flavour, and roughly date to the Safawid era in Iran (1501-1722).
However, in the Indus region of the sub-continent now located in Pakistan,
Muharram ceremonies are older and date to at least the Nizari Isma'ili era

47 A replica which refreshes the past.

48 In Sehwan, the horn is actually denoted as being the musical equivalent of the Nad-e-
'Ali supplication, and is used every day in the dhammal, as is the gong. In Uch however,
these instruments are used only in Muharram and on other holy dates, when mourning
rituals are conducted.

heralded by Shams,49 and perhaps extend back even further to tenth century
Fatimid Multan. Most of these ceremonies have invariably mixed with
Twelver Shi'a rituals over time, and have become indistinguishable from
them. However in Uch, the rituals are still distinct enough in their symbolism
and performance, mainly due to the use of musical instruments and icons, to
echo a long forgotten past. Isma'ili missionaries drew upon local iconographic
traditions for the representation of their faith to converts. In his book Shi'a
of India, Hollister reports on the first large-scale use of the images of 'Ali in
Isma'ili lodges for proselytising locals in India, who the da'is represented as
the tenth incarnation of Vishnu (to Hindus).50
In principle, in Multan and Uch, an icon or religious practice connected
directly to Shams’s personality, which is now attached to Twelver Shi'ism,
signifies the transition from Isma'ilism to Twelver Shi'ism (at some point). A
prominent characteristic of such rituals is that they are connected to Shams or
celebrate him, and are visibly different from traditional Twelver Shi'a practices.
Such phenomena exist in both cities, and a Multani example will be analysed
in the next section. In Uch today, these rituals are (unknowingly) enacted by
the local Twelver population, and are coordinated by the (Twelver) custodians
of the (Bukhari) Suhrawardi shrines. To an analyst, they are simply another
piece of evidence for the connection that existed between the Isma'ili da'wa
and the Suhrawardi Order in the distant past.
On the eve of the month of Muharram, the Muslim New Year, the Bukharis
of Uch start the construction of a life-size ta'ziya shaped like a boat.51 The
ta'ziya is fashioned entirely out of ropes, rags and old cloth. It is built around
a central mast which is actually an 'alam, a replica of the traditional Shi'a
standard attributed to Husayn’s martyred brother at Kerbala, al-'Abbas. This
framework of ropes and rags is finally clad and decorated with some higher
quality material to complete the outer layer. A similar but less elaborate boat
ta'ziya is also constructed in Muharram by the Gilanis of Uch, who are actually
a Sunni clan (in this city)-but not without their Shi'a influences. The Gilanis
arrived in Uch in the fifteenth century.52

49 For some reflections on this subject see ‘Multani Marsiya,’ by Shackle in Der Islam,
vol. 55, pp. 280 ff.
50 Hollister 1953, pp.356-357. Hollister actually states this as having been done by Shams’s
grandson Sadr al-din, who was based in Uch.
51 The Bukharis of Uch are the descendants of Zakiriyya’s disciple, Jalal al-din Surkhposh
Bukhari (d.1291), whose biography will be dealt with in the following chapter.
52 Sindhi 2000, p. 85. Some Gilanis in the Punjab can be Twelver Shi'a.

Figure 2.3. The 'Ashura boat ta'ziya in the Gilani quarter of Uch 53

The Gilani boat ta'ziya is simpler and smaller in comparison to the more
elaborate Bukhari version, but the general idea and symbolism behind it are
the same. It is assembled and kept in the Gilani imambargah,54 and taken out
on the day of 'Ashura, when it joins the main procession. After 'Ashura, it is
dismantled and stored away for the next year. The keepers of the Bukhari
shrines whom this author interviewed claim that the practice of making the
boat icon for 'Ashura in Uch goes back to Jalal al-din Surkhposh himself, and
that this is an integral part of the Bukhari legacy of the city.55 Whether the
boat ta'ziya’s origins can be traced to Surkhposh himself is unascertainable,
but the practice is obviously very old. The alleged Surkhposh connection to
the ta'ziya is also used by the Bukhari shrine keepers to maintain exclusive
control over Uch’s Muharram ceremonies.
The events of Surkhposh’s life however, are not related to any boat miracles
in either local folklore or in recorded history. But events in the life of the

53 Image courtesy Ghulam Qasim Rind, resident of Uch.

54 The Twelver Shi'a equivalent of a religious centre, which is not just a mosque. The
Gilanis of Uch maintain an imambargah, as a sign of respect for the Shi'a heritage of
the city.
55 In Uch, the words Bukhari and Suhrawardi are used interchangeably and (today)
delineate a Twelver Shi'a context.

region’s most famous spiritual personality, Pir Shams, certainly are, and that
too in the vicinity of Uch. It is possible that Surkhposh or one of his immediate
descendants did start the practice of making the boat ta'ziya in Uch (Surkhposh
died well after Shams’s death in Multan in 1276). The practice has probably
remained in the Bukhari clan thereafter, because of it having inherited the
city’s Suhrawardi khanqahs.

The Bukhari ta'ziya

The Bukhari ta'ziya is completed on the eve of 'Ashura at a small imambargah
located in the Bukhari quarter of Uch. At daybreak it is carried to the
Surkhposh khanqah on the ancient mound.56 The 'Ashura ceremonies in Uch
begin with the boat ta'ziya. It leads the main procession from the Surkhposh
khanqah, moving through the old city on a predestined route, visiting all the
Suhrawardi monuments. After circling the entire city, the procession returns
to the mound in the evening and ends at the Bibi Jaiwandi complex. The boat
ta'ziya is then taken back to the Bukhari imambargah, dismantled, and stored
away for the next year. Of it, only the main 'alam and the (boat’s) skeleton are
retained, while the cloth and rags used in the cladding are disturbed amongst
devotees.
From the time the 'Ashura ceremonies begin at daybreak, the ta'ziya is never
allowed to touch the ground, and is held above it by devotees to represent a
floating motion.57 At intervals throughout the day, and especially when the
ceremonies reach a climax in the afternoon, the participants swing the ta'ziya
to represent a sailing motion. As is customary with all 'Ashura icons, people
in the procession take over from tired participants to carry the ta'ziya.
An image of 'Ali is placed on the 'alam in the centre of the boat. The
ta'ziya makers claim that the tradition of hanging 'Ali’s image from the boat’s
mast/'alam has been there from the beginning. This is not surprising when
one considers the earlier Isma'ili use of 'Ali’s images for converts in this region.
In spite of 'Ali’s image and other common Isma'ili-Twelver Shi'a iconography
that can be used to explain the ‘traditional-ness’ of the boat ta'ziya by critics,
like the Bukhari shrine keepers who wish to explain it in accordance with
their Twelver creed, nowhere else in the Muslim world is a life-size ta'ziya

56 For details see Chapter 6, ‘The Surkhposh khanqah.’

57 All Muharram icons are held off the ground, but the connotation here, i.e. floating, is
different for a boat.

actually fashioned like a boat. Moreover in the case of Uch, a boat ta'ziya has
a special reference to Shams, especially considering the shaking and floating
motions to which the ta'ziya is subjected. The only event that the boat ta'ziya
can recall is Shams’s paper boat miracle, lost in the mists of Uch’s forgotten
Isma'ili past. Unknown to its Bukhari patrons, their claim that the practice
of making the ta'ziya goes back to Surkhposh himself, certainly does not
lend it a modern Twelver Shi'a colouring. In fact, the Bukhari claim only
strengthens the argument of the ta'ziya symbolising Pir Shams’s association
to the Suhrawardi Order. The existence of the ta'ziya also validates folkloric
reports on the events of Shams’s life as being accurate. Zawahir Moir elaborated
on the ta'ziya’s connection to Shams and his paper boat further, by observing
that the materials used for the cladding, i.e., rags and old cloth, were actually
used as paper in olden times, and that these symbolise paper in the icon.

The religious ceremonial of Shams’s shrine

This section deals with certain syncretic ceremonies that have survived at
Shams’s shrine in Multan. While most of the ceremonies at the shrine are
conducted in the usual Twelver Shi'a manner, being indistinct from Shi'a
rituals throughout Pakistan, others are highly unorthodox; similar to those
from Uch, in that they either celebrate Shams, or are directly connected to
him. The section will deal in particular with one ceremony, as it holds the
keys to a super structure of religious pluralism which was to become Shams’s
gift to the spiritual landscape of greater India. This ceremony is actually the
popularisation of the Persian New Year (Nawruz) with the Hindu calendar. Its
context is a multi-faith religious ceremonial based in the thirteenth century,
something that was distinctly Nizari Isma'ili, and was invariably authored by
Shams.

The Satpanth
The Satpanth is an often mentioned but largely un-deciphered doctrine
amongst the scholars of Isma'ilism. Its remnants abound in the Isma'ili
history and folklore of South Asia, where it took root in the medieval era,
and subsequently disappeared. Farhad Daftary describes the origins and early
development of this indigenous form of Isma'ilism in the Indian sub-continent
as being obscure. He adds that it is not clear whether Satpanth Isma'ilism
resulted from the conversion policies developed locally, or had developed

gradually, dating to earlier, possibly even Fatimid times.58 Ali Asani identifies
three contexts for the development of the elusive Satpanth, namely, Fatimid
Egypt, Indo-Muslim culture, and Indic (Hindu) civilisation.59 Yet neither of
the two scholars goes any further to try and explain what the Satpanth really
was.
The above mentioned ceremony at Shams’s shrine is most probably the last
surviving remnant of the astrological framework of religious celebration that
was attached to the Satpanth, translated into English as the True Path. The idea
of transcendental Islam that is the principle behind this ceremony plays a central
part in decoding the structure of the Satpanth for this book. It has also yielded
the conceptual basis for decoding the multi-faith symbolism of this book’s
Suhrawardi monuments. In addition, the ceremony emanating from Shams’s
shrine is directly connected to that of Sakhi Sarwar, an earlier Suhrawardi
Sufi. Shams’s Isma'ilism never having been in doubt, this connection endorses
the strong Isma'ili-Suhrawardi axis in the region, and upholds the influence
of Isma'ili metaphysical doctrines on the order. In short, the ceremony lends
credence to Isma'ilism having worked undercover as the Suhrawardi Order.
Although now in a dilapidated condition due to neglect, Shams’s shrine is
host to many religious celebrations throughout the year. Both local and Islamic
calendars were used in Satpanth ceremonies to celebrate auspicious dates,
especially Shi'a ones, and still are. The practice of using the local calendar
for Islamic events was widespread in Indian Sufism, as it enabled adherents
to plan their visits on fixed dates. But in the case of Shams’s shrine this takes
on an extra meaning due to the multi-faith nature of the Satpanth. Most
of the practices at Shams’s shrine, and in Multan in general, have lost their
real significance in the last two and a half centuries, because of the religious
disruption that occurred in the Sikh era. Large-scale religious and social
changes took place in Multan during the Sikh and British periods, mainly
due to the prolonged siege and conquest of Multan in 1848, and its fallout.
Hence, religious ceremonies from Shams’s shrine were probably much more
identifiable, as being Suhrawardi or Isma'ili, prior to the Sikh era.
The shrine of Shams serves as the main Shi'a centre for both Multan and the
southern Punjab region as a whole. Twelver Shi'a organisations from all over
the country visit the shrine regularly. Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine in Sehwan is
the biggest centre of Shi'ism in Pakistan today, with Shams’s shrine probably

58 Daftary 2004, p.70.

59 See Asani 2002, p.3 ff.

being the second largest one. Outside of the Islamic calendar, a great number
of people visit the shrine for celebrating Shi'a events in accordance with the
local calendar. Traditionally, visitors from outside Multan celebrate Muharram
and other Shi'a dates with the Islamic calendar in their home towns, and
according to the Punjabi (or Vikrami, i.e. Hindu) calendar at Shams’s shrine.
The religious ceremonial of the shrine, with its celebration of Islamic dates
with the Punjabi calendar throughout the year seems to be one (basic) facet of
the Satpanth system. However, if one delves deeper into the ceremonies, more
details emerge, as will be seen in the next section. The Satpanth’s obscurity
and lack of clarity on its actual beliefs in the work of scholars of Isma'ilism is
due to the historical method used for its research. The use of newer methods,
involving metaphysics and astrology, gives us a clearer picture.

The Punjabi calendar and the Shamsis

The Punjabi calendar is a version of the Vikrami calendar used by the Hindu
community in the sub-continent. It was started in 56 CE to mark the victory
of the Indian king Vikramaditya over the Scythians,60 and has undergone
many corrections and changes over the centuries. It is the national calendar
of Nepal and is the progenitor of many regional calendars all over India. Its
various versions use roughly the same names for the twelve (lunar) months,
but differ slightly for marking the new month, and their respective new
years. The Vikrami calendar is essentially a lunar calendar, but one which
uses the astrological transits of the Sun within the lunar cycle to determine
the beginning of the new month. In essence, unlike in the Islamic and Jewish
calendars, it is not just the birth of the moon but also the transit of the Sun,
which defines the new lunar month. In addition, the calendar adds a fixed
number of days in the form of one extra month every three years, to ensure
that it does not slide backwards through the seasons, and hence has a fixed
beginning for the New Year.
The Vikrami calendar’s system of using solar transits within the lunar cycle
was incorporated by 'Umar Khayyam into the ancient Persian solar calendar
for its correction. He used the solar transits within the Persian solar months
instead, necessarily to recalculate the movement of the Sun through the signs of
the Zodiac. The result was his renowned Jalali calendar, which is acknowledged
to be more accurate than the Gregorian calendar. After a calendar reform in

60 Balfour 1871, p.502.

1925, the Jalali calendar was made the official calendar of modern Iran, and is
also followed in Afghanistan. The inhabitants of the Multan and Uch region
invariably used the Vikrami calendar when Shams appeared on the scene
from Iran, where the Jalali calendar with its Persian ceremonial based around
Nawruz was already followed, in addition to the Islamic calendar.61
Most devotees who visit Shams’s shrine for the celebration of Shi'a dates
with the local calendar hail from regions outside of Multan, and have been
following the practice for centuries, from generation to generation. They are
the ‘inherited’ congregation of the shrine so to speak. In the beginning of the
twentieth century, there existed a religious sect in the NWFP (now Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province), which was deemed to have some connection with
the Khojas of Bombay. They revered the Bhagavad Gita, worshipped no idols
and were highly devoted to Pir Shams. They used to give alms in his name,
but did not call themselves Isma'ilis or Twelver Shi'a.62 These were probably
Shamsis (followers of Pir Shams), a lost group who adhered to the Satpanth.
Some of them were also found in the southern Punjab before Partition, and
had an undetermined belief structure. No known members of this sect survive
today; having probably converted to other Muslim denominations, but their
mention in the census report of 1911 has a bearing on the ceremonies emanating
from Shams’s shrine.

Chetir and Chaharshamba-yi Suri

The most unique ceremony at Shams’s shrine, which holds the key to the
Satpanth, is known as the Chetir pilgrimage, Chetir being the first month of
the Vikrami Samwat (calendar), which begins on 14 March. The ceremony of
Chetir is centred on Shams, and connects him to an earlier Suhrawardi Sufi,
known as Sakhi Sarwar. The lineal caretaker of Shams’s shrine, Zahid Shamsi,
described the Chetir celebrations to this author in detail, as he is in charge of
their organisation. According to tradition, they were started by Shams himself.
The ceremony involves a visitation during which traditional pilgrims come to
the shrine on the first Wednesday of the month of Chetir. The pilgrims start
arriving on the night before the actual Wednesday, or rather on Wednesday

61 The Jalali calendar was endorsed on 15 March 1079 by the Seljuq king Jalal al-din
Malik Shah as the official calendar in his capital Isfahan, and has continued since then:
'Umar Khayyam’ in The Columbia Encyclopedia 2007 p.65. Also see Introduction, and
‘Nawruz and 'Umar Khayyam’s Jalali calendar’ in Chapter 4.
62 Hollister, 1953 p.355: CIR, 1911, NWFP, XIII, p.74.

night according to the Islamic tradition, in which the night precedes the day
and the twenty four hour cycle starts with the sunset. In olden days, according
to traditional prescription, visitors would only camp in the open, make bonfires,
beat drums and celebrate.
After spending the whole of Wednesday and the following night at Shams’s
shrine, engaging in the above practices, the pilgrims then proceed to Sakhi
Sarwar’s shrine on Thursday morning, which is located in nearby Dera Ghazi
Khan. They spend Friday night there, or rather Thursday night according to
the western tradition. This night has special significance in Shi'a Islam, as it
is considered the night for performing the ziyara or visitation of 'Ashura.63 All
Isma'ili and Twelver weekly assemblies are arranged around Thursday night.
The visitors then come back to pay homage to Shams on the Friday, spend
another night there and return to their homes on the Saturday.
The Chetir pilgrims are overwhelmingly from outside Multan, with most
hailing from the Punjab region, while some also come from the (former)
NWFP. Being Shams’s inherited congregation, they were perhaps historically
connected to the eighty four lodges that he had set up in the region. The
syncretic nature of the pilgrimage indicates that many of these visitors were
originally Shamsis before they either became Twelver Shi'a, or were absorbed
into modern Isma'ilism during the time of the third Aga Khan (early twentieth
century). The significance and symbolism of the Chetir ceremony is not known
to the participants, who however, do perform it with great zeal.

Nawruz
The fixed month of Chetir (14 March-13 April) marks the beginning of
the Hindu year, but interestingly it also includes the passage of the Sun
into Aries (on 20 or 21 March), and hence coincides with the Persian New
Year (Nawruz). The month of Chetir begins with the new moon in March/
April. Even in the most unfavourable disposition, when the Vikrami lunar
calendar slips a few days (before the adding of the extra Hindu month every
three years), the Spring Equinox on either 20 or 21 March still falls within
the month of Chetir. In addition, as in the Zoroastrian tradition, where the
month related to Nawruz (Farvardin) is connected to the arrival of spring and
the creation of the universe, in Hinduism, Chetir is identified with spring.
Holi is celebrated on the eve of the Chetir moon, the birth anniversary of

63 For the third Shi'a Imam, al-Husayn.

the avatar Ram is celebrated on its ninth day, and the month is said to have
marked the beginning of the universe.
In the transcendental metaphysics of the Iranian Muslim tradition, Nawruz
was the day on which the universe was created and the wilayat or vice-regency
of the first Shi'a Imam, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, was declared as its first act, after
the prophet hood of Muhammad. Subsequently all the other prophets, their
inheritors and executors (wasi) were awarded their seals and credentials.64 In
the earthly sense, the Nawruz and vice-regency connection is represented by
the event of Ghadir Khumm when, according to Shi'a Islam, the Prophet
nominated 'Ali as his successor in his last sermon. This temporal event is
known as the wilayat of 'Ali, because 'Ali was nominated as the wali or vice-
regent by Muhammad. The concept of the wilayat of 'Ali is the cornerstone
for all Shi'a metaphysics.
According to certain Shi'a hadith, which are used in sermons today, on
the day of Ghadir Khumm after the Prophet had nominated 'Ali as his
successor, Salman the companion (of Muhammad) came to him and 'Ali
and congratulated them. He stated that this was a day of great significance
for the Persian people as it coincided with the beginning of their New Year
celebrations.65 Working with this knowledge of Shi'a hadith, metaphysics and
the apparent astrological underpinnings of the Chetir pilgrimage from Shams’s
shrine, which starts on the first Wednesday of Chetir, the author generated
an astrological chart of Ghadir Khumm to research the matter further, after
a calendar conversion. The calendar conversion however was erroneous on
many available convertors, as they account for the orthodox Muslim practice
of sighting the new moon to mark the beginning of the new lunar month.
Nevertheless, the Hijri (Islamic) date for Ghadir Khumm, 18 Dhul Hijja (the
last month of the Muslim year), in Year 10, shows it to be 15 March 632, with
the reported probability of a 1 day-error (as cited in the result of the calendar
conversion).66

64 Majlisi 1845, p.557-558 ff.

65 Ibid, p.559.
66 ‘You entered (Hijri): 18/10/10, the conversion result is: Sunday 15 March 632 C.E. There
is the small probability of a 1 day error:’ http://www.rabiah.com/convert/convert.php3
. The calendar converter in question is 1 day off (cited). The day of the week shown for
the above calculation is Sunday, which is also erroneous. Calendar convertors usually
count backwards from the present day of the week to calculate the desired day for the
conversion date. In this, many do not take into account the cross-calendar corrections
responsible for the regularisation of a world week.

However, if the above date is readjusted according to the fixed (Isma'ili)

al-Hakim calendar, which always predates the moon sighting practice by 1 day
(as standard error-correction), the date for Ghadir Khumm would actually be
14 and not 15 March 632. This would make the date the first day of Chetir
on 14 March in the Gregorian system. The fixed Islamic calendar attributed
to the Isma'ili Caliph al-Hakim was invariably the calendar used by Shams
for calculating his own Islamic dates.
The actual astrological chart of the Ghadir Khumm event, reported in
tradition to have taken place after midday prayers (approximately two o’clock),
on 14 March 632, shows the Sun to be exactly at 23 degrees Pisces on a
Wednesday (see 2.4, top left table). The software that was used for making
this calculation is preferred by professional astrologers.67
The event chart in Figure 2.4 shows that the Ghadir Khumm event took
place exactly one week before Nawruz (with 7 days spanning 7 degrees to
Aries), and hence coincides with the general events and festivities building
up to the Persian New Year. In olden days, as today, preparations for Nawruz
would have started before the Sun actually entered Aries on the Spring Equinox
(20 or 21 March). In addition the position of the Sun at 23 degrees Pisces in
the Ghadir chart (Figure 2.4), is identical to the one 'Umar Khayyam used
for the beginning of his Jalali calendar.68 According to Khayyam, in ancient
times Nawruz festivities would begin sometime before the Sun actually entered
Aries, and the majority of these would be reserved for the last week before
the actual Equinox,69 which would naturally include the Ghadir Wednesday.
Although the lesser rituals mentioned by Khayyam may have been lost with
large-scale conversion to Islam, the major ceremonies are still celebrated with
much fervour in Iran, and in areas of Persian cultural influence.

67 The Astrodienst software used here accounts for most corrections and regularisations
made within the Gregorian system; as such its day and date correlation for the
Wednesday cannot be wrong, unlike in the previous case.
68 See Appendix 2.
69 See Khayyam. O, Minovi. M 1933, p. 1-5 (of manuscript), 'Umar Khayyam describes
the festivals of Nawruz, its traditions, and the deeds that should be performed to
maximise spiritual benefit. These include certain Islamic practices that seem to have
a Shi'a connotation, e.g. the recitation of certain Quranic verses at the moment the
Sun enters Aries, a practice that continues to this day. Khayyam also describes the
greatness of Nawruz from Iranian mythical traditions, relating certain ‘astrological
events’ (i.e. planetary dispositions, and their related festivals), to the acts and deeds of
Iranian mythical kings, see p.7-11.

Figure 2.4. The astrological chart for 18 Dhul Hijja 10 Hijri/14 March 632. The event
of Ghadir Khumm with the Sun at 23 degrees Pisces on a Wednesday70

Chaharshamba-yi Suri
As the Ghadir Wednesday, according to the astrological chart in Figure 2.4,
is the last Wednesday before Nawruz, this makes it the day for the festival of
fire, or Chaharshamba-yi Suri. In Iran this festival was traditionally celebrated
with greater fervour than Nawruz itself for its spiritual benefit, and is very
popular to this day. Hence, in the light of our astrological evidence, the
probability of Salman the Persian coming to Muhammad and 'Ali on Ghadir,
and congratulating them on a day blessed for his own people is very high. In
(explaining) the Satpanth, the day of Ghadir also happens to be 14 March,
making it firstly the beginning of the month of Chetir, along with being its
first Wednesday (see Figure 2.4). This interconnection is undoubtedly the
one that Shams used for his Satpanth model, to give the Chetir pilgrimage
meaning in terms of a Shi'a principle. Being the handiwork of the chief Isma'ili
da'i, it had to be achieved within the principle of the wilayat of 'Ali at Ghadir;
otherwise it would simply not make sense.

70 All charts are generated at www.astro.com .

In any (astrological) scenario, the first Wednesday of Chetir and the visit
to Shams’s shrine can only correspond with Chaharshamba-yi Suri as the
last Wednesday before Nawruz (20 /21 March), when the Sun enters Aries.
In the case of our Ghadir chart, when the first day of Chetir (14 March) is a
Wednesday (which is very rare), the next Wednesday would still be Nawruz,
with the Sun entering Aries at 0 degrees on that day, exactly 7 days after it
having been at 23 degrees Pisces. This is because there are exactly 7 days and
hence 7 degrees, between 14 and 21 March.71
Chaharshamba-yi Suri is the celebration of light (the good), winning
over darkness (the bad). The symbolism of its rituals is deeply rooted in
Zoroastrianism.72 According to tradition, this is when the living are visited by
the spirits of their dead, and Farvahars, or guardian spirits/angels, descend on
human beings on the last Wednesday of the year. Children wrap themselves
in shrouds, symbolically enacting the visits of the spirits. They also run
through the streets, banging on pots and pans with spoons, and knock on
doors asking for treats. The ritual is called qashogh-zani or spoon beating, and
the act symbolises the beating out of the last unlucky Wednesday of the year.
Bonfires are lit at night,73 which keep going until the morning, representing
a ‘non-setting Sun.’ It should be mentioned that Chaharshamba-yi Suri is
traditionally regarded as a part of Nawruz celebrations.
The Chetir ceremony, on the first Wednesday of this Indian month at
Shams’s shrine, and its obvious correspondence to Chaharshamba-yi Suri and
the wilayat of 'Ali at Ghadir, is the first real proof that has emerged about the
Satpanth. In addition, the principle (of the Satpanth) here is directly associated
to Pir Shams, and not to his grandson Sadr al-din, as is argued by some
scholars. During the Chetir pilgrimage, the camping in the open, the burning
of bonfires and the beating of drums on the Wednesday night are practices
that can only recall Chaharshamba-yi Suri rituals. This author’s analysis of
the Chetir pilgrimage clearly identifies an astrological framework based on
Nawruz, one which was used for celebrating the Shi'a concept of the wilayat
of 'Ali in an Indian context. The discovery also sheds much needed light on
the connection of the Satpanth to (earlier) Fatimid Egypt, as co0ntended by
Daftary and Asani, a point which will be explored later in this book.

71 The Sun travels approximately 1 degree in one day within the Zodiac.
72 http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Celebrations/fire_festival.htm .
73 Ibid.

Another ceremony at Shams’s shrine which has a trans-calendar celebration,

and is probably a more basic interpretation of the Satpanth, is related to the
Indian month of Jeth (14 May to 13 June). Jeth follows Chetir and Vaisakh
(April-May) in the Vikrami calendar. At Shams’s shrine, (and a host of other
places in Pakistan), Jeth commemorates 'Ashura and is a big festival. However,
it is a more traditional ceremony than the Chetir pilgrimage. The date of 28
Jeth is regarded in the region as having been the actual date of 'Ashura in 680
according to the Vikrami calendar.74 As mentioned before, visitors from outside
Multan celebrate Shi'a dates with the Islamic calendar in their home towns,
and with the Vikrami calendar at Shams’s shrine. The 28 Jeth festival has been
absorbed into mainstream Twelver Shi'ism in the country on a large-scale, and
it is traditionally observed as 'Ashura even in far off places like Baltistan (in
the north). Its popularity in such remote areas demonstrates the impact that
Shams’s ideas have had on the spiritual landscape of greater India.

Sakhi Sarwar
The shrine of Sakhi Sarwar, to whom Sham’s Chetir pilgrimage is connected, is
located on the highway from Dear Ghazi Khan to Fort Munro in the southern
Punjab. It is perched near a hilltop in a bleak and desolate setting, at the foot
of the Sulaiman Mountains, some distance from the river Indus. Contrary to
popular belief it was not Zakiriyya, but Sakhi Sarwar, who was the f irst Suf i
from this region to have studied at the Suhrawardi khanqah in Iraq. Hence
Sakhi Sarwar, through the Chetir pilgrimage, is a direct link between Shams
and the Suhrawardi Order. The Chetir ceremony, emanating from Shams’s
shrine to Sakhi Sarwar, is also a geographical marker for greater Isma'ili
influence to the west of the Sitpur triangle in the past, as the area is cut off
from the settled region by large rivers (see Figure 2.2, previous). In fact, the
area where Sakhi Sarwar’s shrine is located is what Flood has described as ‘the
remote frontier areas of the Indus Valley and Sistan which were often seen as
the resort of heterodox Muslims.’ 75

74 It is related (in oral tradition) that certain Indians from this region were among the
followers of Imam Husayn. This is a report similar to that of Indian Jats having been
amongst 'Ali’s followers, see Maclean 1989, p.126. Tradition states that some of these
Indians, along with Shi'a refugees from Iraq (Kerbala), returned home to start mourning
rituals. However, in light of the Satpanth system, it is more likely that these Shi'a
celebrations with the local calendar were the result of Isma'ili efforts to popularise
Shi'ism amongst the local population.
75 See Flood 2011, p. 43.

The map of the region (Figure 2.2, previous), from Multan towards Sakhi
Sarwar, shows two large rivers that have to be traversed during the journey.
Historically, in this area towards the west near the mountains, the control of
the medieval Delhi Sultanate would naturally have been weak and Isma'ili
influence stronger. Further afield in the former NWFP, beyond the mountains
from Sakhi Sarwar, lies Dera Isma'il Khan. Here, a monument complex known
as Lal Mohra is located, which bears multi-faith iconography. The complex
may have been connected to Shams’s mission, and will be covered in the latter
half of this book. In fact, the Lal Mohra site may well be one of the seven Uchs
that are described both in Isma'ili ginans and in local folklore.76
The link between Sakhi Sarwar and Shams is the only remaining evidence
for the mostly lost connection that existed between the early Isma'ili da'wa
and the Suhrawardi Suf i Order in this region. Zahid Shamsi’s claim that the
Chetir pilgrimage was started by Shams himself carries obvious historical
weight. This is because in the period after Shams and Zakiriyya’s deaths, the
political situation in Multan would not have given an Isma'ili missionary or
a Suhrawardi Sufi a free hand to set up and implement such ceremonies; we
have already seen this in the hostility Zakiriyya’s descendants faced from the
Sultanate in Chapter 1. There is also little likelihood of the Multani ceremony
having been started by one of Shams’s own descendants, as they were based
in Uch after his death. Hence, f irstly, it is not possible that Zakiriyya was
not aware of the Chetir ceremony, especially as it is connected to another
Suhrawardi Sufi’s grave, and secondly, that he (atleast secretly) did not endorse
it. Sakhi Sarwar was murdered for his (Suhrawardi) beliefs, and is considered
a martyr for the order.

The biography of Sakhi Sarwar

Not much is known about Sakhi Sarwar’s life, except that he was a descendant
of the sixth Shi'a Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. According to a recent Pakistani
publication based on new sources, his father moved to Multan with his family
from Baghdad, and settled in a small village located about twelve miles from
Multan, now known as Shahkot. The family had a literary background, and it
is probable that the land-holding which took the name ‘Shahkot’ was granted

76 For the seven Uchs see Shackle and Moir 2000, p.204. All seven Uchs were probably
related to Shams’s da'wa, today they are populated by remnants of the Suhrawardi
Order.

to the family as an endowment. This migration took place in 1126.77 Another

reference to Sakhi Sarwar is by Herklots in his often reprinted work Islam in
India.78 Herklots, relying on his local informer, states that Sakhi Sarwar settled
in Sialkot in the year 1220, and that his shrine is located at a place bearing
the same name in Dera Ghazi Khan District. This ‘Sialkot’ is in reality most
probably Shahkot, where the family reportedly settled.
The name of the village, Shahkot, suggests that it had something to do with
the settlement of Sayyids, or the descendants of the Prophet, in it. The word
‘Shah’ is a common title used for Sayyids in the sub-continent. The date of
1220 cited by Herklots is an approximation, and was based on evidence available
to him from his local sources.79 However, the famous British ethnographer
William Crooke states that some (in the Punjab) place Sakhi Sarwar in the
twelfth, while others in the thirteenth century.80
The problem with dating Sakhi Sarwar in the thirteenth century, i.e. if
his family settled in ‘Sialkot’ or ‘Shahkot’ in 1220, as reported by Herklots
and others, is that this makes him younger than Shams (lived 1165-1276).
Conversely, this would mean that Shams actually started the Chetir ceremony
to commemorate the shrine of a man much younger to himself, one of whom
there is no mention in the annals of Shams’s life, which does not make any
historical sense. Moreover, such an unorthodox ceremony was likely to have
been begun when the Suhrawardi Order overruled the state in Multan, which
would be in Zakiriyya’s time. Sakhi Sarwar should logically predate the Shams
and Zakiriyya era for our sequence of events to make sense, which gives
the timeline for his life, as argued in the new publication by Sindhi, greater
credibility than that suggested in older works.
Judging from the lineal plaque for Sakhi Sarwar affixed to his shrine, it
appears that the new information in Sindhi’s book about his family’s arrival in
Multan is correct. The plaque shows Sakhi Sarwar as the eleventh descendant
of the third Shi'a Imam, Husayn. If this is multiplied by an average of forty
years per generation, for the purpose of roughly estimating the date of his birth,

77 See Sindhi 2000, p.355.

78 Herklots 1834, p.143: Rose, vol. 1. 566 ff. Relying on Rose, Herklots says about Sakhi
Sarwar ‘that which is a resort of Hindu and Musalman mendicants. His devotees are
known as Sultani, Phirai or Pirahain, and his attendants (mujawir) (always) sleep on
the ground.’
79 Herklots's main source was Ja'far Sharif, a native of the Deccan, whose knowledge of
the Punjab and Frontier regions in the early 1800s could be inaccurate.
80 Crooke 1896, vol.1, p. 209. Crooke, unlike Herklots, actually served in the Punjab.

it would yield to us 440 years after the event of Husayn’s death in Kerbala in
680. Sakhi Sarwar’s date of birth would hence be sometime in the 1120s. In
light of this, Sindhi’s work stating that Sakhi Sarwar’s family moved to Shahkot
in 1126, or 520 Hijri, can be assumed to be correct. This makes Sakhi Sarwar
the f irst Suhrawardi Suf i in the region, preceding Zakiriyya. He was probably
born a little before or after the family’s migration from Iraq to Multan. There
is no popular mention of Sakhi Sarwar among the latter Suhrawardis; he is
a relatively indistinct figure in the history of the saints of the region, both in
terms of his personality, and that of his physically inaccessible tomb, which has
a very select congregation. However, like many Suhrawardi centres, his shrine
is today (mostly) Twelver Shi'a, and serves as a big centre for Shi'a religious
activity in the Dera Ghazi Khan area.
Sakhi Sarwar’s real name was Sayyid Ahmad Sultan. He received his
initial education from his father, after which he went to Iraq. Here, he first
obtained spiritual instruction from 'Abdul Qadir Gilani (d. 1166), and then
turned to his principal shaykh, Shihab al-din Suhrawardi.81 After completing
his initiation with al-Suhrawardi in Iraq, he spent some time with the Chishti
Shaykh Khwaja Mawdud in Chisht, located in present-day Afghanistan, before
returning to Multan.82 Sindhi gives Mawdud’s date of death as 1133 or 527
Hijri, which may be inaccurate, as it implies that a very young Sakhi Sarwar had
met Mawdud.83 If any of the above reports are accurate, this would be added
proof for Sakhi Sarwar’s earlier birth as suggested by Sindhi, because Gilani
and Mawdud clearly predate the Shams and Zakiriyya era. The correct timeline
for Sakhi Sarwar’s life (here) makes the Chetir ceremony commemorating him
a distinct connection between Shams and the Suhrawardi Order, during the
period when Zakiriyya led the order from Multan.
A while after returning home, Sakhi Sarwar first moved to Lahore. He
later settled in Wazirabad on the Grand Trunk Road, located between Lahore
and Islamabad, and preached there.84 It is possible that he left Lahore for
Wazirabad to escape state authority in that city, as Lahore at the time served as

81 Sindhi 2000, p.355 ff. The actual name of this Shihab al-din in Iraq is not specified
in the text, it could be either Zakiriyya’s mentor Abu Hafs Shihab al-din Suhrawardi,
or perhaps his uncle Abu Najib.
82 Ibid.
83 Ibid, p.221. However, according to some Chishti traditions, Maudud actually died in
the Islamic month of Rajab, at the age of 97, in March 1139. http://www.chishti.ru/
order_of_sufis.htm.
84 Sindhi 2000, p.355 ff.

the capital of the latter-day Ghaznawids in India.85 In Wazirabad, thousands

of people reportedly became Sakhi Sarwar’s devotees.86 This probably aroused
the displeasure of the Ghaznawids, who were in the last erratic stages of their
rule. Sindhi states that Sakhi Sarwar moved again with his close followers,
from Wazirabad, to a desolate place located at a distance of sixty miles from
Multan, in the neighbourhood of Dera Ghazi Khan, where his tomb is now
located.87 It should be mentioned that during the transition period between the
Ghaznawids and Ghorids, there are reports that Multan and its surroundings
had become semi-independent (again), under the proxy rule of the (allegedly
Isma'ili) Sumrah dynasty based in lower Sind.88
When Sakhi Sarwar moved to the Dera Ghazi Khan region from Wazirabad,
he apparently suffered at the hands of jealous family members living in nearby
Multan (or Shahkot to be more specific), who were obviously in some position
of power. At their behest (in an act possibly involving the authorities), Sakhi
Sarwar was put to death along with his close followers in a massacre, at the
place where his tomb now stands. He was reportedly killed in 1174 or 570
Hijri at roughly fifty three years of age,89 some ten years after Shams was
born in eastern Iran. Judging from the dates of his birth and death, Sakhi
Sarwar could not have been initiated by Zakiriyya’s mentor Abu Hafs, who
was born in 1145. Sakhi Sarwar’s mentor was probably Abu Najib (b. 1097),
the progenitor of the Suhrawardi Order and its first shaykh.90
A section of Sakhi Sarwar’s shrine today, adjoining the main sarcophagus
chamber, contains his retreat room, where he used to perform his various
spiritual exercises. Most of those who live in the town permanently belong to
a clan called mujawir, or literally ‘caretakers,’ who oversee the shrine’s everyday
functions. According to their own narrative, they are the descendants of Sakhi
Sarwar’s close attendants, who had accompanied him to the site of his murder,
and that of his wife, child and followers, but had themselves survived the
massacre. They have been living in the town since then and perform the day
to day duties of the shrine’s upkeep and running.

85 For Ghaznawid Lahore see Introduction, ‘The Ghorids.’

86 Sindhi 2000, p.355 ff.
87 Ibid.
88 This is suggested privately by some modern-day Sindhi nationalist historians. The
Sumrah dynasty ruled Sind from 1024-1351, see Dani, 2007, p.218.
89 See Sindhi 2000, p. 355.
90 See Chapter 1, ‘An historic overview.’

Conclusion
Shams’s background as the son of the chief Isma'ili hujjat or representative in
the Indus Valley and Balkh, who was ordained from the Isma'ili headquarters
at Alamut, and his own subsequent designation as the chief da'i, are invariably
representative of his Isma'ili beliefs.91 His arrival in Multan and his missionary
work there was obviously conducted in that capacity. However, the Suhrawardi
Order’s public or secret Isma'ili connections, in either Iraq or Multan, do not
necessarily imply the order’s direct control from Alamut. As already seen, this
connection was implicit in Iraq, based mostly on a metaphysical commonality.
Due to its own pragmatism, medieval Isma'ilism tolerated different kinds of
Isma'ili or pan-Shi'a ideas, and supported their dissemination.92 The groups
upholding such ideas sustained themselves through their connections to
Isma'ilism in differing ways, without being directly tied to Isma'ili headquarters
at Alamut. Such a setting best accounts for the tolerance shown to Shams’s
missionary activity in a Multan dominated by Zakiriyya. This analysis gains
further credence by Mu'izz al-din Sam’s assassination in 1206 by an Isma'ili
da'i, who was most probably carrying out orders from Alamut. The assassination
took place in the backdrop of resurgent Isma'ili activity in the middle Indus
region, which was then under Zakiriyya’s control. The status of the new
governor, Zakiriyya’s disciple Qabacha, who was the immediate benef iciary
of Mu'izz al-din’s murder, by becoming the ruler of Uch, further strengthens
the argument. Although the plot thickens, the reality of the intrigue within
remains un-quantified because of a lack of evidence. However, the political
situation speaks for itself in this seemingly enduring triangle between Shams,
Zakiriyya and Qabacha. 93
The defeat of the last Khwarazm Shah Jalal al-din Minkburni (in Iran), by
Chengiz Khan on the banks of the river Indus in 1221,94 his subsequent retreat
to Multan, and Qabacha’s efforts to expel him with Zakiriyya’s help, def ine
new geopolitics in the southern Punjab.95 Conversely, with the disappearance
of the Khwarazm Shahis in Iran, Alamut was faced directly with the Mongol
onslaught. As a result, Alamut’s communications with the Isma'ili communities

91 For Shams and his father’s designations as da'is from Alamut see Daftary 2007, p.385.
92 This is evident even in the earlier Fatimid era, see Introduction.
93 See Chapter 1, ‘The role of Baha-al-din Zakiriyya in politics.’
94 Daftary 2007, p.386.
95 See Chapter 1, ‘The role of Baha al-din Zakiriyya in Politics.’

in the region were ruptured, and they experienced disarray and localisation.96
After a few decades of resistance, Alamut was finally destroyed by Chengiz’s
grandson Hulegu in 1256,97 at a time when Shams (d.1276) and Zakiriyya
(d.1262) were both alive, and at the peak of their power in Multan. In these
years of bad communication with Alamut, leading up to its destruction, distant
Isma'ili communities were most probably advised to preserve themselves in
every way possible, including intermingling with host communities. The
destruction of Alamut also granted local Isma'ili da'is greater economic
freedom, since they no longer needed to send religious tithes back to Iran.
The Mongol conquests in Iran and their destruction of Alamut actually
changed the nature of Nizari Isma'ilism forever, since it no longer had a centre
to turn to. Most Isma'ilis (in Iran) either emigrated, or went underground in
order to survive. Similarly, the Suhrawardi Order in Iraq became completely
defunct. There were large-scale migrations of people from every conceivable
stratum of society, from the Middle East into India, to escape the destruction
wrought by the Mongols. It would not be wrong to assume that due to these
events, Isma'ilis and their sympathisers in far off lands like Multan and
Uch, which had not suffered a Mongol takeover, became closer than they
had previously been. The scenario helps to explain the next generation of
collaboration, between Shams’s descendants and the Suhrawardi Order in
Uch, which will be explored in the following chapter.
Pir Shams’s religious personality stands out above all in the region, because
of his connections to the Suhrawardi Order through Zakiriyya and Sakhi
Sarwar, and his weaving of Iranian Isma'ili beliefs into the Indian calendar
system. Shams definitely took the first real steps in defining a coherent Isma'ili
multi-faith belief system for the region, and for it designed a kind of syncretism
that simply did not have a precedent prior to its advent. It is obvious from
our evidence that many Satpanth ideas, especially those ascribed to Shams’s
grandson Sadr al-din in the post-Mongol era, were actually authored by Shams
himself, who should be considered as the real founder of the Satpanth in light
of this chapter’s findings. Sakhi Sarwar’s Suhrawardi credentials, and his tie
to Shams through the Chetir ceremony, which signifies the wilayat of 'Ali at
Ghadir through Chaharshamba-yi Suri and the Vikrami calendar, should put
to rest any doubts about early Isma'ili connections to the Suhrawardi Order
in the southern Punjab. At that time, the religious signature attached to such

96 Daftary 2007, p.386.

97 Ibid, p.395.

an Indo-Iranian cross-signification of a wholly Shi'a event, (i.e. 'Ali’s wilayat),

could only be the hallmark of the medieval Isma'ili da'wa. Zakiriyya’s covert
involvement with the Chetir ceremony is the most obvious inference that can
be drawn here, since Sakhi Sarwar is treated as the first Suhrawardi martyr
of this region.
After the fall of Alamut, the Nizari Isma'ili line disappeared into oblivion
for nearly two centuries. A split was reported between two factions of the
(Imam’s) family, each claiming the Nizari Isma'ili Imamate. From among
them, the Qasim Shahi line re-emerged in the sixteenth century under
favourable conditions, after Twelver Shi'ism had been adopted as the state
religion under the Safawids.98 In their period of seclusion, the Qasim Shahi
line of Imams lived in dissimulation as Sufis and dervishes in Iran, with the
local community following suit.99 And thus the initial Isma'ili connection to
Sufism in the Alamut period culminated, with the Isma'ili Imams adopting
the Sufi guise for protection themselves once Alamut was gone, starting with
Shams al-din Muhammad (born late 1240s). In the middle Indus region, this
period coincided with political turmoil after Zakiriyya’s death, and continued
Isma'ili missionary activity by Shams’s descendants in Uch, who were connected
to the Suhrawardi Order in that city through the descendants of Zakiriyya’s
initiate, Jalal al-din Surkhposh.

98 Ibid, p.405.
99 Ibid, p.419. The current Aga Khan is descended from the Qasim Shahi line.

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Shams: Dispelling Anecdotes About Uch

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Shams: Dispelling Anecdotes About Uch

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58 Constructing Islam on the Indus

Dispelling anecdotes about Uch

1 See al-Huda 2003, p.117, diagram of Suhrawardi shaykhs.

The faulty periodisation of Pir Shams

2 Hollister 1953, p.335: Ivanow in JBBRAS, XII, 1936, p.60.

The itinerary of Shams’s arrival in Multan

11 Khan 1983, p.205.

15 Shackle and Moir 2000, pp.134-135.

to demonstrate his spiritual prowess.17 He then gave Zakiriyya a ‘side glance’

Power relations in Multan and Uch at the time of Shams’s arrival

Shams and local folklore: Uch

27 Khan 1983, p.47: Farishta, vol. 1, p.56.

The miracle of the boat is remembered in Uch in its Muharram ceremonies

Local folklore: Multan

The correct chronology of Shams’s movements between Multan and Uch

39 See Flood 2011, p.42.

The river and the arrival from Uch

movements reveal the route taken by Shams to Multan, which is verified by

42 See Malcolm 1829, vol. 2, p.282.

The Shams ta'ziya: An Isma'ili icon in the spiritual legacy of

47 A replica which refreshes the past.

53 Image courtesy Ghulam Qasim Rind, resident of Uch.

The Bukhari ta'ziya

56 For details see Chapter 6, ‘The Surkhposh khanqah.’

The religious ceremonial of Shams’s shrine

58 Daftary 2004, p.70.

The Punjabi calendar and the Shamsis

60 Balfour 1871, p.502.

Chetir and Chaharshamba-yi Suri

63 For the third Shi'a Imam, al-Husayn.

64 Majlisi 1845, p.557-558 ff.

However, if the above date is readjusted according to the fixed (Isma'ili)

70 All charts are generated at www.astro.com .

Another ceremony at Shams’s shrine which has a trans-calendar celebration,

The biography of Sakhi Sarwar

to the family as an endowment. This migration took place in 1126.77 Another

77 See Sindhi 2000, p.355.

the capital of the latter-day Ghaznawids in India.85 In Wazirabad, thousands

85 For Ghaznawid Lahore see Introduction, ‘The Ghorids.’

96 Daftary 2007, p.386.

an Indo-Iranian cross-signification of a wholly Shi'a event, (i.e. 'Ali’s wilayat),

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