The 1295th Urs of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi began Tuesday, inaugurated by Acting Sindh Governor Syed Awais Qadir Shah.
He stressed the saints’ role in promoting peace, love, and unity. Meanwhile, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab declared June 19 a public holiday for the occasion.
Abdullah Shah Ghazi
Abdullah Shah Ghazi (c. 720 – c. 773) was a revered Muslim mystic and Sufi whose shrine is located in Clifton, Karachi. Historical accounts differ regarding his exact birth year with some believe it’s 98 Hijri while others say 109 Hijri.
Historian Sohail Lari writes that Shah Ghazi was an Arab trader who migrated to Sindh with early Arab conquerors while M. Daudpota believes he arrived from Iraq as a military leader, perhaps with Muhammad ibn al-Qasim in the campaign against Hindu ruler Raja Dahir of Sindh
He is believed to have arrived in the Karachi region in 738 CE during the rule of the Umayyad dynasty. Seen as a threat by the Umayyad and Abbasid governments, he was finally martyred in 151 Hijri in the second Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar Al-Mansoor’s reign. His devotees chose a Karachi coastal hillock as his resting place.
There exist different accounts of his origins. Historian Sohail Lari writes that Shah Ghazi was an Arab trader who migrated to Sindh with early Arab conquerors. Conversely, M. Daudpota asserted that he arrived from Iraq as a military leader, perhaps with Muhammad ibn al-Qasim in the campaign against Hindu ruler Raja Dahir of Sindh. He was said to have been murdered by his enemies in a forest, and buried there where he first landed by sea—present-day Clifton.
The shrine is on a raised dais, with the saint’s body residing in a underground crypt. The building features a square chamber decorated with classic Sindhi tilework, flags, and a green-and-white striped dome.
The shrine started out as a humble hut but was developed during the stewardship of Syed Nadir Ali Shah, a Sufi of the Qalandariyya order, who commissioned the dome, mosque, qawwali courtyard, Langar Khana, and pilgrim quarters.
