Data Sahib’s Urs Begins

Staff Report - Pakistan Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Lahore: Amidst the beats of the dholl (kettledrum) and traditional dhamal, the 964th urs celebrations of Syed Ali bin Usman Hajveri (RA), popularly known as Hazrat Data Gunj Bukhsh (RA), began on Tuesday.

Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (r) Ejaz Nisar and Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool formally inaugurated the event by laying a chaddar (sheet) at the shrine of the Sufi saint.

The governor and the caretaker chief minister in their addresses said the Sufi saints were a guiding light for Muslims and that they should follow in their footsteps. “The saints have taught humility, tolerance, peace, equality and justice and have promoted a society that is free of all vices,” they said.

Data Darbar Zonal Administrator Rana Mushtaq Ahmad said Auqaf Department had arranged several programmes on the occasion, including eight Tablighi Ijtamas, Qaumi Mehfil-e-Naat, Husn-e-Qirat competition, seminars on Sufism, speeches, and a special prayer at the end of the celebrations.

“The department has made arrangements in collaboration with the city government to keep the shrine clean during the urs days. The shrine committees will supervise the distribution of langar (charity meals), as the department has allocated Rs 3 million to provide food during these three days for the expected 1.2 million devotees coming from across the country,” he said.

Ahmad said the Auqaf Department had asked the city police, civil defence and other law-enforcement agencies to depute their personnel in addition to 900 volunteers. “Metal detectors, explosive detectors, walkthrough gates and surveillance cameras will be used to avoid any untoward incident,” he said, and added that free medical campus and a camp for lost children would also be set up.

The urs celebrations will last for three days and devotees had already begun to pour from across the country before the urs started.

The shrine and all adjacent bazaars have been decorated with lights. Devotees wearing, anklets that produce sound and are used during dance, could be seen everywhere at the shrine performing dhamaal.

People distribute niaz (charity food), recite the Holy Quran, lay chaddars and bouquets at the shrine on this occasion. The stalls of traditional food, that is mostly seen on urs times, like andrassay, gulgulay, jalaybi and kutlama, were also set up in the adjacent bazaars.

Hazrat Data Gunj Buksh (RA) was born in Hujwair, the area falls in what is now Afghanistan, in 373 AH. He was a disciple of Muhammad bin Al-Hassan Al-Khuttali (RA) and followed the Sufi tradition of Junayd Baghdadi (RA).

He came to Lahore to preach and wrote several books on Sufism, including Kashfal Mahjoob. His writings and simple message brought a large number of the people in the fold of Islam.