Walking Barefooted Miles

Staff Reporter, "Bari Imam’s Urs starts" - The Post - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Monday, May 26, 2008

Islamabad: The five-day Urs of great spiritual leader and saint Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif, popularly known as Hazrat Bari Imam, started at Noorpur Shahan on Sunday.

Syed Abdul Latif Shah Kazmi Mashhadi was born in 1026 Hijri (1617 AD) in Choli Karsal, a village in Chakwal district.

Hazrat Bari Imam, who died in 1708, was a contemporary of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was widely respected for his tolerant views. The Urs is celebrated as a tribute to his legacy.

The wreath-laying ceremony was held after Asar prayers to mark the beginning of the Urs. Thousands of followers of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif from all over the country have already arrived to attend the annual spiritual event.

Many of them came there walking barefooted miles.The Urs celebrations, which will continue till May 29, attract over a million people from around the country every year that come here to pay homage to the great sufi saint.