Sind Province is famous for Sufi Poets, and in a long list of Sufis, Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar stands tall & elegant.
The saints’ real name Syed Usman Marwandi, Hazrat Syed Shah Hussain or known as Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was born late in the twelfth century in 1177 in Marwand (Iran), now Afghanistan, to a noble Makhdum, Syed Ibrahim Kabir-ud-Din Mujab, Lal Shahbaz lived a celibate life. He died in 1274 after living 97 years.
His preaching was of religious tolerance with mysticism which attracted people from all walk of life & religion.
Lal Shahbaz used to wear Red. This attire made him famous as Lal Shabaz. His Hindu devotes consider him as emanation of Jhule lal.
In Sehwan around his tomb, a shrine was built in 1356. The dome gives a dazzling look with its Sindhi kashi tiles, mirror work and one gold-plated door -. It was donated by the late Shah of Iran, and installed by the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The Urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is held every year in eighth month of the Muslim lunar calendar.
The three-day feast in narrow lanes of Sewhan are packed to capacity as pilgrims, fakirs and devotees make their way to the shrine to commune with the saint. They offer tribute and make a wish. Most of the people present garlands and a green chadar with Qur'anic inscriptions in silver or gold threads, humming verses, singing and dancing in praise of the saint till late at night. The devotional dance known as ‘dhamal’, an ecstatic swirl of the head and body, is performed to the rhythm of the dhol.
