Baba Shah Jamal Darbar: Sufi Tombs in Lahore

A City of Life

Being a country that has just recently begun opening its doors to foreign travel, you may not know what to expect when visiting Lahore. Being the second-largest city in the entire country, it goes without saying that this massive city is teeming with life. From the high-tech trendy neighborhoods of the model town to the endless labyrinth of the old city. Lahore is a beast of a city that hides temples and tea shops down every dark alleyway.

For those who have spent some time wandering the streets, you will find that Islam in Lahore stands apart from anything that you may have experienced in the Middle East or South East Asia. While you have your majority Sunni and Shia sects within Pakistan, it is the Sufis that will truly draw your attention. Using dance and music as a means to get close to Allah, Sufism embodies all the colors and sounds of life. A break from the otherwise stoic and pious scenes you would usually find at a mosque.

From qawwali music to Sufi whirling, the passion can be felt with each press of the keys on the harmonium and spin of the dancers. Unfortunately, due to terrorist attacks by hardcore fundamentalists the music has died down. In places like the Shah Jamal Darbar, the dancing and beats of the dholak ceased after a bombing occurred in 2017. While the crowds have dispersed from the Tomb of Shah Jamal, you may still be able to find traditional dhamal elsewhere in Lahore.

If you are looking for more culture in Lahore you won’t want to miss a traditional wrestling match of Kushti!

A Hush Over Shah Jamal

Locals may not be your best source on where to find qawwali or dhamal in Lahore. For decades Shah Jamal Darbar was known as the center of Sufi music and dancing in all of Lahore. When asking around where you can witness traditional Thursday Sufi nights, people will still mention the name Shah Jamal with a twinkle in their eye. Little do they know that the shrine has since been barricaded shut. Although you can still visit the tomb, without the crowds and music the darbar is a mere shell of what it once was.

From the Walled City of Lahore, you can take a rickshaw to Shah Jamal for about 300 PKR (2 USD). After a thirty-minute ride, depending on the traffic, you will leave all the blaring horns and suicidal drivers on the highway to take a turn into one of the quieter neighborhoods of Lahore. After being lazily patted down by a security guard behind walls of concrete blocks, you can then step foot into the Shrine of Shah Jamal.

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Praying in the Tomb

Throughout Pakistan, you will find hundreds if not thousands of tombs dedicated to Sufi saints. With their bodies enshrined within a marble coffin, Muslims from around the city often frequent these ornate darbars to throw flower petals on the grave, recite the Quran, and pray on the floor of the mausoleum. Although considered a place of worship, these darbars are kept separate from the mosque. Dancing and music would be look at as a great disrespect if performed in front of a masjid.

Despite the harmoniums and dholaks being left to collect dust in the closest, Shah Jamal Darbar still sees a fair number of people at the shrine to pray. With the sexes divided by a wall, the men are allowed to pray inside the glimmering silver mausoleum while the women have to be satisfied with sticking their fingers through the barred windows of the shrine.

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What Is Orthodox Islam?

Much like how protestant Christians would look disapprovingly on Catholics praying through the Virgin Mary and Saints, orthodox Muslims have the same qualms with Sufism. Other than praying through these Muslim holy men, the act of using music and dance as well as the many other extravagant traditions attached to Sufism is deemed haram. It is for this reason why you will find many soldiers guarding these shrines behind barbed wire throughout Lahore.

Saint Shah Jamal was born in 1588 during the Mugal reign of the region. The Emperor of the time attempted to blend elements of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism into one religion in a bid to spread harmony throughout his kingdom. It was Baba Shah Jamal who rose up against the king to restore orthodox Islam in the land. No regarded as a saint, it is ironic that his final resting place would be subject to attacks due to Sufism not being considered authentic Islam.

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Feeling Welcome

It is hard to imagine that just a few years ago this shrine would be packed with wall to wall people on Thursday nights. All singing, dancing, and worshipping together. Today, all you hear the silence in the air and the low murmur of prayers being recited inside the mausoleum. Despite Shah Jamal no longer being the go-to place for those seeking to experience Sufi traditions, the Muslims of the darbar are there to make sure you feel welcome at the tomb. Serving meals to worshippers, you will be invited to break bread with the locals as you sit in rows on the marble floor of the darbar.

If you are staying near Anarkali Street, the Tomb of Shah Jamal is quite far away. You then will have to ask yourself is it worth hiring a rickshaw driver to weave his way through traffic all the way to the shrine? Without dhamal and qawwali, the tomb does not stand apart from the hundreds of other darbars spread out across Lahore. The only chance you may have to experience traditional Sufism is during the occasional Urs. While you are sure to have a memorable experience chatting with the devotees of Shah Jamal, the bombs have silenced the music that once put the tomb on the map.