Sufis and saints have blessed this region with their presence and teachings for ages. While most of these great men and women no longer remain with us, followers have constructed grand structures to pay homage to them. Often regarded as places of worship and reverence, millions visit these darbars, mazaars and mausoleums. It doesn’t matter where you stand on whether it is right or wrong to worship at these places, these places need to be visited at least once in a lifetime to truly understand the mysticism of the sufis they represent.

1. Abdullah Shah Ghazi

Abdullah Shah Ghazi is one of the patron saints of Pakistan. He was born in Medina in 720. He arrived in Sindh in 760 as a merchant. His tomb is situated on a hill in Clifton, Karachi which was once-upon-a-time completely surrounded by water. His 3-day-Urs is celebrated as a festival every year in December.

2. Syed Abul Hassan Bin Usman Bin Ali Al-Hajweri

Abul Hassan Ali Hajvari, renown as Daata Ganj Bakhsh was born in the 11th century. He was a Persian Sufi and scholar who spread Islam in South Asia. His Persian language book “Kashf Al Mahjub” meaning Revelation of the Veiled is a classic. His tomb is situated in Lahore.

3. Baha-ud-din Zakariya

Sheikh Baha-ud-Din Zakariya was born in 1170 in a town, Kot Kehror near Multan. He went place to place for about fifteen years giving sermons on the teachings of Islam. His Tomb is located in Multan.

4. Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahu

Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahu was born on 17 January, 1630 in Shorkot, during Shah Jahan’s era. He has written more than forty books on Sufism. His work is mostly in Persian language, dealing with specific facets of Islam and religious mysticism. He is more popular due to his appealing Punjabi poetry which drew the attention of the masses.

5. Bibi Pak Daman

Bibi Pak Daman, which means the “chaste lady”, is the mausoleum of the six ladies. One of these is believed to be Ruqayah Binte Ali Ibn Abu Talib. These 6 were among the women who brought Islam to South Asia.

6. Daud Bandagi Kirmani

Shaikh Daud Bandagi Kirmani was a silsila Qadria saint of the 16th century. His mausoleum is in Shergarh which is a glorious example of Mughal architecture.

7. Shahbaz Qalandar

Syed Muhammad Usman, known as ‘Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’, is a prominent saint, born in the 1177 in Marwand, Afghanistan. His mother was a high-ranking princess. It is said that even when very young he had developed occult powers. He learnt Quran by heart when he was just seven years old. He died in 1274 at the age of 97. Lal Shahbaz’s annual Urs is held on the 18 Sha’aban in Sehwan, Sindh.

8. Shah Rukn-e-Alam

Shah Rukne Alam is ranked among the most prominent Sufi saints of Asia. He was the grandson of Shaikh Baha-Ud-Din Zakariya and according to his own wish he was interred in the mausoleum of Shaikh Baha-Ud-Din Zakariya. After sometime, however, his coffin was transferred to the present mausoleum which is also in Multan.

9. Sachal Sarmast

Hazrat Sachal Sarmast’s real name is Abdul Wahab Farouqi. He was a Sufi poet from Sindh who composed verses on philosophy and Sufism. He composed poetical pieces in Arabic, Sindhi, Seraiki, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian and Balochi languages. The shrine of Sachal Sarmast is located in village Daraza of district Khairpur, Sindh.

10. Hazrat Sultan Sakhi Sarwar

He was the son of Hazrat Syed Zain ul Abiden. The tomb of Hazrat Sakhi Sarwar is located in Muqam, Sakhi Sarwar, a small city about 35kms from D. G. Khan. The tomb was built in the 13th century in the Sulaiman Mountains.

11. Fariduddin Ganjshakar

Hazrat Baba Farid Ganjshakar was born in 1188 AD in Kothewal village, 10 kms from Multan. His tomb is located in the city of Pakpattan. The tomb is made of white marble with two doors, one in the east known as the Nuri Darwaza and the second facing north called Bahishtī Darwāza, or ‘Gate of Paradise’.

12. Khwaja Ghulam Farid

19th-century witnessed the emergence of the great Sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid. He was born at Chachran in 1845 and is buried at Mithankot.

13. Shah Qabool Aulia

Shah Qabool Aulia, was a Moroccan Muslim Sufi saint. He traveled all over Indian subcontinent spreading the teachings of Islam. His shrine is located in the Dabgari, Peshawar.

14. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai is the greatest Muslim poet of Sindhi origin. His urs commences every year from 14th Safar (2nd month of Hijra calendar) and lasts for three days.

15. Shah Hussain

Shah Hussain was a Punjabi Sufi poet, considered to be a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry. Shah Hussain’s love for a Brahmin boy called “Madho” or “Madho Lal” is famous, and they are often referred to as a single person with the composite name of “Madho Lal Hussain”. His tomb and shrine is located adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens Lahore, Pakistan. His urs is celebrated at his shrine every year during the “Mela Chiraghan” (“Festival of Lights”).

16. Bibi Jawindi

The Tomb of Bibi Jawindi is one of the five monuments in Uch Sharif, Punjab, Pakistan that are on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The tomb was built in 1493 by an Iranian prince, Dilshad, for Bibi Jawindi, who was the great-granddaughter of Jahaniyan Jahangasht, a famous Sufi saint.

17. Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari

He was a Sufi saint and missionary and a follower of Baha-ud-din Zakariya of the Suhrawardiyya order. He died in about 690 AH and was buried in a small town near Uch, Punjab aged 95. The tomb is a short way from the cemetery of Uch. In front of the tomb is a pool. A carved wooden door leads into the room containing Bukhari’s coffin.