Mausoleum of Baha-ud-Din Zakaria

Pakistan


Just near the Mausoleum of Sheikh Rukni-Alam, the Mausoleum of Baha-ud-Din Zakaria, father of Rukni-Alam, was built in 1263. A disciple of the Sufi mystic Hazrat Shahabuddin Umar Suhrawardy of Jerusalem, Baha-ud-Din (1182-1262) introduced the Suhrawardiya branch to the subcontinent and founded a university in Multan. His tomb was badly damaged in 1848 but was later restored.

The brick building has a square base and an octagonal second storey supporting a dome, and is decorated with blue tiles and Arabic inscriptions. Although the upper halves of this tomb and Rukn-i-Alam's mausoleum have similar designs from the outside, it's interesting to compare the top-heavy and functional construction of the interior of this tomb with the lighter and more artistic design of the other, built only about 50 years later, to appreciate how innovative the latter is.

The urs of Baha-ud-Din (Ornament of the Faith), also known as Baha-al-Haq, is held on 27 Safar.


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