Tomb of Sheikh Sadan Shaheed

My readers from an earlier story would recall this exquisite mehrab from a tomb near Kabirwala. A script in brickwork tells us that it was constructed on the order of Ali Bin Karmakh, the 12th century Ghaurid governor of Multan.

Let’s take a short trip across Chenab around 10 miles from Kabirwala tomb (as the crow flies) to another monument near Head Muhammad Wala. Sheer volume of script & decoration make it unique. Raised on high plinth it represents the exalted status of whoever is interred here. This is tomb of Sheikh Sadan Shaheed.

Local lore tells us Sheikh Sadan Shaheed’s descendants were Arab by origin who landed with Muhammad Bin Qasim in early 8th century. He died fighting Mongol invasion in Punjab and that happened around 1275 CE. The grave is elongated and magnificent in size in line with typical naugaza shrines found across Punjab.