Shrine Culture – A heart sore on our Society??

Have you ever visited peer sahib ABC who sits at barri imam?? I’m a mureed of baba XYZ, he has a cure to every disease, do visit him for this ailment of yours! Mrs. Ali is at last blessed with a son after 14 year of marriage, she tried every doctor in the country but to no help, until an year back she went to Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s mazaar and masha allah within days she was blessed. Karamaat of him, I now visit the mazaar every time a need comes??

The everyday dialogue overheard (or carried) out by many of us in the society we live in.  Do you ever ponder if it’s a result of the faltering faith on our lord, the Almighty Allah – or weakness of our own mind and heart? I guess, many of us do give thinking over and instead of reaffirming our faiths, we move on within our lives.

What is a Shrine Culture anyways?

Almost all religions honor the spiritualistic personalities (saints) in their faiths (sometimes famous for special powers blessed by Allah more commonly known as in our society as Miracles or Mojezaat). People of surrounding areas, in respect, build shrines on their humble graves that gradually are elaborated. 

Going to the graves of these saints or Suufiyaa for dua is encouraged in Islam. But asking for the fulfillment of our desires and wishes from the DEAD is neither permitted nor was ever practiced by the sufiyaa themselves. Several Ahadith are present to shun the asking from dead or living for your wishes but Allah.

Interestingly shrines of saints are categorized too; many of them being experts of performing some miracle. How it all does actually evolve??  The departed souls are surrounded by stories, mainly about the many miracles performed by them in their lifetime, so that their shrines or graves draw pilgrims like magnet. The sick, the infirm, the tortured soul, all traverse vast distances to reach the ‘haloed site’, where they hope their fervent prayers will be answered. The pilgrims visiting these shrines have blind faith in the spiritual powers of the saint buried inside, and come with the conviction that their prayers will be answered by God if offered in the resting place of his favoured one. Ask such devotees that are you asking from the one buried inside or from Allah, the answer will be Ofc course Allah … but the one buried inside becomes a Waseela. (Inna lillah e wa inna alyhe Rajeyoon)

Shrines of Pakistan

Some of the famous shrines in Pakistan are visited every year by flocks of people. Urs or annual anniversaries are carried out in different times of the year and pilgrims rush to the shrine. I haven’t personally seen any of the urs being carried out but the Bari Imam’s urs in Islamabad, where you can see people (men, children, women, elderly) going bare foot for tens of kilometers to reach the mazaar. Similar scenes of devotion can be seen on TV when annual celebrations are held at Daata Ganj Bakhsh’s mazaar, Madhu Lal Hussain’s mazaar,  Bibi paak daaman, Golra Shareef, and many other present in Karachi, Multan, Qasoor, and other parts of the country.

Over the years, mazaars and dargaahs have come to represent picnic grounds for the vast majority of its frequenters who hail from the lower income groups. Since these places have also become popular with the affluent who wish to give charity, many ‘daigs’ of food are often sponsored for free distribution to all and sundry present there, and the dargahs have become home to beggars, wayfarers, and the terminally ill who have made its periphery their abode. Not surprisingly, numerous flower, food, mithai, cloth and cigarette stall holders have become just as much a permanent fixture of these sites as the devotees visiting it.

Shrines are famously known for another thing – Drugs. A haven if you are looking for any kind of drug – have money in your pocket and you’ll find a drug dealer watching you with keen eyes. Drug addicts can be seen lying here and there in any shrine … the vicinity starts and drug addicts can be pointed out. Quoting from an article:

Baba Shah Jamal’s shrine is different from the other major shrines because most of the people visiting it take hashish. A number of foreigners and the youth of both upper and lower middle class also visit it for the same purpose. After taking the opium derivative, they perform what they call “holy dance” on high beat of drums. “I know nothing about the sanctity of the shrine. What matters more for me is that here I can take hashish without any fear of being caught by the police,” says a woman visitor.

Acceptance of Mannat and Miracles

A large number of people flock to the shrines with genuine mannat’ –– a promise to do something specific in lieu of a wish granted –– in the firm belief that God will answer their prayers, especially if conveyed through one of his chosen people (the waseela). In most cases, the pilgrims are women who either want a child, preferably a son, or the love of their husband. Some hang cradles outside mazaars believing that empty cradle by a saint’s tomb will grant them a child.

Numerous stories do the rounds of wishes granted at one or the other dargahs present in the country. Women bore children after visiting the dargaahs, men get hold of life luxuries and lucrative job opportunities after their visits.  Stories were heard regarding Abdullah Ghazi Shah’s mazar that during the 1971 war, it was impossible to turn off its lights during blackout time, no matter how much people tried.  (Courtesy the Dawn article)

Frustratingly, the mazaars and dargahs are also home to many Pir Sahabs and Aamil babas; exploiting the naïve and tortured in the name of Islam. Adding to the misery families bring their daughters and sons, sisters and brothers being possessed by Jinn, another dilemma. Jinnati babas or exorcists in the surroundings make their livelihood convincing their victims that they can exorcise them of the evil force that has taken over their bodies. Horrendous tales of their misdeeds are rampant.

Many a questions remain un-answered in this dire dilemma every-day man is facing … where the weakness of our faith will lead? Our desires and wishes are so strong that we are willing to kneel down in front of the liars, exercising the so-called sainthood, for the sake of money? Can it be the one reason of the gradual decline in our values and yet again the firmness of our faith?? Is Allah Not Enough for Us??

(Many thanks to an article printed few weeks back in Dawn newspaper for much more of the text in the post published here. The Dawn article was as it is published here and here previously) Images of Baba Bulleh Shah’s urs in qasoor can be found here.