Bhit or Bhit Shah ( sd, ڀٽ شاهه) is a small town located in

Matiari District Matiari District ( sd, ضلعو مٽیاري, ur, ) is a district in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Located on the left bank of the Indus River, Matiari became an independent district in 2004 under the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, when ...

, Sindh, Pakistan. The town is best known as the location of the shrine to the Sindhi

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ( sd, شاھ عبداللطيف ڀٽائي, ur, ; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic, an ...

, who gave his name to the town (Bhttai sd, ڀٽائي). Passing along the road that leaves

Haala Hala ( sd, هـالا, ) is a city and taluka of Matiari district of Sindh, Pakistan. According to the Revenue record, Hala was given the status of Taluka of Hyderabad District in 1848. In 2005, it became part of Matiari District. Hala is located ...

for

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, beyond the shrubs there are a solitary group of large white mounds, which form hills known as Bhit in Sindhi.

Shrine of Abdul Latif Bhittai

The

Shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai The Shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ( ur, ; sd, شاهہ عبداللطيف ڀٽائي جي مزار) is an 18th-century Sufi shrine located in the town of Bhit Shah, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The shrine is considered to be one of ...

, located in the centre of town, was built by

Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro (died 1772) sd, ميان غلام شاه ڪلهوڙو ) was the ruler of the Kalhora Dynasty from 1758 when he was appointed ruler of Sindh by tribal Chiefs of Kalhora replacing his brother Mian Muradyab Kalhoro. He was ...

, who ruled over Sindh during the late 1700s. Kalhoro ordered the shrine to be built in 1772. It is a structure covered with traditional Sindhi ''

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a cit ...

'' tiles, glazed in the colours such as blue and turquoise. The final resting place of Shah Latif is under the main-dome of the building. His grave is enclosed by a carved wooden screen and lies under a fresco. Musicians are often seen serenading the constant trickle of devotees who visit the saint. On Thursdays' evenings, locals gather around to remember the Sufi saint, by reciting his poems and playing music. The

Urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc ...

of Shah Latif is celebrated in the Islamic month of

Safar Ṣafar ( ar, صَفَر) also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ''ṣafar'' means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when muslims flee the oppr ...

Museum

Located close to the shrine is the small

Bhit Shah Museum Bhit Shah Museum is a museum in Bhit Shah in the Matiari District of Sindh in southeast Pakistan. It depicts various aspects of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's poetry. The museum was set up as a sister organization of the Bhit Shah Cultural Centre. ...

which houses exhibits of folktales mentioned in Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's best known work, ''

Shah Jo Risalo ''Shah Jo Risalo'' ( sd, شاھ جو رسالو) is a poetic compendium of famous Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. In fact, it is many compendia, for Shah Abdul Latif's poetry in various forms of bayt and wai was compiled by many of hi ...

''. These include

Sohni Mehar Sohni Mahiwal or Suhni Mehar ( pa, , ਸੋਹਣੀ ਮਹੀਂਵਾਲ is one of the four popular tragic romances of Punjab including Sindh. In Sindh Sohni's shrine is in Shahdadpur Town of Sangar District. The others are Sassi Punnun, Mirza ...

and

Umar Marui Umar Marvi or Marui ( sd, عمر مارئي, ur, ), is a folktale from Sindh, Pakistan about a village girl Marvi Maraich, who resists the overtures of a powerful King and the temptation to live in the palace as a queen, preferring to be in simpl ...

. Populated places in Sindh Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai {{Sindh-geo-stub