Bholoo Shah or Bholu Shah also called Shah Behlan and Bhollo Shah was an 18th-century

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

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, ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was a Majzoob who belonged to the

Qadri The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...

order. His

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

(mausoleum) is in

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. Th ...

, India.

Biography

Most writers maintain that Bholoo Shah’s birthplace to be Punjab. This was before the partition of the Indian subcontinent when the

Mughal era The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

was on the rise. He migrated to

from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

leaving his family behind. In

, he got beneficence from Shah Abdul Hameed and became his spiritual successor. Shah Mohammad Hafeez became his khalifah and shrine supervisor. After he died, his son took this responsibility. Their shrines are also near the shrine of Bholoo Shah. One account states that he was the disciple and khalifah of Abdul Hamid in

order while some scholars opine that he was the disciple and khalifah of Shah Abdul Hameed in Qadri Razzaqi Order and also enjoyed the company of Shah Nano and Shah Fakhr-ud-Din Chishti.

Tomb

The

(mausoleum or shrine) is at the Kabuli Darwaza (west side of the Red Fort and should not be confused with Khooni Darwaza) in

as verified by the first book on the shrines of Delhi, "Mazaraat-e-Auliya-e-Delhi". The shrine of Bholoo Shah which used to be in Kabuli darwaza has now been removed but only its remains are visible. Nearby is the shrine of his disciple Shah Mohammad Hafeez and his son Shah Ghulam Mohammad is also buried nearby. Some sources cite that Bholoo Shah died on the 20th Moharram 1024 AH or 10 October 1789 CE and his shrine along with a mosque enclosure is near the railway line, under the left side of the Mithai Bridge (Lahori Gate 4, Old Delhi 6). His khalifah Shah Hafeez-ur-Rehman is buried nearby who died on the 30th Ziquad 1236 AH 28 August 1821 CE during the reign of

Akbar Shah II Akbar II (; 22 April 1760 – 28 September 1837), also known as Akbar Shah II, was the Nineteenth Mughal emperor of India. He reigned from 1806 to 1837. He was the second son of Shah Alam II and the father of Bahadur Shah II Akbar had littl ...

(1806–1837). Shah Hafeez-ur-Rehman’s son and khalifah Shah Ghulam Mohammad is buried at his feet. His annual Urs is held annually on 19th of Muharram. His devotees also celebrate basant in the spring season at his shrine with great enthusiasm. The Express Tribune Blogs

Biography

Tomb

References

Further reading