Sheikh Hafiz Haji Hasan-al-Maroof Sultan Manghopir or Pir Mangho ( Sindhi and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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, ...

Pir Haji Syed Khawaja Hassan Sakhi Sultan. Sakhi Sultan Manghopir's proper name is Hasan and according to another version Kamaluddin. He was titled a pir by

Baba Farid Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as B� ...

, whose disciple he became.

Pir Mangho Urs Sheikh Hafiz Haji Hasan-al-Maroof Sultan Manghopir or Pir Mangho ( Sindhi and Urdu: خواجہ حسن سخی سلطان عرف منگھو پیر ) is the popular name for 13th century Sufi Pir Haji Syed Khawaja Hassan Sakhi Sultan. Sakhi S ...

is celebrated in the

Islamic month The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...

of Zil Hijjah. The settlement around his shrine has been named

Manghopir Manghopir or Mangopir ( sd, ) is a neighbourhood in the Malir District, Malir district of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, that previously was a part of Gadap Town until 2011. There are several ethnic groups in Manghopir including Muhajir (Pakistan) ...

and is part of

Gadap Town Gadap Town ( sd, گڏاپ ٽائون , ur, ) is a town in the northwestern part of Karachi with the Hub River on its western limits also forming the provincial border between Sindh and Balochistan, while to the north and east are Jamshoro Dist ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

.Asghar Ahmed، ”Pakistan tourism directory, '86: Everything about Tourism“, Published: Holiday Weekly, 1986 (pages 44, 204 and 435) via Google Books
/ref>Pakistan Archaeologists Forum, ”Journal of Pakistan Archaeologists Forum, Volume 1“
p.35 via Google Books, published: Pakistan Archaeologists Forum the University of Michigan 1992 Balochis often call this place as 'Mangi' or Garm-aap / Sard-aap (due to the presence of the hot & cold springs).

Background

Originally, he was an Arab and a descendant of

Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

. He is a Hassani (descendants of

Hasan ibn Ali Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ...

) from the mother's side and Husaini (descendant of

Hussain ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad and a ...

from father's side. He came to India from

Hijaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...

in the 13th century AD. That was the time of the Tartar's invasion of Muslim lands which created great havoc. He participated in the jihad against them. Then he performed the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

, and while he was in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, he had a vision of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

who directed him to go to Ajudhan (present day Pak Patan) and meet the Sufi saint

Fariduddin Ganjshakar Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as B ...

. He then went, to Ajudhan and presented himself to Sheikh Ganj Shakhar. In 662 AH (1263 or 1264 AD), he was admitted as a disciple in the

Chisti The Chishtī Order ( fa, ''chishtī'') is a tariqa, an order or school within the mystic Sufi tradition of Sunni Islam. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. It began with Abu Ishaq Shami in Chisht, ...

ah order, and he became the 40th Khalifah/

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

of Baba Farid Ganjshakar. Based on the advice of Baba Farid, he went to Multan in 659 AH (1260 or 1261 AD). From there, he travelled to various places in the pursuit of spiritual attainment and then settled down in Manghopir where he carried out his missionary work. Manghopir was a desolate place then; there he spent his days in prayer and seeking spiritual attainments. In ancient times this place is reported to have been the sacred place of the Hindus. With the presence of this saint at Manghopir, it became an attraction for the seekers of Oneness and Truth. Great luminaries of the spiritual world, such as

Bahauddin Zakariya Baha-ud-din Zakariya (Urdu and fa, بہاءُ الدین زکریا) (c.1170 – 1262), also spelled Bahauddin Zakariya, and also known as Baha-ul-Haq and Bahauddin Zakariya Multani, was a Sunni Muslim scholar saint and poet who establish ...

Lal Shahbaz Qalander Hazrat Sayyid Usman Marwandi, (1177 - 19 February 1274) popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (), was a Sufi saint and poet of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was born in Marwand, Sistan to a family from Baghdad ...

, Jalaluddin Bokhari often visited Manghopir. The ancient texts from the area mention this shrine and it is also mentioned in the writings of 19th century British colonialists. Some historians say that the crocodiles at the shrine's pond have been here for centuries.

Crocodiles

The crocodiles are an integral part of the shrine and are so tightly interwoven with the story of the saint that it is almost impossible to judge between fact & fiction. There are many traditions about myth of crocodiles, as if it is believed that

gave the reptiles to Manghopir. According to scientific explanations, these crocodiles were carried through some heavy floods, during ancient times and later gathered or collected at this pond. Archaeological investigations have also found the existence of a Bronze Age settlement (2500-1700 BC) at Manghopir, who worshipped crocodiles. This shrine has a very large pond and a sulphur spring. The pond has dozens of crocodiles who are regularly and traditionally fed by visitors to the shrine.

Hot springs and healing resort

There are hot and cold springs about a kilometer from the shrine. Warm water passing through the

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

rocks is said to have some medicinal qualities. Many people with skin diseases regularly come from long distances to have a bath to cure them. There are separate swimming pools and shower rooms for men and women. Scientific analysis has shown that this warm water is naturally saturated with

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

, besides containing some sulphur which is considered good for treating some skin diseases.

Pir Mangho Urs

Pir Mangho Urs ( ur, ) is an annual festival (

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 ...

) at the shrine of

Pir Mangho at

. The urs marks the death anniversary of Pir Mangho and is held annually in the Islamic month of

Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijja ( ar, ذُو ٱلْحِجَّة, translit=Ḏū al-Ḥijja, ), also spelled Zu al-Hijja, is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the ''Hajj, Ḥajj'' (P ...

. The Urs is entirely separate from the more widely known

Sheedi Mela The Sheedi Mela or Sheedi Jaat or Pir Mangho Urs ( ur, شیدی میلا is an annual spiritual festival in Manghopir neighborhood of Gadap Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Pir Mangho Urs is the most important event in the cultural calendar of t ...

that is also held at the Manghopir shrine.KARACHI: Manghopir urs a living tribute to Sheedi culture
Dawn (newspaper), Published 16 July 2007, Retrieved 3 December 2021

References

External links