Syed Najam Ali Shah Bayen about Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
Syed Muhammad Usman Marwandi (1177-1274), known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, was a Sufi philosopher-poet. The shrine is revered by Hindus and Muslims. Hindus hold him in high esteem as the reincarnation of Krishna, known as Jhooley Laal. Sehwan is a one and half hour drive (150 km) from Hyderabad. Thousands of devotees visit the tomb particularly every Thursday.
Lal Shahbaz belonged to the Suhrawardi order of Sufis. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Makhdoom Bilawal and Sachal Sarmast were his noted disciples. He was called Lal (red) after his usual red attire, Shahbaz (falcon) to denote a noble and divine spirit, and Qalandar (free of boundaries) for his Sufi affiliation. His mysticism attracted people from all religions and he preached brotherhood among Muslims and Hindus. Thousands of pilgrims visit his shrine in Sehwan every year on his urs.
The shrine around his tomb was built in 1356 and decorated with Sindhi 'kashi-tiles', mirror-work and a gold-plated door donated by the late Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi. The inner sanctum is about 100 sq yards with a silver-canopied grave in the middle, Cutharo silver donated by Sardar Mahboob Ali Khan Wagan (Chief Sardar of Wagan Tribe). On one side of the marble floor is a row of about 12 inch high (300 mm) folding wooden stands, on which there are copies of Quran for devotees to read. On the other side, beside a bundle of incense, are rows of oil-lamps lighted by devotees.
Life
Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was a contemporary of Rumi - he travelled around the Muslim world and settled in Sehwan where he was eventually buried. There is evidence of his presence in Sindh in 1196 when he met Pir Haji Ismail Panhwar of Paat and he is believed to have arrived in Sehwan around 1251. There he established a meeting house (khanqah), taught in the Fuqhai Islam Madarrsah and wrote his treatises Mizan-us-Surf, Kism-e-Doyum, Aqd and Zubdah. Lal Shahbaz lived a celibate life and died in the year 1274 at the age of 97.
In Multan he met Bahauddin Zakariya of the Suhrwardiyya, Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar of the Chishtiyya and Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari. The friendship of these four became legendary and they were known as the Chahar Yar ("the four friends"). According to some historians the four friends visited various parts of Sindh, Punjab (in present day Pakistan and southern part of India).
Shahbaz became a profound scholar of religions, fluent in many languages: Pashto, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Sindhi and Sanskrit.
Mela/Urs
Lal Shahbaz's annual Urs (death anniversary), held on the 18 Sha'aban - the eighth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, brings more than half a million pilgrims from all over Pakistan. The devotional dance known as 'dhammal', an ecstatic swirl of the head and body, is performed to the rhythm of the naqqara, a big barrel-shaped drum, placed in the courtyard of the shrine.
Lal Shahbaz Mast Qalandar is also celebrated annually by Sindhi people in Rajkot, Gujarat. The mela is held during the month of February or early March on a Monday known as "Green Monday" (Sao Sumar) singing from 6am till 8am the next day. They invite bands of folk-singers (mandali) from different regions each year.
Jhooley Laal
Jhooley Laal refers to two interwoven legends in the Sindh, in Pakistan which bring together the Hindu and the Islamic traditions of the region in popular folklore. The name refers to the Ishta Dev (community God) of Sindhi people who lived around 950.
In the tenth century, Mirkh Shah - the fanatical ruler of Thatta - ordered the Hindus to embrace lslam. The Hindu leader prayed and recalled the promise of God Krishna in Bhagwad Geeta, "Whenever the sins increase beyond the limit and the religion seems to be endangered, I come in the form of an Avatar (I incarnate) and mitigate the distress of my worshippers."
Hindus collected on the banks of the Sindhu and prayed to Varun God (Water God) for a saviour. Varun promised to save them as an incarnation born in Nasarpur. The baby was born in Nasarpur in a silver swing (jhoola) - just like Lord Krishna in his childhood. To this day temples are built in his honour and panjaras (five-line verses) are sung to his greater glory:
"O Lal, meri pat rakhiyo sada Jhoolay Lalan
Sindri da, Sehwan da, sakhi Shabaz Qalandar
Duma dum mast Qalandar..."