Bibi Pak Daman of Pakistan

Cover Page of Bibi Pak Daman's Biography

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

The popular shrine of Bibi Pak Daman  in Lahore ( Pakistan) continues to remain enigma. Despite research activities, historians have not been able to unravel the mystery surrounding the shrine. It is simply ironical, for the shrine is the only place where differences disappear and devotees earn the peace they long for. There are two versions associated with the origin of the holy place. Both the versions need confirmation from the scholars. But it makes no difference to the devotees who rise above the puzzle associated with the shrine and form a beeline for fulfillment of their wishes. To them holy place is a symbol of hope in the sectarian –violence ridden Pakistan.

The most popular legend says that the shrine is mausoleum of Janab-E-Ruqaiya , daughter of Maula Ali. The story further holds that the shrine  holds the graves of six ladies from Prophet Muhammad's household (Ahle-Bait).Of the six graves, one belongs to  Janab-E-Ruqaiya, who was full sister of Hazrat Abbas  and also wife Hazrat Muslim, the emissary of Imam Hussain to Kufa. Other graves are believed to be as that of sisters and daughters of Hazrat Muslim.It is said that these pious women had arrived in Lahore after the battle of Karbala and the subsequent persecution that followed under Umayyad rulers. The caretakers of the shrine narrate that a Hindu king was ruling the area when the pious women reached Lahore. Upon coming to know about their arrival, the king summoned them to his court. Being pious and purdahnasheen, the women prayed to Allah to award them death. Their prayer was answered positively and the earth opened and embraced all of them in its lap The spot later on turned into a popular shrine and Sufis like Data Ganj Baksh, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and several others visited it and received  spiritual knowledge there. It is also believed that these women were the first Muslims to arrive in Lahore and their graves are the earliest ones. The spread of Islam in Indo-Pak sub-continent is also attributed to them with Janab-E-Ruqaiya as leader.The significance of the shrine could be gauged from the fact that Sultan of Ghazni Mahmood built it after winning Lahore and on coming to know about Janab-e-Ruqaiya’s grave.

According to legend - and so the tombstone on the main grave says - Bibi Haj lies buried here. Popular belief is that Bibi Haj was the name of Ruqqaya, and she along with some companions came to Lahore after the tragedy of Karbala. It is said that the Hindu Raja who then ruled Lahore on hearing of the news of their arrival summoned them to his court. As they were purdah observing ladies they prayed to God for death.

However, in his book on Lahore, Kanhiya Lal lists them as being six sisters, having the names Bibi Haj, Bibi Taj, Bibi Noor, Bibi Hur, Bibi Gauhar and Bibi Shahnaz, all of whom, the legend goes, fled Makkah after the massacre at Karbala on the 10th day of Muharram in 61AH (October 10, AD 680). Today, these are the very names written on the six graves. Nowhere does the world Ruqqaya appear on any tombstone, though everyone present refers to the grave of Bibi Haj as that of Ruqqaya.

To one side is a tablet which states that "Data Ganj Baksh stood at this place when offering fateha every week for the six Bibis". This reinforces the belief that the graves are over 1,000 years old. If this is true, then these are the very first graves of Muslims in Lahore, and represent, probably, the oldest Muslim graves in the entire sub-continent.

Several scholars however suspect the popular region. They have floated another version. According to it, no woman from the family of Prophet ever visited Lahore and Ruyqaiya was  the daughter of Syed Ahmed Tokhta who lived in 12th century. A mention of this fact has been made by Kanhiya Lal, who says that in the 12th century AD, an Arab by the name of Syed Abid Zahid Waliullah Tokhta, came and settled in Lahore. He died in the year 604 Hijra and was buried inside of the walled city in Mohallah Chahaal Bibian in Akbari Gate

To this day lies the grave of Syed Tokhta on one side of a small house built in a side street on the now demolished Haveli Pirzadan. There are again some scholars who hold that the daughter of Syed Ahmad Tokhta was married to the ruler of Kech Mekran and she died there and never came to Lahore. We find that Hazrat Ismail whose shrine is on Hall Road came to Lahore before the conquest of Lahore by the Muslims. It is probable that some Muslim ladies might have also come to Lahore during that period, and though not actually related to Hazrat Ali, they might have been Syed.

The six daughters of Syed Tokhta moved inside the walled city and settled in a haveli near the present - graveyard of Bibi Pak Daman. They were known for their piety, and they all, so the claim goes, remained unmarried. For this reason, they were all referred to as Pak Daman Bibi in the singular sense. In the year 615 Hijra, when the Afghan invader Sultan Jalaluddin Khorasani sacked Lahore, the adjoining areas were also subjected to loot and rape, as was the 'Timirud' tradition after a victory in battle. Fearing the worst, the six sisters, so legend goes, got together to pray for their chastity.

At that moment an earthquake struck, opening the ground to bury the six sisters and their maids, saving them from disgrace. Afterwards, local people seeing the clothes of the sisters sticking out of the ground, gave them a proper burial. These graves still exist in two portions. On one side are the graves of Haj, Taj and Noor, while in another compound are the graves of Hur, Gauhar and Shahnaz. The graves of the maids are also on the outer perimeter of these graves

Bibi Pak Daman is located between Garhi Shahu and Railway Station area. While the search for truth goes on, the shrine keeps on drawing crowd of devotees who defy all controversies and hold the ladies in high esteem and capable of fulfilling their wishes. Most of them carry Laddus , popularly known as Mannat de Laddu. Upon fulfillment of their wish, they also tie a ring.During Muharram the number of visitors swell considerably and  shrine becomes the main market for procurement of Azadari related items like tazia, alams and patkas.

Bibi Pak Daman was once a sprawling complex but it has shrunk greatly due to construction of shops and other buildings. It needs expansion to accommodate the crowd of visitors, especially during Muharram when entry to the complex becomes difficult because of the rush of devotees who gather to have ziarat or glimpse of Zuljenah. ( References available on request.)