'Panja Shah Vilayat'-Unique Imami Shrine

Panja Shah Vilayat-Hyderabad

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Panja Shah Vilayat is perhaps the only Imami shrine that houses sacred impressions of the feet of Holy Prophet and hand of Maula Ali on a single stone. The sacred relic was in possession of Syed Aman Ullah Rizvi of Iraq. When Abdullah Qutb Shah came to know about the relic, he sought the help of Safavid emperor to acquire it from Aman Ullah’s nephew Darvesh Ali Rizvi. Abdullah wanted to bless his capital Hyderabad with the relic in view of its historical significance. 

The legendry story about how the stone received impressions of the Messenger of Allah and ‘Sher-E-Khuda’ tells that the Prophet had halted at a place ‘Ghadeer-e-Khum’  on his way to Medina after performing  his last Hajj. His companions were thirsty and they wanted to fetch water from the well nearby. They put a bucket with rope into the well but could not retrieve them with water. They found bucket sucked into the well and their repeated efforts to fetch water proved futile. The companions informed the Prophet about the incident. He arrived with Maula Ali and stood on a stone that was lying near the well. Through divine knowledge he came to know about the presence of Jinns inside the well. The Prophet asked Maula Ali to descend into the well and do battle with them. While entering the well, Maula placed his left hand on the stone and fought a fierce battle with Jinns. After defeating them, Maula emerged from the well   putting his left hand again on the stone that also had the Prophet standing on it. Hence, the imprints of the Prophet’s feet and Hazrat Ali's hands remained on the stone. The history has recorded the incident as the Battle of Bir-Al-Ilm.

Abdullah was anxious to acquire the relic as he was a great devotee of Prophet and his family. He never forgot how his life was saved due to fulfillment of his mother Begum Hayat Bakhshi’s wish. She had vowed to bring Abdullah tied with a golden chain on foot from Golconda to Hussaini Alam if her son returned safely from the forests. Abdullah had remained untraced after his elephant ran amuck while crossing flooded Musi River. After sighting Muharram moon, she took the vow and miraculously Abdullah returned safely. The grateful mother summoned jewelers to immediately prepare a chain and brought her son to Hussaini Alam. She sold the chain and got food cooked from the proceeds to feed poor to give birth to a custom that is known as’ Hussaini Langar’ now. 

Sacred relics Inside the Shrine

With whole incident deeply embedded in his mind, he wished to have the relic and erect an impressive building to house it. His persistence finally yielded the desired result and the relic reached Hyderabad. Abdullah received relic with great respect and got an Ashurkhana (Imambara) constructed to house it. He  appointed a pious person to take care of  the shrine and   also decreed provision of the paraphernalia of’ Mahi Maratib’ and ‘Chattri’(Royal Umbrella) for Ashurkhana. A large chunk of land around the shrine was also endowed for its maintenance. The Asaf Jahi rulers also revered the shrine and also renovated it. They also earmarked the income of Mir Alam Mandi of every Thursday for the upkeep of the shrine. Opposite Panja Shah Vilayat is also located Ashurkhana Qadam Rasul where Bibi Ka Alam arrives on 10^th Muharram every year. During Muharram, Panja Shah Vilayat also attracts a large number of devotees.

Reference:

1-Website-Salman Book Depot

2-Documents.mx

3- www.hilshi.com/Panjeshaahe

4-Photo Courtesy-Google Images