Imam Reza's 'Son'-His Shrine Awaiting Recognition

Samana-Most 'Sacred' Imami Shrine in India 

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi 

Samana, a sleepy town of Punjab, should have been the most sacred among all the shrines dedicated to Ahle-Bait-E-Athar in Indian sub- Continent. But it still remains an insignificant place as the religious scholars and historians have not made sincere efforts to ascertain as to whether the popular Panj Peer Mazar at Samana contains the grave of Imam Reza’s son or not?     

The town had hit headlines after the chance discovery of an epitaph that reads “Tomb of Hazrat Imam Mash-had Ali son of Hazrat Ali Moosa Raza. Built by Ajruddin Khan Mughal son of Bakhsh Allah Khan in the month of Blessed Ramadan 967 Hijri corresponding to Year 4 of Emperor Akbar”. The epitaph had surfaced during the cleaning of the shrine complex before the visit of Lahore High Court Judge Shabbar Rizvi. The Punjab government had ordered the cleaning of the shrine complex upon coming to know from Justice Shabbar Ahmad that a great saint lies buried in Panj Peer Mazar and he was aware of its existence as his family had migrated to Pakistan from Samana after partition.

The discovery of the inscription evoked enthusiastic response from the followers of Ahle-Bait as there is no shrine of the direct descendants of Prophet’s family in the whole Indian sub- Continent. A host of important religious scholars like Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, historians from Patiala and Kurukshetra universities, dignitaries and diplomats from the Iranian embassy in Delhi visited Samana, located 28 kilometers from Patiala. On his return from Samana, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad confirmed the existence of a tomb who is said to be a pedigree of the Eight or the Ninth Imam at Samana from the time of Emperor Akbar. He also assured to facilitate the transfer of about 5000 Imami families to Samana so that proper care of the shrine could be ensured. Irani Embassy had also promised then to hold a seminar on Samana so that scholars could unravel the mystery shrouding the relation of Syed Ali Mashhad Ali with Imam Reza namely, Ali (the ninth Imam) and Moosa. Some other sources are of the view that Imam Reza also had a third son but his name was Yahiya and not Mashhad Ali.

The legends however support the common belief that Syed Mashhad Ali was one of the sons of Imam Reza. They support their claim to the visit of Khwaja Moin Uddin Chishti at the shrine while he was on his way to Delhi. Further, Nihangs of the area are also convinced that the saint buried in Panj Peer possess divine power even today. According to them, Samana was inhabited by many a Syed families before partition. But most of them migrated to Pakistan in view of the riots that broke out after 1947.When Sikhs refugees who arrived here ands tried to construct a Gurudwara in place of the shrine but failed in their attempt. Whenever they erected anything it collapsed immediately.   

As a veneration of the saint lying buried in the shrine, they dropped the area and asked Punjab Government to allot them another land for construction of Gurudwara .the government accepted their demand and gave a new land about 200 meters away from the shrine. The locals quote these incidents and discovery of the inscription as ample proof to establish the relationship of Syed Mashhad Ali with the family of Prophet. Being convinced that the shrine was a holy one , they have been taking care of it with respect for several decades. Their devotion towards the shrine makes Samana as a symbol of communal harmony like Maler Kotla.

Even the prominent lawyer of Moradabad, Late Zaheer Mohsin Naqvi Saheb was of the view that the tomb at Samana contained surely the grave of an Imam’s son. He had some Persian and Urdu literature to substantiate his claim. He had given photocopies of the literature on the history of Samana to the author also that clearly indicate the glorious past of shrine and its grandeur before partition. Late Mohsin was compiling the history of Imamia shrines in India and wished to publish a book but his sudden death in January 2011 left the task unfinished.  

As the entire Muslim population immigrated to Pakistan, the shrine left uncared for sometime. But then a Sikh order called “Buddha Dal” started taking interest in its upkeep. Prior to the initiative of Buddha Dal, one Thambi Baba maintained Panj Peer Mazar but then he disappeared one day. A Brahmin Mangat Ram has also been taking care of shrine for the past several years out of his devotion to Imam Husain and Baba buried at Panj Peer Mazar.

Sant Kripalji of Gurudwara Thada Saheb has also kept literature associated with Panj Peer Mazar. He claims to have seen a book in Urdu on the history of Samana. According to him Persians of “Samanat” caste came here and inhabited the place centuries ago. They were cloth merchants. The locals are of the view that Panj Peer Mazar belongs to “Chauda Peer” (Wide Saint) who is considered the most important saint in the area. The adjacent tomb, according to them, belongs to his brother or wife. A third tomb to the right belongs to his maternal uncle who is addressed by the villagers as “Imam Saheb” or “Bada Peer” (Big Saint). The Mughals had granted about 320 Bighas land to the tomb but most of it has been usurped by the encroachers.  Only few Bighas is left for the tomb. It is used for agriculture and the proceeds are spent for the upkeep and repair of the tomb. Thada Sahib Gurudwara keeps a separate register for this purpose. The tomb is located in a large compound about four kilometers outside Samana town. It has an impressive Mughal style gate but the structures inside are in need of urgent repair.( Reference Available on request).

Iran Deputy Vice-President Mohd Ali Abadi at Panj Peer Dargah, Samana

 I am reproducing below an email received from Janab Tahir Husain Rizvi which is self- explanatory.Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Holy places in samana.I am Syed Tahir Hussain Rizvi I have read ur article about imamzadah ALI in Samana.My parents and entire family migrated from samana to Pakistan.our ancestors lived in Samana more than six centuries.generally in India this impression is found that these mazars were discovered incidentally.as the entire population migrated so there was no one to look after.occasionally some people from our family used to visit samana.since there was no Muslim population left, the landgrabbers grabbed the adjacent lands.graveyards were demolished and the lands were occupied by the local people.the buildings were crumbling and there was no mentinance. During the visit of Ex- Chief minister of Punjab Maninder singh to lahore,syed family of Patiala requested to reconstruct these mazars as maharaja patiala knew the sadat e patiala since the creation of this Sikh state.so under the orders of ex c m Punjab waqf board took the charge of these mazars and reconstruction started for( References available on request).