Pat Sharif was a historical village whose landscape was dotted with the shrines of saints, khanqahs, mosques and madrassahs. The remains of the old village are located east of New Pat. The old village Pat is now nothing but a mound. It is not known when Old Pat was founded. New Pat is believed to have been built in 1188/1774 by the landlords of the village.
Today, Pat Sharif village is situated on the right bank of the Indus and is located about 35 km north of Dadu town. It is also said that Mughal emperor Humayun (d. 1556) after his defeat in the Battle of Kannuj by Sher Shah Suri in 1540 fled to Punjab and later Sindh, and also visited Pat. During his sojourn in Pat, he married Hamida Begum in 948 AH/1541 AD, who was the daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar alias Mian Baba, a noble in his government in Delhi.
Pat Sharif rose to prominence after the arrival of Shaikh Shahab-al-Din Sani son of Shaikh Nuruddin from Kot Karor in Multan, which was then centre of Suhrawardi saints. He came to Pat Sharif during the reign of Jam Nizamuddin Samo alias Jamo Nando (d. 1508). Shaikh Shahab-al-Din Sani was a descendant of Shaikh Shahab-al-Din Umar Suhrawardi (d. 1234). He was a scholar and an eminent saint who established his khanqah in Pat Sharif, where many people became his disciples. He was the ancestor of all the Siddiqui Suharwardi saints and scholars of Pat Sharif, who went to study and preach in different cities, towns and villages in Sindh, Punjab and India. Many eminent scholars, Sufis and saints from the Siddiqui family of Shaikh Shahab-al-Din Sani were born in this village and went from Pat Sharif to other regions, and continued to preach and produce literature on theology and Sufism, and other subjects. A few Suhrawardi saints from Pat Sharif settled in those towns and villages and continued preaching. Those who went to Burhanpur in India established the Sindhipura locality there.
Shrine complex of Makhdoom Fazalullah, Pat Sharif
Shaikh Shahab-al-Din died in 894 AH/1489 AD and was buried in the shrine complex of Shaikh Nuh Bakhari (d.1538) in Bakhar near Sukkur. He had two sons: Shaikh Maruf Suhrawardi Patai and Makhdoom Qazi Burhanuddin Suhrawardi Patai, who were also accomplished scholars and studied under the supervision of their father. Qazi Burhanuddin Suhrawardi was a leading scholar and judge of his time in the Kakar area. He died and was buried near Kakar. According to local accounts, the tomb of Qazi Burhanuddin Suhrwardi is located in Khanpur which I have visited several times. There is no historical reference to his burial at Khanpur but local accounts ascribe him to the family of Shaikh Shahab-al-Din Suhrawardi Sani. Khanpur is also famous for the tombs of Paryani Syeds, which are situated east of the tomb of Qazi Burhanuddin Suhrawardi.
Shaikh Maruf’s son Makhdoom Ruknuddin was also an eminent sufi and scholar of his time. He was popularly known as Makhdoom Mato. According to Tarikh-e-Masumi by Mir Masumi Bakhari (d. 1605), he was a deputy (khalifa) of Makhdoom Bilawal Baghbani (d. 1522). He migrated from Pat Sharif to Thatta where he established a madrassah. He was a good scholar of Hadith and the author of a few books. He died in 949 AH/1542 AD in Thatta leaving behind two sons – Shaikh Isa Kabir and Shaikh Yousuf Sindhi. Both were eminent scholars. Shaikh Isa Kabir went along with his two sons Shaikh Maruf Sani and Shaikh Usman Patai to preach in Sitpur in Muzaffargarh. Shaikh Isa Patai established his madrassah in Sitpur and began preaching in the area. His family settled in Sitpur where they spread Suhrawardi silsila. According to Gulzar-i- Ibrar (2009) by Muhammad Ghausi Shhatari Mandavi, both the sons of Shaikh Isa are buried in Sitpur in Muzaffargarh in Punjab.
Shaikh Yousuf Sindhi son of Makhdoom Ruknuddin Patai was another eminent Sufi and scholar from the Siddiqui family of Pat Sharif. He received formal education in Pat Sharif. He was very fond of travelling and kept travelling between Makkah, Pat Shari and Nagor in India. According to Muhammad Naeem Tahir Suhrawardi (2020), the author of Tarikh Mashaikh Suhrwardiyya, he stayed in Nagor where he, with help of Sheikh Yahya Bukhari Suhrawardi and Sheikh Abdul Razzaq Qadir, established a madrassah. He used to give lectures on theology in the town. Many people became his disciples in Nagor. He had four sons-Makhdoom Abbas, Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis, Shaikh Qasim and Shaikh Taib.
Graves of Makhdoom Fazalullah, his sons and nephews
According to Tarikh-i-Masumi by Mir Muhammad Masum Bakhari, Makhdoom Abbas Suhrawardi was a resident of Pat who migrated from his village to Hingorja where he established a madrasa where many people became his disciples. He was an eminent scholar of Tafsir, Hadith, and Fiqah. He died in 998/1590 in Hingorja.
Makhdoom Taib Patai son of Shaikh Yousuf Sindhi was also a scholar and was known for his piety. Muhammad Ghausi Shhatari Mandavi (2009) writes in Gulzar-i- Ibrar (p.486), which was translated in Sindhi by Makhdoom Abdul Jabbar Siddiqui, that Shaikh Taib travelled with his father Shaikh Yousuf Sindhi and brother Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis Patai spent some time with Shaikh Shahabuddin Wasal Sindhi who was popularly known as Shaikh Sindhi in a certain village in Sindh. Later on, in 950 AH/1543 AD, they went to Gujarat and stayed in Bharuch where they met Sheikh Muhammad Ghaus and spent some time with him and learned theology and Sufism from him. Later on, they moved to the province of Deccan where they met Shaikh Muhammad Multani who was a deputy of Bahauddin Qadiri. Shaikh Yousuf Sindhi kept travelling with his sons Shaikh Taib Patai and Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis to seek knowledge from the leaned scholars and Sufis. They, later on, moved to Irijpur Berar. They received a robe of initiation in this town where they taught and preached for quite some time before moving to Burhanpur in wake of the invasion of the town by Murtaza Nizam ul-Mulk, the ruler of Ahmednagar.
Shaikh Taib had died in 950 AH/1543 AD in Irijpur Berar before the invasion by Murtaza Nizam ul-Mulk. He was buried in Irijpur. Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis was a leading scholar and Sufi from Pat Sharif who kept moving from one place to other and finally settled in Burhanpur. He was initiated into Shattari silsila by Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus Gwaliori (d. 1563). It was in Burhanpur where Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis spent a considerable time teaching in a seminary and preaching. He died in 1004 AH/1596 AD, leaving behind many disciples and deputies to spread his thoughts. He was buried near his khanqah in Burhanpur where it is believed that Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan (d. 1627) built a walled enclosure around his grave. He was the ancestor of all Siddiqui Suhrawardi saints and scholars in Burhanpur. Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis was the author of several books, the most prominent one was Tafsir Majmua-al-Bahar.
Shrine of Makhdoom Fazalullah in Pat Sharif
The fourth son of Shaikh Yousuf Sindhi was Shaikh Qasim Patai who was also a prominent religious scholar. He also travelled with his brother Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis to Gujarat and Burhanpur. He spent most of his time teaching in a seminary in Pat Sharif. He frequently visited his brother Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis in Burhanpur. Shaikh Qasim Sindhi Suhrawardi died in Pat Sharif in 1573 leaving behind three sons- Masih ul-Auliya Shaikh Isa Sindhi Suhrawaradi Shattari, Suleiman Saifi Burhanpuri, and Usman Burhanpuri.
Shaikh Isa son of Shaikh Yousuf Sindh was the most outstanding scholar and Sufi in Burhanpur. He was known by various titles Masih ul-Auliya, Masih ul-Qalab, Shaikh Habibullah, Jundullah, etc., which were given to him by various Sufis and scholars.
There are different versions regarding the birthplace of Shaikh Isa Jundullah. From Burhanpur ke Sindhi Auliya by Syed Matiullah Rashid Burhanpuri (1987), Shaikh Isa Jundullah was born in Elajpur (Irijpur Berar) in 962/1555. The same information has also been given about his birthplace in A history of Sufism in India Vol. II, from Sixteenth Century to Modern Century by Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi (2004:169). Shaikh Isa Jundullah was a scholar and a Sufi who was initiated into the Shattari order by Shaikh Lashkar Muhammad ‘Arif’ (d. 1585). According to Saiyid Abbas Rizvi (2004:169), the most illustrations disciple and khalifa of Shaikh Muhammad ‘Arif’ was Shaikh Isa, the son of Shaikh Qasim Sindhi. Moreover, he writes that Shaikh Isa travelled to Mandu, Gwalior and Agra to study with Shattariyya scholars and Sufis. Shaikh Isa Jundullah was the author of several books, a list of which has been given by Dr. Shaikh Farid in his book Hazrat Shaikh Isa Jundullah which is published in 1975 in Hyderabad. He also mentions the list of his prominent deputies and disciples. Dr. Shaikh Farid also discusses his two brothers Shaikh Usman and Shaikh Suleiman who were the bodyguards of Raja Ali Khan, the ruler of Khandesh. Both brothers died in battle against Sohail Khan Deccani. Shaikh Suleman was also a scholar and poet and used Saifi as his pen name. Both brothers were also disciples of Lashkar Muhammad Khan ‘Arif’.
Some books include Anwar-e-Burhanpur by Atiqullah Talmeez Burhanpuri (1987) and Shehr-e-Dilkusha Burhanpur by Dr. Yaseen Quddusi (2020) briefly discuss and mention Shaikh Isa Jundullah. However, Tarikh-i- Burhanpur (1899) by Moulvi Khalil ur Rahman gives a detailed description of Shaikh Isa Jundullah.
Shaikh Isa Jundullah Sindhi Shattari spent most of his time teaching and writing scholarly books in Burhanpur, a city that became a second home to Sindhi scholars and Sufis from Sindh where a separate locality was developed and came to be called Sindhipura. The majority of Sindhi scholars from Sewistan (Sehwan) and other regions of Sindh were intuited into the Shattariyya order. Apart from Shaikh Isa Jundullah, another eminent Khalifa of Shaikh Muhammad Arif was Ibrahim Muhammad Qari. Saiyid Abbas Rizvi (2004:169) writes in A History of Sufism in India, Vol. II, from Sixteenth Century to Modern Century, “one of Shaikh Muhammad Arif’s disciples, Shaikh Ibrahim Qari Shattari was a Sindhi was an excellent calligrapher and wrote different types of scripts very competently. In the company of his pir (Shaikh Muhammad Arif), he visited Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus, and for about eighteen years, he acted as imam (religious leader) of Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus’s congregational prayers. Shaikh Ibrahim Qari died in 991 AH/1583 AD at Burhanpur.”
Hakim Usman Bubkai son of Shaikh Isa son of Shaikh Ibrahim Siddiqui went from Bubak in Sewistan (Sehwan) to become a disciple of Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis, the uncle of Shaikh Isa Jundullah at Burhanpur. According to Tazkira Mashair Sindh Vol.1 by Din Muhammad Wafai (1991), he spent most of his time with Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis at Burhanpur. Later Hakim Usman Bukai (d. 1600). became a khalifa of Wajihuddin Shattari (d. 1589) who was himself an eminent khalifa of Muhammad Ghuas Gwaliori (d. 1563).
Shaikh Mubarak Patai was another scholar from Pat who went to Burhanput to become a disciple of Shaikh Tahir Muhaddis Patai. Later Shaikh Mubarak Patai become a disciple of Shaikh Lashkar Muhammad ‘Arif” who initiated him into Shattari order. He died in 978 AH /1570 AD and was buried in the tomb of Shaikh Ibrahim son of Umer Sindhi in Burhanpur.
The author, standing next to the grave of Makhdoom Hasanullah, Pat Sharif
The Patai Siddiqui saints and scholars of Burhanpur continued visiting their native village Pat Sharif in Sindh. likewise, The Patai Siddiqui saints and scholars of pat sharif also used to visit their relatives in Burhanpur. Shaikh Isa Jundulallh visited Pat and Hingorja when his uncle Muhammad Abbas died in 998AH /1590 AD. He was made Gadi Nashin of the shrine of Makhdoom Muhammad Abbas. Shaikh Isa Jundullah Shah died in 1031 AH/1622 AD in Burhanpur. He had two wives from whom he had six sons and two daughters. The names of his sons were Shaikh Abdul Sattar, Shaikh Shehrullah, Shaikh Usman, Shaikh Abdur Rahman alias Baba Fateh Muhammad, Shaikh, Taha and Shaikh Hashim.
The list of Siddiqui saints and scholars is very long. However, I will mention a few more Siddiqui Patai saints and scholars. One of the leading scholars and saints from the family of Shehrullah son of Shaikh Isa Jundullah Sindhi Shattari Burhanpuri was Mufti Abdul Wahid Kabir Suharwardi Patai. He was born in Pat Sharif in 1047 AH/1637 AD. He was an eminent religious scholar in Pat Sharif and Sewistan in the sixteenth century. He was a scholar of Hadith and Fiqah. He wrote a book on Fiqh, Kashuf-al-Asrar. He was the ancestor of all the Makhdoom Saddiqui family of Sewistan (Sehwan) and Pat Sharif. He died in 1123 AH/1711 AD in Pat Sharif. His son Mufti Mahmood Siddiqui lived in Pat Sharif whereas his other son Makhdoom Saghir Din Muhammad migrated from Pat Sharif to Sewistan. According to Muhammad Naeem Tahir Suhrwardi (2020), the author of Tarikh Mashaikh Suhrwardiyya, Makhdoom Din Muhammad Siddiqui was Shaikh ul-Islam of Sewistan during the reign of Mian Noor Muhammad Kalhoro (r. 1719-1753). He died in 1192 AH /1778 AD and was buried in Sewistan. His son Abdul Wahid Sani was also an eminent Siddiqui scholar of Sewistan and wrote about 40 books on Fiqah, Hadith, Tafsir, Sufism, and other subjects. He died in 1809 and was buried in Sewistan (Sewan). He had a large number of disciples in different towns and villages of Sindh.
Makhdoom Fazalullah was another illustrious scholar and Sufi from the Siddiqui family. He was the son of Makhdoom Abdul Wasih and grandson of Makhdoom Din Muhammad Siddiqui. According to Makhdoom Fazalullah- Jo-Kalam which is compiled by Makhdoom Saleemullah Siddiqui (2009), Makhdoom Abdul Wasih was the son of Makhdoom Muhammad Hasan Sehwani. He obtained formal education in a seminary of his elder brother Makhdom Muhammad Arif in Sewistan. He was an eminent religious scholar and poet. He was initiated into Qadiri silsila by a certain Qadiri Sufi from Multan. He died in the second quarter of the nineteenth century in Sehwan. He had four sons: Makhdoom Fazalullah, Makhdoom Wahabullah, Makhdoom Fatehullah and Makhdoom Madadullah.
Makhdoom Fazalullah the son of Makhdoom Abdul Wasih migrated from Sehwan. He first became a disciple of his uncle Makhdoom Muhammad Arif Sehwani (d. 1842) and later he received a robe of initiation (khirqa) from the Naqshbandi Sufi saint Makhdoom Muhammad Yousuf (d. 1860) of Khiyaron village near Nawabshah. Makhdoom Fazalullah was an eminent Naqshbandi Sufi saint. Many people studied in his madrasa in Pat Sharif and later several of his deputies and disciples spread Naqshbandi silsila in their respective towns and villages.
Shrine of Pir Ismail in Pat Sharif
Makhdoom Fazalullah was a scholar of Hadith, Tafsir and Fiqh. He was a poet. He wrote over a dozen books on these and other subjects. Some of his prominent books include Wahdat Namo, Zewar Namo, Taswwuf Namo and others. He died in 1873 and was buried in Pat Sharif. Today his shrine is the most popular one in the village. After his death, his son Nizamuddin became Gadi Nashin of his dargah. He was also an eminent scholar and wrote books on theology and Sufism. After his death, Makhdoom Muhammad Salih, nephew of Makhdoom Fazalullah become Gadin Nahin. Makhdoom Ahmed became the Gadin Nashin of the dargah of Fazulllah after the death of his father Makhdoom Muhammad Salih. Makhdoom Ahmed was also a scholar and a Sufi and was known for his piety.
There are four graves in the tomb of Makhdoom Fazalullah which include his own grave, his son Makhdoom Nizamuddin, his nephew Muhammad Salih and Makhdoom Mahmood. Makhdoom Nizamuddin was also known for his piety. Like his father, he also spread the Naqshbandi silsila and wrote about nine books. Makhdoom Nizamuddin died in 1351 AH/1932 AD, leaving behind four sons and two daughters. To the west of the tomb of Fazalullah is the grave of Makhdoom Hasanullah son of Wahabullah. He was a nephew of Makhdoom Fazalullah and was an eminent religious scholar. He had also a large following of disciples in different towns and villages in Sindh. he died in 1339 AH/1920 AD.
Apart from the shrines of Siddiqui saints and scholars, there are a few other shrines in Pat Sharif which belong to Pir Ismail, Syed Hasan Ali Shah, and Syed Nasir Shah Lakiyari. According to Gulzar Kalhoro Patai, the author of Pat Sharif Tarikh Je Ainey men (Pat Sharif through the lens of History), Pir Ismail Shah was a Suhrawardi saint and was a khalifa (deputy) of Bahauddin Zakariya (d.1262). Pir Ismail belonged to the Panhwar tribe.
