Chakwal is host to several shrines of Chishti saints, a majority of which are associated with Khwaja Muhammad Shamsuddin Sialvi and his deputies. These shrines in their respective villages dotting the Chakwal district are greatly revered by the local people. One such shrine complex of Chishti saints is located at Dhab Khushal village, a village which is named after its founder Khushal Mair Minhas. There are four villages, known as Har Chahar Dhab in revenue records: namely Dhab Kalan (famous for the shrine of Qazi Abdul Halim, the deputy of Khwaja Muhammad Shamsuddin alias Pir Sial), Dhab Parri, Dhab Loharan and Dhab Khushal.
Dhab Khushal village is located about eight kilometres north of Chakwal town. The main castes of the village include Mair Minhas, Chauhan Janjua Rajputs, and others. It is noted for the shrines of Janjua mystics.
The most popular shrine in the village belongs to Mian Ahmaduddin, who was a disciple of Pir Ghulam Ali Khuman and deputy (khalifa) of Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah Khwarazmi. According to Foz al-Maqal Fi Khulafa–i-Pir Sial by Haji Muhammad Murid Ahmad Chishti (1997), Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah was a khalifa (deputy) of Khwaja Muhammad Shamsuddin Sialvi alias Pir Sial (d.1883), who himself was a deputy of Khwaja Muhammad Suleman Shah Taunsvi alias Pir Pathan (d.1850). Haji Muhammad Murid Ahmad Chishti believes that Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah had four eminent khulafa including Khwaja Syed Amir Ali Shah, Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ali Shah, Mian Ghulam Ali Khuman and Mian Ahmaduddin of Dhab Khushal.
I visited Dhab Khushal village with my friends Malik Kashif Awan and Ali Khan Arain on 12 August 2023, and met Ghulam Akbar Janjua. Ghulam Akbar is 73, and a most knowledgeable person about the history of the Janjua tribe in general and Janjua mystics in particular.
During conversations with Ghulam Akbar, I came to know that the great-grandfather of Mian Ahmaduddin, Mian Wilayat, was a follower of Mian Ansar Qureshi of Kalu Khurd in Attock District. Mian Wilayat studied in his madrassah at Kalu Khurd near Kamra in Attock. One gets to know more from Tazkira Ulama-e-Chach by Muhammad Nazir Ranjha (2007:197) that Mian Ansar Qureshi was the deputy of Maulana Sheikh Muhammad Yahya Naqshbandi alias Hazrat Ji Baba Attocki (d.1132 AH/1720 AD). According to Muhammad Ranjha (2007), Maulana Sheikh Muhammad Yaha Naqshbandi alias Hazrat Ji Baba Attocki was a deputy of Sheikh Saadi Lahori (d.1108 AH/1696-97 AD).
Ghulam Akbar Janjua told me that Mian Waris, the brother of Mian Wilayat, was also a mystic whose shrine is located at Kali Parri village near Bhal on Rawat-Chak Beli Khan Road in Rawalpindi district.
This family of Janjua mystics, later on, followed the Chishti Silsila when Mian Ahmaduddin became a disciple of Pir Ghulam Ali Khuman and deputy of Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah Khwarazmi whose shrine is located at Sallhoke Chatta in Gujranwala district.
According to Tazkira Auliya-e-Chakwal by Abid Minhas Siddiqui (2019:102), Mian Ahmaduddin was born in 1878 to Burhanuddin Janjua in Dhab Khushal. Moreover, Abid Minhas Sidiqqui (2019) writes that his great-grandfather Mian Wilayat migrated from a certain village in Jhelum to Dhab Kalan. However, Ghulam Akbar believes that not Mian Wilayat but his great-grandfather migrated from Malot (now part of Chakwal district) village in the former Jhelum district to Dhab Khushal.
Abid Minhas Siddiqui (2019:102) believes that Mian Ahmaduddin became a disciple of Pir Ghulam Ali Khuman of Kot Momin, who was a deputy of Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah Khwarazmi. Later Mian Ahmad ud Din received a khirqa (robe of initiation) from Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah Khwazarmi (d.1889).
Mian Ahmaduddin was known for his piety not only in his village but also in other areas of Chakwal. He died in 1959. His nephew Mian Noor Hussain became custodian of his shrine. Mian Noor Hussain received a robe of initiation (khirqa) from Syed Ghulam Farid Shah (d.1988) who was the son of Khwaja Syed Amir Ali Shah (d.1933). Khwaja Syed Amir Ali Shah was the son-in-law, deputy, and first Sajjada Nashin of the shrine of Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah Khwarazmi. After the death of his father Khwaja Syed Amir Ali Shah in 1933, Syed Ghulam Farid Shah became the Sajjada Nashin of the darbar of Khwaja Syed Muhammad Ikram Shah Khwarazmi.
Mian Noor Hussain died in 2006, leaving behind three sons-Ghulam Tasawar, Ghulam Akbar, and Abrar Hussain. His eldest son Ghulam Tasawar became the custodian of the darbar of Mian Ahmaduddin. The present Sajjada Nashin of Mian Ahmaduddin’s darbar is Kamran Tasawar son of Ghulam Tasawar.
There are two tombs in Dhab Khushal village, the first belongs to Mian Ahmaduddin. There are three graves inside the tomb of Mian Ahmaduddin. As one enters the tomb, one sees the grave of Mian Ahmaduddin in the centre. On the right is the grave of Mian Wilayat, great-grandfather of Mian Ahmaduddin, and on the left lies the grave of Syed Bukhari who settled in this village at the request of Mian Wilayat. The grave of Mian Noor Hussain is also located in the shrine complex of Mian Ahmaduddin.
To the west of the shrine complex of Mian Ahmaduddin lies the tomb of his brother Mian Nizamuddin. There is a single grave inside the tomb of Nizamuddin. He was also known for his piety.
The shrines of these Janjua mystics are held in veneration not only by their descendants but also by the disciples, devotees and the local community.