Imam Ali al-Haq (الامام علي الحق) lived in the 10th century. He is referenced in a Persian manuscript by Ganesh Das Wadhera titled "Chār Bāgh-i-Panjāb", an account which is later published by Indu Banga and J. S. Grewal in their book "Early Nineteenth-Century Panjab." Imam Ali al-Haq led an army to

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Kas ...

from Arabia between 965-971 A.D during the

Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kh ...

appointment of

Bilgetegin Bilgetegin was a Turkic officer, who was the Samanid governor of Ghazna from 12 November 966 to 975. He was successor of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim of Ghazna. On 12 November 966, when Abu Ishaq Ibrahim of Ghazna died, he left no child for throne of the Gha ...

. He was killed in Sialkot in a battle with

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

Sahan Pal, who assumed the title of Salbahan the second, in the course of his brothers rule of

Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and femal ...

. Many Muslim associates, who were riding with Imam Ali al-Haq, also lost their lives in the battle, to the sword of

Hindu Shahis The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details r ...

. Amongst these killed was Syed Sabzwar. After this happened, Sultan Nasir al-Din

Sabuktigin Abu Mansur Nasir al-Din Sabuktigin ( fa, ابو منصور سبکتگین) ( 942 – August 997), also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 367 A.H/977 A.D to 38 ...

of Ghazni invaded the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

in 980 A.D. To avenge the Imam, he massacred all the inhabitants, completely devastated the city and demolished the solid walls of its fort. Syed Imam Ali al-Haq is hailed as a Muslim knight and warrior saint and is referred to as "Shahid awwal", meaning the first martyr (in Punjab), because he was the first person to lead an army to

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

after the Arab military commander,

Muhammad bin Qasim Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqāfī ( ar, محمد بن القاسم الثقفي; –) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (part of modern Pakistan), inaugurating the Uma ...

. His efforts not only invited the

Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

but set in motion a long process which culminated in the creation of the Delhi Sultanate. Syed Imam Ali al-Haq's shrine is situated in

city at the place where he died. The path leading to his tomb is often lined with numerous pilgrims. The mausoleum complex is a maze of narrow corridors and steps leading to several other tombs of men from his army whose names are not known, including the shrines of

pir Pir or PIR may refer to: Places * Pir, Kerman, a village in Kerman Province, Iran * Pir, Satu Mare, commune in Satu Mare County, Romania Religion * Pir (Alevism), one of the 12 ranks of Imam in Alevism * Pir (Sufism), a Sufi teacher or spiritu ...

(holy men). The tomb of Imam Ali-ul-Haq is to the right, through a mirrored gateway and is tiled with Quranic inscriptions and geometric designs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali-ul-Haq, Imam Punjabi Sufi saints Punjabi Sufis People from Sialkot Dargahs

See also

References