Sheikh Hafiz Haji Hasan-al-Maroof Sultan Manghopir or Pir Mangho ( Sindhi and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: خواجہ حسن سخی سلطان عرف منگھو پیر) is the popular name for 13th century

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Pir Haji Syed Khawaja Hassan Sakhi Sultan. Sakhi Manghopir's proper name is Hasan and according to another version Kamaluddin. He was titled a pir by

Baba Farid Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar ( – 16 Oct 1265), commonly known as Bābā Farīd or Sheikh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed, Fareed ud-Deen, Masood, etc.), was a 13th-century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet and preacher. Revered by ...

, whose disciple he became.

Pir Mangho Urs Sheikh Hafiz Haji Hasan-al-Maroof Sultan Manghopir or Pir Mangho (Sindhi language, Sindhi and Urdu: خواجہ حسن سخی سلطان عرف منگھو پیر) is the popular name for 13th century Sufi Pir (Sufism), Pir Haji Syed Khawaja ...

is celebrated in the

Islamic month The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the ann ...

Zil Hijjah Dhu al-Hijjah (also Dhu al-Hijja ) is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. Being one of the four sacred months during which war is forbidden, it is the month in which the '' Ḥajj'' () takes place as well as Eid al-Adha (). Th ...

. The settlement around his shrine has been named

Manghopir Manghopir Town, () is a neighbourhood located in the north-western part of Karachi, in Pakistan's Sindh province. It is one of the three towns of Orangi District in Karachi Division, that was previously part of Gadap Town until 2011. Now it is ...

and is part of

Gadap Town Gadap Town () is an administrative subdivision of Malir District in the northwestern part of Karachi with the Hub River on its western limits also forming the provincial border between Sindh and Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, while to the n ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

.Asghar Ahmed، ”Pakistan tourism directory, '86: Everything about Tourism“, Published: Holiday Weekly, 1986 (pages 44, 204 and 435) via Google Books
/ref>Pakistan Archaeologists Forum, ”Journal of Pakistan Archaeologists Forum, Volume 1“
p.35 via Google Books, published: Pakistan Archaeologists Forum the University of Michigan 1992 Mangho Pir is called "Lala Jasraj" by the

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

. Balochis often call this place as 'Mangi' or Garm-aap / Sard-aap (due to the presence of the hot & cold springs).

Background

Pir Mangho meet the Sufi saint

Fariduddin Ganjshakar Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar ( – 16 Oct 1265), commonly known as Bābā Farīd or Sheikh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed, Fareed ud-Deen, Masood, etc.), was a 13th-century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet and preacher. Revered by ...

. He then went, to Ajudhan and presented himself to Sheikh Ganj Shakhar. In 662 AH (1263 or 1264 AD), he was admitted as a disciple in the

Chisti The Chishti order () is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city o ...

ah order, and he became the 40th Khalifah/

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

of Baba Farid Ganjshakar. Based on the advice of Baba Farid, he went to Multan in 659 AH (1260 or 1261 AD). From there, he travelled to various places in the pursuit of spiritual attainment and then settled down in Manghopir where he carried out his missionary work. Manghopir was a desolate place then; there he spent his days in prayer and seeking spiritual attainments. In ancient times this place is reported to have been a sacred place. With the presence of this saint at Manghopir, it became an attraction for the seekers of Oneness and Truth. Great luminaries of the spiritual world, such as

Bahauddin Zakariya Bahauddin Zakariya (c.1170 – 1262), also known as Baha-ul-Haq, was a Sunni Muslim scholar, saint and poet who established the ''Suhrawardiyya'' order of Baghdad in medieval South Asia, later becoming one of the most influential spiritual ...

Lal Shahbaz Qalander Sayyid Shah Hussain Jafari al-Marwandi , (1177 - 19 February 1274) popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (), was a Sufi saint and poet who is revered in South Asia. In Taqaiyah, his maternal grandfather changed his name to Usman al-Marwandi o ...

, Jalaluddin Bokhari often visited Manghopir. The ancient texts from the area mention this shrine and it is also mentioned in the writings of 19th century British colonialists. Some historians say that the crocodiles at the shrine's pond have been here for centuries.

Crocodiles

The crocodiles are an integral part of the shrine and are so tightly interwoven with the story of the saint that it is almost impossible to judge between fact & fiction. There are many traditions about myth of crocodiles, as if it is believed that

gave the reptiles to Manghopir. According to scientific explanations, these crocodiles were carried through some heavy floods, during ancient times and later gathered or collected at this pond. Archaeological investigations have also found the existence of a Bronze Age settlement (2500-1700 BC) at Manghopir, who worshipped crocodiles. This shrine has a very large pond and a sulphur spring. The pond has dozens of crocodiles who are regularly and traditionally fed by visitors to the shrine.

Hot springs and healing resort

There are hot and cold springs about a kilometer from the shrine. Warm water passing through the

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

rocks is said to have some medicinal qualities. Many people with skin diseases regularly come from long distances to have a bath to cure them. There are separate swimming pools and shower rooms for men and women. Scientific analysis has shown that this warm water is naturally saturated with

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

, besides containing some sulphur which is considered good for treating some skin diseases.

Pir Mangho Urs

Pir Mangho Urs () is an annual festival (

urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or Urus (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. ...

) at the shrine of

Pir Mangho at

. The urs marks the death anniversary of Pir Mangho and is held annually in the Islamic month of

Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijjah (also Dhu al-Hijja ) is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. Being one of the four sacred months during which war is forbidden, it is the month in which the '' Ḥajj'' () takes place as well as Eid al-Adha (). T ...

. The Urs is entirely separate from the more widely known Sheedi Mela that is also held at the Manghopir shrine.KARACHI: Manghopir urs a living tribute to Sheedi culture
Dawn (newspaper), Published 16 July 2007, Retrieved 3 December 2021

References

External links