Kambojaric
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Il start off with posting about the Shah Alami Darwaza (Shalmi for the locals). This gate was named after the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam who also died in Lahore before being buried in Delhi. Shah Alam was the son of Aurengzeb, the man behind the Badshahi Masjid which was at its time of construction the largest mosque in the world. Shahalmi was traditionally a Hindu majority area with sizeable Muslim and Sikh minorities. To this day some Mandirs have survived the events of 1947, when large parts of Shahlmi were burnt to the ground including the Shahalmi Gate itself, although most are now used as houses since very few Hindus remain.
Sanatana Dharma Sabha, Rang Mahal
A roughly 5-10 min walk from here can take you to the tomb of Malik Ayaz, the slave of Mahmud Ghaznavi, who was governor of Lahore during his reign.
Map of the location (Google Maps )
Pictures of the tomb
The loyalty of Ayaz to Mahmud has been used by many Sufi poets throughout history to symbolize real love, including by the likes of Rumi and Iqbal.
A third historical site of the Shahalmi area is Masjid Shab Bhar, (Google Maps )
which was built in just one night hence the name. Basically during the colonial period Hindus and Muslims had been fighting over this piece of land, both wanting to built a temple/mosque there. Eventually the matter went to the authorities, which worried the Muslim leadership immensely since Hindus in Lahore were far better off financially, and as a consequence had much more influence over the authorities. Therefore they decided to build the mosque that night, since colonial laws forbade the destruction of religious sites once constructed. By Fajr time they had succeeded in building the mosque hence it remained a Mosque.
The Mosque today
This mosque has also been mentioned in the poetry Iqbal as part of his criticism of the moral collapse of the Muslims of his time.
He writes:
Though the mosque was built overnight by the believers
Our heart being old sinner for years devout could not be
He ends the poem with:
Iqbal is a good advisor, fascinates the heart in moments
He did become hero in talk, but one in deeds he could not be.
I got the poem and translation from here:
Allama Iqbal Poetry کلام علامہ محمد اقبال: (Bang-e-Dra-199-Book Complete) Masjid To Bana Di Shab Bhar Mein Iman Ki Hararat Walon Ne
Sanatana Dharma Sabha, Rang Mahal
A roughly 5-10 min walk from here can take you to the tomb of Malik Ayaz, the slave of Mahmud Ghaznavi, who was governor of Lahore during his reign.
Map of the location (Google Maps )
Pictures of the tomb
The loyalty of Ayaz to Mahmud has been used by many Sufi poets throughout history to symbolize real love, including by the likes of Rumi and Iqbal.
A third historical site of the Shahalmi area is Masjid Shab Bhar, (Google Maps )
which was built in just one night hence the name. Basically during the colonial period Hindus and Muslims had been fighting over this piece of land, both wanting to built a temple/mosque there. Eventually the matter went to the authorities, which worried the Muslim leadership immensely since Hindus in Lahore were far better off financially, and as a consequence had much more influence over the authorities. Therefore they decided to build the mosque that night, since colonial laws forbade the destruction of religious sites once constructed. By Fajr time they had succeeded in building the mosque hence it remained a Mosque.
The Mosque today
This mosque has also been mentioned in the poetry Iqbal as part of his criticism of the moral collapse of the Muslims of his time.
He writes:
Though the mosque was built overnight by the believers
Our heart being old sinner for years devout could not be
He ends the poem with:
Iqbal is a good advisor, fascinates the heart in moments
He did become hero in talk, but one in deeds he could not be.
I got the poem and translation from here:
Allama Iqbal Poetry کلام علامہ محمد اقبال: (Bang-e-Dra-199-Book Complete) Masjid To Bana Di Shab Bhar Mein Iman Ki Hararat Walon Ne
