Baba Shah Jamal

Baba Shah Jamal was born in 1588 CE. His father, Maulana Abdul Wahid, was also a renowned religious scholar and belonged to the family of "Qazi Jamalud Din Badshahi", a famous Kashmiri family. Shah Jamal belonged to the school of Qadiriyyah and Suhrawardiyya and came to Lahore in 1617 CE. He lived in "Ichra" (transliteration: Itch-Ra) at the time of Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. The emperor, along with the council of his advisers, introduced the Din-i-Ilahi or "Divine Faith" ,a syncretic elitist religious cult intended to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire (primarily Hinduism and Islām; elements were also taken from Christianity, Jainism and Zoroastrianism) and thereby reconcile the sectarian differences that divided his subjects but was against the spirit of Islam. Shah Jamal fought against Akbar’s Din-i-Ilahi and brought the people back towards the actual spirit of Islam. The saint passed away in 1671 CE and was buried near "Ichra". The area has been named Shah Jamal in his honor.

Links

* [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C04%5C20%5Cstory_20-4-2007_pg7_45 Shah Jamal’s urs]
* [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C05%5C03%5Cstory_3-5-2006_pg13_5 "Pappu Saeen beats the drum for Shah Jamal"] , Daily Times (May 3 2006)
* [http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/May/subcontinent_May149.xml&section=subcontinent&col= "Devotees whirl to dhol at Baba Jamal’s Urs"] , Khaleej Times (May 5 2006)
* [http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=640217 "Gonga Saeen & Mithu Saeen beats the drum for Baba Shah Jamal, Photo by Yasuo Osakabe"] , Photographer, Yasuo Oaskabe