Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan
Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam
Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fath (1251–1335) commonly known by the title Rukn-e-Alam (Pillar of the World) was among the eminent Sufi saints from Multan, Pakistan. He was the son of another Sufi sage, Pir Sadar-Al-Din Arif, and was the grandson and successor of Shaikh Baha-Ud-Din Zakariya.
Shaikh Rukn-e-Alam (Rukn-al-Din) was buried in the mausoleum of his grandfather, according to his own will. After sometime, however, his coffin was transferred to the present mausoleum, which was built between 1320 and 1324. The saint is still revered today and his tomb is the focus of the pilgrimage of over 100,000 pilgrims from all over South Asia who visit and commemorate his memory.
The tomb building is an octagon, 51 feet 9 inches in diameter internally, with walls 41 feet 4 inches high and 13 feet 3 inches thick, supported at the angles by sloping towers. Over this is a smaller octagon 25 feet 8 inches, on the exterior side, and 26 feet 10 inches high, leaving a narrow passage all round the top of the lower storey for the Moazzan, or public caller to prayers. The whole is surmounted by a hemispherical dome of 58 feet external diameter. The total height of the building, including a plinth of 3 feet, is 100 feet. As it stands on the high ground, the total height above the road level is 150 feet. Besides its religious importance, the mausoleum is also of considerable archaeological value as its dome is reputed to be the second largest in the world, after Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur, India.
The mausoleum is built entirely of red brick, bounded with beams of shisham wood, which have now turned black after so many centuries. The whole of the exterior is elaborately ornamented with glazed tile panels, string-courses and battlements. Colors used are dark blue, azure, and white, contrasted with the deep red of the finely polished bricks. The tomb was said to have been built by Ghias-ud-Din Tughlak for himself during the days of his governorship of Depalpur, between 1320 and 1324 AD, but was given by his son, Muhammad bin Tughluq to the descendents of Shah Rukn-e-Alam for the latter’s burial in 1330.
In the 1970s the mausoleum was thoroughly repaired and renovated by the Auqaf Department of the Punjab Government. The entire glittering glazed interior is the result of new tiles and brickwork done by the Kashigars of Multan.
Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan
Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan
Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan
Other shrines in Multan
Mausoleum of Hazrat Bahuddin Zakriya Bad-Shahee Mosque
Mausoleum of Shah Shams Tabriz
Baba Buley Shah
Hazrat Muhammad Shah Yusaf Gardez
Martin Gray is a cultural anthropologist, writer and photographer specializing in the study of pilgrimage traditions and sacred sites around the world. During a 40 year period he has visited more than 2000 pilgrimage places in 165 countries. The World Pilgrimage Guide at sacredsites.com is the most comprehensive source of information on this subject.For additional information on sacred sites in Pakistan:
