Multan’s Hazrat Rukn-ud-Din (RA)

Hazrat Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fateh (RA), also called Shah Rukn-e-Alam (“Pillar of the World”), was a prominent Sufi saint from Multan, Pakistan, who was a member of the Suhrawardiya Sufi order. He lived from 1251 until 1335 AD.

Sadar-Al-Din Arif was the father of Hazrat Shah Rukne Alam (RA). On Friday, the 9th of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak 649 Hijri (1251 AD), he was born in Multan. He was Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya’s grandson and heir. On Friday, the 7th of Jamadi-ul-Awwal 735 Hijri (1335 AD), Shah Rukn-e-Alam passed away. at accordance with his own wishes, he was interred at his grandfather’s tomb. However, his coffin was eventually moved to the current mausoleum. Sheikh Hameed ud-din Al-Hakim was given the spiritual succession by Shah Rukn-e-Alam.

The tomb is said to have built by Ghias-ud-Din Tughlaq during his governorship of Depalpur, between (1320 – 1324 AD) and was given by his son, Muhammad bin Tughluq to the descendants of Shah Rukn-e-Alam for the latter’s burial in 1330 AD. In the 1970s, the mausoleum was thoroughly repaired and renovated by the Auqaf Department. The entire glittering glazed interior is the result of new tiles and brickwork done by the Kashigars of Multan. The tomb is on the tentative list as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq constructed the tomb in the pre-Mughal architectural style between 1320 and 1324 CE.[3] The tomb predates the Tughluq monuments in Delhi and is regarded as the oldest example of Tughluq architecture.[1].

Built during Ghiyath al-Din’s tenure as governor of Dipalpur, the mausoleum was probably meant to be his personal resting place [4][3] before to his accession as Emperor of the Delhi Sultanate. The current tomb was given to Rukn-e-Alam’s descendants by Muhammad bin Tughluq, who had his bones buried in the shrine in 1330. Originally, Rukn-e-Alam was buried in the Shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya.

With three entrances, a mihrab facing west, and an original main entrance on the southern axis with a tiny vestibule, the shrine’s design is characteristic of Suhrawadi tombs.[4] According to orthodox interpretations of Islam, the main entrance has now been moved to the east in an effort to align the shrine’s axises with Mecca.

Built completely of red brick,

the tomb is surrounded with shisham wood beams that have become black over the ages. The exterior is ornately decorated with battlements, string courses, sculpted masonry, and wooden panels. The shrine’s buttresses, turrets, and crenellations at the top demonstrate how Tughluq military design influenced even non-military structures.[9]

In contrast to the deep red, well polished bricks, the outside is further adorned with regional-style tile work in floral, arabesque, and geometric motifs using dark blue, azure, and white tiles. The lower rim of the white dome is adorned with blue tile work.

The inner space of the shrine is large since it lacks internal buttresses and other internal structural components to sustain it [6]. Although the mausoleum’s inside is currently mostly plain, it was originally embellished with intricate tile work that was later covered in plaster [6].[3] Ground-level niches help to further expand the interior area.[6]

One of the first specimens of its type is thought to be the carved wooden mihrab.[3] The tombs of 72 of Rukn-e-Alam’s relatives surround his somewhat off-center sarcophagus [4], referring to the 72 companions of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, who were murdered during the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.

There are three levels to the mausoleum. The first tier is shaped like an octagon, which is different from the adjacent Shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya and other older shrines that are situated on a square base, even if the second octagonal tier is typical of Multan [1].[1]

The first layer has walls that are four feet thick and measures fifteen meters in diameter. The outer brickwork is visually broken by the timber strips in the first storey.[1] Each of the eight corners of the octagonal first tier is supported by a modest minaret-shaped tower that narrows as it rises and reaches the top of the first tier.[3]