Shah Sadiq Nihang

Name of Monument: Dargah Shah Sadiq Nihang

Location: 44 Km south of Jhang

Date of Construction: 1878

The mausoleum is built in traditional fashion with a square base, an eight-sided drum, and a hemispherical dome. This represents the continuation of a motif originating in Multan with the tomb of Baha ud din Zakariyan, constructed in the early-mid 13th century. The designs are quite similar in form, though the latter monument is considerably smaller but much more highly decorated, with the exterior clad in blue Multani kashi-kari tiles for which the region is justifiably famous (the tiles used in the recent restoration were specially baked in a Multan kiln run by the archaeology department). The similarly is not surprising as Shah Sadiq Nehang was of the same spiritual lineage as Jalal ud Din Surkhposh Bukhari (1199-1298), who was himself a successor of Zakariya.

The main facade comprises a south-facing brick wall dressed in stucco and tilework. At its center is a single centrally placed door topped by a stuccoed suggestion of a canopy, flanked by two false doors with similar stuccoed canopies supported by slim engaged colonnettes. The wall surfaces are divided horizontally and vertically into a number of registers, in the Mughal fashion, which are inlaid with blue Multani tiles painted with abstract floral patterns, vases, and winding vines. Running along the cornice are a line of spade-shaped merlons in a state of good preservation. Also in good repair are the flanking corner towers which are capped with miniature turrets crowned with onion domes (a form popular in both Mughal and Sikh architecture). Above them, the drum of the dome is provided with eight miniature turrets of its own. The dome itself is fluted and seems to rise upward from a base of upturned lotus leaves—a motif also commonly seen in Sikh temples.

The use of the south facade as the main entrance is a break from the usual fashion of placing the main door on the east entrance (symbolically, requiring the visitor to face in the rough direction of Mecca as one enters the building), a design concession often found in Suhrawardiya tombs and thought (by the scholar Hasan Ali Khan) to be an influence of the Satpanth tradition espoused by Shah Shams Sabzwari and various Suhrawardiya successors. These design influences are usually expressed quietly and are not necessarily obvious at first glance; for instance, the practice of aligning the qibla wall due west or somewhat off-axis, instead of in the usual orientation toward Mecca (slightly southwest, in the case of Pakistan)—a design decision also found here. However, given that Satpanth traditions were well in decline by the late 19th century, it is possible the influences observed here are merely the result of building according to the local tradition (which was probably influenced by the Satpanth) rather than confirming that Satpanth philosophical and religious practices were observed here (which is less likely in the late 19th century, and not likely at all at present).

The interior of the shrine features a single large room with the apex of the dome soaring high overhead. The wall surfaces are predominantly whitewashed, infilled throughout with floral murals and tracery, as well as large areas of calligraphy. The saint’s grave lies in the center of the room, enclosed by wooden railings and draped with a large orange pall.