Meaning of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
People call him ‘Lal’ because he had a ruby-like glow on his forehead. Even people who met him for the first time knew who he was because of the ruby glow. His name is Shahbaz which indicates a noble and pure being. While Qalandar denotes that he was a wandering dervish. A spiritual man who has no home since the entirety of the earth is his home. People call him Jhulelal as well. The word Jhulelal means ‘red groom’. The legend says he was betrothed to marry his friend’s daughter. However, his friend died, and the friend’s son refused to give his sister’s hand to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in marriage. This caused him extreme grief, hence the term.
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was the son of Syed Kabeeruddin. He lived during the rule of Ghaznavids and Ghauris in the region of Indus, which is the present-day Punjab in Pakistan. Shahbaz Qalander was a contemporary of Jalaluddin Rumi. He traveled extensively around the Muslim world before settling in Sehwan Sharif in Sindh. He was eventually buried here as well.
Meeting with Notable Sufis
There, he met with several notable sufis and mystics if his time to discuss the teachings and the spirit of Islam. In 1196, he met with Pir Haji Ismail Panhwar. He also met with Baha ud din Zakariya in Multan, who belonged to the Suhrawardi order. He met with Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakkar and Syed Jalaluduun Bukhari who were of the Chishti order. The friendship of these four sufis became so famous that they came to be known as Chahar Yar (4 friends). Evidence has been found which dictates that these four friends used to travel to various parts of present day sindh and punjab in Pakistan to propagate Islam.
Khanqah in Sehwan Sharif
When he arrived in Sehwan Sharif in 1251, he established a Khanqah, also known as the meeting house, where he was a religious teacher in Fuqhai Islam Madarrsah. He wrote Mizan us Surf, Aqd, Kism e Doyum, and Zubdah while teaching there. Lal Shahbaz Qalandar became a prolific scholar of various religions. He had a firm grip over many languages including Persian, Pashto, Arabic, sindhi, and turkish.
