Shikarpur’s historical mosques and Sufi tombs are noted for their distinctive features. Portals, wooden doors, windows, ceilings and mihrabs were aesthetically ornamented. Almost in every locality of Shikarpur was a historical mosque that has either been either renovated or rebuilt. Those renovated still retain some original architectural elements and forms of decoration. Qubai Mosque in Sheedki Khohi in Awan Mohalla is one such mosque that is noted for its ornately carved wooden window.
Inscription of the date of construction of the Panj Pir Mosque
This mosque is a single-domed structure which was probably built in the last quarter of the 19th century. Like several other historical mosques of Shikarpur, Qubai mosque of Awan Mohallah was renovated many times, but the window of the mosque is a sample of the fabulous craftsmanship of Shikarpur's artisans, and it was not removed. The Kalma Tayyaba and ‘Bismillah’ are engraved on the wooden window. Such intricate woodwork is not found in any other mosque in Shikarpur which reflects the mastery of Shikarpuri craftsmen over wood carvings. Intricate wooden windows and doorways are also found in other mosques of Shikarpur.
Apart from Qubai Mosque in Awan Mohalla, the Panj Pir mosque in Panj Pir mohalla is also well-known for its wooden doors. The wooden door of the main entrance of Panj Pir mosque is ornately carved. This mosque is believed to have been built by Muhammad Umar Soomro, the father of Shaheed Allah Bakhsh Soomro (d. 1943). According to Professor Abdul Hayee Moryani (2019) the author of Shikapur Jun Masjdoon and Eidgah, earlier the mosque was small and lacked any ornamentation. It was demolished and a grand mosque was built by Muhammad Umar Soomro. He brought the masons from Multan to build the mosque. As per the inscription on the main portal and verandah of the mosque, it was built in 1327 AH / 1909 AD.
Covered verandah of the Panj Pir Mosque
The main portal of the mosque opens to a spacious courtyard which further leads to a covered verandah. The facade of the mosque is decorated with blue glazed tiles. Three doorways open to the main prayer hall of the mosque. The distinctive feature of the main prayer hall is the painted mihrab and wooden ceiling. The mihrab is painted with 99 names of Allah (Al Asma- ul- Husna). One does not find such marvelous paintings in any other mosque in the Shikarpur district. Apart from the 99 names of Allah, the mihrab is also adorned with floral designs. The wooden ceiling of the main prayer hall is also painted. Floral and Arabic calligraphy decorate the wooden ceiling. This is probably the only surviving mosque in Shikarpur that has such an impressive painted wooden ceiling. Other historical mosques had also wooden ceilings which were removed during the renovations as one knows that wooden ceilings were a distinctive feature of the architecture of Shikarpur.
The main wooden doorway to the Panj Pir Mosque
As per the inscription on the façade of the mosque, Ghulam Hussain of Multan was the main Kashigar. The tiles seem to be of Hala, not of Multan. He might have constructed a mosque and tiles were brought from Hala to decorate the facade and minarets of the mosque. It appears from a few tiles that the mosque also later underwent renovation as some tiles were used later.
In addition to this mosque, there are several other historical mosques in Shikarpur which have now lost their originality due to frequent renovations. One such mosque is located in Nao Qabaristan on the Mukhtiarkari Road. It is a single-domed mosque and accessed through a portal that is decorated with stucco that is later added. As discussed earlier in other articles on Shikarpur, the majority of historical mosques are single-domed were adorned with paintings that were lost when they were renovated.
Graves of Shah Hussain Bukhari and Mujtaba Bukhari
Some of the historical mosques which were renovated include the Shah Hussain mosque in Shah Hussain Mohalla, Nawab Abdur Rahman Tariq Turrel, and others. Shah Hussain mosque also known as Siddiqui mosque was built by Shah Hussain Bukhari. He was an eminent Sufi saint of Shikarpur. The date 1162 AH / 1749 AD is written on the main entrance to the shrine of Shah Hussain Bukhari which is probably his date of death or date of arrival at Shikapur. The main wooden door of the shrine is carved. The portal has also been renovated. The earlier gateway was decorated with ceramic tiles.
There are two graves on a common platform, which is decorated with a wooden railing, of Shah Hussain Bukhari and Mujtaba Shah Bukhari. To the north of the platform of Shah Hussain Bukhari is an enclosure that contains female graves, the door of which is spectacularly carved representing a stylized floral vase that covers the entire surface of the door.
Painted wooden ceiling of the Panj Pir Mosque
The shrine of Shah Hussain Bukhari – like several other shrines in Shikarpur – is frequently visited by people. Like the shrine of Shah Hussain Bukhari, the shrines of Awal Shah, Mehar Shah, Manchar Shah (d. 1734), Shah Faqirullah Alavi(d. 1775), Alif Shah Shaheed, Mast Ali Shah, Syed Awal Shah, Khwaja Nizamuddin Sarhandi/Sirhandi (d. 1857), Syed Vilayat Shah, Syed Wasal Shah, Pir Taib Shah, Jeay Shah, Qadir Pir, Baqir Shah Jilani, Hajan Shah, Ismail Shah, Nabi Shah, Gul Shah, Kanak Shah, Nazar Shah, Nawab Abdur Rahman Tariq Turrel and many others are also frequented by people on various occasions.
Painted mihrab of the Panj Pir Mosque
The shrine of Nawab Pir Abdur Rahman Tariq Turrel is located near Dhak Bazaar. According to Professor Aminullah Alavi (1984), he was a noble of a certain area in Khorasan. He left his home after becoming a Sufi and arrived at Shikarpur which Professor Aminullah Alavi mentions in his article “Shikarpur Ja Sufia Karam" which was published in Shikarpur Mazi Ain Haal (Shikarpur: Past and Present), a book complied by Dr. Memon Abdul Majeed Sindhi. It is not known when he arrived in Shikarpur. But Professor Aminullah Alavi writes that he was a disciple of the same spiritual guide who was also Sultan Bahu’s spiritual mentor, a claim which is difficult to prove in other writings. Moreover, it is difficult to say what the source of Professor Aminullah Alavi’s information says that he was Pir-Bhai (fellow disciple/disciple of same spiritual guide) of Sultan Bahu (d. 1691).
According to Professor Aminullah Alavi, Nawab Abdur Rahman Tariq Turrel died either in the last quarter of the seventeenth century or the first quarter of the eighteenth century.
Tomb of Nawab Abdur Rahman Tariq Turrel
A square tomb is erected over the grave of Nawab Abdul Rahman Tariq Turrel. The interior of the tomb is octagonal. Earlier it was probably painted, but frequent renovation by the followers has damaged the original beauty of the interior of the tomb. His shrine is taken care of by a Juneja family.
Adjacent to his tomb is located a mosque which is believed to have been built by Nawab Abdur Rahman Tariq Tureel. Later this mosque was rebuilt.
