The famous graves in Lahore are spread across a handful of sites. Allama Iqbal lies in his own tomb beside the Badshahi Mosque, and Hafeez Jalandhari, who wrote the national anthem, beside Minar-e-Pakistan. Faiz Ahmed Faiz is in the Model Town graveyard. Saadat Hasan Manto and Ghazi Ilm Din are both in Miani Sahib, the city's largest graveyard. One name people often look for is not here at all: Madam Noor Jehan is buried in Karachi, not Lahore.
This guide lists who is buried where, how the sites differ, and how to visit an ordinary city graveyard respectfully when you are looking for one grave among thousands.
| Who | Known for | Where in Lahore |
|---|---|---|
| Allama Muhammad Iqbal | Poet and philosopher | Own tomb, Hazuri Bagh, by the Badshahi Mosque |
| Hafeez Jalandhari | Wrote the national anthem | Own tomb, beside Minar-e-Pakistan |
| Faiz Ahmed Faiz | Poet | Model Town graveyard |
| Ashfaq Ahmed | Writer and broadcaster | Model Town |
| Saadat Hasan Manto | Short-story writer | Miani Sahib |
| Ghazi Ilm Din | Executed in 1929 | Miani Sahib |
| Major Shabbir Sharif | Nishan-e-Haider, 1971 | Miani Sahib |
| Habib Jalib | Poet | Shah Fareed graveyard, Sabzazar |
| Nasir Kazmi | Poet | Mominpura graveyard |
| Waheed Murad | Film actor | Firdous Market cemetery, Gulberg |
| Ustad Daman | Punjabi poet | By the Madho Lal Hussain shrine, Baghbanpura |
Which famous graves in Lahore can you visit easily?
Only two are built as monuments with public access and space for visitors.
Allama Iqbal died in Lahore on 21 April 1938 and is buried in a tomb in Hazuri Bagh, between the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. It is the most visited grave in the city and part of almost every walk around the old city. Our Allama Iqbal tomb guide covers visiting, and the Hazuri Bagh guide covers the garden around it.
Hafeez Jalandhari died on 21 December 1982. He was first buried in Model Town, and his remains were later moved to a tomb the government built near Minar-e-Pakistan, where the Lahore Resolution was passed in 1940. See it on the same visit as the Minar; our Minar-e-Pakistan guide covers the park.
Everyone else on this list lies in an ordinary working graveyard. You can visit, but expect to ask a caretaker to point out the grave.
Who is buried in Miani Sahib graveyard?
Miani Sahib, off Jail Road, is the largest graveyard in Lahore. It covers about 1,206 kanal (around 60 hectares), holds more than 300,000 graves and dates back to the Mughal period. A committee has managed it since 1962. Among those buried here:
- Saadat Hasan Manto, the short-story writer, who died in Lahore on 18 January 1955. He wrote two epitaphs for himself. The first, which asked who was the greater short-story writer, God or he, was not used; his family chose the second, built on a line of Ghalib.
- Ghazi Ilm Din, a young Lahore carpenter who killed the publisher Rajpal in April 1929 over a book many Muslims considered blasphemous, and was hanged at Mianwali jail on 31 October 1929. Many Pakistanis regard him as a hero and visit his grave.
- Major Shabbir Sharif, awarded the Nishan-e-Haider after he was killed in action on 6 December 1971 in Okara district.
- Agha Hashar Kashmiri, the Urdu playwright, and Wasif Ali Wasif, the writer and Sufi teacher.
- Dulla Bhatti, the Punjabi folk hero hanged in Lahore in 1599 and remembered every year at Lohri, is said to be buried here, though no contemporary record confirms it.
Where is Faiz Ahmed Faiz buried?
Faiz died in Lahore on 20 November 1984 and is buried in the Model Town graveyard. His grave is visited most around his birthday on 13 February and his death anniversary. The Faiz Festival, held at the Alhamra in Lahore, is the bigger public occasion for admirers.
Model Town is also where Ashfaq Ahmed, the writer and broadcaster of Zavia, was buried after his death on 7 September 2004. His wife, the novelist Bano Qudsia, died on 4 February 2017; her funeral prayers were held in Model Town and she was buried in Lahore the next day.
Where are other writers and artists buried?
- Habib Jalib, the poet of protest, died on 13 March 1993 and lies in the Shah Fareed graveyard in Sabzazar.
- Nasir Kazmi, the ghazal poet, died on 2 March 1972 and is buried in the Mominpura graveyard.
- Waheed Murad, the film star of the 1960s and 1970s, died on 23 November 1983 and was buried beside his father in the Firdous Market cemetery in Gulberg.
- Ustad Daman, the Punjabi poet, died on 3 December 1984, thirteen days after attending Faiz's funeral. He is buried in the graveyard by the shrine of Madho Lal Hussain in Baghbanpura, close to the Shalimar Gardens.
Is Madam Noor Jehan buried in Lahore?
No. Noor Jehan, the singer most associated with Lahore's film industry, died at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi on 23 December 2000. The government offered a state funeral and wanted her buried in Lahore, but her daughters chose to bury her in Karachi on the night she died, in the Gizri graveyard.
Do not confuse her with Empress Nur Jahan, Jahangir's wife, whose Mughal tomb is in Shahdara. Our Noor Jahan tomb guide covers that one.
How do I visit a grave respectfully?
- Go in daylight, and for the big graveyards, in the morning.
- Ask the caretaker or gravedigger at the gate to show you the grave. Many will walk you there; a small tip is normal.
- Dress modestly, walk on the paths, and do not step on or sit on graves.
- Recite Fatiha if you wish, or simply stand quietly. Do not play music or film loudly.
- Ask before photographing mourners or families tending graves.
- Avoid funerals. If a burial is under way, wait or come back later.
Women visit graveyards in Lahore, though some families prefer not to. Thursday evenings and the days around Shab-e-Barat are busier, as families come to visit their own dead.
Is a graveyard trail worth doing?
For most visitors, Iqbal's tomb and Hafeez Jalandhari's are enough: both are on the standard old-city route and built for visitors. A walk through Miani Sahib suits readers of Manto or anyone interested in Lahore's social history, but it is a working graveyard with crowded, uneven paths, not a heritage site. The others are personal pilgrimages for admirers rather than sights. For Lahore's great shrines, which are built for visitors, see our shrines in Lahore guide, and for national heroes buried elsewhere, the tombs of national heroes guide. More ideas for the city are on our experiences page.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Allama Iqbal buried?
In his tomb in Hazuri Bagh, Lahore, between the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort.
Where is Saadat Hasan Manto's grave?
In the Miani Sahib graveyard in Lahore, where he was buried after his death on 18 January 1955.
Where is Ghazi Ilm Din buried?
In the Miani Sahib graveyard in Lahore. He was hanged at Mianwali on 31 October 1929 and his body was brought to Lahore for burial.
Where is Faiz Ahmed Faiz buried?
In the Model Town graveyard in Lahore.
Is Noor Jehan's grave in Lahore?
No. The singer Noor Jehan is buried in the Gizri graveyard in Karachi. The Mughal empress Nur Jahan's tomb is in Shahdara, Lahore.
What is the largest graveyard in Lahore?
Miani Sahib, with more than 300,000 graves over about 60 hectares.
