Jalaluddin Surkh Posh Bukhari Shrine, Uch Sharif: A Visiting Guide

The shrine of Syed Jalaluddin Surkh Posh Bukhari stands on the highest ground at the south-west corner of Uch Sharif, about 84 km south-west of Bahawalpur. Jalaluddin Surkh Posh Bukhari was a 13th-century Sufi from Bukhara who settled in Uch in 1244 and founded the Bukhari line of saints there. His flat-roofed brick tomb, faced in glazed tiles and held up inside by carved wooden pillars, and the mosque beside it are among the five Uch monuments on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list. Entry is free, it is a working shrine, and modest dress is expected.

This guide covers who the saint was, how the shrine came to look as it does, what to notice inside and out, and how to fit it into a day from Bahawalpur. For the town as a whole and the blue-tiled Tomb of Bibi Jawindi, see our Uch Sharif guide.

Who was Jalaluddin Surkh Posh Bukhari?

He was born in Bukhara, in present-day Uzbekistan, at the end of the 12th century; sources give dates from 1190 to 1199. "Surkh posh" means "clad in red", after the red cloak he was known for, and "Bukhari" simply records where he came from. He travelled to Multan and became a disciple of Bahauddin Zakariya, the great teacher of the Suhrawardi order, then lived for a time at Bhakkar, where he married into a local Syed family.

In 1244 (641 AH) he moved to Uch, then a river port near the meeting of the Punjab's rivers, and set up a school there. He died in Uch in about 1290, in his nineties. His followers became known as the Jalali branch of the Suhrawardis, and he is remembered in southern Punjab and Sindh as a missionary who brought several local tribes to Islam.

His descendants mattered as much as he did. His grandson, Makhdoom Jahaniyan Jahangasht (died 1384), "the world traveller", became the leading Suhrawardi figure of the 14th century and mediated between the Delhi Sultans and the rulers of Sindh. The Bukhari Syeds of Uch spread from here across Punjab, Sindh and northern India, and Bibi Jawindi, whose ruined tiled tomb is Uch's best-known image, was Jahaniyan Jahangasht's great-granddaughter.

How old is the shrine?

Older than any one rebuilding, and harder to date than most guides suggest. The accounts do not agree:

• UNESCO's tentative listing describes the tomb and mosque as the oldest monuments in the Uch group and dates them to the 14th century.
• Wikipedia, citing older sources, says the saint's first grave was damaged by flooding and his remains were moved, then brought back to the present site in 1027 AH (around 1618) by a later head of the shrine, Makhdoom Hamid, who put up a building over them.
• Several sources, including the Punjab Auqaf department, credit a rebuilding to Nawab Bahawal Khan II of Bahawalpur and give the year 1670. That date does not fit: the Bahawalpur nawabs only came to power in the 18th century. A rebuilding under the nawabs is likely; the year is not reliable.
• The mosque is dated by the Pakistan heritage database at pakheritage.org to 1845, built by Nawab Bahawal Khan.

What you see today, then, is a shrine on a 13th-century grave, rebuilt and redecorated several times, most visibly under the Bahawalpur nawabs. In 2007 the US Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation gave about USD 50,000 towards its conservation.

What to see at the tomb

The tomb is unlike the domed, octagonal shrines of Multan and unlike Bibi Jawindi's tomb a short walk away. It is a long, rectangular brick hall, about 18 by 24 metres, with a flat roof carried on carved wooden pillars, a plan that heritage researchers link to the timber architecture of Central Asia the saint came from.

Things to look for:

• The tiled façade. The outer walls are covered in glazed tile and tile mosaic, in floral and geometric panels.
• The carved wooden door at the entrance, worked with floral designs.
• The lacquer-painted ceiling, decorated with floral patterns over most of the hall.
• Wooden grilles set into ventilators on the eastern wall, in geometric patterns.
• The graves. The floor is taken up by the graves of the saint and his relatives, and an interior partition screens the graves of the women of the family, which UNESCO's description notes as a purdah arrangement.

The light inside is dim and the space is busy with visitors offering fatiha, so give yourself time to let your eyes adjust and look up.

The mosque beside the tomb

The adjoining mosque is a flat-roofed prayer hall of about 20 by 11 metres, its roof resting on 18 wooden pillars. It is built of cut and dressed brick and decorated inside and out with enamelled tiles in floral and geometric designs. The mihrab is framed in wood carved with Arabic calligraphy, with two blind arches on either side.

It is an active mosque. Visit outside prayer times, and if you want to photograph the interior, ask first.

How to visit from Bahawalpur

Uch Sharif is about 84 km from Bahawalpur on paved roads via Ahmadpur East, so an ordinary car is fine. Most people visit as a half-day or day trip from Bahawalpur; our Bahawalpur itinerary shows how it fits with the city's palaces and Derawar, and our Multan to Bahawalpur guide covers getting to the region.

Once in Uch, the shrine is at the south-west corner of the old town, on the rise above the surrounding plain, close to the other monuments on the UNESCO list. Park where you can and walk the last part through the lanes.

We could not confirm fixed opening hours. Shrines of this kind are usually open through the day and into the evening, but the inner tomb can be closed at times, so arrive in daylight and ask the khadims (shrine attendants) on the spot.

Dress code and conduct

The shrine is a place of worship first and a heritage site second. Plan for:

• Modest dress for everyone, covering arms and legs. Women should bring a dupatta or scarf for the head.
• Shoes off before entering the tomb and the mosque; there is usually a place to leave them.
• Quiet behaviour, and no photographs of people praying without their permission.
• Rules for women about entering the inner grave chamber can differ from shrine to shrine. If a section is closed to women, follow what the attendants say.

Our guide to shrine etiquette in Pakistan covers the general customs, including offerings and langar.

When to go, and the Uch mela

November to March is the comfortable season. From April the heat in southern Punjab builds fast, the shrine courtyard has little shade, and a midday visit in June is hard going.

The shrine's biggest event is the spring mela in the desi month of Chet, usually in March or April, when pilgrims from across southern Punjab fill the town. It is a remarkable sight but a crowded one; our Uch Sharif mela guide explains the dates and what to expect. If you want to study the tilework in peace, go at another time.

Is it worth the trip?

If you are interested in Sufi history or the tile architecture of southern Punjab, yes. This is the founding shrine of Uch's spiritual line, and its wooden-pillared, flat-roofed hall is a different building type from the domed tombs most visitors know, so it is worth more than the quick look many people give it on the way to Bibi Jawindi.

It suits travellers who are comfortable in a busy, devotional setting. If you are after a quiet monument with signboards and a ticket desk, it is not that. For a broader view of the region's saints, see our guide to famous Sufi shrines in Punjab, and our experiences page for other ways to spend time in southern Punjab.

Frequently asked questions