Malik Ayaz Tomb in Lahore: The First Muslim Governor's Grave

The tomb of Malik Ayaz is a small domed shrine in Chowk Rang Mahal, in the middle of the Walled City of Lahore. Ayaz, a Georgian-born slave who rose to be Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni's most trusted companion, is remembered as Lahore's first Muslim governor and the man who rebuilt its fort and walls in the eleventh century; he died in the city in 1041. The Malik Ayaz tomb you see today is a modest post-1947 rebuild, because the earlier tomb was pulled down under Sikh rule, so come for the story and the setting rather than the architecture.

Who was Malik Ayaz?

Ayaz was born around 993 in Georgia, in the Caucasus, and came to Ghazni as a slave. He rose through the household of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni to become an officer, a general and the Sultan's closest companion. Majid Sheikh, writing in Dawn in 2017, gives his father's name as Aymaq Abun-Najm and points out that the old miniatures showing Ayaz as a dark-skinned man are wrong: he came from the Caucasus.

The bond between Mahmud and Ayaz became one of the great themes of Persian poetry, a model of loyalty between master and servant. In the best-known story, courtiers tell Mahmud that Ayaz keeps a locked room full of stolen treasure; when the Sultan opens it, he finds only the old rags Ayaz had worn as a slave, which he visits to remind himself where he came from. Pakistani readers will know Iqbal's line from Shikwa, "Aik hi saf mein kharay ho gaye Mahmood-o-Ayaz", king and slave standing in the same row at prayer.

What did Malik Ayaz do for Lahore?

Mahmud took Lahore in 1021, and the usual account, given by Wikipedia and the Punjab heritage listing, is that he made Ayaz its ruler that year, making him the first Muslim governor of the city. As governor he is credited with rebuilding and repopulating Lahore, building city gates, and raising a masonry fort between 1037 and 1040 on the ruins of the old one, on the site where the Lahore Fort stands today. Majid Sheikh writes that he rebuilt the fort in burnt brick and raised its inner floor by about 25 feet, and that under him Lahore became a city of learning and poetry.

There is a scholarly wrinkle. In his 2017 column Majid Sheikh dates Ayaz's arrival in Lahore to 29 August 1037, as chief adviser to Mahmud's young grandson Majdud, the new viceroy, and says his services to the city "cannot be verified" in the five years he was there. The traditions about Ayaz rebuilding Lahore are old and widely repeated; how much of it he did personally is less certain.

How did he die?

Ayaz was found dead in his bed on 8 August 1041. There were no marks on the body, and whether it was murder, suicide or natural causes has never been settled. He was buried in Lahore, at a spot that Majid Sheikh notes was then outside the city walls; the city has since grown around it.

Why is the tomb so small?

Ayaz once had a proper tomb with a garden. According to Majid Sheikh it stood until about 1811, when it was knocked down during the Sikh period, and the garden went with it. After 1947, traders of the area put up the present shrine, which Dawn describes as "a modest small room".

The Punjab heritage listing describes a small octagonal enclosure topped by an onion dome and a pointed finial, with a band of lotus decoration round the drum, a pointed-arch doorway with a wooden door, and screened windows on the sides. It is protected by law and owned by the Auqaf department, but it is a neighbourhood shrine in a working bazaar, not a museum, and there is no signage or guide.

How do I get to Malik Ayaz's tomb?

Rang Mahal is in the heart of the Walled City, among the wholesale bazaars between Shah Alam Market and the Kashmiri Bazaar.

1. Take a rickshaw or ride-hailing car to Shah Alam Chowk on Circular Road, or to Mochi Gate.
2. Walk in towards Rang Mahal; it is a well-known chowk and anyone will point the way.
3. In the chowk, ask for "Malik Ayaz ka mazar". The small domed shrine sits among the shops.

The lanes are full of handcarts and motorbikes, so walking is the only sensible option. Our guide to Shah Alam Market explains the bazaar around it.

Tips for visiting

The shrine is free and has no set hours that we have found. Go in the morning, before the wholesale trade is at its busiest. Dress modestly, take your shoes off if you go inside, and ask before photographing anyone at prayer. Women usually cover their heads. Keep phones and wallets close in the crowd.

What else is nearby?

Rang Mahal is a good point to join two walled-city walks:

• The Saleh Kamboh Mosque, a 1659 mosque with Shah Jahani tile and fresco, a short walk south just inside Mochi Gate.
• The Sunehri Masjid and Wazir Khan Mosque, a few minutes away on the route towards Delhi Gate.
• The Walled City of Lahore guide for the full route from Delhi Gate to the fort, whose walls Ayaz is said to have rebuilt.

Is the tomb of Malik Ayaz worth a visit?

Yes, if you are walking the Walled City anyway. Standing at the grave of the man linked to the founding of Muslim Lahore, nearly a thousand years ago, adds weight to everything else you see on the walk. As a building it is modest and recent, and it takes five minutes, so don't cross the city just for it. Families with small children may find the bazaar crowds hard work. For more ideas in Lahore, see our experiences page.

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