Lahore
Data Darbar is the shrine of Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman al-Hujwiri, the scholar and Sufi from Ghazna who settled in Lahore in the eleventh century and died…
Data Darbar is the shrine of Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman al-Hujwiri, the scholar and Sufi from Ghazna who settled in Lahore in the eleventh century and died there around 1072 (465 AH). His Kashf al-Mahjub is the earliest treatise on Sufism written in Persian, and he is known across the subcontinent as Data Ganj Bakhsh, the master who bestows treasures. Lahore itself is often called Data ki Nagri, the city of Data. The shrine stands just outside Bhati Gate on the western edge of the Walled City and has been enlarged many times. Today a wide marble courtyard and a large mosque surround the green-domed grave, and free food is served throughout the day. Thursday evenings and the annual urs in Safar draw very large crowds. The shrine of Pir Makki is a short walk to the north.