LAHORE: The ghusal (washing) ceremony at Data Darbar will be performed on Thursday (today).

Punjab Auqaf and Religious Affairs Minister Pir Saeedul Hassan Shah will perform the ghusal ceremony which is performed ahead of the Sufi saint’s annual Urs ceremonies. The tomb will be washed with rose water.

Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Bin Usman Sheikh Ali Hajveri was born in Ghazni in Afghanistan during the rule of Ghaznavi dynasty and later came to Lahore and settled here.

He contributed significantly to spreading Sufi teachings of Islam in South Asia. Some historians have described him as one of the most important figures to have spread Islam in the Indian subcontinent.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2018