The celebrations of the 968th Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh concluded here on Sunday at his shrine as thousands of devotees bade the annual gala of spiritual and cultural rituals with traditional zeal farewell.
The devotees, who had come to the shrine of the 10th century saint from all over the country, participated in a number of activities, including preaching congregations, Mahafil-e-Samaa, Qirat Khwani, Qawwalis and the spiritual gatherings addressed by Ulema, Mashaikhs and Gaddi Nasheens from various spiritual centres and shrines from different parts of the country.
Due to the prevailing wave of terrorism, the district administration had taken special security measures for the devotees. Hundreds of policemen in uniform as well as civvies, besides personnel of secret agencies, were deployed to check any miscreants among the visitors who were allowed entry from the walkthrough gates and metal detectors.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had inaugurated the Urs while it was supervised by Punjab Minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Ehsanuddin Qureshi and the Religious Affairs Committee of the Shrine Chairman Ishaq Dar and other officials of the Auqaf Department, including its secretary, DG religious affairs and director admin.
Well-known Qaris of the country recited the Holy Quran while a large number of Naat Khwans continued enthralling the devotees with two-day Mahfil-e-Naat that was held in several sessions.
Besides, a large number of Ulema and Mashaikhs participated in the preaching congregations and meetings. These gatherings were presided over by Pir Syed Muzahir Ashraf, Pir Syed Khalilur Rehman Chishti, Allama Mazhar Saeed Kazmi, Dr Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Qadri, Mufti Munibur Rehman Hazarvi, Syed Ahmad Ashraf Shah, Ghulam Qutubuddin, Nazeer Ali Shah, Baqar Ali Shah while prominent among the participants were Khwaja Abul Khair, Samsam Ali Shah, Abdul Shakoor Hazarvi, Sufi Ashraf Masoomi, Siddiq Hazarvi, Mufti Khan Mohammad Qadri, Ashraf Asif Jalali, Prof Zafarul Haq, Abdul Tawwab Siddiqi, Fida Hussain Shah, Hafeezullah Mehrvi, Mehmood Ahmad Qadri, Syed Salauh-Din and others.
Special prayers were offered for national security and prosperity and for the well-being of Muslim Ummah, denouncing the ongoing wave of extremism and terrorism in the country.
There was a huge crowd of devotees and visitors, outside the shrine, trying to share the spiritual benefits at the place known as the centre of religious and spiritual activities in the province since the last 10 centuries. Unusual rush was witnessed at the milk Sabeel and the Langar where not only the destitute were lined up for getting food but also a large number of devotees trying to have just one morsel of the blessed food.
There were many men, women and children who had travelled large distances to seek special blessings of the Almighty Allah and offer special prayers to fulfil their needs and solve the unsolvable problems.
On both sides of the vast courtyard, hundreds of saints and Sufis, coming from various Darbars, were sitting on rugs, cloth sheets and even on the bare floor, busy in meditation and trying to pay homage to Data Sahib.
Despite the lack of space due to unusual rush of people, a number of people were found offering prayers at small available spaces and even at the pathways and the stairs of the shrine. Pilgrimage of the grave of the Data Sahib was the toughest job where hundreds of people were engaged in strenuous efforts to reach the grave. For most of the people, the visit remained useless if they failed to witness the grave of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh.