5/5 Zaid T. 1 year ago on Google
A
narrow
passage
that
leads
to
historic
Qadam
Gah
Maula
Ali
looked
upon
as
a
symbol
of
religious
harmony
in
one
of
the
city’s
oldest
commercial
areas
off
Station
Road
remains
focus
of
authorities’
attention
during
10
days
of
Muharram
when
men,
women,
children
and
elderly,
Shia
and
non-Shia
alike,
converge
on
the
place.
The
Qadam
Gah
has
been
a
bastion
of
peace
even
when
Hyderabad
was
reeling
from
ethnic
riots.
It
is
closely
located
beside
the
shrine
of
Hazrat
Wahab
Shah
Jillani,
a
saint
of
the
Sunni
school
of
thought,
which
is
also
frequented
by
many
faithful,
who
have
to
use
the
same
narrow
lane
to
reach
their
sacred
destinations
but
they
have
never
fought
over
it.
Although
managements
of
the
two
sides
differed
over
the
use
of
the
passage,
it
never
led
to
any
unpleasant
incident.
The
Qadam
Gah
shrine’s
construction
work
has
been
under
way
since
2009.
Qadam
Gah
is
in
fact
a
4-5
inch
slab
of
stone,
which
is
believed
to
be
a
prayer
mat
carrying
imprints
attributed
to
Hazrat
Ali’s
forehead,
hands,
knees
and
feet
in
position
of
prostration.
Popular
lore
has
it
that
the
prayer
mat
is
gift
from
Iran’s
Shah,
Fatah
Shah
Kachar,
who
presented
it
to
an
emissary
of
Talpurs,
Syed
Sabit
Ali
Shah
in
1805,
but
Shia
researchers
like
Prof
Dr
Mirza
Imam
Ali
and
Zawar
Abdul
Sattar
Dars
differ
over
which
Talpur
ruler
actually
sent
his
emissary
to
Iran.
Dr
Imam
in
his
book
Sindh
aur
Ahl
e
Bait
notes:
“Mir
Karam
Ali
Khan
Talpur
had
sent
Syed
Sabit
Ali
Shah
to
Iran
with
several
gifts
for
his
love
for
Ahl-i-Bait
in
1208
AH”.
The
gifts
included
horses,
manuscripts
of
Quran,
jewels,
swords
and
decorated
small
knives.
In
lieu
of
these
gifts,
the
book
says,
Shah-i-Iran
presented
him
that
prayer
mat
purportedly
having
the
imprints
of
Hazrat
Ali
(RA).
But
Dars
argues
that
it
was
Mir
Ghulam
Ali
Talpur
who
had
sent
Sabit
Ali
Shah.
“In
fact
the
period
in
which
Sabit
travelled
to
Iran
is
the
era
when
Mir
Ghulam
Ali
ruled
over
Sindh,”
says
Dars.