Dargah Sharif

A Dargah (Persian: درگاه‎‎ dargâh or درگه dargah, also in Urdu) is a shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervish.Sufis often visit the shrine for ziyarat, a term associated with religious visits and pilgrimages. Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, called khanqah or hospices. They usually include a mosque, meeting rooms, Islamic religious schools (madrassas), residences for a teacher or caretaker, hospitals, and other buildings for community purposes.

Some religious scholars argue against the practice of constructing over graves and turning them into places of worship, and consider it as associating partners to God or shirk, though visiting graves is encouraged.Muhammad (according to some sects) forbade turning graves into places of worship. but encouraged visiting the graves to remember life after death (sahih Muslim 977).

Dargah is derived from a Persian word which literally means "portal" or "threshold."

Some Sufi and other Muslims believe that dargahs are portals by which they can invoke the deceased saint's intercession and blessing (as per tawassul, also known as dawat-e-qaboor or Ilm e dawat Still others hold a less important view of dargahs, and simply visit as a means of paying their respects to deceased pious individuals or to pray at the sites for perceived spiritual benefits.

However, dargah is originally a core concept in Islamic Sufism and holds great importance for the followers of Sufi saints. Many Muslims believe their wishes are fulfilled after they offer prayer or service at a dargah of the saint they follow. Devotees tie threads of mannat (hope) at dargahs and contribute for langar and pray at dargahs. Dargahs dotted the landscape of Punjab even before the partition of the Indian Subcontinent.

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