The other class of buildings of religious order in Pakistan, besides mosques,
is the shrines or mausoleums of saints. Before the
advent of Islam, the people of this part of the world raised no sepulchre
to mark the resting place of the dead. Their ashes, after
cremation, were thrown in sacred rivers. The tomb usually consists of a single
compartment or tomb chamber in the centre of
which is a cenotaph, with the whole structure being roofed over by a dome.
In the ground underneath the building resembling a
crypt is the mortuary chamber with the grave in the middle.
The city of Multan possesses the finest collection of mausoleums. The earliest
of these, the mausoleum of Shah Yusuf Gardezi
(1152), with a simple rectangular shape, appears to have been an initial effort.
It relies wholly on the brilliant play of colour
produced by its surface ornamentation of encaustic tiles which encase of these
tiles are merely painted, some are moulded into
a form of low relief decoration. The two succeeding tombs of Shah Baha-ud-Din
Zakariya (died 1262) and Shamsuddin
Sabzwari (died 1276), in Multan, all build within a period of twenty years,
have a different architectural formation. No doubt,
they are rectangular in plan, but similarity with the first then ceases as
they are in three stages, the lowest of which is square, the
topmost hemispherical with an octagonal second storey in the middle.
Alam built during 1320-24. It is a massive octagonal structure, 25.5 meters
in diameter and 35 meters high. A striking feature
of its elevation is the effect of its sloping sides, which have been emphasised
by addition of turrets or minarets at each angle of
the building. The hemispherical dome at the roof of the mausoleum is a superstructure
about 18 meters in diameter. Although of
bricks foundation, the building has been elaborately ornamented in dark blue,
white and azure tiles. Bands of carved timbering
have also been sunk into the walls at appropriate intervals to enhance the
beauty.
The largest and most important mausoleum of Multan is that of Shah Rukn-e-Other
important shrines are the tombs or Pir
Musa Pak Shaheed Jilani (died 1593) in Multan, Syed Ali Hajveri in Lahore,
Lal Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan Sharif and Shah
Abdul Latif Bhitai at Bhit Shah near Hyderabad.