Bibi Pak Daman

Bibi Pak Daman

Bibi Pāk Dāman (Urdu: بی بی پاکدامن) is the name given to the shrine and mausoleum of Ruqayyah bint Ali located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Legend has it that it holds the graves of six ladies from Muhammad's household (Ahl Al-Bayt). Ruqayah bint Ali ibn Abu Talib was the daughter of the first Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abu Talib with his wife Umm al banin bint Huzaam. Ruqayah bint Ali was the full sister of Hadrat Abbas ibn Ali and also the wife of Muslim ibn Aqeel (emissary of third Shi'a Imam Husayn ibn Ali to Kufah). Others are said to be Muslim ibn Aqil's sister and daughters. It is said that these ladies came here after the event of the battle of Karbala on the 10th day of the month of Muharram in 61 AH (October 10, AD 680). Some scholars consider Ruqayah to have been the daughter of Sayid Ahmed Tokhta (12th century). Bibi Paak Daaman is located between Garhi Shahu and Railway Station area. The easiest way to go to Bibi Paak Daaman is from the Empress Road and from there, take the small road opposite Police Lines and then the first left-turn.

Bibi Pak Daman, which means the "Ladies of Purity, is the collective name of the six ladies believed to interred at this mausoleum, though it is also popularly used to refer to the personage of Ruqayyah bint Ali alone. They were among the women who brought Islam to South Asia, preaching and engaging in missionary activity in the environs of Lahore. It is said that Data Ganj Bakhsh, considered a great Sufi saint of the subcontinent, was himself a devotee of the Bibi Pak Daman shrine. and received holy knowledge from this auspicious shrine. Recently Government of Pakistan has approved the expansion of the Bibi Pak Daman's shrine. keeping in view the needs of the zaireen visiting the shrine from all over the world.