Shrine of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh

Data Darbar is located in the center of Old City Lahore. Surrounding it are Lower Mall Road, Bhati Gate, Gawalmandi, Karbala Gamay Shah. It was built to house the remains of Ali Hujwiri, commonly known as Data Ganj Baksh, a Sufi saint from Ghazni in present-day Afghanistan. The shrine of Hujwiri is housed in a Mughal era tomb crafted of carved white marble. The tomb is surrounded by a massive marble courtyard, while a new educational institution at the shrine complex utilizes modernist architecture. The shrine was originally established as a simple grave next to the mosque which Hujwiri had built on the outskirts of Lahore in the 11th century. By the 13th century, the belief that the spiritual powers of great Sufi saints were attached to their burial sites was widespread in the Muslim world, and so a larger shrine was built to commemorate the burial site of Hujwiri during the Mughal period. The shrine complex was expanded in the 19th century, and Hujwiri mosque was rebuilt.