Mashhad-e-Hind, Samana
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History

This history was compiled from published accounts and local tradition. Where sources disagree, both views are given. The shrine committee is reviewing the wording.

The town of Samana

Samana is an old town and municipal council in Patiala district, Punjab, on State Highway 10 between Patiala and Patran. The area is mentioned in accounts of the time of Raja Jaipal, and after the conquests of Muhammad of Ghor it was placed under Qutb ud-Din Aibak in 1192. In the reign of Emperor Akbar, the Ain-i-Akbari lists Samana as a pargana (district) of the Sirhind sarkar.

For centuries Samana was known as a town of saints and scholars, and it was home to many Sayyid families and Shia scholars until 1947. Local tradition holds that the town takes its name from a pious lady named Samana, connected with the family of the Imams; this is a tradition and is not recorded in early sources.

Imamzada Syed Mashhad Ali

The shrine is revered as the resting place of Imamzada Syed Mashhad Ali. According to tradition, he came to this region from Mashhad in Khorasan during a time of hardship for the family of the Imams under the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun.

Accounts differ on his exact lineage. Some describe him as a son of Imam Ali al-Rida (peace be upon him), some as a later descendant of the Imam, and some as a son of Imam Muhammad al-Taqi (peace be upon him). [committee to confirm the lineage to be stated]

The shrine and its inscription

For a long time the tomb was known simply as the Panj Peer Mazar. When the shrine complex was being cleaned, at the suggestion of Justice Shabbar Rizvi of the Lahore High Court, whose family had lived in Samana before Partition, a Persian inscription came to light.

As it has been reported, the inscription names the tomb as that of Imam Mashhad Ali and records that the building was raised by Ajruddin Khan Mughal, son of Bakhsh Allah Khan, in the month of Ramadan, 967 AH, in the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Akbar. This corresponds to about 1560 CE; some accounts give 1559.

The reading of the inscription is reported to have been examined by religious scholars, historians and visiting officials. A published scholarly reading has not yet been found. [committee to add the full text and translation of the inscription, and a photograph]

Since 1947

At Partition in 1947 many Sayyid families of Samana left for Pakistan. The shrine remained, and in recent years it has again become a place of visitation for Shia and Sunni Muslims and for Sikh devotees. An annual majlis is held at Mashhad-e-Hind.

Sources