History of the Pashtun people
Abdur Rahman Baba belonged to the Baezai division of the Mohmand tribe. Abdur Rahman dwelt in the village of Hazar Khani in the tappa of Mohmands. He was a man of considerable learning, but lived the life of a darvesh, absorbed in religious contemplation separated from the world. He held no greater interaction than necessary … Read more
Mausoleum of Shaikh Imam al-Din (a Khalil Pashtun), Palosai, Peshawar. According to Persian inscription on the site, Shaikh Imam al-Din died in 1650 AD and the mausoleum was constructed in 1653 AD. He was grandson of Shaikh Qasim Sulaimani, a renowned saint of Akbar’s reign.
Shaikh Jamaluddin Kasi was a 16th century Pashtun saint of Chishti order. He enjoyed considerable respect from his own Kasi tribe as well as other Pashtun tribes. In his early life he held a high post in the government under Sher Shah Sur (c.1486-1545). After the downfall of the Pashtuns in India and restoration of … Read more
“Mad Mullah” haranguing Pashtun tribesmen in the Swat valley, 1897. “His standard bears the same insignia as did of Umra Khan in the Chitral campaign, namely a blood-red hand upon a green field”. From “London Illustrated News”, 18th September 1897. Artist : Sydney Prior Hall Source
According to Akhbar al-Akhyar, a Pashtun by name of Khwaja Hasan (1206–1290 A.D) was a famous disciple of Shaikh Baha-uddin Zakariya of Multan. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya is reported to have praised him for his piety. The author of Akhbar al-akhyar, Shaikh Abdul Haq Muhadith of Delhi, was born in 1551 AD during the reign … Read more
Mausoleum of Khwaja Khizr Sarwani (Sonipat, Haryana, India) Khwaja Khizr Khan Sarwani was a Pashtun of saintly reputation who was governor of Sonipat (Haryana state, India) during the during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (1517-1526 AD). He is buried in Sonipat in a magnificent Mausoleum which was constructed during the reign of Sultan … Read more
Musa Darwesh is ancestor of Darwesh Khel Wazirs. He had two sons Ahmad and Utman (progenitors of Ahmadzai and Utmanzai respectively). In 1911 Sir Denzil Ibbetson reports, “The Ahmadzai Wazirs and others on their way to Birmal leave their superfluous property in the precincts of this shrine and on their return in autumn find it … Read more
The first Pashtun poet, the historicity of whose person and work, we cannot reasonably doubt, is Shaikh Isa Mashwani, though the quantity of his poetic effusion vouchsafed to the potency is very small. He was contemporary of the great Pashtun monarch, Sher Shah Sur, whose short reign (1540-45) is one of the golden periods of the … Read more
Ziarat of Mechan Nika (مچن نيکه) , Wana, South Waziristan. Shaikh Michan Niazi was a medieval Pashtun saint . His real name was Muhsin and he is generally said to have been 6th in descent from Khako, son of Niazi. He was given the title of Michan (meaning handmill in Pashto) when one day, while … Read more