Biography of Rahman Baba (Abdur Rahman Mohmand)

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

Shaikh Jamaluddin Kasi (a 16th century Pashtun saint)

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

Sartor faqir (سر تور فقير)

  “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

Khwaja Hasan Afghan (1206–1290 A.D)

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 of … Read more

Khwaja Khizr Khan Sarwani

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

Shaikh Isa Mashwani, a Pashto poet of Sher Shah Suri’s period

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

Shaikh Michan Baba (Niazi) مچن نيکه | Michan Khel tribe

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, … Read more