The five-day 607th Urs-e-Shareef of 14th century Sufi saint Hazrath Khwaja Banda Nawaz, Gulbarga | Celebration

The five-day 607th Urs-e-Shareef of 14th century Sufi saint Hazrath Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz, the epitome of religious tolerance and universal brotherhood who built a permanent bond between the Hindus and Muslims of the Hyderabad Karnataka region through his selfless service, will begin here on 13 October 2011.

Tens of thousands of devotees from all over the country and abroad would converge in this historic city to offer obeisance at the famous Dargah Shareef.

Religious ceremonies marking the beginning of the urs would begin with ‘Khidmat-e-Farrashi and Band Sama’ (distribution of Tabarruk) at the Dargah Shareef on Thursday morning, followed by a special ‘namaz’. The All-India Industrial Exhibition will be inaugurated in the evening at the Khaja Bazaar.

On 14 October 2011(Friday), Khidmat-e-Farrashi and Band Sama at the Dargah Shareef would be followed by an address by Sajjada Nasheen Syed Shah Khusro Hussaini and Namaz-e-Juma, the special Friday prayers at the Masjid Dargah Shareef.

In the evening, special Namaaz-e-Asr would be held at the Mehboob Gulshan Public Garden. Sajjada Nasheen would lead the traditional special namaz in the public garden in which thousands of devotees would participate before flagging off a ‘sandal procession’.

On 15 October 2011 (Saturday), the sandal paste, brought in a procession, would be anointed on the tomb of Khaja Banda Nawaz, located in the spacious mausoleum built by the then Bahamani king Ahmed Shah Wali Bahamani.

Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz played an important role in preaching Islam in the Indian context during the 14th century.

For 22 years, he lived in Gulbarga, spreading the message of universal brotherhood. His love and compassion for the people drew lakhs of devotees to him from all communities.

He was also a prolific writer and is considered the first prose writer in Urdu. He has penned 195 books in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. The Sufi saint’s writings are revered by scholars throughout the world.

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