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Introducing Uch Sharif
With its name meaning ‘holy high place’, the small town of Uch Sharif (or just Uch) is famous for its superb Sufi shrines, which are open and free to all. It certainly warrants a visit.
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Believed to date from around 500 BC or earlier, Uch was under Hindu rule when Alexander the Great invaded India. There are claims Alexander spent a fortnight here during which time he renamed it Alexandria. Mohammed bin Qasim entered Uch on his march north; legend has it that the town’s numerous date palms are descended from trees that grew from the stones of Arabian dates brought by his soldiers.
After the arrival of Islam, Uch attracted religious figures and many Islamic schools were founded here. By the 13th century it was one of the subcontinent’s leading religious and cultural centres. Uch became an important base for the spread of two of the most important Sufi branches, the Sunni Qadiriya school of Syed Mohammed Ghous Jilani Hallabi and the Shiite Suhrawardiya school, popularised by Jalaluddin Bukhari.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
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