Pir (Saint) Lal Shahbaaz Qalandar was born as Syed Muhammad Usman in 1177 Marwand, Iran. His Father Syed Ibrahim Kabiruudin was a dervish and his mother had a royal lineage. From a very young age boy Usman showed a deep religious inclination. He became a Hafiz (One who has memorized The Holy Koran) by age of seven. He got himself initiated into Qalandria sect of Sufism. ‘Qalandar’ are Sufi who live in indigence and are peripatetic. As a Qalandar he roamed throughout Middle East and came to Sindh.
He befriends three other Sufi saints and henceforth the quartet is known as ‘Chaar Yaar’ (four friends). They became the pioneers of 13th century Sufi association. The other three friends were Baba Farid Shakar Ganj of Pakpattan [1174-1266] (popularly known as Baba Farid); Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch- Bahawalpur [1196-1294] and Bahauddin Zakaria of Multan [1170-1267].
He reached Sehwan the settle of learning and customs in Sindh. Sehwan is one of the oldest cities in Sindh. During the reign of Guptas, Sehwan was the capital of a Buddhist ruler who was brother of Chandragupta II (also Known as Vikrmaditya), the third of the Gupta dynasty in the 4th century AD.
As per the legends, the fakirs in Sehwan sent him a bowl of milk filled to the brim indicating that there was no room for anything more. But surprisingly, he returned the bowl with a beautiful flower buoyant on the top. This legend spread far and wide by the time of his death in 1274, after living a good span for 97 years. In Sehwan he lived at the outskirt of city inside a tree trunk for 6 years. He spread his teachings and preached religious tolerance between Hindus and Muslims.
