Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s3.t3.38

c7.s3.t3.38

The popular Muslim pilgrimages were confined to the graves of reputed saints, the most important of whom was Mas‘ud Salar Ghazi of Bahraich (U.P.).¹ The ‘Urs or annual anniversaries of reputed saints were only beginning to come into public prominence. Some *Sufis* and other followers of famous saints used to congregate over the graves of saints once a year, but this observance was confined to a very small number of people. Visits to the tombs of saints were becoming more popular. We have already mentioned the prohibition of Sultan Firuz Tughluq which forbade women going to the tombs outside the city of Delhi. In Sind, great crowds of men and women used to flock to the Makli mountain on the first Friday of every lunar month to visit the grave of some reputed saint. There is a record of similar visits to other shrines on the first Monday of every month in Sind, where about a dozen such places existed. Such vast crowds of people assembled that there was hardly any room to stand. The visitors spent the day in amusement and merry-making and returned late in the evening