Hasan Abdal

Hasan Abdal (, ) is an historic town in Northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is located where the Grand Trunk Road meets the Karakoram Highway near the North-West Frontier Province province, northwest of Wah. It is 40 km northwest of Rawalpindi. It has a population of about over 50,000. It is famous for Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib, one of the most sacred places of Sikhism. Thousands of Sikhs visit the Gurudwara on the eve of Besakhi every year. The other historical place is a tomb erroneously called Lala Rukh Tomb. There is a grave inside a square walled Garden and a fresh water fish pond near the tomb. On the nearby hill there is a meditation chamber attributed to a saint Baba Hasan Abdal also known as Baba Wali Kandhari with local folklores. The city is named after this saint.

History

Historical Mentions

The famous Chinese traveler Hiouen Thsang who visited the place in the 7th century A.D. mentions the sacred spring of Elapatra about 70 li to the northwest of Taxila which is identical to the one at the current site of Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

The town is mentioned in Ain-i-Akbari in the context that Shams al-Din built himself a vault there in which lies Hakim Abu’l Fath buried. Akbar’s visit to the town on his way back from Kashmir is also mentioned.

William Finch who travelled through India between 1608 and 1611 describes Hasan Abdal to be a...
Read More