Mirza Sahibaan is one of the most famous love stories of Punjab and also the Indian sub continent. Mirza was a Khral Rajput of Danabad Village (31° 27' 06" N, 72° 27' 40" E) in tehsil Jaranwala, district Faisalabad. Sahiban was born in Sial tribe and live at Kheiwa (31° 12' 53" N, 73° 27' 10" E) a village about 20 kilometer north of Jhang. So the direct distance between these two places is almost 98 kilometers. Which was a considerable distance in the old times.
As story goes Mirza in his childhood was sent to Kheiwa to live with his relatives. He and Sahiban both went to the same mosque to study. They developed love for each other which grew with them. Sometime later while Mirza was in Danabad, the family of Sahiban arranged her marriage. She sent the following message to Mirza:
"You must come and decorate Sahiban’s hand with the marriage henna."
So Mirza reached Kheiwa and they both eloped on the famous mare of Mirza, Bakki. Brothers of Sahiban chased them and killed them near Danabad. While they were taking rest under a tree. Now their graves exist near Danabad at 31° 11' 08.05" N, 73° 23' 30.33" E. There is a small and simple mausoleum on their graves. I think it was constructed just a couple of years ago and before that these graves were under the open sky. Their story was written by Pilu, but when I don't know.
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Simple tomb of Mirza Sahiban. (22.03.2014.)
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Three graves, Mirza, Sahiban, & ___________________. (22.03.2014.)
Tomb and a pond in the foreground. (22.03.2014.)
View of the tomb from the northern direction.
Another view of the bomb. (22.03.2014.)
A big old tree, near the tomb. (22.03.2014.)
Beautiful wheat fields near the tomb.
You can reach this place from Jaranwala. From 240 mor or Shell petrol pump on Lahore road, travel towards Syedwala for almost exactly 10 kilometers and then turn to right on a smaller road along a canal and after travelling for three kilometers you will reach Danabad. At Danabad the road splits into right and left. Take a right turn and travel for 7 kilometers and you will reach the graves of Mirza and Sahiban. So from Jaranwala it is 20 kilometers.
I shall appreciate your comments and you suggestions or any further information about this subject is also most welcome.
Tariq Amir
04.06.2014.
Doha - Qatar
On 14 March, 2017, Mr Amit Karwarsa commented on this post and suggested that as per his information, Mirza was a Jat and not a Rajput. I asked my friends about it and my friend and schoolfellow Dr Awais Nouman sent me the following link:
http://jhang.sujag.org/feature/42193
On the above-mentioned link, Ms Suraiya Manzoor has given the following account of the love story of Mirza and Sahibaan:
So as it is clearly mentioned in the above story that Mirza was a Jat. However, this discussion is still open and I invite my readers to give their input.
Tariq Amir
March 17, 2017.
Doha - Qatar.
The above part of my post is about the tomb of Mirza and Sahiban, which I visited about two years ago. In the meanwhile, I cam to know that the mosque where they studied at in their childhood, and where this all trouble started, still exists. I was skeptic about the veracity of this piece of information. There was just one way to prove it right or wrong. So one fine spring morning of 22 March 2016, I set from my base camp at Sargodha and in two and half an hour reached there. My uncle Sahibazada Riaz was accompanying with me. He is still more active than I am and often joins me on such kind of adventures. Which are not easy on 1990 model Khyber.
The bazar of this small town is right on the both sides of the Chiniot - Jhang Road, 20 kms short of Jhang. We asked a gentleman sitting and chatting with his friend nearby and he asked a person to accompany us to the mosque. I was not very hopeful thus their response was a little surprise to me. Our guide passing through bazar and lanes, took us out of the town. And there in lush green fields and some scattered houses, stood the mosque where Mirza and Sahiban, leanned their first lessons of love. The mosque is located at 31° 27' 13.50" N, 72° 27' 33.15" E.
I am not sure how old this mosque is. Even the locals are not aware of the history of its construction. But clearly it is considerably old. We can guess its age, if we could determine the time of the story of Mirza and Sahiban, I hope someone will guide us in this matter.
The mosque is no longer in use and as can be seen in the pictures, is in need of urgent repair. Though I am not surprised at all. But don't you think that such a beautiful mosque, having great historic and cultural value, has totally been abandoned by all. You all are welcome to add something on this subject.
Tariq Amir
April 28, 2016.
Doha - Qatar.
On 14 March, 2017, Mr Amit Karwarsa commented on this post and suggested that as per his information, Mirza was a Jat and not a Rajput. I asked my friends about it and my friend and schoolfellow Dr Awais Nouman sent me the following link:
http://jhang.sujag.org/feature/42193
On the above-mentioned link, Ms Suraiya Manzoor has given the following account of the love story of Mirza and Sahibaan:
پنجاب کی لوک داستانوں میں سے مرزا صاحباں کو ایک خاص مقام حاصل ہے۔ تاریخ دان میاں نور محمد چیلہ کی لکھی گئی کتاب 'تاریخ جھنگ سیالاں' کے مطابق مرزا صاحباں کا تعلق ہیر کی گیارہویں پشت سے تھا۔ اُن کی کتاب کے مطابق جھنگ کے نواحی موضع ستیانہ کی بنیاد رکھنے والے ستی خان کے ہاں بیٹے کھیوہ خان (صاحباں کا باپ) کی پیدائش ہوئی جس کے تین ماہ بعد اس کی بیوی وفات پاگئی۔ اکلوتے بچے کی پرورش کے لیے واڑھ سلیمان سے مڑہل خاندان کی خاتون نور بی بی کو بلایا گیا جس نے اپنی بچی فتح بی بی (مرزا کی ماں) کے ساتھ کھیوہ خان کو بھی دودھ پلایا اور یہ دونوں دودھ شریک بہن بھائی بن گئے۔کتاب کے مطابق سیال سردار سوم غازی خان نے موضع کھیوہ کی بنیاد رکھنے پر سردار کھیوہ کو "خان" کے خطاب سے نوازا۔فتح بی بی نے جب یہ سنا کہ اس کا دودھ شریک بھائی ایک سردار بن گیا ہے تو اس نے اپنے کم عمر بیٹے مرزا کو اس کے پاس تعلیم و تربیت کے لیے بھیج دیا۔ یوں مرزا اور صاحبا ں ایک مدرسے میں تعلیم حاصل کرنے لگے اور کم عمری سے ہی ایک دوسرے کو پسند کرنے لگے۔تاریخ دان ایک واقع پر متفق ہیں کہ ایک بار معلم نے مرزا کو اپنی چھمک سے مارا تو صاحباں نے اپنی ہتھیلی بند کر لی اور جب اس نے ہتھیلی کھولی تو اس پر چھمک کے نشان تھے۔ یہ بات جنگل میں آگ کی طرح پھیلی اور مرزا کو واپس اس کی ماں کے پاس بھیج دیا گیا لیکن تب تک عشق دلوں میں گھر کر چُکا تھا۔پڑھائی کے ساتھ ساتھ مرزا ایک بہترین تیر انداز اور گھڑ سوار بن چکا تھا۔ صاحباں کے ایک ملازم کے ذریعے مرزا کا اس سے رابطہ تھا جس کا نام تاریخ میں کرموں ملتا ہے۔مرزا کے چلے جانے کے کچھ ہی عرصہ بعد کھیوہ خان نے صاحباں کا رشتہ چدھڑ خاندان میں طے کر دیا جبکہ مرزا کا رشتہ اس کی ماں نے ساہی خاندان میں طے کر دیا۔ شادی کی تیاریاں شروع ہوئیں تو صاحباں نے کرموں کو مرزا تک اس کی شادی کی اطلاع پہنچانے کے لیے بھیجا۔جب کرموں نے اطلاع مرزا کو پہنچائی تو مرزا ترکش اور تیر کمان سے لیس ہو کر اپنی "بکی" نامی گھوڑی پر سوار ہوا اور صاحباں کو لینے نکل کھڑا ہوا۔ تاریخ دان لکھتے ہیں کہ جب مرزا گھر سے نکلا تب اس کی بہن کی شادی ہو رہی تھی اسی وجہ سے ماں اور بہن نے روکنے کی کوشش کی لیکن عشق تھا کہ ہر رشتہ بُھلا گیا۔مرزا سیدھا صاحباں کے علاقے میں پہنچا اور شادی والے گھر سے صاحباں کو لے کر نکل گیا اس وقت گھوڑی کے قدموں کی ٹاپ نے ڈھولکی کی تھاپ کو نیچا دکھا دیا اور یوں وہ سفر شروع ہوا جس کی منزل مرزا کی موت ٹھہری۔تاریخ دان لکھتے ہیں چونکہ جاٹ بہنوں کے معاملے میں کافی محتاط ہوتے ہیں اس لیے مرزا نے بہن کی ڈولی اٹھ جانے کے بعد رات کی تاریکی میں گھر جانے کا فیصلہ کیا اور راستے میں ایک درخت کے نیچے تھکان اتارنے کے لیے سو گیا۔صاحباں نے مرزا کے تیر توڑ دیئے کیونکہ یہ جانتی تھی کہ وہ ایک قابل تیر انداز ہے اور یہ ہرگز نہیں چاہتی تھی کہ مرزا کے نشانے پر اس کے بھائی ہوں۔ صاحباں کا خیال تھا کہ وہ اپنے بھائیوں کو منا لے گی لیکن اُس کے بھائیوں نے اس کی ایک نہ سنی اور مرزا کو مار دیا۔کہا جاتا ہے کہ مرزا صاحباں کے بھائیوں سے نہیں بلکہ اس کی بے وفائی سے ہی مر گیا تھا اور یہ بھی روایت کی جاتی ہے کہ مرزا کے مرنے کے وقت بھی اس کی زبان پر صاحباں کا نام تھا۔ اس حوالے سے بہت سی متضاد روایات ملتی ہیں۔ کچھ کے مطابق صاحباں مرزا کو بچاتے ہوئے جان کی بازی ہار گئی اور کچھ کے مطابق اس کے بھائی اسے محل واپس لے گئے اور وہاں پر اسے مار دیا گیا۔اس موقع پر پیرو کی نظم کے یہ الفاظ پڑھنے والوں کے دل میں اتر جاتے ہیں۔مندا کیتوئی صاحبا،میرا ترکش ٹنگی او جنڈ سر توں منڈا سا اڈ گیا، گل وچ پیندی چنڈ باجھ بھراواں جٹ ماریا،کوئی نہ مرزے دے سنگ جٹا ای اوترجمہ : اے صاحباں یہ تو نے اچھا نہیں کیا کہ میرا ترکش درخت پہ لٹکا دیا مرزا کے سر سے پگڑی اتر گئی اور چہرے پر دھول پڑ گئی۔ جاٹ کو بغیر بھائیوں کے مارا اور مرزا بالکل اکیلا تھا۔
Story of Mirza Sahiban holds a pominent place in the folk tales of Punjab. Accoridng to the book "Taeekh Jhang Sialaan" (History of the Sials of Jhang) written by the historian Mian Nur Muhammad Chela, Mirza Sahiban belonged to the eleventh descendants of Heer. According to his book a son Kheiwa Khan (father of Sahiban) was born to Satti Khan, who laid the foundations of Satiana, a town in the vicinity of Jhang. Three months after the birth, his wife died. To look after the only child a woman Nur Bibi of Marhal family from Wara Sulaiman was called. Who along with her daughter Fateh Bibi (mother of Mirza) also nursed Kheiwa Khan. Hence they became milk brother and sister.
According to the book Sial Chieftain Ghazi Khan conferred upon Sardar Kheiwa the title of Khan upon his laying the foundation of Kheiwa town. When Fateh Bibi heard that her milk brother has become a Chief, she sent her young son Mirza to him for education. Hence Mirza and Sahiban started studying in the same madressah and liked each other from the young age.
Historians are agreed upon an incident that when once the teacher hit Mirza with a stick, Sahiban closed her plam and when she opend her palm, there were scars of the stick on her palm. This news spread like a wild fire and Mirza was sent back to his mother. But by then love has captured their hearts. Besides getting education, Mirza had become an excellent archer and horse rider. Mirza was in contact with Sahiban through her servant, who is mentioned as Karmoon, in hisotry.
Shortly after the departure of Mirza, Kheiwa Khan arranged the marriage of Sahiban in Chadhar family, while Mirza's marriage was arranged by his mother in Sahi family. When preparations for the marriage started, Sahiban sent Karmoon to Mirza to inform him about the marriage.
When Karmoon informed Mirza, he set off on his mare "Bakki" to take Sahiban, armed with his bow and quiver. Historians write that when Mirza left, his sister's marriage was in process, that's why his sister and mother tried to stop him, but the love forgot all realtions.
Mirza went straight to the area of Sahiban and took her from the house. At that time sound of horse's hoofs drowned the sound of drum beatings. Hence started the journy, destination of which was Mirza's death.
Historians write that as the Jats are sensitive about their sisters, so Mirza decided to go home in dark after her sister's marriage procession had left. And slept under a tree to take rest.
Sahiban broke the arrows of Mirza, as she knew that Mirza was an expert archer and did not want her brothers to be the target of Mirza. She thought that she would make her brothers to reconcile. But her brother did not listen to her and killed Mirza.
It is said that it was the unfaithfulness of Sahiban and not her brothers, who killed Mirza. It is also reported that at the time of his death, Saiban's name was on his tongue. There are many conflicting traditions are found. According to some Sahiban died while trying to save Mirza and according to some her brothers took her back to the palace and she was killed there.
At this occasion the words of Peelu's poem enter a heart:
O Sahiban, you have not done it right, that you hung my quiver on the tree. Mirza lost the turban of his head and dust covered his face. The Jat was killed without his brothers, all alone,
So as it is clearly mentioned in the above story that Mirza was a Jat. However, this discussion is still open and I invite my readers to give their input.
Tariq Amir
March 17, 2017.
Doha - Qatar.
The above part of my post is about the tomb of Mirza and Sahiban, which I visited about two years ago. In the meanwhile, I cam to know that the mosque where they studied at in their childhood, and where this all trouble started, still exists. I was skeptic about the veracity of this piece of information. There was just one way to prove it right or wrong. So one fine spring morning of 22 March 2016, I set from my base camp at Sargodha and in two and half an hour reached there. My uncle Sahibazada Riaz was accompanying with me. He is still more active than I am and often joins me on such kind of adventures. Which are not easy on 1990 model Khyber.
The bazar of this small town is right on the both sides of the Chiniot - Jhang Road, 20 kms short of Jhang. We asked a gentleman sitting and chatting with his friend nearby and he asked a person to accompany us to the mosque. I was not very hopeful thus their response was a little surprise to me. Our guide passing through bazar and lanes, took us out of the town. And there in lush green fields and some scattered houses, stood the mosque where Mirza and Sahiban, leanned their first lessons of love. The mosque is located at 31° 27' 13.50" N, 72° 27' 33.15" E.
I am not sure how old this mosque is. Even the locals are not aware of the history of its construction. But clearly it is considerably old. We can guess its age, if we could determine the time of the story of Mirza and Sahiban, I hope someone will guide us in this matter.
Kheiwa: Beautiful Fields (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Entrance (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Front View (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Mehrab (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Interior (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Roof (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Pillars (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - One of three doors (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - A side view (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - View from back side (22.03.2016)
Kheiwa: Mosque of Mirza Sahiban - Another view (22.03.2016)
The mosque is no longer in use and as can be seen in the pictures, is in need of urgent repair. Though I am not surprised at all. But don't you think that such a beautiful mosque, having great historic and cultural value, has totally been abandoned by all. You all are welcome to add something on this subject.
Tariq Amir
April 28, 2016.
Doha - Qatar.
View Tomb Of Mirza Sahibaan in a larger map
