Type: Monument - Tomb
Province: Punjab
District: Jhang
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 1857 - 1947 CE
Description: This mausoleum is built in traditional fashion with a square base with an eight-sided drum, and a hemispherical dome. This represents the continuation of a motif originating in Multan with the tomb of Bahauddin Zakariya, constructed in the early-mid 13th century. The designs are quite similar in forms, though the latter monument is considerably smaller but much more highly decorated, with the exterior clad in blue Multani kashi-kari tiles for which the region is justifiably famous). The similarity is not surprising as Shah Sadiq Nehang was of the same spiritual lineage as Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari (1199-1298), who was himself a successor of Zakariya. The main facade comprises a south-facing brick wall dressed with stucco and tile work. At its center is a single centrally-placed door topped by a stucco canopy, flanked by two false doors with similar stucco canopies supported by slim engaged colonnettes. The wall surfaces are divided horizontally and vertically into a number of registers, in the Mughal fashion, which are inlaid with blue Multani tiles painted with abstract floral patterns, vases, and winding vines. Running along the cornice are a line of spade-shaped merlons in a good state of preservation. Also in good repair are the flanking corner towers which are capped with miniature turrets crowned with onion domes (a form popular in both Mughal and Sikh architecture). Above them, the drum of the dome is provided with eight miniature turrets of its own. The dome itself is fluted and seems to rise upward from a base of upturned lotus leaves motif also commonly seen in Sikh temples. The use of the south facade as the main entrance is a break from the usual fashion of placing the main door on the east entrance (symbolically, requiring the visitor to face in the direction of Mecca as one enters the building).
Latitude: 30.939928000
Longitude: 72.161804000
Ownership: AUQAF
Legal Status: Protected by The Punjab Special Premises (Preservation), Ordinance, 1985
Title of Publication: Asian Historical Architecture
Published In: https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/1479/pakistan/jhang/shah-sadiq-nehang-mausoleum
Year of Publication: 2021 (Retrieved)
Bibliography/Reference: Anonymous
